I just wrote about what a coward (read: prudent cyclist) I am as a city biker these days. Browser-based game Loser Lane is reminding me why.
Creator Marie LeBlanc Flanagan calls the game “a tiny protest game about the terrifying reality of biking in Toronto without bike lanes.” Using your left and right arrow keys, you navigate a little bike between parked cars, moving cars, pedestrians, mass transit vehicles, and road features. Most of my runs have ended swiftly due to car doors; longer runs have fallen victim to having to choose between hitting a pedestrian and getting taken out by mass transit, or between flipping over the back of a parked car or getting hit from behind by a car swerving out of its lane. You’re basically constantly being put in impossible situations with only moments to react, and the narrow play space really captures the way it feels to navigate busy roads with no bike infrastructure. When you die, you get a counter of how long you lasted, what killed you, and the words “Thanks Doug,” presumably a reference to Ontario premier Doug Ford.
A link in the game takes you to the contact info for current MPPs, whom you could email angrily about bike lanes if you live in Canada. (Or even if you don’t, I guess!) As a political game, it’s great: it really brings the problem to life through play, and is something I wish I could make every bike lane opponent in my own city play.
My longest run has been 146 seconds. Let me know how you get on.
Update 6:30pm-- A reader pointed me to this article detailing a violent confrontation with a driver Flanagan had while biking shortly after making the game, as well as more context about the game's title and the bike lane situation in Toronto.
