Don’t let the name or the sprite-work fool you into thinking that Do Not Feed The Monkeys is some sort of lighthearted foray into spying on pixelated NPCs and goofing off by searching through unsuspecting users’ browser history, webcams, and home security devices. Do Not Feed The Monkeys is a voyeur-simulator based on the kind of real-life privacy invasion horror stories that you hope never befalls you or anyone you know.
Alawar Premium and Fictiorama Studios’ privacy invasion sim sees players taking on the role of a new recruit in a shadow organization known as Primate Observation Club.
The objective of the club is to observe people through surveillance cameras and compromised camera devices such as webcams, home security setups, or smart devices.
The object of the game is to observe dozens of people. There’s just one rule: do not interfere with the subjects you observe, a rule that the Primate Club refers to as “do not feed the monkeys”.
You can check out some of the gameplay from Yippee Ki Ya Mr Falcon to get an idea of how it plays.
As you can see in the video, you still have to eat and monitor your own livelihood while peeping on other people. Also, as you can see, one of the people you’re peeping on is a peeping Tom who snaps photos of women who undress from across the street and then sells the photos online.
The hook for the game is that it dives deep into the darker and disturbing elements of human behavior, and players will be forced to make some choices that will affect them and the people they’re spying on.
Do you break up an illegal smuggling ring or do you let it play out? Do you protect someone from unfathomable abuse or do you just keep observing? Do you save someone from a detrimental fate or do you see it take place right in front of your eyes? Do you become the extortionist? Do you embody the role of a villainous voyeur? Or do you become something more?
The game sends players on an eye-opening journey into the morally ambiguous nature of privacy invasion, sometimes with an outcome to help someone and sometimes with an outcome to hurt them. It will likely definitely make you think twice about the next time you bring a digital recording device or webcam into your home.
Do Not Feed The Monkey is already receiving positive review scores from gamers, and you can pick up the single-player title right now from the Steam store for just $11.99. During the first week of being on sale you can get it for 20% off for only $9.59.
