Waiting for Godot: The Video Game attacked by Beckett estate
It’s pretty absurd to make an 8-bit game based on the absurdist play Waiting For Godot. For starters, nothing happens in the play, and there’s only one setting for all its acts. As a result, it’s more hilarious homage than existential classic. Though Waiting For Godot’s playwright Samuel Beckett is long dead, his estate’s reaction to the game is perhaps the most absurd aspect of all the affair.
Designer Mark Rosenthal has received numerous cease and desist orders from lawyers concerning the game, though we’re pretty sure Beckett would have appreciated Rosenthal’s intentions:
“Ultimately, I wanted to make something selfish, something I thought would be funny without ever considering the audience’s opinion,” he told The Rumpus.net. “Taking all the fun out of a game is funny. Basing a game on a play where nothing happens is funny. And people played it!”
However Beckett’s estate found the whole thing a lot less funny, forcing Rosenthal to make major changes.
“Under American law, my game is considered parody and is protected under fair use, but I complied since I’m just a college kid who can’t really afford a lawyer,” said the designer.
It’s undergone some changes since the cease and desist order, but the latest version of the game, now called WaitingForGrodoudou can be played by clicking here. And we use the term “play” in the very loosest way there.
