There was a time when my favorite place to write was trains. Specifically, on comfortable intercity services with no one else in the quiet carriage and certainly none of those screaming little bipeds, or “children,” as they are scientifically known. That idyll is now gone for me, thanks to Covid: I have vulnerable family members and I continue to be careful about social distancing. So I spend most of my current train journeys lurking between carriages, trolling the door sensors and scowling angrily at anyone who goes to the toilet. But now, thanks to the salacious magic of video games, I can once again get my fill of the writer’s locomotion.
The video game in question, On Track (Steam link), isn't actually a game, but a productivity booster consisting of a delightful car landscape of Proteus-like hillsides, lakes, and forests. I'm not convinced by the “productivity boosting software” – frankly, I think the whole thing is a big scam. But I'd happily pick it up.
On Track's productivity element consists of a to-do list and a timer at the bottom of the window. There's optional lo-fi music (no thanks) and Sir Or Madam's Choice ambient sound – you can crank up the train volume even higher and even turn up the noise of other unseen passengers. The geography changes slightly as you complete tasks. Expect “surprises,” but there's probably nothing that'll knock you out of your seat, like a naked man on a passing locomotive or unexpectedly finding yourself in the world of Metro Exodus.
You can slow down or stop the train at any time to investigate these surprises – ideal for simulating the classic LNER experience of your journey being delayed by 45 minutes because a single potato chip has fallen out of the rear window of the next train. Many great novels have been written during such periods of stagnation, but none by me until now.
On Track is out today and is free to play. Phoenix, Arizona-based developers GigaTank3000 are also the creators of the relatively creepy Kaiju Catastrophe, where you run around procedurally generated SimCities as Godzilla. There's a demo for that too – perhaps driving Godzilla crazy in carefully controlled, endorphin-boosting five-minute bursts will help you reset your inbox? For a more cuddly productivity tool of sorts, check out Weyrdlets.