Paolo Pedercini, founder MolleIndustria (McDonald's Videogame, The New York Times Simulator, Future? No Thanks!)

Paolo Pedercini is an Italian game designer, artist, educator, and activist whose work has spent more than two decades challenging assumptions about what video games are for, and what they are allowed to say. In 2003, he founded Molleindustria as a project dedicated to the "reappropriation of video games and the radicalisation of popular culture."

Since then, he has created a remarkable body of short, provocative games about labour, capitalism, religion, technology, and political power, including McDonald’s Videogame, Oiligarchy, Every Day the Same Dream, Phone Story, and Democratic Socialism Simulator. His games have often been satirical, often controversial, and always interested in using play as a way of thinking through systems and ideology. Now he is working on his most ambitious project yet: Future? No Thanks!, an open-world comedy adventure about a grumpy old man completing his bucket list in a solarpunk future.

NOTES:

Paolo Pedercini / Molleindustria

Molleindustria – official site (all Paolo's games)

Paolo Pedercini – Wikipedia

Paolo Pedercini – Bluesky (@molleindustria.org)

Future? No Thanks! (out now)

Future? No Thanks! – Steam

Future? No Thanks! – official site

Other Molleindustria games mentioned

McDonald's Video Game – play free in browser