BitLife
| BitLife: Life Simulator | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Groom Lake Development LLC |
| Publisher(s) | Candywriter |
| Platform(s) | iOS, Android |
| Release date(s) | 8th November 2018 |
| Genre(s) | Roleplay |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
BitLife: Life Simulator, commonly known as simply BitLife, is a text-based life simulator game created in 2018 for iOS by developer Candywriter.[1] The game utilizes a text-based format to create a that creates entertainment through humorous scenarios.[2] The game has no specific objective for the player, but has optional "collectables", which are unlocked in a wide variety of ways, such as becoming a marital arts expert, spending a large amount of time in prison, becoming a millionaire, or to "get decapitated by a gorilla". Since 2020, there are also live global challenges for players lasting a few days, happening approximately once a week.
History
The app was released for iOS platform users on September 29, 2018. Since its release, it has received several updates to improve the game. After the iOS version of the game existed a couple of months earlier, the Android version of BitLife was released on February 5, 2019. In March 2020, a "god mode" update was released, which allowed players to purchase the ability to edit characters and more possible experiences. Other updates have been released based on themes of Pride, sports, and crime amongst others.
In November 2021, a spin-off called DogLife was released.[3] The game follows the same concept as the original game but simulating the life of a dog rather than a human. Later in January 2022 after winning a Twitter poll, CatLife was released.
Reception
The game was one of the most downloaded free games on iOS in both 2019 and 2021.[4][5] Gita Jackson of Kotaku praised the game for it's large amount of choices available during game play and claimed that it was similar to RealLives,[6] while Newsweek described it as "simultaneously heartwarming and kind of terrifying".[2]
Bitlife has a 17+ rating, but criticism has been made of the rating when compared with the ratings of other games.[7]
References
- ↑ "Stillfront Group acquires Candywriter for at least $74m" (in en). 23 April 2020. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-04-23-stillfront-group-acquires-candywriter-for-at-least-usd74m.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "'BitLife' mobile game lets you be someone new" (in en). 2018-11-26. https://www.newsweek.com/bitlife-android-life-simulator-app-ios-zepeto-1231623.
- ↑ "DogLife: BitLife Dogs" (in en). https://www.metacritic.com/game/ios/doglife-bitlife-dogs.
- ↑ "Apple reveals most downloaded iOS games of 2019" (in en-GB). 2019-12-03. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/most-downloaded-ios-games-of-2019/.
- ↑ "Apple reveals its App Store award winners and 2021's most popular games" (in en-GB). 2021-12-03. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/apple-reveals-its-app-store-award-winners-and-2021s-most-popular-games/.
- ↑ "A Game About Bizarre, Randomly Generated Lives" (in en-us). 13 March 2019. https://kotaku.com/the-bizarre-lives-of-my-randomly-generated-bitlife-char-1833264328.
- ↑ Fitton, Dan; Bell, Beth T.; Read, Janet C. (2021). Ardito, Carmelo; Lanzilotti, Rosa; Malizia, Alessio et al.. eds. "Integrating Dark Patterns into the 4Cs of Online Risk in the Context of Young People and Mobile Gaming Apps" (in en). Human-Computer Interaction – INTERACT 2021. Lecture Notes in Computer Science (Cham: Springer International Publishing) 12935: 701–711. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-85610-6_40. ISBN 978-3-030-85610-6. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-85610-6_40.
