Make a mess of the streets of Toronto as a raccoon in new video game 'Trash Panda'
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to experience the city as a raccoon, wreaking havoc and being enamored with garbage? Well, a new video game created by a Toronto-based filmmaker lets you do just that. The game, ‘Trash Panda,’ was officially released on Nov. 15 and is now available for sale.
“I started developing it over the last couple of years,” Jason Leaver said in an interview on Wednesday morning with Newstalk 1010. “I thought it would take six months, but you know, I was new to this hobby that gained development. And now I’ve got this game that’s set in Toronto – like literally Toronto.”
- Download our app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
The video game was born out of pandemic-induced curiosity. Leaver, a filmmaker by trade, said that he began to dabble in coding amid the 2021 lockdown.
Later that year, the game quickly went into its beta testing stage.
“The internet kind of named the game,” he said. “It started off where I was just experimenting, I had a bunch of assets for making video games, I was just playing around, you know I had this raccoon this animated raccoon, I had this garbage bin, I thought ‘alright, can I put these two together?’ and I started messing about, and next thing I know I had something that kind of resembled a game and threw it online, and people really liked it and said ‘I want to play this trash panda game,’ and I was like ‘oh, oh, there’s the title.’”
The object of the game is to make “the biggest mess you can,” while roaming the streets of Toronto as a raccoon. Right now, there are four neighbourhoods you can explore: Algonquin Island, Cabbagetown, the Beach, Swansea and the Water Treatment Plant. Leaver said that he’d like to add at least two more neighbourhoods, and is looking to the community for suggestions.
Instead of progressing through the game in traditional levels, ‘Trash Panda’ is divided up by neighbourhoods.
Leaver says that overall, it is a relatively simple game. He’s gotten a lot of feedback from players who have said he’s “got the right mood” with the game, whereas when children play it, they take it very seriously leaving no bin unturned.
However, raccoons have been increasingly violent in Toronto since the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. Torontonians were warned to avoid raccoons at all costs following a surge in attacks by the animals in 2021, and increased rates of rabies in the animals.
While adorable to some, there’s no doubt that raccoons are safest – and less bothersome – when making virtual messes online, like in the ‘Trash Panda’ video game.
“I think Toronto loves a game like this,” said Leaver.
The game is available on Steam for $9.99. More information about the game can be found here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Watch Live Now: Canadian analysis ahead of the CNN Presidential Debate
U.S. President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump are set to go head-to-head tonight in the first of two planned presidential debates. Here's how to watch the CNN Presidential Debate, Power Play's pre- and post-debate specials, and follow along in our real-time CTVNews.ca live expert analysis and commentary by debate and body-language experts.
'Hanging on for her life': Sask. family desperate to bring home sick niece from Philippines
For half a decade, a Saskatoon family has been trying to bring their orphaned niece to Canada, they say now it’s a matter of life or death.
'No additional flights will be cancelled': WestJet avoids strike as feds order binding arbitration
A potential strike by WestJet airplane mechanics would upend travel plans for 250,000 customers over the Canada Day long weekend, the airline says — and cost it millions of dollars.
BREAKING Nunavut judge sentences Toronto woman to 3 years prison for Inuit identity fraud
A Nunavut judge has sentenced a Toronto woman to three years in prison in a case of Inuit identity fraud.
Canada's top court rejects appeal from Sask. man who murdered wife
The Supreme Court of Canada has rejected an application from a Saskatoon man who murdered his wife.
Where do new Canadians come from? India and Philippines take top spots
Canada has welcomed more than 3.9 million new citizens since 2005, with nearly one third coming from India, the Philippines or China, according to a CTVNews.ca analysis.
Marilyn Monroe's former Los Angeles home declared a historic monument to save it from demolition
Fans of Marilyn Monroe have won a battle to preserve her mark on Los Angeles and are a step closer to seeing a towering statue of the silver screen icon remain in Palm Springs.
Man charged with threatening to kill presidential candidates found dead as jury was deciding verdict
A New Hampshire man charged with threatening the lives of presidential candidates last year has been found dead while a jury was deciding his verdict, according to court filings Thursday.
AI regulation 'a start,' needs to 'have teeth': Hinton, godfather of AI, says
So-called godfather of AI Geoffrey Hinton says he's 'pleased' governments are starting to take artificial intelligence, and the possible regulations of it, seriously.