A mobile game is causing concerns
A speedboat races through the waters of the Strait of Gibraltar. A police helicopter is chasing it. The drug traffickers are proving to be more difficult to catch, as they’re zigzagging and zagging while trying to escape. The game Narcos del Estrecho is nothing more than an app developed in Cádiz. It has raised concerns from anti-drug groups about its bad influence.
Rumisoft launched their app last year and since then, 3,000 people have downloaded it. Christian is 20-year-old technician who grew up in Gibraltar Cabo. He prefers his last name to remain unknown. His idea of the game is based on real life, so just like any other children in the village he enjoys playing it.
In just one week, Christian was able to create the game and generate a draft schedule as well. The game took only 3 days to rise in popularity and take over the region. In the game, you may find different types of speedboats and boats that you can pilot to transport drugs across the Strait.Depending on how much money he can raise, he can then buy a boat that’s better. The goal is to raise two million dollars, at the moment the price of a black speedboat with multiple outboard motors. In other words, the very same boat that Narcos actually use to outwit law enforcement and have forced governments to ban their sales.
Idealising criminality
“Destroy police boats!” “the most wanted drug dealer!” are some of the phrases used to promote the game. The app is available for users aged 3 and over, according to European regulations. Organizations that oppose drug use are concerned about the possible consequences.” These kinds of games and films idealise an image of these people, who even appear as philanthropists. It does not favour the fight against the scourge of drugs,” argues Francisco Mena, coordinator of the federation of anti-drug organisations Nexos. Mena and the other volunteers spend much of the school year teaching students about drug trafficking.
Nexos has found a significant number of cases of drug trafficking in units at the epicenters of El Saladillo, Algethiras, La Altunara, or La Inquesta de la Conthepthion where children have drug dealers as their main role models. “It is not a bad game,” Christian said. “It’s a simple game, there are even worse games aiming at children.”
The app has 85 ratings in the Google app store. “Almost 90% of users want a new upgrade,” Christian argues. The young technician has already gotten started on a new version for iPhone. By then, there will be other boat diagonals of the Straits, including those of real life and those of criminal shipments of hashish.
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Author: PC-GR
The World of Technology
