Hilko Janssen's "unwholesome tycoon game" Car Park Capital, a simulation that centers on making society dependent on automobiles, is set to release with MicroProse as its publisher. This partnership suggests no softening of the game's core vision of automotive apocalypse, with developer Hilkojj Interactive continuing its mission to pave over the world with asphalt.
When first revealed, Car Park Capital featured mechanics such as erecting billboards to influence pedestrian behavior and selling "banana-mobiles." The game has since expanded its repertoire of vehicular subjugation. New additions include oil derricks, offensively jaunty golf carts, leaking fuel trucks that destroy vegetation, and riot police to suppress protests against habitat loss. The developer has also introduced plans for drive-thru facilities of gargantuan scale, including giant toilets, perfume dispensers, and hamburger stands, all designed to discourage citizens from ever exiting their vehicles. The game's simulation extends to supporting industries like a beef industry with giant sausage machines, and even offers flying saucers for recapturing escaped cows.
Despite its cartoonish depictions of excess, such as the ability to construct parking facilities within the Pyramids of Giza, Car Park Capital maintains a serious management simulation core. Developer Hilko Janssen drew inspiration from real-life American car propaganda from the 1960s and 70s, a period when car dependency was on the rise in places like the Netherlands, where plans once existed to convert Amsterdam's canals into roads.
Janssen detailed in an interview that NPC behavior will reflect the absurdities of car dependency. Players can expect drivers to park poorly, block essential roads, or endlessly circle full parking lots while complaining. These details are intended to enhance the game's humor and relatability. To further its agenda of enforcing car usage, the game will encourage players to demolish inner-city apartments and replace them with suburban homes, thereby increasing commute distances.
Visually, Car Park Capital employs a charming isometric art style reminiscent of 1997's Constructor and RollerCoaster Tycoon. This aesthetic contrasts sharply with its underlying theme of environmental destruction and enforced car culture, leading to what the developer calls "cartoonish evil."