Disaffected: The Kinko’s Experience
Virtual copying and collating, anyone? A recent trip to Kinko’s/Fedex reminded me of this little gem that was released a few years back. One look at the apathetic face behind the counter and I thought, “Oh yeah… Disaffected!”
Disaffected! is a video game released by Persuasive Games that allows a player to navigate the mundane tasks and customer complaints of a virtual Kinko’s employee. As the promo site explains, “obstacles include confused employees, employees who refuse to work, employees who move orders around indiscriminately so the player cannot find them.” The copy center in rendered in beautiful isometric pixelation.
When I make the trip to Kinko’s now, it’s to ship packages through FedEx. It’s a necessary errand that I would gladly avoid. But as an art student, I liked going to Kinko’s. As much as it was a fluorescent-lit box filled with corporate schlock and frustrated people, it was also a pre-photoshop, white-collar art workshop. The copiers were full of potential. There’s speculation that the makers of this game must distain Kinko’s but I think maybe it’s the opposite. Why else would they put in so much time and energy into make a boring video game? It may be called Disaffected! but ultimately, I sense some empathy (and maybe even love) for the subject.
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I also have super fond memories of using the self-service copiers at kinko’s. it was a place to meet people who would later become my friends, have interesting conversations about art and projects, and find out about neat stuff happening around town: someone would always be like “hey, I just finished copying these flyers, come to this show!” that was until the mid-2000s… it definitely has changed, I think with the acquisition by fedex, no longer being open 24hrs (here in Providence), and partially because Staples’ blind eye was blinder, for a while at least.
they’re about to drop the “kinko’s” from the name, did you hear that?
Whoa! I hadn’t heard… this info constitutes a new post! Thanks, Jean.
We can attribute their decline to the proliferation of the home office, right?
At least around here, the Kinko’s branding is long-gone. I think FedEx announced this change last summer, but I suspect it was part of their insidious plan from the start.
So fun to say: “Kinko’s!” The company founder’s actual nickname, I believe… Or maybe that’s an urban legend.
Anyway, I really can’t say I’ll miss it; Kinko’s failed me far too many times.
I too miss 24hour kinkos, and get so sad when i am traveling and need to go to the fedexkinkos, now fedexoffice store. My earliest artmaking experiences were working on band flyers, and printing transparencies for screens at 2 in the morning in the 24hour kinkos in my neighborhood. I think there was something great about knowing that most college towns had a 24hour kinkos and if you were an artist or band new to the area and needed to promote your show but didnt get into town until midnight you always knew you could get your work done. Oh well, love your blog by the way, it has kept me out of the studio for the past hour while simultaneously getting me excited to get back to work.