For those who can’t get enough of carnival parades, there’s a video game coming soon: Carnival Simulator. In the game that Jeffrey van der Wal (22) from Zevenbergen made, you can make your own carnival wagon and ride in the parade. “You can put anything on the car, it’s very cool.”
Jeffrey started building the world’s first carnival game in March last year. When the parades were canceled due to the corona pandemic, he was disappointed. He wanted to come up with something fun. “I saw a video about people recreating parades with Lego and thought: I can do that even better. I wanted to make something digital, where everything is possible with music and lights. That seemed cool.”
Jeffrey has always loved carnival cars. “When I was little I already drew carnival cars and when I got older I started my own on YouTube channel started for beautiful carnival parades.” Now it was time for something new: the Carnival Simulator.
In the game you can build your own carnival cars. “You start with an empty car and you can put all kinds of pieces on it, a bit like Lego blocks,” says the Computer Science student. He speaks enthusiastically about his game. “You can adjust everything: lights, light patterns, music. You can also load your own music into it. The lights can then flash again to the beat of the music.”
When the car is finished, you will also do what it is intended for: ride in a parade. “I have copied the center of Standdaarbuiten, all cars will drive through there when they are finished. Other cities will also be added, I’m busy with that.”
The aim of the game is to build the most beautiful car possible. “You can play against others and then judge each other’s cars during the parade, but you can also play against the computer. I built an algorithm that can determine in a certain way how many points you get.” If you win, you’ll get prize money that you can use to buy new parts for your car.
Jeffrey made the game all by himself and is extremely excited about it. “It does take a lot of time. I also had to learn everything myself that I do not learn in my training. But I am happy with it.” He even made the game in multiple languages. “Of course I have a version in Brabant, but also in English, Portuguese and French.”
It will take a while before the Carnival Simulator can really be played. “I’m working on it, but I don’t think I can release it until next year. I would have loved to do it now, but it’s not finished yet.” A preview of the Carnival Simulator can be seen in the video above.
Read all about carnival on our theme page.