Rising Up: A Flurry of Fists For Freedom

A nostalgic beat-em-up that explores the frustrations of toxic workplaces

Photo Credit, Laurent Gehin, Erik Høyrup Jørgensen,Nikolaj de Haan

Do you ever wish you could sock your supervisor in the face with a left hook, smash a pesky printer with your bare fists, and absolutely annihilate an entire office building? If yes, then the video game Rising Up by Laurent Gehin, Erik Høyrup Jørgensen, and Nikolaj de Haan is a must-play that includes a nuanced criticism of office culture that reaches far beyond mere fists and fury.

The game follows a man who is fed up with his humdrum office job, and decides to take action into his own hands. The gameplay and visual style is reminiscent of classic beat-em-up fighting games from the 1980’s, but takes place in a normal-seeming office space as opposed to shady alleyways or massive arenas. 

“Final Fight and Street Fighter were sort of like the main starting points, so there's kind of that side to it which is definitely the 2d part. In terms of story wise it was like, Office Space, The Office, like just all those like big, big office settings,” said Gehin, who was in charge of the visuals and design aspects of Rising Up. “It was taking inspiration but I think it was also kind of like a love letter for these projects. I mean, it's just a big mishmash of stuff we think is cool.”

The game is wildly over-the-top, allowing players to destroy anything and anyone that gets in their way, whether it be desks, elderly employees, or heavily armed FBI agents. However, despite the clearly comedic tone of the video game, peeling it back just a few layers reveals some of the more poignant ideas that the game presents. 

“There's like some capitalism criticism, there's some burnout, there's some work health, work mental health. I think it was also just about making something kind of crazy and a bit unexpected, and also playing against the 80s tropes of beat 'em up games, where it’s all of these big, muscular and very macho characters, and so it was also just kind of making fun of that perspective, which kind of is pretty funny,” said Gehin. “The idea was like, this world and kind of the super rich and being exploited and how control works.” It was never like an obvious theme, it was supposed to be fun and crazy while still having enough layers that you can kind of read into it.”

Photo Credit, Laurent Gehin, Erik Høyrup Jørgensen, and Nikolaj de Haan

After taking a deeper look at Rising Up beyond its flashy visuals and shocking violence, these themes become more clear, and show how video games can be utilized as an effective method of spreading awareness of social issues. The very first scene of the game shows the main character struggling to operate a printer. No matter what the player presses, nothing fixes the mass of glitches that appear on the screen, resulting in the man smashing the printer to bits in a rage. This acts as a surprisingly poignant intro to the game, showcasing how the confines of office culture can weigh people down indescribably.

“When we started the project, we didn't start out at the office, like the initial pitch of the game was not an office beat-em-up,” said Erik Høyrup Jørgensen, the programmer for Rising Up. “But it's something that was developed when we saw the opportunities arise, and the idea of smashing a printer was like a godsend, like, that thing really set the theme and the mood of the project.”

Another extremely important aspect of any video game is the audio design. Rising Up has a beat-driven soundtrack that supports the violent nature of the gameplay, yet the music seamlessly shifts as the player traverses their way through the office. Towards the end of the game you ascend a gilded elevator to the CEO’s office, and as the divide between the workers and the boss grows (this is represented visually as well with the space becoming more lavish and filled with fountains and classical statues), the music changes to be softer and more elegant.

“Audio for the game, especially music, is more about conveying a feeling and supporting,” said Nikolaj de Haan, the audio designer for the game. “The soundtrack is pretty aggressive, I mean it’s a call to action, a call to rage. So it's a bit more indirect, the audio speaks a bit more to the subconscious level of the player.”

Photo Credit, Laurent Gehin, Erik Høyrup Jørgensen, and Nikolaj de Haan

Whether it's through obvious or subversive methods of narrative, video games are an extremely dynamic and interactive way for people to criticize social norms and shed light on important issues. In their book, “Woke Gaming: Digital Challenges to Oppression and Social Injustice”, Kishonna L. Gray and David L. Leonard quote the famous ludologist (someone who studies games for a living) Gonzalo Frasca, posing the question, “How can we make (or mod) games to raise awareness, help instill a critical consciousness in players, and, by doing so, encourage critical thinking about real-world issues relating to equality, fairness, and freedom? (45)”

Rising Up is an example of a game that uses its flashy presentation alongside a well crafted subtle narrative to deliver a poignant message about the dangers of toxic workplace environments and the effects they can have on mental health. While aspects such as the exploding desks and F.B.I. security force may be fantastical, the problems the game explores are very real and very relatable, culminating in a game that is both fun and a positive vehicle for social change.