Save mom's video store by doing 90s teen crimes in The Big Con this summer
Crime time on prime time
Summer's approaching, so it's time to figure out what kind of wacky character development you're going to have during the scorching months. If you hadn't come up with a plan yet, you can always go with one of the classics: going on a cross-country road trip with a con man to somehow save your mom's video store from mobsters. That's what local sarcastic 90s teen Ali is doing in The Big Con this summer, anyhow. I hope she makes some lasting memories, because I've got bad news for her about the eventual longevity of her mom's VHS store.
As you do in last-century coming-of-age stories, Ali has to make some mischief, hang with the wrong crowd, and maybe break some laws to scrape together the cash to save her mom's shop from loan sharks.
"Wear disguises, sneak around, eavesdrop on conversations, and learn how to approach each mark," Mighty Yell say. "Maybe you think you can make enough cheddar just by pickpocketing. Or seek out more complex grifts that involve breaking and entering, smooth talking, and more. It’s up to you to outsmart everyone and lockpick everything that stands between you and saving your mom's video store."
It is aboslutely a 90s joint, as The Big Con's trailer makes quite clear. Even if not for the clashing colours and chunky line art, there's America Online gags, and plaid sweaters tied around waists, and a thing that absolutely looks like a Furby. You'll also know it's the 90s because a 17-year-old is going on a crime spree road trip with a fully adult con man and that's just toally fine, apparently. Teens always had inexplicable adult pals back in the VHS flicks.
Aside from the strong 90s visual vibes, The Big Con looks to be in the vein of an adventure game from the same era, with plenty of dialogue and gags and quests and a minigame for pickpocketing people. You know, adventuring stuff. I do quite like Ali's "gotta do" notebook list full of doodles and Polaroids. I'm always a fan of a quest log represented as a notebook.
The Big Con is launching sometime this summer—because that's when teen adventures happen—over on Steam.