What’s the deal with video games? You spend hours playing them, and at the end what do you have to show for it? Nothing. Last I checked, grocery stores don’t accept virtual coins collected by an 8-bit plumber. The only accurate game would be one about nothing! Two developers want to create just that, inspired by the show about nothing, with a Seinfeld point-and-click “adventure” game. Just like the classic sitcom, it’s about nothing and nothing happens, except the part where you get to live the absurd life of Jerry Seinfeld and friends.
But this definitely unlicensed game isn’t something you can actually play just yet. It’s just an amazing pitch whose creators are hoping fans will yada, yada, yada and make a reality.
This incredible trailer for Seinfeld Adventure, “the game about nothing,” is only an elaborate Hail Mary. It’s a long-time passion project from Paradigm creator Jacob Janerka and Ivan Dixon, who has directed animated clips for Childish Gambino, The Simpsons, Adventure Time, and Rick and Morty. In the retro-style point-and-click game conflict “arises regularly from miscommunication or involves novel items (think episodes like “The Pez,” “The Junior Mint,” “The Statue,” etc), but with original stories.
Jacob Janerka and Ivan Dixon
They don’t have any kind of approval from Jerry Seinfeld, NBC, Sony, or anyone else associated with the show to make it. In fact, they say “actual lawyers also warned us to not touch it.” So why risk enormous legal fees for a game where you mostly eat cereal? They explained why on the game’s website:
“Honestly, we are just huge fans of the show. There is an incredible list of better scams and cash grabs that are less of a long shot. We could live like kings and commit mail fraud, however we’d much rather follow our hearts.We both currently work full-time, Jacob in game development and Ivan in animation. However, this game is something we’ve been talking about for years and, in fact, it’s how we met. Our friendship is forged through a popular ‘90s sitcom. We can’t think of any bond stronger than that, not even the one between an infant and mother.”
Jacob Janerka and Ivan Dixon
They would prefer to “do this the official way,” but that might not be possible. So they hope that if enough people get behind the game they can make it a reality by sheer will (a.k.a. public pressure).
“We believe that pitching to the internet will show the demand for such a game, which will provide a better chance of this becoming a thing than us just sending a cold email,” they say. “We want our email to be warm, if that makes any sense.”
Strangely it does. And so long as the creators of Seinfeld maintain serenity now and don’t get angry, there’s a chance nothing will happen. That would make for one fun video game.
Featured Image: Jacob Janerka and Ivan Dixon