Electric Studios Political Satire Meets 8-Bit Boxing Action in 'Pay-Up' Game Supporting NHS Workers

Everyone has a Tory they love to hate. It’s like having favourite horror films, picking at a hang nail or rubbernecking at a car accident… that frisson of painful discomfort from being around things that upset us. We take a sick pleasure reflecting on 13 years of conservative austerity and hope we’ll look back on it as a type of character-building experience when things finally get better after the revolution comes. 

Until then Electric Studios are excited to announce the launch of their game ‘Pay-Up!’, a button-bashing, boxing battler that’s inspired by a certain 80’s classic from a certain Japanese video gaming giant. Pick up your gloves and bash your way through our own rogues gallery of senior Tory faces from the last few years to show support for our overworked and underfunded health service. Taking the role of a heroic nurse, you duck, weave and strike your way to victory against these real-life video nasties - and a couple of fiendishly tricky sub-games - the aim is to beat the clock and achieve the shortest overall time. 

True, it’s not going to single-handedly solve the NHS’s financial crisis, but at least here’s the chance to turn the tables, draw attention to the issues and knock some Tories firmly onto their shiny back benches. With character updates and new mini-games coming soon our politicians better behave unless they want to be featured in all their pixelated glory. 

'Pay-Up,' was designed and built by Electric Studios who are the creative production arm of the UK’s leading VFX house Electric Theatre Collective. At the heart of the Electric family’s ethos is a love for making cool things in every shape and form. Alongside the award-winning VFX and advertising projects they’ve been involved in artistic endeavours like charity films, passion pieces and music videos - things which make audiences sit up and pay attention. 

The game is now available to play on desktop and mobile on the link below, so join us in celebrating the unwavering dedication of NHS workers while also giving a left hook to a few of Britain's least favourable politicians. 

It shouldn’t be a fight for fair pay, so Pay-Up!

Geoff Parsons - creative director at Electric Studios said, “I think that sometimes the simplest things in life are the most fun. And what could be simpler than standing up for the little guys and beating down the bullies… yes it’s crude and couldn’t be more on the nose, but when you put yourself in the public forum as an elected official you have a responsibility to stand up for the people, not be a symbol of outmoded privilege mired in sleaze and corruption. I’ve never been great with authority so this is the perfect game. Pay attention to the people you serve and stop treating this country like your own private member's club.”

Jon Purton  - MD at Electric Theatre Collective said, "We wanted to make Pay-Up for a number of reasons. It's a tongue-in-cheek punch at what most would probably agree is just unfair. It's not about politics, it's about fairness. Our studio is opposite the Royal London Hospital, so we’ve seen the picket lines and the dedication from frontline workers. 75 years of the health service felt like a pertinent time to make something fun that hopefully demonstrates our support for a fairer system… by smashing Z &  X on the keyboard."