{{Short description|2014 video game}} {{Infobox video game | collapsible = | state = | title = | image = Tampon run.jpg | caption = | developer = Andrea Gonzales <br/>Sophie Houser | publisher = | composer = Drew Joy | series = | engine = | platforms = Web, iOS | released = 2014 (Web)<br/> February 2015 (iOS) | genre = | modes = }} '''''Tampon Run''''' is a 2014 endless running video game about tampons created by Andrea Gonzales and Sophie Houser. It started as a web game made available in 2014 and released on iOS in February 2015.
==Gameplay== At the start of ''Tampon Run'', the game explains that de-stigmatizing menstruation is important.<ref name=dd/> The player then controls a character who runs through the level throwing tampons at enemies and collecting more by jumping for boxes.<ref name=tr/> Bumping into enemies causes the loss of some tampons; the game ends if the player runs out.<ref name=dd>{{cite web |url= http://www.dailydot.com/technology/tampon-run-ios-girls-who-code/ |title= Teenage girls behind Tampon Run release an iOS version of their game |work= The Daily Dot |date= February 4, 2015 |access-date= February 14, 2015 |first= Selena |last= Larson |archive-date= February 17, 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150217165452/http://www.dailydot.com/technology/tampon-run-ios-girls-who-code/ |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/137413-Tampon-Run-Switches-Out-Firearms-for-Tampons-as-Weapons |title= Tampons Are Weapon of Choice in Student-Made Tampon Run |first= Robert |last= Stoneback |work= The Escapist |access-date= February 14, 2015 |date= September 12, 2014 |archive-date= March 4, 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160304203951/http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/137413-Tampon-Run-Switches-Out-Firearms-for-Tampons-as-Weapons |url-status= dead }}</ref>
==Development== {{Quote box|quote= "It seemed so silly to us that we have all these video games where you can shoot people and kill people, and it's so normal that you can have a video game where you can hold a gun and shoot it but none of us can talk about something so normal like menstruation, which most every woman does for a large portion of her life."<ref name=time/> |source= Sophie Houser, developer |width=33%}} The game was created by Andrea Gonzales and Sophie Houser, two high school students from New York City, who started developing the game during a Girls Who Code camp. The pair designed the concept as a response to feeling like they could not openly discuss menstruation and wanted to create a game which could have a social impact.<ref name=time>{{cite magazine |last=Dockterman |first=Eliana |date=September 15, 2014 |title=These Girls Are Fighting Sexism With a Video Game About Tampons |url=https://time.com/3319562/tampon-run-girls-who-code/ |magazine=Time |access-date=February 14, 2015 |archive-date=February 22, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150222012617/http://time.com/3319562/tampon-run-girls-who-code/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=tv>{{cite journal |last=Kiefer |first=Elizabeth |date=September 21, 2014 |title=Meet the Girls Who Developed the Internet's Most Talked-About (and Addictive, and Awesome) New Game, 'Tampon Run' |url=http://www.teenvogue.com/my-life/2014-09/tampon-run-game |journal=Teen Vogue |access-date=February 14, 2015}}</ref> They cite Wendy Davis' 2013 filibuster as inspiration for the game.<ref>{{cite news |title= Ever Wanted To Hurl A Tampon In The Face Of An Enemy? |work= Yahoo! Health |date= February 6, 2015 |author= Jennifer Gerson Uffalussy |access-date= February 14, 2015 |url= https://www.yahoo.com/health/ever-wanted-to-hurl-a-tampon-in-the-face-of-an-110268405992.html |archive-date= February 17, 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150217170102/https://www.yahoo.com/health/ever-wanted-to-hurl-a-tampon-in-the-face-of-an-110268405992.html |url-status= live }}</ref>
The first version of ''Tampon Run'' was built in a week and a half at Girls Who Code. The game was then developed further afterwards and made available online in 2014, subsequently being released on iOS in February 2015.<ref name=tr>{{cite web |last1=Gilpin |first1=Lyndsey |date=February 5, 2015 |title=Teen girls build game that lets you throw tampons at period shamers to fight menstrual taboos |url=http://www.techrepublic.com/article/teen-girls-build-game-that-lets-you-throw-tampons-at-period-shamers-to-fight-menstrual-taboos/ |website=TechRepublic |publisher=CBS Interactive |access-date=February 14, 2015 |archive-date=February 17, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150217013832/http://www.techrepublic.com/article/teen-girls-build-game-that-lets-you-throw-tampons-at-period-shamers-to-fight-menstrual-taboos/? |url-status=live }}</ref> Software development company Pivotal Labs worked with Gonzales and Houser to develop the iOS app, and over seven weeks the team added leaderboards, new enemies, achievements, and other features to the game.<ref name=tr/>
By May 2015, the game had been played 300,000 times across the web and app versions.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://money.cnn.com/2015/05/11/technology/tampon-run-founders/ |title= It's like Mario Bros. -- with tampons |date= May 11, 2015 |access-date= November 17, 2015 |author= Robie Flores |work= CNN Money |archive-date= November 18, 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151118131937/http://money.cnn.com/2015/05/11/technology/tampon-run-founders/ |url-status= dead }}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{Official website|http://tamponrun.com/}}
Category:2014 video games Category:Browser games Category:Endless runner games Category:IOS games Category:Video games developed in the United States