Video game simulates experience of flying economy class

Aug. 28 (UPI) -- A New York-based developer's new video game takes a new twist on the concept of a flight simulator by offering the realistic experience of taking a long commercial flight in economy class.

Airplane Mode, a game developed by Hosoji Auji for AMC Games, is billed as "the only flight simulation game where players can experience the intense excitement of being an economy class passenger on a long-haul flight."

The game allows player's to simulate the experience of taking a long flight in real-time, with available activities including rifling through an in-flight magazine, completing Sudoku puzzles, watching movies from the 1930s and looking out the window, which features realistic satellite imagery of the flight path.

The players are also treated to experiences including in-flight meals, turbulence and WiFi outages.

"Crying baby not guaranteed on every flight," the game's description reads.

Auji told CNN that he discovered while developing the game that everyone he talked to seemed "to have a strong opinion about flying. And while there have been 30-plus years of flight simulation games, the passenger experience has never really been taken into account."

"A large part of the commercial flight experience is largely predictable," Auji said. "Our goal was to design this standardized flight and then layer it with delights, annoyances and idiosyncrasies that the frequent flier will surely find relatable."

The game, which is expected to be released on PC and Mac computers this year, offers two flights: a six-hour trip from New York to Reykjavik, Iceland, and a 2.5-hour flight from New York to Halifax, Nova Scotia.