The Waffle House Video Game You Never Knew You Needed
A video game completely built around ordering and eating at a Waffle House may have you raising your eyebrows. But fast food chains and games, video and analog, actually have a long history of combining to create content for game-loving foodies.
Released in 1993, McDonald's Treasure Land Adventure was a video game featuring Ronald McDonald as its main hero (via IMDb). Taco Bell entered the world of card games with its Taco Bell Game set themed around the restaurant, in which players collect points from appropriately named meal and sauce cards. With so many fast food chains already in the game world, it wouldn't be that far-fetched for Waffle House, the 24-hour breakfast chain that has its own museum (per Atlanta Magazine), to get in on the action.
While there was a limited edition Waffle House Monopoly (via It's a Southern Thing), what if Waffle House made a video game as unique as its self-produced music label? Luckily, we don't have to wonder what a potential Waffle House video game might look like. A dedicated lover of the fast food restaurant has posted a video of their fan-made Waffle House game on the internet for all to enjoy.
This YouTube Waffle House simulator renders the authentic Waffle House experience
According to Lifewire, simulation games allow players to "imitate a real-life situation." YouTuber Wrightexe created their own Waffle House simulator in Blender, a program that allows anyone to make 3D projects free of charge as stated by the company's website and published it on YouTube under the title "Waffle House Simulator (2002)."
The video is filled with nods to Waffle House's unique pop-culture stereotypes. The simulation begins by prompting the player to choose the type of Waffle House they'd like to go to, classic, secluded wood, or throwback, and then offers three potential characters to play: crying baby, sad businessman, and trashy drunk. After the video chooses sad businessman, it takes its audience on a Waffle House adventure at night, which is, of course, the best time to eat a bacon breakfast at the fast food chain.
Some other highlights of the fan-made simulation include poking fun at the music selection in Waffle House's jukebox and the options to cry, remember an embarrassing moment, or contemplate the meaning of life after receiving your order. While the Waffle House simulator is not an actual game, Waffle House fans in the comments section on YouTube voiced their love for the video. One wrote, "Man this is just like real life, complete with the crying businessmen!" Another user stated, "I didn't know I needed this, thank you for your work."