Meccha Chameleon: Paint, Laugh, Die
Meccha Chameleon: Paint, Laugh, Die
Being hunted? Paint for your life, Karma Chameleon.
One of the video game industry’s greatest ironies is the way that big game companies pour millions into making their games look as realistic as possible, only for some tiny indie developer to run circles around them on a shoestring budget.
With Meccha Chameleon, two guys in Japan have made the next mega-hit by harnessing other people's imaginations. An art-based hide-and-seek multiplayer game by developers Lemorion_1224 and Haganeiro, Mecca Chameleon has only been out for a fortnight, yet it's already sold 10 million copies. Its concept is simple: One group of players, the "chameleons," have a limited amount of time to hide in plain sight. Players accomplish this by painting their chameleon (which begins each round as a featureless white doll) into the background, by or posting them amongst objects, or through a combination of both. Once time is up, the other group of players—the hunters—must attempt to seek and destroy as many chameleons as possible before the round ends.
Pretty straightforward, right? Yes, but if you know anything about the human race, you can understand why the typical round of Meccha Chameleon combusts into chaos before the final bell rings. Some of the wild tricks people pull, not to mention some of the artistry on display, are guaranteed to make you laugh. Some people take the challenge seriously and go as far as painting themselves to blend in seamlessly with fine works of art. Others are out to be as silly as possible by drawing themselves as Spider-Man before hiding on top of the ceiling, or by crudely disguising themselves as a bit of, ahem, extra anatomy on a horse statue. If you've been having a hard time like the rest of planet earth, even just watching other people play Meccha Chameleon can give you some of those good belly-laughs you didn't even know you've been craving.
But if you've been on the internet for more than two seconds, you already know that prolonged exposure to humanity's shenanigans can also be radioactive at times. Meccha Chameleon is a largely unmoderated game, and players can make their own maps beyond the default maps offered. If you're thinking to yourself "That sounds like an opportunity for people to exhibit the worst of themselves," yes. You are correct. Meccha Chameleon is also a very voice-based game, which presents endless opportunities for harassment, hate speech, and racist remarks.
Thankfully, the overwhelming majority of people playing Meccha Chameleon want to keep the experience fun and funny. And private games with established groups of friends are always an option. Meccha Chameleon costs $5.99 on Steam, so why not do the correct thing and blend in with everyone else?