If a goat game can be good, then a Rock Simulator can be, too, says dev

Developer Strange Panther Games' Rock Simulator initially began as a parody of parody of the successes of simulation titles for farms, trains and trucks, but it steamrolled into a fully realized game as positive community reaction built up.

Its description on Steam gushes that the simulator is a rock enthusiasts dream where players "can watch beautiful rocks in any location in the world. From grass plains to salt flats, there are dozens of hand designed BEAUTIFUL environments."

"I saw that other simulation games, such as Goat Simulator, can be successful, so I thought that if a goat can be a good game, then a rock can be too!" Strange Panther developer Ryan told Polygon, jokingly. "I didn't expect anything near the reaction its getting. It originally started as a joke, and now that we've seen the reaction, its a completely real game."

Coffee Stain's Garry's Mod-like Goat Simulator, where players can do "stupid shit" and complete missions, also initially started off as a joke and wasn't intended for a full release. The extreme ragdoll physics, goat-heavy game was only announced for release on Steam after it was met with a positive reaction from the gaming community.

Rock Simulator is currently gathering votes on Steam Greenlight, Valve's community vetting program, for release on the distribution platform. Ryan said that support and feedback from the community has largely been positive and, at the time of writing, Rock Simulator's Greenlight page sits at 85 percent for yes and 15 percent for no.

The simulator will launch for free on PC and Strange Panther Games launched an IndieGoGo campaign to raise funds for the project's ongoing development. Looking forward, the developer said that Rock Simulator will receive an expansion sometime in the future, joking hats are a possibility.