Game Dev & Jam

Driving back from a friend’s house last night, I noticed the car at the end of my street was damaged pretty savagely, the back end one fused lump of plastic and metal. I continued along, thinking nothing of it except to lament people’s driving. Further down I observed skid marks, a severely dented car and one missing paint and a wing-mirror, at which point my brain chipped in to tell me that all might not be as it should. I continued round the corner to see a van parked outside my house; more specifically, parked in the side of a car, outside my house. The van was still wobbling in an attempt to extricate itself from the car, presumably to continue it’s path of destruction through those remaining unblemished.

To be honest, I was in two minds about getting involved more than taking a photo of the number plate. My car was fine, though if I’d got back a couple of minutes earlier the repair it’d got back from the day before might have been the least useful service in the history of man. The car in front of me must have come to the same conclusion as it steered round the mess and shot off - I can’t criticise really, the length of time it took to sort out later would make anyone think twice.

In the end, it was the van reversing out to continue it’s reign of terror that forced my hand. As I jogged over, my first impression was that the man had been drugged, he was so completely out of it. Then the smell of beer hit me. I made calming noises at him, carefully avoiding the words such as police and insurance amongst other, more explicit words. Taking the keys out of the engine and pocketing them (hey, I could do with an extra van), I took the guy by the arm and sat him on a wall. Asking one of the onlookers from the gathering crowd to call the police, I moved my car slightly off the road to avoid a similar fate to the others on the street. 15 seconds later, and the guy is weaving down the street. Running after him, people tell me later, might not be such a good idea, but he starts running at that point, and the chase is on!

Unsurprisingly, his athletic abilities are somewhat lacking. His fighting skills aren’t so restricted, however, and he puts up a bit of a fight. Fortunately for me, he manages to fall over himself, seemingly more docile once stunned by the concrete floor. As ever, the cavalry arrives at this point, two of my neighbours down the street, who ensure no further misadventures before the police arrive.

All in a night’s work, for The Vigilante!