While many video game players can attest to enjoying games as an escape from the perils of real life, one mobile game is set on destroying that sense of security– and its popularity is growing.
Send Me To Heaven, a mobile application created by Petr Svarovsky, challenges phone owners to literally throw his/her mobile device into the air to try and break leader board’s, and friend’s, records.
Why Would Anyone Want To Throw Their Phone?
Don’t worry, I’m asking myself the same thing. In an interview with WIRED, Svarovsky explained the overall premise of the game:
“The original idea was to have very expensive gadgets, which people in certain societies buy just to show off, and to get them to throw it.”
To many players humiliation, but also to the developer’s enjoyment, his objective has been surpassed by countless devices being shattered left and right by his app.
Thus, the Android store, Google Play, decided Send Me To Heaven (S.M.T.H.) is no longer allowed on the app store.
Although He Wants You To Destroy Your Phone, He Doesn’t Want You To Cheat
While the entire purpose of the game was created to see how many “people shatter as many iPhones as possible,” Svarovsky made sure to note that the game implements an anti-cheat feature.
Using zero gravity technology, the app makes sure you’re actually throwing your phone into the air (rather than dropping it off a building or high ledge).
This guy really wants you to destroy your phone.
So, How High Are We Talking Here?
Well, according to WIRED, some participants have reached over 130 ft (~40 meters). When the developer investigated how some people were achieving such high scores, he discovered that various devices were used to launch the phones (slingshots, etc.).
It’s hard to understand exactly why the appeal for such a game has skyrocketed. Maybe the high stakes create a challenge the masses can’t seem to say “no,” to? Maybe the urge of competition is strong enough to bypass the fondness one feels towards his/her mobile device?
Whatever the reasoning may be, Svarovsky ends his interview by stating that with most games, “the fun happens behind the screen.” With Send Me To Heaven, “it’s possible to take the fun outside the box.”
If you’re a daredevil, like so many before you, the app is available for download here.
