In recent years, gig economy platforms—such as delivery services—have exploded in popularity. In Delivery Dancer Simulation, Ayoung Kim designs inhabitable worlds that are rooted in the one we know. As the player, you take on the role of a female delivery driver navigating a fictional, futuristic and labyrinthine version of Seoul.

Through the avatar, you try on life in the gig economy. You are moving to a countdown clock, much like a gig worker – someone who is temporarily hired for quick, often precarious jobs. Follow a beam of light through the maze-like streets, corridors, and public spaces to collect letters of the alphabet.

This work is part of a larger worlding project by the artist encompassing films, prints, and sculpture. This videogame simulation models the already gamified nature of the gig economy. It was developed during the COVID-19 pandemic, a moment which saw a marked increase in gig labour. The game exaggerates the reality that many of us exist within: one that is driven by excessive consumption through hypercapitalism, and one in which it is not always easy to empathise with the precarious circumstances of others. Playing the simulation, you may feel closer to the pressures of the Delivery Dancer.

Written for Worldglimpsing: Role Play and the Design of Alternate Realities (ArkDes × Nieuwe Instituut),
curated by James Taylor-Foster (2025)

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