Fantasy

• "VMX 2024 was truly the Show of Shows and brought the best in education and new technologies and products that are transforming veterinary medicine, plus invaluable networking opportunities and headlining entertainment.
• "At the end of the day, what we're trying to do is provide the best care for pets around the world.
• "At VMX 2024, we saw things that once sounded like fantasy now become a reality," said NAVC Chief Veterinary Officer Dana Varble, DVM, CAE.
• Technology to assess animal pain and help pet owners and veterinary professionals provide the best care to all companion animals.

• POMPANO BEACH, Fla., Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The new book "Holidays All Year with POMP, SNOW & CIRQUEumstance" will be released nationwide in March 2024.
• The critically acclaimed live show will become an annual tradition with performance locations nationwide.
• They set out to brighten holidays all year by celebrating time-honored traditions with enlightening, charismatic and culturally diverse adventures.
• The first book in the series, "POMP, SNOW & CIRQUEumstance", received 9 coveted book awards and 7 Telly awards for the holiday film adaptation.

• – the world's most advanced, versatile and discreet vibrator powered by sonic technology – at the 2024 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.
• As Ohdoki continues to deliver infinite pleasure to all genders, Oh!
• offers vulva owners an all-in-one vibrator solution that delivers both localized and deeper pleasure using soundwaves that enhance the experience through connectivity.
• Ohdoki is now showcasing its pleasure tech offerings during CES at the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) North Hall at Booth #8947 through Jan. 12, and will showcase Oh!

• But I sometimes relax by playing video games where you tidy and arrange household items in living rooms, kitchens and bathrooms.
• Here are four inventive Australian video games where players perform household tasks that, in real life, are often repetitive or unpleasant.

Moving Out

• In Moving Out (and its sequel, Moving Out 2), you’re a removalist with a time limit to move objects like fridges, beds and sofas out of homes.
• Created by Australian and Swedish studios, Moving Out also involves the team that made the cooking game, Overcooked.
• In Moving Out, players save time by breaking windows and throwing objects instead of using stairs.

Unpacking

• In Unpacking – which describes itself as a “zen puzzle game” – you learn about someone’s life from youth to adulthood by sorting their possessions through a series of removals.
• Unpacking allows us to sort the unseen occupant’s possessions, but their life remains a mystery.

Florence

• In Florence, you have limited storage space for objects like kitchen utensils, clothing and books.
• Like Unpacking, Florence allows us to do familiar, domestic tasks in an unfamiliar setting; the player organises characters’ possessions but has no knowledge of the words the couple exchange in blank speech bubbles.
• Florence (like Unpacking) involves organising people’s used possessions, not new goods.

Rumu

• In an earlier Australian game, Rumu, you’re a robot vacuum cleaner who cleans up food and drink spills and tidies clothing while you investigate the disappearance of the house’s owners.
• The house in Rumu is like a maze; full of gadgets and secrets, this setting is designed like a puzzle that players must solve to navigate from one place to another.

Why are we drawn to games involving mundane tasks?

• These examples are not brand new games, but reflect the growth in popularity of everyday settings in games where you can do banal tasks as entertainment.
• Such games invite us to relate differently to everyday settings and work.
• In these games, everyday tasks involve encounters with robots, aliens and the supernatural.

Lesley Speed does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.