BELDING, Mich. — When driving down State Street in Belding, you'll see what looks just like any other chiropractor's office.
But over the last few years, Jon Bergen used it as a video game studio.
"It was inspired by waiting on hold and going through annoying phone trees," says Bergen, owner of Belding Chiropractic Center.
Long phone calls spent on hold, a task Bergen knows plenty about.
He's been a chiropractor for almost a decade.
"I have to do all the billing and all the scheduling and everything," says Bergen.
But in 2020, he temporarily shut down his office because of the pandemic. One day while on the phone with an insurance company, inspiration struck.
"I thought this is kind of like a game because you're pressing the buttons, and something's happening," says Bergen.
Into his mind rushed an idea for a humorous video game based around the frustration of every day office life. He titled it 'Call Hating.'
"I've played a lot of those kinds of humor and story driven single player games from from back in the day," says Bergen. "DOS games like Commander Keen, and a lot of the LucasArts games, like Curse of Monkey Island."
Bergen turned his hobby into a job, working for nearly three years on the game from the front desk of his chiropractic office.
"It has a lot of elements taken from escape rooms, where, you know, you're looking for different codes, different numbers, and things that are sort of hidden around your home office," says Bergen.
Now, it's almost time for release.
"I am nervous and very excited," says Bergen. "It's been a long time coming."
While he plans to keep being a chiropractor as his day job, he can't wait to share his side gig with the world.
"I think it's gonna be good," he says.
Originally set to launch this week, Call Hating now releases on July 14 for PC gamers on Steam. You can add the game to your wish list now, or play the demo for free.
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