By Alexandra Fadel
Staff Writer

In the world of quarantine and social distancing, bored internet users find themselves looking for new games and apps to explore. 

Among Us, an app originally created in June of 2018 by indie game company InnerSloth, has exponentially gained popularity among the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. With the help of Discord, a messaging community for gamers, and many live-streaming platforms, such as Twitch and YouTube, Among Us was introduced to gaming fanatics and even many people who do not consider themselves gamers. 

Many MAST students are playing the game, staying connected to people within and beyond the school. Junior Maika Suaya is an avid player herself, often spending time playing with her friends. “It gives us something fun to do while we FaceTime,” she said. 

The multi-player murder mystery game consists of four  to ten  players who are sent to a space-themed setting, where they are assigned a role, either a “crewmate” or an “impostor.”

Crewmates complete tasks while staying aware of their surroundings, whether to pick up on clues to lead them to the impostor or to make sure they are not murdered (eliminated). The impostor(s) look to kill all the crewmates and still stay undiscovered. It is easy to play, understand, and get hooked onto. 

Players can interact through the built-in chat and microphone, so the game becomes one of social interaction, as well. People from around the world can play together and make new friendships thanks to the game. 

In a time of fear and isolation, the app is giving more and more people an opportunity to entertain themselves at home alone, or even virtually with friends, bringing many people a sense of community and interaction. 

“Playing helps us feel connected again, something a lot of us value,” Suaya added.

As the app’s demographic extends, artists and even politicians find themselves trying out the game everyone is raving about. Chicago rapper Soulja Boy, for example, live-streamed his gameplay of, Among Us cracking up his audience while he figured out its mechanics.

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar also gave into the trend after hearing of the game’s popularity, where Ms. Ocasio-Cortez’s Twitch stream racked up more than 400,000 viewers watching her in real-time for nearly three and a half hours. 

AOC used this opportunity to encourage her Twitch audience to vote, using the availability of a platform and a fun activity to remind people of their responsibilities in the current political climate. 

Following Ms. Ocasio-Cortez’s stream, an anonymous user began to spread messages in favor of President Donald Trump, hacking different players’ accounts simultaneously, and causing mass disruption to the software. As of three days ago, the Among Us game developers have been working on updating and fixing the issue, according to their official Twitter account.

The unexpected crossover of political incentives and the gaming community has been incredibly underwhelming among the events of 2020, but as the year progresses, abnormality becomes more anticipated. 

Among Us’ unexpected surge in popularity has attracted and brought together celebrities, politicians, and common people all over the world, giving everyone a place to feel less alone in the midst of a global pandemic.