London-based designer, Antonia Heslop has created animations of the worst type of commuters on the London Underground in retro 8-bit animations – and for anyone who’s ever squeezed onto a crowded Central Line train at 8.43am on a Monday morning, they’ll be freakishly familiar.
Here are our top five of the worst commuters you’ll probably come across today...
The Train Halter
So, you’re already uncomfortably close to someone’s armpit, or are facing or sitting at eye-level to someone’s crotch resulting in the awkward and inevitable ‘crotch stare’, when an extra person decides to squeeze in and join the fun. No thanks. Cue the blocked door alarm and a shirty message from the driver.
The Contortionist
It’s rush hour and you’re eye-ing up the emptiest tube carriage or the tiniest bit of space on the bus and wondering if you can fit in it. Then some absolutely mad contortionist appears out of nowhere and rams their way through the crowds until they’ve found your perfect spot. Just no.
The Statue
We’ve all experienced it – when one person refuses to sacrifice their personal space so we can all get on and get home.
The Food Connoisseur
Who knew train carriages were the worst places to eat smelly food? Err, everyone. The hot clammy air recirculating the same carriage over and over does not need your lukewarm sandwich smell added to the mix.
The Recliner
We get it, you’ve just got on a carriage with enough spare seats for you to stretch your legs. It’s exciting but a huge no-no. Leave the mud, dirt and unlucky dog shit on your shoes – not the only spare seat on the train.
And as if trying to survive a real London rush hour commute wasn’t enough, Antonia has also been designing a game around the London Underground called Rush Hour App.
Got some unresolved pent-up frustration with an annoying tourist, or a Londoner with a huge rucksack that they refuse to take off? You can play as either Colin the Commuter (and show us what an incredible crowd-weaver and shortcut maker you are), a casual Londoner or an annoying tourist with a big map.
Each game has a different mode depending on the type of character you pick and if there’s a signal failure in real life, there’ll be one in the game too.
Rush Hour also has mini-games for you to play between changing lines including Tube Roulette, Escalator Rush and Carriage Surfer.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.