The world is watching the search for the OceanGate submarine, lost at sea with five occupants in it. The ship disappeared on Sunday morning, about an hour and forty-five minutes into the Titanic expedition. It’s a terrifying situation to imagine, and as Canadian, US and French officials conduct a massive search, the situation looks grim. As people learn more about the submarine Titan and the situation its occupants find themselves in, their interest is diverted to a surprising source: Iron lungan indie game about an alien moon and oceans of blood.
The Titan submarine is a small vessel, with onboard travel operated by OceanGate Expeditions. A “seat” on the submarine costs $250,000 per person. (As images show, there are no seats per se; the occupants lounge on the floor in a cramped, windowless space.) OceanGate claims that the Titan can travel up to 4,000 feet underwater and that the Titanic is 4,500 feet deep. At that depth, there are millions of tons of water pressure on the craft, which is part of what makes the following news footage of the Titan so terrifying.
As authorities continue to search for the Titan and its occupants, people are posting their reactions to social media. The conversation includes everything from a heartfelt analysis of the situation to jokes that try to play down the tragedy. An obvious point of comparison is the indie game Iron lung, created by David Szymanski, a short story about piloting a small submarine with rudimentary technology through an ocean of blood on an alien moon. And, grimly, interest in the game seems to have picked up this week – following the example of the popularity of pandemic movies like Infection during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Syzmanski shared on his personal Twitter that the game saw a spike in sales and popularity, posting a graph with the caption “This feels so wrong”. The game is also being bombarded with positive reviews, one of which reads, “Retrospectively based on a true story.”
For those interested Iron lung but averse to playing the game, YouTuber Markiplier is set to direct and star in a movie adaptation that might be less frightening. Nevertheless, these unfortunate real-life events are fertile ground for cultivating a sense of dread, and it seems that some gamers are choosing to face their thalassophobia in a submarine of their own.