Graphic scenes from inside slaughterhouses are enough to swear many people off meat for life, but there are still those who are left unaffected by such images.

'That Cow Game' game could be about to change this.

The game turns the food chain on its head by letting the player take control of a cow who works in a human abattoir - and the cow can even toy with its 'food'.

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That Cow Game was created by New Zealand-based Alexey Botkov for Ludum Dare. It turns the food chain on its head by letting the player take control of a cow who works in a human abattoir - and the cow can even toy with its 'victims'. A meat mill with human body parts from the game is pictured (Credit: Alexey Botkov)

That Cow Game was created by New Zealand-based Alexey Botkov for Ludum Dare.

Ludum Dare is an online community that runs so-called 'game jams' in which developers are challenged to create games in just 48 hours.

Ludum Dare events take place every April, August and December and last month's challenge asked developers to build a game based on the theme: 'You are the monster.'

During Mr Botkov's game, humans are strung up on hooks before body parts are seen moving on a meat mill.

THE RISE OF ANIMAL ROLE-PLAYING That Cow Game is the latest game that lets players take on the role of various animals. Goat Simulator, for example, is a third-person game in which players take control of a goat. They can roam the game's virtual world, run, jump, and headbutt objects and people as well as lick items which stick to the goat's tongue and can be thrown. It was developed by Swedish-based Coffee Stain Studios. WolfQuest is another animal role-playing game (RPG), created by Minnesota Zoo and game developer Eduweb in 2007. It was set up to help players 'understand wolves and the roles they play in nature' by playing as a grey wolf. WolfQuest challenges players to learn about wolf ecology by living the life of a wild wolf in Yellowstone National Park. In January last year, a developer created a first-person simulator called Catlateral Damage in which players could explore a virtual house as a feline, and scored points for destroying the place. And then in March, Oregon-based Farajay Studios launched a Kickstarter campaign asking for funding for a Bear Simulator. Advertisement

The cow - which bears a striking resemblance to the cows in Minecraft - can interact with the hanging bodies and can walk along the mill, but that is the extent of the gameplay.

As a result, Mr Botkov explained: 'This is not so much a game as a little sketch that explores nature of mass meat farming through a role reversal.'

He created the game using the Unity software but admitted he ran out of time to do sound.

Speaking to G. Clay Whittaker at Popular Science, meat-eater Mr Botkov said: 'The contrast in the imagery is brought by the fleshy form of the humans surrounded by the blocky grey machinery.

'In the game you can walk in and headbutt the bodies, they will flail around and it's fun to do in a perverse kind of way.'

The game is available to download on Windows and Mac OS X.

That Cow Game is the latest game that lets players take on the role of various animals.

Goat Simulator, for example, is a third-person game in which players take control of a goat.

They can roam the game's virtual world, run, jump, and headbutt objects and people as well as lick items which stick to the goat's tongue and can be thrown.

It was developed by Swedish-based Coffee Stain Studios.

WolfQuest is another animal role-playing game (RPG), created by Minnesota Zoo and game developer Eduweb in 2007.

It was set up to help players 'understand wolves and the roles they play in nature' by playing as a grey wolf.

Ludum Dare is an online community that runs so-called 'game jams' in which developers are challenged to create games in just 48 hours. During the game, humans are strung up on hooks (pictured) and are cut up before body parts are seen moving on a meat mill

The cow (pictured) - which bears a striking resemblance to the cows in Minecraft - can interact with the hanging bodies and can walk along the mill, but that is the extent of the gameplay

WolfQuest challenges players to learn about wolf ecology by living the life of a wild wolf in Yellowstone National Park.

In 2011, Feral Heart was set up as a successor to Impressive Title - a game inspired by The Lion King film.

Developed by KovuLKD, players control a character, typically a lion or lioness, either in first or third person, as it hunts, explores and interacts with other members.

In January last year, a developer created a first-person simulator called Catlateral Damage in which players could explore a virtual house as a feline, and scored points for destroying the place.

The game is available to download on Windows and Mac OS X. Mr Botkov created the game using the Unity software but admitted he ran out of time to add sound

And then in March, Oregon-based Farajay Studios launched a Kickstarter campaign asking for funding for a Bear Simulator.

While traditional video games typically don’t involve taking on a new persona, RPGs tend to require a stronger emotional investment.

They encourage people to take on the role of a character, interact with other online characters and rarely have a set storyline, final scene or end point.

The persona that the player adopts is traditionally different to their real-world persona and lets them act in different ways.

That Cow Game is the latest game that lets players take on the role of animals. Goat Simulator, for example, is a third-person game in which players take control of a goat (pictured). They can roam the game's virtual world, run, jump, and headbutt objects as well as lick items that stick to the goat's tongue and can be thrown

WolfQuest is another animal role-playing game (RPG), created by Minnesota Zoo and Eduweb in 2007. It was set up to help players 'understand wolves and the roles they play in nature' by playing as a grey wolf (pictured)

ROLE-PLAYING GAMES AND RELATIONSHIPS A recent study found three quarters of people in a relationship with someone who regularly plays role-playing games wish their partner would pay them more attention. Researchers from Brigham Young University discovered the amount of time it takes to play the games, as well as the development of virtual relationships, were blamed for break-ups. Other players were found to have had affairs with people they'd met while playing the games. However, couples that played role-playing games together said it had strengthened their relationship. Advertisement

This has its pros and cons. For example, studies have found that taking on the role of the opposite sex, or a person of a different age, increases empathy towards that type of person in real-life.

The games have also been known to improve spatial reasoning skills, particularly among female players, and the ability to make new friends.

They also help people developing strategy and critical-thinking skills.

Recreation therapist William Hawkes-Robinson said benefits include stronger reading skills, mathematics, creative thinking, cooperative play, and other creative skills.

However, players can also become too involved in the game, and invest too much time emotionally to a character to the detriment of real relationships.

This can lead someone to feel isolated, or develop existing negative feelings such as low self-esteem

Role-playing games can additionally become addictive, due to the large amount of time and effort required to play many of the games.