Bad Day on the Midway

Bad Day on the Midway is a CD-ROM game designed and scored by The Residents and a number of other graphic artists, including Jim Ludtke. The game won the 1995 'Macrovision International User Conference Award' in two categories - Best Entertainment Title and Most Innovative Use of Multimedia.

The game was optioned by Ron Howard at Imagine Television for a proposed series to be directed by David Lynch. After two years of meetings with Lynch, the project was dropped because a script was never agreed upon. Had the project moved forward, The Residents would have not been creatively involved as their contract only gave them consulting roles in the pilot.

The character Timmy was later brought back in a series of short videos by the Residents.

Gameplay
The player can switch between the various game characters in order to solve a number of puzzles. The game has alternative narrative lines, with definite fixed story elements. The gameplay is centered around discovery via the different characters. The game has no save system and is time-limited. The player is faced with different puzzles and questions, such as how to stop a murderer without fighting, and the reaction to the backstory of the murderer.

Soundtrack
There was also a soundtrack album (The Residents Have A Bad Day, East Side Digital EDS 81202) and some of the game's visuals were brought together in full resolution on The Residents' Icky Flix DVD.