CLEVELAND — Many people have used extra time during the pandemic to pick up new hobbies or achieve life-long goals. Matt Larsen is one of them. When quarantine started last year, Larsen decided to make the best of it by creating a game for the iPhone.

What You Need To Know

  • Matt Larsen created an app called Scorch Injector

  • He used free resources at his local library to help him build the app

  • The app can be purchase from iTunes​

​"I had a version of this that was full 360 degrees and so you had to like actually turn around to find it and upon testing in my household, the answer was uh no, don't do that," said Larsen.

In the game, players try to burst a molecule by injecting it with hot sauce.

"I think because of the blandness of being in quarantine, we struggle with the day-in and day-out. Combined with the fact that in culinary arts, if you have an injector needle, you're injecting some kind of sauce, and I don't know — the idea of Cajun and hot sauce really appealed to me."

Larsen always wanted to create a game, but he didn't have a lot of cash to invest. It turns out, he didn't need it. He took advantage of free online courses at the local library to learn how to make the app and then created his own music using Apple's GarageBand.

"Luckily a lot of background music for games is very simple so I just had to aim for simple and not miss."

After several months, Scorch Injector came to life.

"Your job is to be a very tiny submarine that gets basically swallowed by the lead scientist and pursues this molecule which is capable of replicating inside of the digestive system of the lead scientist."

The game follows you through the scientist's digestive track until you reach something that needs a little spice.

"And the game follows you as you go and sweep through the digestive track, following the little bits of food that the chief scientist from the Cajun science institute swallowed, but you ignore the food that's cascading down and you have to wait until you see the bland molecule appear. When it appears, you load up your injection syringe with hot sauce which is supplied to you, and you aim at it the molecule and you fire. And if all goes well the molecule will explode and scream, as it does."

But has Larsen beaten his own game?

"I don't think I have. In order to beat every level, I'd have to cheat which I could do because I have the source code of the game but it is really tough."

You can download Larsen's creation from the iTunes app store if you want to try it out.