Indie developer LittleLoud has released Sweatshop HD, an upgraded iPad version of its browser-based tower defense game / worker exploitation sim Sweatshop.

As the Trainee Manager of a struggling clothing factory, you're charged with hiring, firing, and motivating an underpaid workforce to meet dangerous manufacturing demands. Players can either meet worker demands and create a (relatively) happy work environment, or they can exploit their workforce for greater earnings, at the occasional expense of worker life and limb.

"We used expert advice from UK-based charity, Labour Behind the Label," notes Sweatshop HD writer and designer Simon Parkin. "The game's systems mirror the real-life pressures that exert upon the sweatshop industry, so there's a serious message behind the silly story. By the end of the game the player will have a deeper understanding of the environment and processes involved in mass-produced clothing."

Sweatshop HD is priced at $2.99.