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A jam submission

I Just Work HereView game page

Keep your cool or the customers are gonna get FIRED!
Submitted by UNP0XBL, BarronKane, JeremyMorris, clee350, CatherineTheMultitasker — 6 hours, 57 minutes before the deadline
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Play I Just Work Here

I Just Work Here's itch.io page

Judge feedback

Judge feedback is anonymous.

  • GDD A personalized GDD, it went into great detail on the game systems; I knew exactly what to expect. But it lacks thoughts on art, sound design, and maybe inspiration. A few images from the game would do well to, as would the timeline of development with credits. If those bits were to be addressed, even briefly, the GDD would be perfect. Still a very good GDD, but a document like this lets us dive into the mind of the dev team, and when the game is such high quality, the insight is welcome for us. Gameplay You guys worked on retail too? Only we know about the designated crying table/supply closet/walk-in fridge. The loop was amazing; having to manage the little dude's patience while the customers wrecked the place or rang the damn bell felt great, in a stressful way. And the currency was an amazing idea. I caught on really fast, but to be fair, everyone knows that a shiny shell is worth five expired tickets. And when the lil dude patience ran out, i was torn between avoiding customers and aiming at them. I mean, if I burn them all, I will be the one that has to clean the ash. And if ash mixes with my tears, it becomes sticky, and the broom will just smear it more. Art This art has a soul. Every detail on the little dragon was so well done, so was the animation, the little expressions, and the position he gets when on break time on the crying table. Wow, I loved every bit of it. The customers have very different designs and personalities, and the assets match so well with the setting. All being 2D on a 3D world meshed very well and explains why they turn so easily. Sound design Amazing music, the happy chirpy tunes contrasting with the deep darkness and sadness of being a cashier. Perfect. Remember, always hide the pain; you might get a tip. :') The SFX was very well done, from the little beeps to the sweet sounds of the fireballs heading towards that nasty penguin that paid a $53 order with 3 seashells and nothing else and cleaned my change before I decided to take a break, but his incessant bell ringing broke my nerve inches away from the table, and suffice to say, I am on cleaning duty after closing. Last thoughts Wow, what a gem. Full of soul. I had some issues with the hand controls for a bit but got used to them fast. I loved that there's not a time limit but a rechargeable patience meter. I really recommend giving some extra love to the GDD because by reading that, I could see what gameplay features could not be added but might be there down the line, like the scanner skittering around the table and the change being the same currency the customers use on a messy cash register. I think those things will add a lot to the game. I hope to see you guys on Steam later. The coding felt very solid too; I had no bugs, and everything ran well. Don't sell yourself short, Mr. Programmers. Amazing work, devs.

Link to your Game Design Doc on Google Drive.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1p-zydSfSxGrRgCPx39c9eckUMMs9g48AiM2s73z-DP4/edit?usp=sharing

Have you checked that your GDD is publicly accessible ?
Yes!

Is your game set to public on itch.io so we can see it?
Yes

Summarise your game!
In this cozy shop sim, you play as a minimum-waged dragon named Nyx! But not all is as cozy as it seems in this capitalism themed comfort game. Something about Nyx stands out among the cute critters. She has a fire in her belly, and you better not get on her bad side. With patience wearing thin, can you help her avoid getting fired? or will you let the sugar-coated money-machine caramelize!

Instructions:
Try to do your cashier job correctly. Scan all the items, and don't take too much of the customer's money, only grab just enough! Taking too much money means you have to give more of the limited change, which can result in you losing if it hits 0. Part of the puzzle is figuring out what the currency is worth so you can avoid giving change.

Time, being a poor cashier, and customer actions lower your patience meter. Each time you let it hit zero you will have a monstrous transformation causing a fiery outburst and gain a level of stress. More stress means more fireballs, so watch out! You can raise your patience by cleaning up the store and having a good cry in the breakroom.

Controls:
Movement = WASD
Interact = E
Grab and scan items = Mouse + Left click and hold
Rage Outburst = Mouse Aims where fireballs will (generally) go

Please explain how your game fits the theme:
Your inner patience (or lack thereof) is your weapon! You turn from a cute little store associate into a flaming dragon that burns customers to a crisp.

Is there anything you'd like the judges to pay particular attention to?
Our sound guy and our artist are super talented and incredible people. Us programmers are kinda mid and pretty room temp IQ and they really make this game come alive. :)

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Comments

(+1)

Great game. Love the crying mechanic. accurate that i cannot stop crying until my cry timer is out. personally, I love the genocide route. 9/10

Submitted(+2)

The tantrum mechanic is adorable. I found the controls clumsy when handling the scanner bug and items but the over all vibe was great.

Submitted(+2)

I am in love with this game! The artstyle and music are superb, character designs are super cute. I love the humor elements and the gameplay loop is very fun. One of my favorite games out of the ones I played from this jam! Great job :)

Submitted(+3)

Awesome game. Great art and game playloop. I wanted a little bit more control to move the items around, I was fighting with the controls a bit on that one. Adding some kind of indicator when something is scanned (rather than watching the total go up) would add a lot to the experience. One of the games in this jam i could see being released on steam with some user experience tweaks and more content!! Awesome job!

Developer

That's such high praise, thank you so much!  We agree that there's some UX that could definitely be improved.  There's so much we wanted to do, yet so little time!

(+3)

I enjoyed so much crying in the backroom then burning everyone.  It took me way too long to memorize the value of the money.

Developer

I'm glad you were able to have some fun!  How many bread tabs to a leaf?  Buttons to sea shells? Who knows?!

Submitted(+4)

Ok so I am actually kinda in love with this game. It has just a few simple ideas that, when put together, make for something truly unique. Of course the character art is adorable but probably my favorite part of the gameplay is making change for customers. I can’t really explain why it’s fun, it just is. That and… crying in the break room. Just that on its own adds so much characterization. I feel ya Nyx. Absolutely amazing, thank you for making this!

Developer(+3)

Thank you so much! Your comment had the whole dev team in near tears of joy.  Best of luck to you  on your submission!

Developer(+2)

Thank you so much! It was Catherine’s idea to turn our pets into customers for the game; It was such a wonderful process. 

Submitted(+4)

Your Thumbnail got my attention, your good music choice hooked me to the gameplay, i liked the unique and weird presentation somewhat (2,5d). this led to me playing for a few minutes. cool tutorial scanner bug bro.
cool idea with the coin change system and barcode scanner, hide objects behind other objects and so on. did `t had the endurance to finish that lot of customers. 25 feels so overwhelming with the tedious scanning and packing and coin dropping...
But I had a few satisfyed customers ;)

Very well done, unique idea and presentation!

Developer(+1)

Thanks for giving it a play and providing feedback!  We debated the total customer count and went back and forth on it a bit, and settled on 25 so players could experience a couple cycles of things if they wished.  

Submitted(+4)

This is a seriously cute and charming game! The title is what drew me to this one, and I wasn't disappointed! Once I got the controls and gameplay down, I had so much fun with this. It really does a great job of capturing the essence of being a service working. Learning the change amounts and doing Quick Maths™, getting better at scanning quickly, and taking "cry in the bathroom" breaks all worked really well together. Great work!

Developer(+1)

Thank you so much for your comments!  It really meant a lot to the team! ^.^