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Now Serving's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Theme | #85 | 4.091 | 4.091 |
| Audio | #137 | 3.636 | 3.636 |
| Visuals | #165 | 4.091 | 4.091 |
| Overall | #189 | 3.583 | 3.583 |
| Innovation | #192 | 3.545 | 3.545 |
| Gameplay | #364 | 3.136 | 3.136 |
| Enjoyment | #570 | 3.000 | 3.000 |
Ranked from 22 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
How does the game fit the theme?
NOW SERVING fits the theme “Strange Places” by turning a familiar waiting room into something increasingly unfamiliar. What begins as an ordinary space slowly shifts through subtle environmental changes, altered sequences, and spatial distortions, transforming a mundane setting into a strange and unsettling place.
Watch the trailer here:
https://youtu.be/kujJU0U80qU?si=EC49OjRvV5uIaby-
What code and assets did you not make from scratch during the jam (if any)?
Most of the core gameplay code was written from scratch during the jam by D3kryption, whose professional background is in programming.
All voice overs were recorded and produced by our team during the jam.
The 3D characters were modeled and rigged during the jam by L0g1cF@11acy.
Several textures were created in Photoshop during development.
We used Unreal Engine 5.6 as the game engine. Any additional assets used were standard engine components (lighting, materials, basic geometry) or marketplace/free assets where properly licensed.
How many people worked on the game?2
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Comments
I had fun playing the game, but since I am playing on laptop it really didnt run well considering it is unreal engine, but overall it was a interesting game and Im glad to actually play a 3d game as well.
I really liked the game. Well done!
Really like how you can mess around with the objects in the room to ease the boredom while waiting for your number. Being able to talk to the NPCs and hear their voice acting also helps pass the time and adds a nice touch.
I also like how the rooms become increasingly unusual and unsettling as you progress from one to another. You did a great job making the place feel strange and mysterious.
Thank you so much for playing!
We’re really glad you enjoyed being able to mess around with the objects while waiting. That little bit of “waiting room boredom relief” was something we intentionally leaned into so players would have things to discover even when nothing obvious was happening.
Really happy to hear the NPC dialogue and voice acting helped pass the time too. We had a lot of fun recording those and trying to give each character a little personality.
And it’s great that the increasing weirdness of the rooms came through. Watching the environment slowly become more unsettling was a big part of the experience we wanted to create.
Thanks again for checking it out!
I really liked how the game looked: the environment, the lighting, the character models and their poses.
I also liked the use of sound in the game.
There was some issue with my laptop that I didnt really understand, so unfortunately I wasn't able to play much of the game. (I think my laptop doesnt have a good gpu or something i think) . But I liked the stuff I did play.
Great job all around.
Thank you so much for giving it a try and for the kind words!
We’re really glad you liked the lighting, environment, and character models. Those were areas we spent a lot of time on during the week, so it’s great to hear they stood out. The sound design was also something we tried to use carefully to build that uneasy atmosphere.
Sorry to hear your laptop had trouble running it though. Unreal can be a bit demanding, especially for a jam build where we didn’t have much time for optimization.
Really appreciate you checking it out and leaving feedback.
Thanks again!
Finally got the chance to play your game.
Nice game you have here.
It's really fit the theme -- love the eyes of the characters.
Anyway, the "Esc" key that force the game to close is kinda disturbing.
I also have performance issue playing your game.
But still, sold game. 👍
Thanks so much for taking the time to play!
Glad you liked the theme and the characters. The eyes definitely unsettled a few people, which means they did their job.
Yeah the Esc behavior caught a few people off guard. That one slipped through during the jam crunch. Same with some of the performance issues. Unreal can be a bit heavy depending on hardware, especially for a jam build.
Really appreciate you checking it out and leaving feedback. If you have a chance, feel free to jump back in and see if you can make it to the later rooms. Things get a little weirder as it goes.
Crazy good looking game you have here! I genuinely felt uneasy at certain points which I think was your goal. I love everything about it ngl even the eyes make it feel like you put a soul into a life sized barbie and trapped me in a room with them.
Thank you so much!
If you felt uneasy, mission accomplished.
Also the “life-sized Barbie with a soul” comment is incredible and may now live in our heads forever.
Really appreciate you playing and leaving such a fun comment.
Very interesting game. It fits the theme really well but the objective was unclear if you wanted to unlock the door without waiting. I waited till the 2nd room but I gave up after that. There's a lot of bugs that make me restart the game a few times that prevented me from getting far. The characters felt a bit out of place and I wish it has those low poly characters than realistic ones. If the pacing was a bit faster it would be a game I would actually play form start to finish. No hate just my opinion. Interesting concept and good job on the game. ❤️
Thank you for taking the time to play and for sharing honest feedback. We genuinely appreciate it.
You’re absolutely right that the “unlock without waiting” path isn’t immediately obvious to everyone. There is a weight-based solution in the first room, but we’ve heard from a few players that the hints weren’t as clear as we hoped. That’s really helpful insight for us.
The bugs are unfortunately on us. We pushed scope pretty hard for a one-week project, and some edge cases slipped through. We’re definitely taking notes for post-jam polish.
As for the character style, that was a deliberate choice. We experimented with lower-poly figures early on, but they didn’t carry the emotional nuance we were aiming for. Since the tone relies heavily on subtle expressions and voice acting, we decided to lean into more detailed models to support that atmosphere. Totally fair if that aesthetic doesn’t resonate with everyone though.
The pacing feedback is also valid. We intentionally leaned into discomfort and slowness, but we understand that it won’t click for every player.
Thank you again for giving it a shot and for keeping it constructive.
If any place is "Strange", it's those waiting rooms, lol. And I can't proove it, but whenever I talk to the receptionist and change my number, the old number gets called
If there’s one universal strange place, it’s definitely a waiting room.
And as for the number… we can neither confirm nor deny that the system notices when you try to get clever.
Really glad you picked up on that detail. Thanks for playing and for the laugh.
What an incredible atmosphere you were able to create with such a mundane and normally boring setting. I really enjoyed playing through this and feeling the eeriness creep in as I passed through room to room. Very well done!
Thank you so much for this.
Turning something mundane into something unsettling was exactly the goal, so hearing that the eeriness slowly crept in for you means a lot.
We really appreciate you taking the time to play and share your thoughts.
Thanks again for playing.
This game really did test my patience lol, I got to the end luckily! Was very interesting indeed, very strange place to be! And very spooky, like a black mirror ep. You wanted the player to feel like they were sat in a waiting room, and I really felt that accurately :D
Thank you so much for sticking it out and making it to the end!
We definitely knew we were testing patience a little, so hearing that you felt that waiting-room accuracy means we did something right. That balance between “this is boring” and “this is unsettling” was something we tried really hard to sit in.
And the Black Mirror comparison is such a huge compliment. That eerie, slightly procedural dread was absolutely an inspiration.
Really appreciate you playing and pushing through to the ending.
Thanks again!
Also wanted to add that I loved the detail of the door opening when you sit down, it was such a funny thing, was a really nice addition!
For a game about waiting, its really spooky how things are normal, a strange sense of danger sits around. I didn't manage to complete it because my tired mind cannot solve these puzzles, first one was obvious for skipping waiting, but eventually I just didn't know what to do..
Great work, the level design was phenomenal
Thank you so much for this.
I really appreciate you picking up on that “normal but dangerous” feeling. That subtle tension is exactly what we were aiming for, so hearing that it came through means a lot.
Totally fair about the puzzles, especially when you’re playing late or tired. Some of the later sections lean more on observation and environmental shifts rather than traditional puzzle logic, and that balance is tricky to tune.
And thank you for the level design compliment. We put a lot of thought into how the rooms evolve and how each space feels slightly different from the last.
Really appreciate you playing.
I love the concept and it is really incredible how much you guys made! I'm very impressed of the end result and the eerie feeling of the gameplay:D Well done!
Thank you so much! That really means a lot to us.
We definitely pushed ourselves on scope this week, so hearing that the end result landed and the eerie tone came through is incredibly encouraging.
Really appreciate you playing!
I really appreciate how much time, skill and effort went into this. The character models and voice acting sold it for me, it feels super ambitious for a 1 week jam submission. The idea felt very clever too, moving between waiting rooms should be boring, but you made it mysterious and interesting. In the first room I played with the lightswitch ( like a cat lol), you made good use of Lumen here (I suspect) bit random I know lol, but sometimes I just play games and walk around looking at the textures, lighting and interactables, probably due to my 3D background.
I ran into the bin bug initially (saw you are aware of these bugs already so wont dwell on it)
After restarting the game once, the experience went smoothly, though I will make a point that the second room took a little too long for me to figure out what was going on.
The voice acting was HUGE for me, the characters had genuine personality and I noticed you didnt hold back on filling the spaces with sound detail both big and small.
Thanks for the experience :)
Thank you so much for this. It really means a lot.
Hearing that it felt ambitious for a 1-week jam is honestly one of the best compliments we could get. We definitely pushed ourselves on scope, especially with the character models and voice acting, so it’s incredibly validating that those landed for you.
I love that you were playing with the light switch 'like a cat', that’s exactly the kind of curiosity we hoped players would bring into the space. And yes… there was some Lumen appreciation happening in there.
Thanks for being patient with the bin bug and for giving it another run. We really appreciate that.
Your note about the second room taking a bit longer to parse is helpful too. That balance between mystery and clarity is something we’re still learning how to tune.
And hearing that the voice acting and ambient sound detail stood out to you is huge. We put a lot of care into making the space feel inhabited rather than empty.
Thanks again for taking the time to write this. It genuinely means a lot to us.
Really cool!
Thank you! We’ll take “really cool” any day.
Enjoyed the concept and finding all the things I could click on/interact with! Although I did have to restart as I got stuck holding the trash can forever :)
Thank you so much for playing!
We’re really glad you enjoyed exploring and clicking on everything. That curiosity is exactly what we were hoping for.
And oh no... the eternal trash can hold. That one definitely wasn’t meant to become a permanent life commitment. Unfortunately we’re past the bug-fix window now, but it’s officially logged for post-jam updates.
Thanks again for giving it a try and for the kind words!
The concept is cool! And the atmosphere switches between levels are really nice — it definitely feels creepier as you progress. My feedback is mostly similar to others: the motion blur is a bit too much for me, I also ran into the sofa / Esc bug, and the waiting time felt a bit too long.
At first I was a little confused — I thought I needed to interact with an object to open the door (not sure if I missed something, since the task says you can “find a way to open the door”), until I read some comments and realized I just needed to wait. Personally I’d suggest either removing that second task in the first level, or showing the number card as a sequence number (at least in first level), so players know the level is actually progressing and worth waiting.
After that, when the light and gravity start getting weird, I really liked the vibe! The later levels just felt a bit quick to finish though — having some puzzle around to unlock the next door would be even better! Looking forward to what’s next — great work!
Thank you so much for the thoughtful feedback. We really appreciate how detailed this was.
Just to clarify on the first level, there actually is a way to open the door. It’s a small weight-based puzzle. The door opens once the player sits on the couch, and if you want to move forward without staying seated, you can place objects on the couch to keep it weighted down. Or symbolically use an old ticket.
We tried to hint at this with the wall signs, but it sounds like that communication may not have been clear enough. That’s really helpful for us to hear.
The motion blur you mentioned is tied more to frame rate performance than intentional blur intensity. On some systems Unreal can exaggerate that effect when it’s under load.
And yes, the sofa and Esc bugs are unfortunately on us. We’re past the bug-fix window now, but they’re definitely noted for post-jam updates.
We’re really glad the lighting and gravity shifts landed for you. That atmosphere progression was something we put a lot of care into.
Thanks again for taking the time to share this. Feedback like this genuinely helps us grow the project beyond the jam.
Got it now! Just tried both ways (put stuff/old ticket on it) and it totally makes sense now! The idea is really cool!
Also thanks for the explanation of the motion blur e part, totally makes sense now! Also no worries about the bugs / jam window stuff, totally understandable for this short of time too! The lighting + gravity vibe is still my favorite part. Good luck with the post-jam updates!
That was an interesting experience for sure. The weirdness buildup is great and while the waiting felt too much i also think the later part wouldn’t have felt the same without it so i’m conflicted on that. The voices and the texts created a great atmosphere. I also encountered a few glitches, the first thing I tried to do was turning off motion blur so I pressed Esc to try to find a menu but it just quit the game for some reason :( then I also encountered the bug where I tried to sit in the sofa and I got stuck without being able to do anything. The moving of objects in the first room also did very glitchy things but looking at the later part maybe that was intentional? Great work overall!
Thanks so much for the thoughtful comment.
The waiting balance was definitely a risk, so hearing that it worked for the later payoff means a lot.
You’re absolutely right about Esc quitting the game, that was a jam oversight on our end. And the sofa bug is a known issue too. We’re past the bug-fix window now unfortunately, but we’ve logged it.
The object physics were partly intentional… and partly Unreal doing Unreal things.
Really appreciate you taking the time to play and share your thoughts.
Wow, this was an amazing game. First I have to mention that even though I'm quite impatient at times, I absolutely love games that make you wait. There are very few games that do it and I think it's partially because people are afraid that no one will have the patience to sit through. I only know of a couple games that force the player to wait (one of my favorites being Earthbound, where you have to sit perfectly still for 3 minutes to gain access to an area. Felt agonizing as a kid) so when I figured out that waiting was a lot of what you had to do, I sat back and relaxed and waited for my turn!
I encountered a bug on the second level where I was standing a little bit away from the couch, I pressed E and my character just stood there. it sort of locked me into that position, I wasn't able to move or do anything after that and my laptop was starting to sound like a small airplane so I had to abandon my quest :( I very much want to see how the waiting room evolves so I'm going to try this on my PC later. I am invested to see how this unfolds!!
Wow, thank you so much for this comment.
The Earthbound reference honestly made our day. We knew leaning into waiting was a risky choice, so hearing that you relaxed into it and appreciated that tension means a lot to us.
I’m really sorry you hit that Level 2 couch bug. Unfortunately we are now outside of the 48-hour bug-fix window, so we can’t patch it during the rating period. That said, thank you for describing it clearly, it helps a lot.
And I hate that you didn’t get to see the later level. There’s actually a full physics floating inversion section that shifts gravity and lets you move vertically. It’s one of our favorite parts of the game. I’m really sorry the bug kept you from reaching it.
Also, Unreal making laptops sound like small aircraft is incredibly accurate.
If you end up trying it again on your PC, we’d love to hear how it goes. Thank you again for taking the time to play and write such a thoughtful comment.
Very big download, but the assets did not disappoint! Really impressive city and interior, even if some of the models didn't gel together.
I'm not sure if the point of the game was to just wait forever. and simulate how queues sometimes feel in real life. I did found it funny the if you put magazine under people the models jumps around. I'm not sure if I noticed anything under than that.
The game does create an unsettling vibe - it would be nice if the changes are happen a bit sooner, if there is something that change
Thanks so much for playing and for the feedback, we really appreciate it.
The build is 628 MB, which is actually pretty small for Unreal, but we totally get that it can look intimidating during a jam download spree.
The slow start was intentional. We wanted the weirdness to creep in quietly before things shift more noticeably. Totally fair though if you were ready for things to get strange sooner.
And yes… the magazine physics had a moment. Unreal occasionally decides it wants to be the main character.
Since submissions are locked now, we can only fix bug related issues during the first 48 hours, but we are definitely taking notes for after the jam.
Thanks again for giving it a try!
I'm so sad because my potato PC doesn't seem to handle the game very well, and I encountered an issue that made me be unable to control my character!
It's a shame, because the game looks amazing, I was interested in seeing where it was going, and the voice acting is phenomenal!
I hope this game gets more reviews by people with better PC specs, it for sure deserves it!
Oh no, we’re so sorry it didn’t behave on your PC.
Thank you so much for giving it a try anyway, and for the kind words about the atmosphere and voice acting. That really means a lot to us.
We know Unreal can be demanding, especially on lower-spec machines. We did our best to optimize during the jam, but performance can definitely vary depending on hardware. If you’re comfortable sharing your specs or what happened when controls stopped responding, we’d love to look into it. During the first 48 hours of rating we can still address bug-related issues.
Seriously though, thank you for the encouragement. Comments like this make the jam experience worth it.