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Department of Eternal Processing's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Creativity | #46 | 3.667 | 3.667 |
| Art | #102 | 3.167 | 3.167 |
| Theme | #110 | 2.875 | 2.875 |
| Overall | #128 | 2.875 | 2.875 |
| Enjoyment | #183 | 2.375 | 2.375 |
| Audio | #185 | 2.292 | 2.292 |
Ranked from 24 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
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Comments
It's a fun idea and I can see potential for some updates! I'm imagining something like Papers Please in the future where you have to manage and navigate information in order to decide right from wrong. Funny art style but a bit basic.
I was a bit confused with the current build on what constitutes a save or condemn. I wasn't able to reach an "ending" if there was one. I'm not sure if I was just not choosing correctly or if there's not an ending yet. I gave it a go for a good amount of rounds.
But like I said. I see a lot of potential with the idea!
Thanks for the feedback. There is definitely an end, you can reach it in about 6 rounds if you smash condemn but it can go on for a bit if you try for the story.
I tried to tighten things up as best I could as it really did go on forever in a very early draft (so much so that I added code making fun of a buddy of mine who used an auto clicker)
It's definitely an interesting take on the theme. Nonetheless the overall enjoyment I personally had kept decreasing due to the amount of actual paperwork there is. The "Department of Eternal Processing" should not actually play like an actual desk job. Whenever there are games similar to yours, they "simplify and gamify" the experience such that either the text/narration is interesting (ie. Home Safety Hotline), or that the visuals and story captivate you (ie. Death and Taxes). The 2 games mentioned could be further inspiration for a greater game in the future but they also set the standard for the genre. I'd say this game could have had it's main inspiration from Death and Taxes whilst being a fresh take on what it means to be a life auditor. However where it should branch off into originality is how the story is shown to the player. Problem with how it is shown is that it keeps jumping all over the place whilst being easy to pick up on the certain "patterns" given to the reader upon the first reviews section (before all the "life is pain" comments of the souls). Imo, it would be better to focus on one part of the story day by day instead of having it all clumped into one session of reviews (school shooting, freeway accident, tax fraud{?}, blunt force, domestic abuse)*. Even as writing this, the amount of reports needed to be focused upon for the overlying story of ONE incident is maybe too much? I appreciate trying to make a complex game with little words and having quantity, but it really is better to focus down on one of the main topics above and put it into it's own chapter. *Possible to focus on topics you want to shed light on as a game dev. Can disregard those that are either too complicated, or you don't have as much knowledge about. With how the game is right now, the easiest way to improve it without too much more coding is the sound effects and music. There's no audio that further instils that nostalgia of using win95 so that would help a ton for the overall experience. Mainly mouse click sounds, maybe sound effects for Deathy, stuff like that. Kevin Mcleod, although everyone can agree he's a legend for making so much good free music, should not be oversaturated in any game. Even elevators change songs. The BG song could've also been changes to a soft, office like ambiance. Ringing phones, people talking, papers being flipped, all would've elevated the experience for the game. TL;DR, ok game that follows the theme but could use focus for the story it wants to tell. Needs help sound effect and audio wise but nothing truly immersion breaking.
Please note this game was designed over 12 days while not working on it full time by a solo dev.
There were mouse click sounds etc. I did tie them to the volume control so if you turned "down" the volume it probably killed the mouse clicks. I would love to do more sound dev but it's definitely a time limit and $$ limit. I had to use what what available for the price.
Thanks for the feedback. I'll look into tightening things up when time allows.
Funny and a little bit dark, love the windows 98 theme
Thanks for playing!
Good game idea! Must've taken a while to setup all of those messages. Good job!
Thanks for playing. It took me about 2ish/3 days to do most of the writing (a couple hours a day)
Setting up the files was pretty easy as I created a resource in Godot and then just started duplicating them. After duplicating all of them... that's when the fun began of editing them all and getting them all tied together. It was all definitely a lesson in folder structure as the easiest way to make sure everything ran properly was to just keep each case in it's own folder structure.
Each message would basically be triggered if certain events tied to certain cases IDs etc.
Great aesthetic & idea.
Thanks for playing!
Cool game I enjoyed getting to read the different details about people lives lol! Also if you could play and rate my game than would be appreciated :)
Thanks for playing and I definitely gave your game a good run through.
Nice idea ! It must have been a lot of work to write all those profiles. Does the rounds really have ends ? I got through all of my 44 souls but nothing happened, it just kept going. Anyways great job ! And the aesthetics are peak of course
yeah. I probably spent about 3 days writing and editing the profiles. Creating them wasn't that bad as I create a resource in Godot and just had to duplicate them. That resource had an array as part of it so I just added their dialogue to that string. So any time I wanted to edit the story I just had to open their profile and tweak the details.
Code would bring up the strings in order based on different conditions associated with player choices.
Thanks for playing! And as far as rounds having ends.... they might.
The style is great. Nailed the old 98 look. Well done.
Thanks for playing!
Clippy would never force you into moral dilemmas as you pass judgement on the souls of the deceased.
Anyway, good game, like the style
Clippy was let go for.... reasons. Deathy has taken it's place.
Love this version of Clippy. Definitely picked up on the subtext that there's too much gun violence in schools.
Thanks for playing!
Big fan of the Win98 aesthetic and the Grim Clippy.
Clippy is peak. Clippy knows best!
very peak videogame, i love clippy as a scythe and the volume bar joke!!
I appreciate ya playing
Love this creepy windows aesthetic
Cult members all going to hell...
Glad you enjoyed it! It took many iterations to get it looking like it does now.
It's a very interesting concept. felt like I am being judged. some of the stuff really makes you think. Well done!
We're always being judged
Loved the Windows 98 aesthetics with Grim Reaper version of Clippy 😂 Such a fun concept! Enjoyed it.
glad you liked the aesthetic. It was actually one of the toughest parts of the game build. Getting the look right AND it to be able to scale etc. It took a mix of Godot theme editing and making stuff in Photoshop.
I saved the cult leader!
The sidekick reminds me of windows xp' Clippy, love the reference. Really cool design congrats !
Thanks for playing! Glad you enjoyed Deathy... he showed up after Clippy went away.
This is such a cool game. I love the windows 98 vibe .
Thanks for checking it out and playing it!