Commonplace

To Persist/Exist/Endure, Press 1

by Anthony O. 50th place, IFComp 2022.

A tiny game, almost more of a toy than a story, about a terrible phone menu.

What works for me:

  • No obvious bugs
  • Writing is effective. Yes, this is what it feels like to be depressed and having a bad day and fight with a broken phone menu.
  • The expanding department list is fun, I kind of wish that joke went on longer.
  • In general the clues about this company I’m calling are compelling and I genuinely wanted to know more about it, and I kind of wished the game would keep unraveling into stranger and stranger secrets.
  • The hint at the interaction mode when I tapped the “play” button was a nice bit of polish, not sure if that’s built in to Texture.

Not working for me:

  • It might actually be too small (much like mine)! This feels like it could be a single joke in a larger short game.
  • The frustrations might be communicated better with a bit of a goal, even one that’s never achievable. I kind of made my own goal to just explore the menus. Also if there’s a larger mystery I missed here, that would have helped hook me to keep exploring.
  • Maybe this hits a little too close to home for me :rofl: