The game draws inspiration from those odd grocery store moments we’ve all had, spotting bizarre item combinations and wondering, who buys this stuff? and why? But this isn’t just a quirky simulator. It’s set in a world where survival and secrecy go hand in hand, and as a robotic cashier, your role extends beyond mundane transactions.
You can play this game from the itch.io page!
Synopsis:
Step into the shoes of a robotic cashier in a post-apocalyptic future. The rebels are planning to start a war. In this simulation, you’ll do more than just scan groceries, you’ll unravel the mysteries behind your customers’ lives through their peculiar purchasing habits and cryptic behaviors.
At the start, you are programmed for basic tasks, unable to fully grasp the semantics of human interaction. That changes when a mysterious customer hands you a special chip. This upgrade allows you to decipher their words and introduces a unique communication system based on emojis.
With each interaction, you’ll learn more about the customers and the crumbling society they navigate. You have the ability to flag suspicious customers, making decisions that impact the story’s progression. Every choice matters, leading to diverse endings that reflect your actions and judgment.
We encourage our players to reflect on elements such as what makes us human while navigating the rigid communication system of a robot where emojis are all they can use to talk. When self-agency and ability are stripped away from oneself, is there anything else left within us that differentiates us from being a robot? All these are key themes we baked into our game design, hoping to bring our players a comprehensive experience that is emotional and insightful.
Genre: Adventure Simulator
Software: Unity
Project Type: Group Project
Development Time: 5 Week
My Role: Game Designer, Programmer, Writer, 2D Artist
My Responsabilities:
- Design and develop the Emoji System to communicate and interact with the customer to profile them.
- Develop structure of days and sequence through the game.
- Design the conditions of different endings throught the sequence of the game.
- Write the story and creation of customers.
This project was made for the class Game Design and Analysis at Northeastern University for the MS in Game Science and Design.