As I mentioned in my last post, next month’s Escapist game is a board game called “omg hire me.” It’s about the mundanity of job searching, and specifically about the “loop” practiced during this process.

Unlike some of my other titles, the game design is not straightforward. As is typical for me, I know what I want the game to feel like, but I don’t know how to get there. So far, the gameplay is divided into several stages, which comprise the loop:

1. Update Resume
2. Search for Jobs
3. Compose Cover Letter/Application
4. Rinse and Repeat

Every time a player completes this loop, they increase the likelihood of being called in for an interview. The interview itself is a separate minigame, the successful completion of which increases the odds of actually receiving a job offer (and thus winning the game — I’m not even dealing with salary negotiations as a mechanic).

At the moment, job interviews and job offers are handled by two separate dice. If a player completes the search loop, they receive a number from 1 to 20. Every round, the interview die (a d20) is rolled. If your number is rolled, you enter the interview event. Successfully completing the interview earns you a number for the job offer die (a d10 or d12), which is also rolled each round. If one of your job offer numbers is rolled, you win.

So basically, it’s all about luck. Just like a real job search!

Attending WordCamp seems like as good a time as any to start posting here again. I fell off the wagon a bit recently — new jobs tend to have that effect — but I hope to get back in the habit of musing about game design. Starting… later.

I’m still publishing over at the Escapist. This past month’s game is Turfy, a Risk/DiceWars-inspired game about jungle gym warfare. It’s not the game I originally intended on publishing. I’m hoping to polish that one and get it up end of this month. It’s called “omg hire me,” and it’s semi-autobiographical.

On the topic of WordCamp, it’s always nice working in an environment of like-minded individuals. Yes, I came to a conference to get work done. I’m weird like that.