An Office Romance Game--Updated April 10, 2019

Hey! Does the game end on the first day on the job, when you eavesdrop on Anne and another employee? It did for me.

It’s been a while since I last re-read this, and in my mind, I’m just DYING to see what comes next!!!:sob: This story is so cute!:innocent: I’m still honestly surprised that this isn’t as popular as I thought it would be!:confused:

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Please don’t bump old WIP threads or ask for updates. @CammyCamaro, just ask me or a mod if you want the thread reopened.

Happy 2018! Story has been updated. Thanks for playing, and I’m excited to hear from you guys :grin:

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It is nice to see this game updated :slightly_smiling_face:. I had hoped the sexual harassment by Anne would actually be toned down. No job is worth putting up with that and rather than confronting Anne, my MC would prefer to get a lawyer then contact HR. Anne is about as far from a viable RO as is possible from my MC’s perspective. I do like Billy’s character and he means more to my MC than any job position. The carpool vs shuttle decision at the end seems a bit pointless currently given that even if the MC tries to be alone with the MC’s future RO by picking carpool, they still get stuck with other people joining them.

Out of curiosity, about the sexual harassment scenes, which ones are/were there that ruffled some feathers?

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@Norilinde: Thanks for the feedback! As I’m rewriting, I plan on revisiting the sections you mentioned. I did consider doing a ending for that scene with Anne. Basically, she would get reported to HR and fired, and everyone is content. I think continuity wise, it would be hard to remove a major character, without major rewrites. But as I’m typing this response, it would be interesting! I’ll look into carpool vs. shuttle chapters. What do you think of setting up the options so the MC could either choose the shuttle or carpool with only one character?

@Asdwa: The only sexual harassment scene is the one with Anne. Awhile ago, I did get feedback that that scene made light of what is really a serious issue. What’s your take on that scene?

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@CammyCamaro: Is it the one scene in the office where the MC and Anne discuss Billy? Were there more in the past?

I’m not sure, I find it interesting and I want to understand but I can’t really relate, I can empathize though with the distress and pain of those who have been affected IRL, which there are quite a lot of. But I actually liked that office scene, it was well written. Even though I’m not a female I could feel the tension from the female MC’s perspective, and generally I’ve been taught to believe that art that can grip you and elicit emotion from you is art done right, and I do think the concept of creating should never really be censored or limited. But it’s a slippery slope because of real life plight.

Perhaps having the option of both reporting her and encouraging her illegal activities would work, left entirely to the discretion of the player? Or maybe even that is too far, I’m not really sure.
If you were writing this interactive novel solely for me I’d tell you to let loose and go wild.

Removing any option to encourage her would be a good idea. Her sexual harassment of Billy should be called out for what it is, and treated like a serious crime. If you don’t want her removed from the game immediately, maybe make so the option to report her comes up toward the end. My personal opinion is that making her an RO when she’s sexually harassing your best friend is kind of squick, but ultimately it’s your game.

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@CammyCamaro I don’t know where you intend to take the plot so I can’t really comment on difficulty of rewrites, but I would note that the MC had the choice to apply to join a different team. Another option could be reporting Anne immediately but Anne only gets fired later after the investigation finishes.

The game text currently says:

A shuttle means you can interact with everyone a bit and, if you’re up for it, keep an eye on your competition and/or love interest. Assigned carpools means you can interact with only the person or people of your choosing, but your interaction will be more intimate and detailed.

So it makes sense that a shuttle would mean 3 or more people and it sounded like the carpool would permit the MC to be alone with the MC’s preferred RO. As long as there is an option to be alone with the MC’s chosen RO, I am not particular as to whether it is carpool or shuttle.

Yes.

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I just played the demo, and I’m glad to see it’s still being worked on!! :blush: When I played the demo, it ended after the MC overhears Anne talking to someone else (David) and gets their own cubicle. I noticed that for other players though, the demo ends at a shuttle scene, and even covers harassment in the office? I’m not sure if the later scenes were taken out for now, but I thought I should let you know.

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This topic has been dormant for four months with no recent news.

@CammyCamaro, as before, me or any of the other mods or leaders will be happy to reopen this topic if you’re still on it.

Is this still active? I’m kind of interested, I like the concept of office romance.

“He’s so tall you have to drag your eyes from his chest, which is barely at your eye level.”
Me: Holy shit he must be like 6’8…

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@Asdwa: Yes, it’s that one. It’s the only one, but it comes up for discussion every now and then. I’m grateful for your insight since I’m somewhat torn with what do to with the scene. I think of the game as a fantasy/free for all. But at the same time, I don’t want to be insensitive to people’s experiences.

I agree, an option to retaliate and/or report can help round out the plot.

@Hannah_Minger @Norilinde : I hope that it doesn’t come across like I’m belittling the issue of sexual harassment. Over the course of this thread, there’s been two camps in regards to Anne’s sexual advances. Based on the mixed feedback, and my personal preference, I will likely leave the scene. But I’m sure I’ll have rewrites down the line.

@Norilinde: It’s been awhile since I wrote those scenes. But I think, the shuttle ends up being where the MC can actually spend 1:1 time with the RO of their choice. I should probably switch to what you suggested, that’s more intuitive.

@LauraSikdar: Glad you like it! Huh, that’s weird. I’ll check on that path. Thanks for letting me know!

@Strider: The game is something I absolutely want to finish. Unfortunately, I’ve had other priorities. But I’m posting an update by the end of next week, at the latest. Haha, hey the MC might be short, lol.

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Glad this is still ongoing :slight_smile: , can’t wait for the update. And I’d rather you take as long as you need to post updates than not at all :slight_smile: .

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@CammyCamaro Some players choose to “romance” villains and Anne would qualify as such. My MC would prefer to choose to report Anne’s behavior. My personal objection is not to Anne choosing to be human scum which I consider an unfortunately all too plausible part of the story, but to the game making it seem as though the MC is powerless in the face of such. In my opinion, the MC should have the option to report such despicable behavior and I think promoting the narrative that the MC can do nothing about such immoral and illegal behavior is a mistake.

I am looking forward to the update. :slight_smile:

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So with Choice of Rebels being published, is this now the oldest WIP still updating?

Vendetta: Rise of a Gangster is older. But this one’s been workin’ a while!