An Office Romance Game--Updated April 10, 2019

What about freak and gueneveire? They’ve been going a while too…but thinking about it there’s others that I haven’t played like monsters of new haven etc.

New update today! Added more details to the opening scene, briefly introduced a new character, and changed the company name. I only did it for the first few chapters so you’ll still see the name Pharmacide at the later chapters (sorry!). Thanks for playing and please let me know what you think :slight_smile:

Thanks @CreepyPastaKittyFay! I want to upload more regularly, but I suppose I don’t have the discipline :frowning: ? Haha sometimes I think it’d be nice to have someone keep me in check.

I see what you mean @Norilinde. If the MC reports Anne and Anne gets punished but doesn’t get fired, does that still give the feeling of powerlessness? Thanks for playing and giving feedback, appreciate it!

Aww man I’m embarrassed about this information :sweat_smile: @hustlertwo @Ramidel @CreepyPastaKittyFay! Hopefully it’ll motivate me to finish sooner

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Don’t be embarrassed; it’s a testament to your perseverance that this did not join the hordes of permanently abandoned WIPs.

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@CammyCamaro For me, I think that would depend on the punishment. Anne getting the equivalent of a slap on the wrist would not feel like justice. I think my MC would rather the company take its time with a thorough investigation if needed before firing Anne but honestly I cannot think of any punishment short of firing sufficient for what Anne is doing though that does not mean there isn’t one. Maybe demotion to the very bottom of the corporate ladder though even that raises the question of why any company would want to keep Anne employed. It also raises the question of whether the MC would want to stay at that company once alternate employment offers can be found. Billy is already looking for work elsewhere and other than Billy while he remains, there would be no appeal to remaining at that company.

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@hustlertwo: I hope it doesn’t come to that. Thanks for the words of encouragement!

@Norilinde: Fair enough. As I’m rewriting the earlier scenes, I’m considering removing the scene altogether. I’m not sure if it moves the story forward that much. But if someone can convince me otherwise, I’ll consider a rewrite versus removal.

Hey there! New update’s up! I’m introducing a new character/love interest named Avery. I know it’s early, but if you have any thoughts about her so far, let me know.

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I really enjoyed what you have rewritten so far. While i did love the previous version, this one is definitely more polished and I love the interactions between the characters and the MC

Can’t wait to find some time to try it out :slight_smile: always love it when I see a new update, they’re definitely worthh waiting for! :smiley:

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I loved the idea when I first saw this thread, but it seemed gender-locked female. I finally gave it a shot after browsing again and seeing references to being male or female.

First, sounds like you’ve experienced unemployment. :expressionless: Or at least you captured the routine perfectly. :+1:

A few pages in, I’m wearing a dress. Is this an artifact of being originally female-only, or is this indicative of the remainder?

Thanks @Megus! Are there any particular interactions or scenes that are standouts for you?

I appreciate your patience @CreepyPastaKittyFay. Please let me know what you think when you have the chance :slight_smile:

Hi @obieblu! I was lucky enough not to experience it, but I’ve gone through the process of looking for another job with little success. Yes, it’s gender-locked female. I’m still on the fence whether it’ll stay that way. For now, to make writing easier on me, I’m only writing from a female perspective. Do you feel like playing a gender-locked story takes away from the game? And if so, how? Feel free to be honest, I’m still deciding so I want the input!

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Well, i feel the interactions with Anne have improved a lot

But my favorite interactions is with the MC’s dog

Hiya. No, I’m not drawn to playing female. While I’m not a player that needs to feel like I’m playing ‘myself’, I feel too disassociated/immersion-breaking when a text refers to ‘me’ as female. I used to deal with it, as there was so little gay male interactive content back in the day, but I feel kind of graduated beyond it, these days. I’m even one of those posters that talks about how I don’t like when romances just change pronouns, and male RO’s always treat ‘me’ as a woman as that’s how it was originally written.

Though, I know it’s a prodigious amount of work to write every variation of gender combinations, and I understand if someone doesn’t want to or isn’t good at it. I have some hobby projects, but I’ll probably never put them through here as I have no idea how to write from the perspective of a woman or trans person, so I know I can’t accommodate policies or many reader’s expectations.

I got a little mislead in the first post with “then eventually his/her first day of work.” I respect that not everyone wants to or can write romantic content for everyone who might play. It’s not my thing to play as a woman, but this is your thing, and you should enjoy creating it however you want to.

I can respect if you want to do a female locked game if that’s most comfortable with you, and I don’t mind playing as a female character, but having the option to be male given the setting and romance aspects makes sense. Maybe the best thing to do is complete it as a female character and then add and adapt the male option… or maybe that’s asking for a lot of extra work in the long term… :thinking:

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Would love a male perspective but you’ve worked on this for so long now, I wouldn’t want you to strain yourself too much!
You deserve a completion :slight_smile:

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I love this game, but I think there might be a bug because it won’t let me get to the part where we get to decorate our desk, it ends there and says play again

@Megus: Aww I love Fox, too! He’ll have more scenes the rewrites :slight_smile:

@obieblu: I agree, some stories just change the pronouns. I remember Choice of Romance did that. I played as a male and the gameplay was exactly the same. When I had plans to write from a male perspective, I wanted to adjust the story so that the gameplay wouldn’t be the same. But since I’m struggling to finish from one perspective, my goal is to complete the story for now.

Maybe I’m a little biased (since mine is gender-locked), but I think it’s ok to write from just one. Sure, not everyone will be able to relate. But some people will. And others who don’t might still want to play the game anyways. Good luck on your projects!

Ah sorry, I’ll fix that.

@derekmetaltron: I’m with you on how multiple perspectives is important for a romance game since each one can experience romance differently. Exactly that, I wanted to finish from a female POV then adapt it to a male one. Then I realized how much work it is to write from one perspective. And it made me think twice.

Thank you @Asdwa :sob:! Honestly, I think it’ll be fun to write from a male perspective, but I also want to finish.

@Ant_Merf: Oh man, thanks for the heads up. Working on the scene mapping tonight so hoping to resolve it soon.

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Hello! New scene with Avery is up. It’s right before the meeting with Anne. I hope you guys don’t mind the format. The MC’s interaction with Avery is online, so I wanted it to feel that way. Where you can’t tell how/what the other person is feeling since it’s all text.

Let me know what you think of how the online dialogue between the MC and Avery. I’ll be adding more scenes like that between them. Also, what do you think of Avery as a romantic interest?

I’m so grateful for you playing and commenting. Can’t wait to talk!

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I can’t seem to find the scene

Hi @Megus! It’ll be early in the game. Right after you talk to Avery in person for the first time, and before your serious meeting with Anne.

Can’t find Avery scene either… i only receive her call and the next page turn to the MC sleeping anxiously

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@Megus @Eric_knight: Sorry! I think I figured it out. I know I kept getting stuck at the scene where you can decorate your desk. After I removed it, I was able to get to the new Avery scenes. When you have time, could you let me know if it’s working for you?

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