# Laid Off (WIP) **URL:** \ **Category:** Works In Progress\ **Tags:** nonbinary-inclusive, gender-choice, romance\ **Created:** [May 29, 2025, 12:07pm UTC](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/t/laid-off-wip/169550 "2025-05-29T12:07:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Planc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/choiceofgames/user_avatar/forum.choiceofgames.com/planc/32/253042_2.png) [@Planc](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/u/Planc)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2025, 12:07pm UTC](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/t/laid-off-wip/169550/1 "2025-05-29T12:07:59Z")
Hello, hello! I’m working on a new game with the title: _Laid Off_ Now, I only have experience writing fan fictions and original stories on other platforms like Ao3 or Wattpad. I’ve just started making it a few days ago and posted it before I made this forum post, or make an account (did not think it through, I’m going to be honest). It’s heavily inspired by supernatural mangas and the Japanese digital horror media, including songs that I really like. The story is in version D.2.6, where there are just some minor fixes in code and missing texts. Here’s the summary of the story: _You lost your job, you lost your apartment, and you almost lost your will to live. But then your life took a bit of a positive turn as you found a cheap apartment, that may or may not come with an additional unwanted roommate._ Currently, it has a Prologue fully completed in 3 parts, but Chapter 1 is still in the works. In total, it’s about 55,7k words (including code). The genre is varied, but it focuses more on the MC’s daily life and the people around them (3 ROs and NPCs), it’s also based on Japanese culture and ghosts. For feedbacks, I’m fine with anything, especially if it has criticism about the characters in the story. Because that’s what I want to do great for this. Bug reports and grammatical fixes are also open! I’m not an amazing coder or great in English (not my first language), so it definitely helps a ton if you want to send me those as well. My goal for this game is not too big or have some grandeur plot line, just something rather small and what I’m familiar of (which is character studies). Here’s the demo for those interested: [CoGDemos](https://cogdemos.ink/play/planc/laid-off/mygame) ---
**Author:** ![inshy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/choiceofgames/user_avatar/forum.choiceofgames.com/inshy/32/261306_2.png) [@inshy](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/u/inshy)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2025, 1:27pm UTC](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/t/laid-off-wip/169550/2 "2025-05-29T13:27:29Z")
read it last night, the first encounter with the ghost makes me feel like reading the doujin all over again. I don’t know how Aoi personality will be like, but you had me when I read “Short” in the description ---
**Author:** ![Planc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/choiceofgames/user_avatar/forum.choiceofgames.com/planc/32/253042_2.png) [@Planc](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/u/Planc)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2025, 1:42pm UTC](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/t/laid-off-wip/169550/3 "2025-05-29T13:42:22Z")
Glad I could do the doujin justice, I always liked how the story is paced, as it’s surprisingly good. As for Aoi/Aoshi, you’ll see how she/he is in the completed Chapter 1! ---
**Author:** ![Dragomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/choiceofgames/user_avatar/forum.choiceofgames.com/dragomer/32/162730_2.png) [@Dragomer](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/u/Dragomer)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2025, 3:05pm UTC](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/t/laid-off-wip/169550/4 "2025-05-29T15:05:27Z")
Ghost roommate story? Seems neat. ---
**Author:** ![maymay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/choiceofgames/user_avatar/forum.choiceofgames.com/maymay/32/249025_2.png) [@maymay](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/u/maymay)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2025, 4:02pm UTC](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/t/laid-off-wip/169550/5 "2025-05-29T16:02:28Z")
definitely seems super interesting so far! especially the ghost👀 can’t wait to see where the story goes in the future, you’ve done a great job so far! ---
**Author:** ![Planc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/choiceofgames/user_avatar/forum.choiceofgames.com/planc/32/253042_2.png) [@Planc](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/u/Planc)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2025, 4:10pm UTC](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/t/laid-off-wip/169550/6 "2025-05-29T16:10:14Z")
Thanks! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Christopher\_Bull](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/choiceofgames/user_avatar/forum.choiceofgames.com/christopher_bull/32/106136_2.png) [@Christopher\_Bull](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/u/Christopher_Bull)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2025, 7:29pm UTC](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/t/laid-off-wip/169550/7 "2025-05-29T19:29:55Z")
Nice build up for the lonely spook. The MC and the ghost can probably help each other out. It just trying to get attention all along since it obviously freaked out the last people and make the place a hard sell. ---
**Author:** ![Planc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/choiceofgames/user_avatar/forum.choiceofgames.com/planc/32/253042_2.png) [@Planc](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/u/Planc)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2025, 4:58am UTC](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/t/laid-off-wip/169550/8 "2025-05-30T04:58:30Z")
Thanks! I’m not the best at writing horror, so glad I could nail that part and making people sympathize with the ghost. ---
**Author:** ![Zalardo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/choiceofgames/user_avatar/forum.choiceofgames.com/zalardo/32/165130_2.png) [@Zalardo](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/u/Zalardo)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2025, 5:21am UTC](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/t/laid-off-wip/169550/9 "2025-05-30T05:21:21Z")
Ngl is really funny how MC sees a ghosts on his apartment and basically just goes “yeah sure why not” and immediately trears her as a roommate,even sating bye as you leave the apartment later ---
**Author:** ![Planc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/choiceofgames/user_avatar/forum.choiceofgames.com/planc/32/253042_2.png) [@Planc](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/u/Planc)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2025, 6:03am UTC](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/t/laid-off-wip/169550/10 "2025-05-30T06:03:54Z")
To be fair, MC’s priorities are kinda weird sometimes, lol. But that tends to happen when your priority is getting food on the table. ---
**Author:** ![AnneWest](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/choiceofgames/user_avatar/forum.choiceofgames.com/annewest/32/237419_2.png) [@AnneWest](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/u/AnneWest)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2025, 2:54pm UTC](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/t/laid-off-wip/169550/11 "2025-05-30T14:54:09Z")
Probably helps that there’s no other viable alternative. It’s that apartment or living on the street, it sounds like. ---
**Author:** ![Planc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/choiceofgames/user_avatar/forum.choiceofgames.com/planc/32/253042_2.png) [@Planc](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/u/Planc)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2025, 6:07am UTC](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/t/laid-off-wip/169550/12 "2025-05-31T06:07:54Z")
Hello, hello! Laid Off is now updated to the newest version: D.3.0! It’s quite the big update since the word count is now around _~103.8k_. Summary/Premise: _You lost your job, you lost your apartment, and you almost lost your will to live. But then your life took a bit of a positive turn as you found a cheap apartment, that may or may not come with an additional unwanted roommate._ Click here to check out the updated demo: > **[CoGDemos](https://cogdemos.ink/play/planc/laid-off/mygame)** > **Features** > > - Three romance options which are: > - The ghost that haunts your apartment. > - The eccentric priest who can read you like a book. > - The landowner who has something going on. > > - Managing your sanity. > - Poverty simulator, changing part-time jobs often or finally getting a stable and well-paying job. > - A character study of the ROs and MC, and how the current Japanese society affects them in numerous ways. > **Update** > > - Chapter 1 is still finished! (~57k words) > - Added the final RO: The Priest! > - Added a new NPC > - Added an interlude for the next chapter > - Added a codex for the Japanese terms and words > - Added conditional texts for The Landowner and The Ghost > - Fixed some texts and indents in the relationship page > - Fixed bugs ---
**Author:** ![HarrisPS](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/choiceofgames/user_avatar/forum.choiceofgames.com/harrisps/32/240120_2.png) [@HarrisPS](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/u/HarrisPS)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2025, 7:34am UTC](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/t/laid-off-wip/169550/13 "2025-05-31T07:34:39Z")
I moved your post into your original thread as it’s tidier to have one thread per WIP. I’ve made the top post a wiki so you should now be able to edit it. ---
**Author:** ![Lonily](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/choiceofgames/user_avatar/forum.choiceofgames.com/lonily/32/188820_2.png) [@Lonily](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/u/Lonily)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2025, 10:54am UTC](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/t/laid-off-wip/169550/14 "2025-05-31T10:54:09Z")
This has been such an enjoyable read. Excited to see how its going to continue !! ---
**Author:** ![Planc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/choiceofgames/user_avatar/forum.choiceofgames.com/planc/32/253042_2.png) [@Planc](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/u/Planc)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2025, 11:05am UTC](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/t/laid-off-wip/169550/15 "2025-05-31T11:05:56Z")
Thank you for playing the game, glad you enjoyed it! ---
**Author:** ![Christopher\_Bull](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/choiceofgames/user_avatar/forum.choiceofgames.com/christopher_bull/32/106136_2.png) [@Christopher\_Bull](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/u/Christopher_Bull)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2025, 1:02pm UTC](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/t/laid-off-wip/169550/16 "2025-05-31T13:02:33Z")
Yes. An update now we can hang with some characters for bit now the MC has a safety net to fall on back on instead of the streets. Hopefully our new boss from either job won’t come up with a crappy excuse to let us go like at the start ---
**Author:** ![FGR\_94](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/choiceofgames/user_avatar/forum.choiceofgames.com/fgr_94/32/236691_2.png) [@FGR\_94](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/u/FGR_94)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2025, 2:01pm UTC](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/t/laid-off-wip/169550/17 "2025-05-31T14:01:59Z")
I don’t know anything about the Japanese culture but surely using Mrs is incorrect as that title is used for married women right? Wouldn’t the right title for an female MC be Miss, Which is used for single women who haven’t been married. Sorry. Great demo so far, just wanted to ask is all. ---
**Author:** ![Planc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/choiceofgames/user_avatar/forum.choiceofgames.com/planc/32/253042_2.png) [@Planc](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/u/Planc)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2025, 2:12pm UTC](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/t/laid-off-wip/169550/18 "2025-05-31T14:12:27Z")
Actually no, Mrs and Miss are both neutral honorifics because they correlate to “-san”, which applies to Mr and other types of honorific titles. And that honorific title is used with someone you don’t know well or acquainted with. However, there is a specific way to address the wife or married women, which is “Oyome-san”. if I recall correctly, it’s used when you don’t know the wife’s name, or if you don’t want to disrespect the husband. Also, thank you for enjoying the game! And it’s fine, I don’t mind these questions 😃 ---
**Author:** ![FGR\_94](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/choiceofgames/user_avatar/forum.choiceofgames.com/fgr_94/32/236691_2.png) [@FGR\_94](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/u/FGR_94)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2025, 2:23pm UTC](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/t/laid-off-wip/169550/19 "2025-05-31T14:23:32Z")
Ah my apologies. Well now I know. Keep up the good work. ---
**Author:** ![Planc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/choiceofgames/user_avatar/forum.choiceofgames.com/planc/32/253042_2.png) [@Planc](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/u/Planc)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2025, 2:23pm UTC](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/t/laid-off-wip/169550/20 "2025-05-31T14:23:49Z")
No problem! [Next page](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/t/laid-off-wip/169550.md?page=2)