Day job
Introduction
Previous phase: Morning.
Next phase:
The character found a job as a project manager at Pythia Solutions . This consists of receiving and filling requests received from The Government about anything: construction, data, special operations, etc.
Once the file’s tasks are all filled, the player can submit it.
Schedule
The day job happens between 09:00 and 18:00, with a break / flashfoward between 12:00 and 14:00. At 18:00 sharp, the character will out of the office for the day and / or the week-end.
Daily meetings
Each day between 09:30 and 10:30, a meeting will happen. It’s an unskippable (short) scene where Jameson will talk about previous tasks that were completed, and new task that will be assigned. Those are the moments when the player gets to see the consequences of a sabotage and / or the progress of a living thread. Usually, new files and deadlines are given to the player.
Task types
Personnel Assignment (Wiring)
Description
Example of setup: 4 documents on the left side of the screen, and an organizational chart with 3 slots on the right (1 “chief” and 2 “subordinates”). One of the documents on the left will be about who should decide, the other documents will be the actual names, one of them being cited by the document. The user needs to wire the names to the organizational chart’s “spaces”. As long as all the spaces are wired with a name, the task will be defined as “valid” and can be submitted.
Sabotaging
Depending on the context, the wrong person could be assign as the chief, which would then complicate thing on the field. However, a repeated wrong assignment will trigger the pattern detector software.
Amount selector (Materials and Budget)
Description
Quantity selection for infrastructure work: kilometers of cable, budget allocation, replacement component count, fuel for generators, worker-hours authorized.
Sabotage
Pick a “near exact” value, too big or too low depending on the task itself. Not enough hours, budget, ammo, fuel, mercenaries, or too many vehicles, loss or enemy detected.
Repair Approach Selection (Inspect Sample)
Description
The right side of the screen will display up to 6 possibles choices to make, the choices being about anything: weapon, people, vehicles, names, equipment, etc.
The related documents on the left side of the screen will provide clues on what would be the best choice. While multiple choices can be correct, the player can only pick one element.
Phases
- Make a “request form”. Select supporting documents that parameters (lab, subject, type of research, etc), then submit the request
- Once submitted, the task will indicate the time required for the research. It can take from a few minutes to q
- Select one of the returned results once it’s complete
Sabotage
The player needs to pick a specific, hardcoded “alternative” solution among what’s suggested.
Access Code Entry (Numpad)
Description
Numerical code authorizing crew access to a secure installation, a substation or a relay facility. The code is provided in a reference document.
Sabotage
Transposed digit; the crew cannot enter; a re-authorization request delays the maintenance window; the outage extends.
Infrastructure QA (4-Slider Panel)
Description
Shared mechanic, department-specific parameters. Four simultaneous sliders assessing the completion quality of a maintenance or installation job. Those 4 sliders can be about anything. And example can be the following: “power stability”, “network integrity”, “physical condition”, “client satisfaction rating”. The provided documents will give an estimation of where each slider should positioned.
Sabotage
Approve a job where one slider sits at the edge of acceptable. the contractor is paid, the job is marked complete, and the marginal parameter surfaces as a fault in the next inspection cycle
Circuit planner (maze)
Description
The player has defined starting and ending points, and they need to link one to the other all while following the documents suggestions, which will consist of avoiding specific zones for example.
Sabotage
Take the longest (and safest) way possible, so the concerned vehicles will take too much time to reach their destinations
File upload
Description
One document on the left panel will indicate which file is needed and why. The other documents are what can be uploaded. The user needs to drag the correct file and drop it in the right side’s drop zone.
Sabotage
Upload a wrong file, as long as it’s in the expected format (txt, doc, pdf…) and it has a similar name.
Radio frequencies
Description
The player needs to turn a handle in order to get the smoothest possible radio waves (pretty much like in Among Us)
Sabotage
Find a threshold where you can hear distinct voices through the radio while turning the radio, but you hardly can hear what they are saying
Target Location (Align Telescope)
Description
Satellite / above view of a zone. Supporting documents will describe what / where it should target.
Sabotage
The player needs to point to the edge of the most acceptable coordinates around the actual solution, based on the infos provided in the supporting documents.
Sonar
Description
Just like the name suggests, a task that will be display as a sonar should be displayed: a circled sweept by a bar that will end up revealing multiple white dots, and a couple red dots. The supporting documents will tell you which red dot is the correct one.
Sabotage
Pick any other red dot closest to the correct one.
Cross-referencing
Description
The right part of the screen will contain 2 documents with skeleton lines and a couple specific names and / or words. Supporting documents on the right side of the screen will indicate which words / names need to be cross referenced.
Sabotage
The player needs to be excessively zealous on this task, and wire as many matching elements as possible. This way, a simple name checking becomes something artificially too serious and can make quiproquos.
Date picker
Description
Each file will always contain a date selection, even though the context will be different from a file to another. A simple date picker displaying a 28 days month. Depending on the context, the player will be given choices between a single correct date, or a range of correct ones. In order to make the task valid, the player needs to select one of the suggested dates
Sabotage
There is a grey zones between a correct (range of) date(s) and actual wrong dates. The player needs to deduce that gap and select any date matching it.
Validation
There are 3 levels of validation:
Format validity
The interfaces forces the player to submit actually valid files, where all tasks have been handled. Any empty task grays out the submit button.
Contextual plausability
Values must make sense for the operation type. Maho Kawashima catches obvious mismatches, but subtle ones get through.
Pattern detection
The software watches for correlations across submissions over time. Same method repeatedly, or same data source always, triggers it.
Sabotage
Sabotage is an ability the player can obtain from the 2nd third of the game, by completing The Predecessor living thread. A successful sabotage need to pass the 3 validations checks described earlier.
Effects
Sabotaging a file will have the following effects:
Story
Either unlock a living thread, or the next part of it
Pythia Solutions
As long as it is related to a living thread, it will remove some health points to Pythia Solution’s health.
Finances
Since sabotaging makes a file not fully successful even though the job was done, the player will not be awarded the full bonus of a mission
Mental health
Sabotages will also degrade the character’s mental health, which impacts his appearence
Other notes
- The player can be interrupted at any point by a NPC while working. This will change the “day job” gameplay into a “visual novel” gameplay.