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Survive 9-5's itch.io pageJudge feedback
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- This was short, sweet, and to the point. A little too short for my liking, but since this is meant to be a demo, that works fine. I do resonate with the MC in feeling burnout at work, and fighting with HR (though not for the alleged interaction in the meeting and at the party in chapter 4). I would have liked to see a fuller story of the day instead of generic corporate management and politicking, maybe a specific project being worked on and insight into the team etc. Moving on to the Game Design Document, everything I look for was there, except a future planning section. The future planning section is important because it accomplishes two important factors. The first is it shows anything that can be done if you are running ahead of schedule, combined with the Dev Timeline that can show what can be skipped if there is not enough time. The second is that it shows what needs to be done after the product is ready to launch (or in this case, after the jam is over). All in all, great work!!!
Link to your Game Design Doc on Google Drive.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1obeg1mfT4nxEBa5WX_sXisv8Gb8cQ-MydwRINq5YARY/edit?usp=sharing
Have you checked that your GDD is publicly accessible ?
Yes
Is your game set to public on itch.io so we can see it?
Yes
Summarize your game!
Survive 9-5 is a dark comedy dialogue game about surviving one brutal corporate day as Ewan K., a burnout with only 4 nerves left to spare. Players navigate four increasingly absurd office meetings HR, boss, birthday party, and a spaced-out coworker through fast-paced, randomized dialogue trees.
Each response affects your Nerve Meter (−1, 0, or +1). Reach 0 nerves and you’ll trigger a “Transcendence Meditation” mini-game, where you must spam the F key in 8 seconds to regain composure or completely burn out.
Mechanics include:
Adaptive music and visuals tied to mental state
Reward items (coffee, gum, donut, bagel) that restore nerves
A branching dialogue system with randomized effects
Controls: Mouse click to choose dialogue, Press F of left mouse click as fast as possible to get through stress.
Goal: Survive the day with at least one nerve intact
Runs in-browser with no AI-generated assets, minimalist visuals, and dry, office-inspired humor.
Please explain how your game fits the theme.
Survive 9–5 is built entirely around the idea that you only get one self, and some days, you’re just trying to protect the one nerve you have left.
You start with 4 nerves, but the real goal is to finish the day with at least one as an act of survival.
One nerve, one version of yourself you haven’t given away to office politics, fake smiles, or HR apologies.
The theme runs through every layer:
Narratively, Ewan K. is trying to protect the last shred of authenticity he has.
Mechanically, you win by finishing with one nerve intact.
Structurally, you only have one day and one version of that day shaped by your choices. Each replay gives you a different version of the same day, but it’s still just one story at a time.
Every choice matters not because it leads to massive plot twists, but because it chips away at who you are.
In that way, we didn’t just include the theme. We built around it.
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Comments
Broooo I literally cried when I heard Schubert's Serenade and saw that MC story is about me haha "He used to care about something... Probably." Now he is reliable... AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA now every time I will sing Serenade I will remember about your game haha :D
But to be honest I also feel a little bit better, amazing how game can connect people :') and how many of us had similar experiences to relate too.
Good job with the game. 10/10 would recommend to HR.
Glad the game connected with you so much my dear bro! Even if it hurt a lil.
It's amazing how little games can connect so many of us, happy it made you feel better :)
Say hello to HR for us 😄
Nothing like getting home from a long day at work to get on itch relive the trauma all over again...10/10
Now, this is what the game is all about 😂 Dude thank you for 10/10!
The big heads is a great design choice, and the little side-to-side shimmy when they slide into view is perfection.
Fun take on the theme!
Appreciate you noticing the little stuff, means a lot! ty for playing :)
I love the art style. The game was fun. I managed to burn-out. Thats the goal right?
Haha, real life ending unlocked 😂 Glad you liked the style , thanks for playing!
The 9-5 burnout is real. The 4pm forced party was too on point lol great game!
Based on a personal experience... 😂 Glad you liked it, thank you for playing!
I have to say, the game is very eye catching with how different it is. As for the game itself, it was quite fun. I could imagine a whole studio making a parody like this with their own faces and such. It would also give them so much more freedom in terms of expressions... maybe even voice acting. Anyways this is a cool "tech demo" of what that could be.
I liked it too, I failed my first attempt lmao
It happens 😂 Thanks for playing :)
Thanks for playing, really glad you found it funny! We were going for that "realistic but still unorthodox cartoony vibe". Big heads just felt right to mix with absurd office dialogue and corporate environment. Thought about using our faces... Nicolas Cage style, and narration (voice acting is great idea btw) but unfortunately there was no time to add all that. But hey, you never know what the future holds :)