Spectrum Computing

Evening. I'm posting this new game on behalf of David Walford

Title: Super Enquiry Simulator
Release: 2019
Publisher: Arbitrary Files (UK)
Authors: David Walford (UK)
Message Language: English
Machine Type: ZX-Spectrum 48K
Genre: Adventure Games: Text/Illustrated
Maximum Players: 1
Control Options: Keyboard
Original Price: N/A

As a short term measure all the files, including an excellent manual are available here:

https://1drv.ms/u/s!ArXoD_0XF-YLg7MjpcB ... Q?e=o9afpp

Thanks Peter, I've got my forum account set up now!

The source code for the game is available on my website (link below.) I'll check in here occasionally in case any questions come up.

http://arbitraryfiles.com/games/ses/technology.html


David W

It'll be in the next update. Ta for sending it to us David.

Nice errr Adventure game.

The sound effects, graphics and atmosphere are cool. EDITED - just had another go—there's more to it than I first realised.

Haha—YOU'RE INSANE!

It's more of a demo than an adventure game, but it's great. Funny and lots of nifty effects. There's a massive amount of work here. It'd be great to see something like this turned into a more interactive experience.

That was one of the most bizarre experiences I've encountered in a Speccy game.

Quite funny though..

Thank you all for the feedback. I went for broke with the strangeness, so it's nice to see that some people made it to the end, and only slightly worrying. Though the ideas were mostly from my overactive imagination, and a bit of personal experience, I hold the CSSCGC partly responsible for encouraging bizarre concepts.

Fair comment on it being a demo. The first plan was for meaningful choices, but even I got bored of following the text while testing, so decided to focus on the presentation instead.

I have no plans to take this game further right now, short of bug fixes, as I am already working on the next one. However, I would be delighted if anyone was mad enough to run with this idea and make a proper game of it.

Very interesting experience. It is rather art than game but thanks a lot.

DaveW wrote: ↑Fri Nov 29, 2019 2:58 pmFair comment on it being a demo. The first plan was for meaningful choices, but even I got bored of following the text while testing, so decided to focus on the presentation instead.

There's some great attention to detail with the graphics and I liked the phone FX. I was definitely intrigued enough to play through till the end, though it wasn't quite what I expected...

Spoiler

...I'm slightly embarrassed to admit that early on in the game I suspected some "sneaky play" later in the story, so carefully wrote down the names of each customer service rep I'd spoken to, along with all the reference numbers..

Beep boo beep boop boop. That was the sound of me dialing a non rotary phone. Good to see the Super Enquiry Simulator on here David.
Hope everyone sticks with it. That's what you've got to do if you want get anywhere with these call center people!

Tried it yesterday using my Spectrum because I think it really helps to immerse myself in the game. I have to say I had never seen anything like this on the Spectrum, I would say that this is more of an interactive experience than a game.
I was inicially following the story and found it very interesting, very out of the ordinary, then at some point strange things started happening...
This is definitely one of the most interesting experiences I've had lately, I've only seen games similar to this made by indie developers for the PC, so this one is very welcome on the Speccy. Loved the strange story, it's great graphics and even the small details like the realistic tone sounds coming from the telephone.

I hope that the author continues to do more games and creating these kind of stories, I really loved it. It's a real breath of fresh air from all the platformers and puzzle games I've seen recently.

If the author reads my message I wanted to know what was his inspiration for this - a book, a movie or maybe his own idea? I'd really like to understand better what happens once you leave home, then things start to get weird very quickly and I think there may be some hidden meaning that I'm not grasping.

A final note, if you (the author) need help with some music, I'd love to be part of your next project. I've been making music for shooters, platformers, but a game like yours would allow me to do very interesting things, to think more "outside the box" and I love projects like that

catmeows wrote: ↑Fri Nov 29, 2019 10:06 pm Very interesting experience. It is rather art than game but thanks a lot.

Thanks. I'm not sure quite how to categorise it myself either, not that it really matters.

Morkin wrote: ↑Sat Nov 30, 2019 12:27 am There's some great attention to detail with the graphics and I liked the phone FX. I was definitely intrigued enough to play through till the end, though it wasn't quite what I expected...

Thanks. It probably took as long to get the graphics right as the rest of the game, so I'm glad that seems to have paid off. Most of the phone effects were relatively straightforward to implement, only requiring a two-channel sound driver, but you might have noticed a strong sense of "that'll do" when it came to the mechanical ringer!

Morkin wrote: ↑Sat Nov 30, 2019 12:27 am

Spoiler

...I'm slightly embarrassed to admit that early on in the game I suspected some "sneaky play" later in the story, so carefully wrote down the names of each customer service rep I'd spoken to, along with all the reference numbers..

Well, at least you might have had the satisfaction of working out who the helpful people were before the late reveals. Though they do get shuffled around at the start of each playthrough - perhaps there are some undocumented control options?

chip-fork wrote: ↑Sat Nov 30, 2019 4:21 pm Beep boo beep boop boop. That was the sound of me dialing a non rotary phone. Good to see the Super Enquiry Simulator on here David.
Hope everyone sticks with it. That's what you've got to do if you want get anywhere with these call center people!

Chip-fork kindly beta tested Super Enquiry Simulator, and now I am testing his forthcoming submission to Woot Tape Magazine.

He got the rough end of the deal.

jumperror wrote: ↑Sun Dec 01, 2019 10:27 pm If the author reads my message I wanted to know what was his inspiration for this - a book, a movie or maybe his own idea? I'd really like to understand better what happens once you leave home, then things start to get weird very quickly and I think there may be some hidden meaning that I'm not grasping.

I've sent you a Private Message - apologies if you aren't the person who sent me an email on Friday.

I enjoyed that, many a chuckle while playing. Great graphics - the kitchen becoming messier was a neat touch.

Spoiler

Liked the Kubrick nod.

And what an accurate simulation, uncanny. And to think, I played it in Arcade mode!