Cashier Every Day by schwede

[raw]
made by schwede for Ludum Dare 47 (COMPO)

Do you think a Cashier Job in a shop is an easy thing? Think again! Working at the front in a shop is a hard job. You are trapped in an infinity loop of articles and customers that can be easily unsatisfied. Go and play and get the real feeling of being a cashier.

screen<em>gameplay</em>2.png

Ratings

Overall 342th 3.357⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Fun 368th 3.143⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 252th 3.429⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Theme 182th 3.881⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 486th 2.905⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Audio 377th 2.85⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Humor 86th 3.5⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Mood 150th 3.553⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Given 28🗳️ 16🗨️

Feedback

SirRed
05. Oct 2020 · 08:20 UTC
After playing this I am even happier I have never had a cashier job. After a few minutes I was able to have a relaxing rhythm and have a much greater appreciation for all cashiers now. I didnt know you had to click and hold the mouse to grab the item in the beginning, but I was able to quickly figure it out.
TheVideoGamester
05. Oct 2020 · 08:23 UTC
Don't miss that job. Theme is just too applicable its sad to think about. lol.
Kazatan
05. Oct 2020 · 09:51 UTC
This was frustrating - in a good way!

It took a couple of passes to start to find the right angle that the barcode scanned at. I mean - that sentence is awesome because it shows that you've captured some of the essence of the cashier job!

It got pretty difficult I thought but the gameplay mechanics of pick, rotate, swipe were solid. I may have preferred a more granular rotation - as in slowly rotate it around the center whilst you hold down the button instead of the angle snap rotation but I don't know how that would have affected the gameplay.

Graphics being hand drawn gave it a fun look and colourful. I'd have loved more expressions on the customer faces - they made me laugh :grin:

Sound effects were minimal but totally as expected. It would have been great to have some background music too!

Overall I thought it was a fun experience and a solid LD entry 👏 👍
🎤 schwede
09. Oct 2020 · 07:09 UTC
@sirred

Thank you for your feedback. My first attempt was to make it fun, but it became a simulator. 😂

@thevideogamester

Thank you for dropping by and play the game. Yeah, I believe this job is really a loop feeling. But if we notice it, maybe we can give all the cashier some more patience and a friendly smile even though they look exhausted.

@kazatan

Hey! I am joyful you gave my game a visit! Originally I wanted to make it sort of fun, but the outcome was a simulator. I wanted to give a tiny insight into this job. And maybe some people will see this job with fresh eyes after they played this game.

“_It got pretty difficult I thought but the gameplay mechanics of pick, rotate, swipe were solid. I may have preferred a more granular rotation - as in slowly rotate it around the center whilst you hold down the button instead of the angle snap rotation but I don’t know how that would have affected the gameplay._”

I like your idea of rotating the object with a velocity. I should have implemented this feature instead of the fix rotation. 😎

“_Graphics being hand drawn gave it a fun look and colourful. I’d have loved more expressions on the customer faces ..._”

The customers should change their expression on their face depending how long they have to wait in the queue.

Thank you for your comment and ideas!
iorena
12. Oct 2020 · 08:15 UTC
Incredible game, maybe the most fun one I've played here so far. The mechanic was solid and everything worked smoothly. It really felt like the limiting factor in my success as a cashier was my own skill, not the game mechanics.

Maybe the level design could have been fine-tuned a bit more - on Thursday and Friday it become impossible to satisfy most customers. Or maybe the difficulty was intentional.
🎤 schwede
12. Oct 2020 · 19:10 UTC
@iorena 

Thank you very much for your motivating comment! I must admit that on some days, you didn’t stand a chance. I wanted to keep it so much real as possible. Some people are almost always unsatisfied and if you try to satisfy them, you have an enormous challenge. Thanks for stopping by!
CG_Fred
12. Oct 2020 · 20:57 UTC
Pretty cool concept, would have loved some more SFX and music. Got super stressed when the scanner wouldn't scan properly, probably what happens in real life also.
Cookie_CHR
12. Oct 2020 · 21:17 UTC
Some music would be nice - besides, most stores have background music, don't they? :)
Rather classic game, I didn't gate far since my laptop doesn't want for me to click around AND press the arrow keys simultaneously, but I think I grasped the concept.
Barrier
12. Oct 2020 · 21:24 UTC
Aaah a job simulator! took me a while to figure out how to play, but I like the concept. Having to fumble with items to get them to scan, such joy...
But anyways, good job making the thing! :)
🎤 schwede
13. Oct 2020 · 13:28 UTC
@cg-fred

Thank you for your feedback. I total agree on SFX sounds. I could have added easily some customer sounds when they became unsatisfied. That would create a unique atmosphere. I bet it would have increased the pressure.

@cookie-chr

Yeah, the ambient store music would have been epic! I am sorry to hear it didn’t work out with your laptop. Maybe my controls were a bit too confusing. Thx for taking the time and play my game! Good luck with your game journey!

@barrier

Simulator jobs for ever! Glad hearing your feedback. This game needs a decent tutorial, and the controls need to be much more intuitive. Thank you for your time.
Sli
16. Oct 2020 · 21:57 UTC
Nice take on theme. It took me a little time to figure out that the item with no barcode is the separator for next customer.
I liked your idea of upgrades. Good job
fronwewq
16. Oct 2020 · 21:58 UTC
This is a really great entry. Very strong vibes of Papers, Please - in fact, I could see expanding this in a similar fashion, with more annoying tasks to maintain. I thought rotating the objects was a brilliant way to introduce difficulty. There were a few problems I encountered, like the scanner not scanning consistently (even when the red light was on), and the later difficulty felt physically impossible. I tried just grabbing everything and throwing it through without scanning, and I still ran out of time! Understandable issues given the time constraints, but I really loved the idea. I think you should keep developing this!
🎤 schwede
18. Oct 2020 · 11:32 UTC
@Sli

Hey, nice to hear you took the time to play my game. As I have seen so far, everyone thought they had to scan the separator. 😲 Thank for your feedback!


@fronwewq

Yeah, my idea is originally from Papers, Please. Well observed and thank you for your motivating words 🎉 / feedback 📈! I have thought about creating at least a small stable version of the game and then see if it got some potential. The position of the scanner was too high, therefore it was sometimes hard to hit the articles. And yes, some customers you didn’t stand a chance to satisfy them, like in the real world.
LeviDSmith
19. Oct 2020 · 03:26 UTC
Neat idea and well executed for a game jam. At first I didn't know I was supposed to hold space to make the items go down the line, so it would have been nice if they just moved automatically. Maybe have a bar to separate the customers' orders.
Tjabberoni
20. Oct 2020 · 09:45 UTC
Never worked as a cashier but I still felt the anxiety. A bit more sound would have been nice, but maybe the lack of sound except for BEEP is what gives this game its mood. Neat experience
Doot
21. Oct 2020 · 08:52 UTC
Haha this is great!

The feeling of pressure is definitely here, and there are some times where everything goes ok and then you mess with a single article and everything goes to hell.
Great job, the controls feels right, the sound is just what is needed to make the game feel responsive, and the short meta with upgrades and steep difficulty curve is nice!

Great job 💕
🎤 schwede
21. Oct 2020 · 14:59 UTC
@levidsmith

I wanted to create an update where the treadmill is moving by itself. But at the end I didn’t make it and my tutorial was not clear enough.

_Maybe have a bar to separate the customers_

I am not sure what you mean by that? Maybe you mean the form of the existing customer separator was not clear enough? Thank you for taking your time and play my game!


@tjabberoni

Next time when you are standing in a queue of a shop and you think on my game, then my game was a success. 🤣
Thanks a lot for your feedback.


@doot

I am happy to read your comment! If you felt some sort of pressure, my game design went out as expected. 😎
I can image the gigantic pile of articles overflowing your scanner. Thanks for stopping by! 👍
Fractal
25. Oct 2020 · 20:46 UTC
Took me a very long time to figure out that the brown thing cannot be scanned and merely separate the customers. But otherwise, it felt pretty realistic (even though I have never been a cashier) so well done!
Frostfall
25. Oct 2020 · 20:52 UTC
Didn't realise the brown thing wasnt an item so that could have been a little clearer, but really cool game, gives off the Papers Please vibes, I'd love an expanded version.