Office S p a c e

Overview

Office Space is a multiplayer strategy game based around the complex ecosystem and challenges of life in the office. As a player you will be taking on the role of manager of your own small team of office workers, each of whom have unique and very human characteristics. Every office works towards a common goal and ideally they do so as a unified team. This means that all players will need to coordinate with one another to overcome obstacles and complete the Offices tasks on schedule. Much like a real office, players may be forced to work together, but all the while their goal is to be the most productive team in the office.

Analysis

Originally conceptualized as a teaching tool in corporate leadership workshops, Office Space is designed to simulate the office environment. The goal was to put players in a world where they can feel a sense of immersion and connection to the employees that drives their desire to problem solve on their team’s behalf. Acting on behalf of one’s team may not always translate to a benefit for all player’s teams, even though that is the real world goal. Because of this reality, competitive tendencies are inevitable, especially in a game designed with a single winner outcome such as this. In the event of a tie there can be two winners, but the previously mentioned competitive nature of people will do all that it can to prevent such situation.

The core mechanic in Office Space is the movement of desks. Desks represent employees and they must be moved every turn, with a turn representing one month. This was designed to communicate to players that moving employees in an office environment can be beneficial in optimizing their productivity or better suiting their personal needs/desires. While most board games have linear paths of movement for one piece representing yourself to move through, Office Space allows players somewhat free movement to any space in a 3D environment. This 3D environment has landmarks with un-designated zones of influence. By design this makes players come to the realization over time that being close to places like the Bosses office may be too stressful for some employees, and they would be much better suited in the corner by a window. However, with a move happening every turn players are forced to find a balance for their employees. Much like chess, players must think about their movements in advance and account for the likelihood of other players moving into their prospective location. Throughout the game players will encounter the addition of employees, problematic fluctuations in employee stats, possible firings or resignations, and more than likely unfair work conditions. It is the player’s job to navigate these challenges through strategic placement, meeting submissions, private office occupation, and coordination/negotiation with other players.

While working with other players is optional, it is also inevitable. By incorporating the unpredictability and complexities of human interaction as a component of play, the game becomes much more dynamic. My vision in creation of Office Space was for players to realize the different mentality they take on when forced into a role of responsibility, cooperation, negotiation, unfairness, and chance. Beyond that, even if players leave the game feeling dissatisfied, they would have had a cerebral experience with some degree of self discovery or awareness that will improve their skills in similar, real world future situations.

While there are no time constraints in the current version of the game, the play time is quite long at 60 turns (5 Year Plan). In future versions there will be accelerated plans, but as it stands, I find that 60 is sufficient for bringing players to the level of immersion the game most benefits from. However, because at the end of the day this game is a simulation of an office, and an office isn’t the most exciting of places to find yourself in, I have attempted to employ narrative elements to elevate the fantasy. Upon choosing your company outline at the beginning of the game you will be presented with 3 unique background stories for yourself and your fellow players (Found in the Company Options section of the Design Document linked below). After choosing a narrative which is purposefully broad for the sake of modularity and replay value, players are tasked with coming up with a name for their fictitious company. By forcing player wide engagement and brainstorming from the beginning it will prompt creative thinking and set the tone for fellowship or competitiveness. Ideally this creativity will be used to create personas of each employee based on their image, job title, and random personality. Much like reading a book, the characters we are introduced to are prefaced with a broad description of personality and physical characteristics. It is only when we continue reading and experiencing with these characters that we begin to develop them in our minds at a deeper, much more real level. As the game progresses, players will begin to feel much more invested in their employees and must make tough choices like mistreating them for the sake of increasing their likelihood of winning, or playing a friend to all and risking a loss. From these tough decisions, sometimes forced by other players creates drama within the office, adding another level of thinking stemming from emotional reactions.

In designing Office Space, the name of the game was authenticity and cerebral gameplay. From the architectural scale model, to the uniquely specific attributes based on each personality type, the goal was realism. Realism is afforded, it is in the hands of the players to afford that reality.