Indie Game Club Issue 4: No More Papers Please
Hi all, and welcome back to SUPERJUMPS Indie Game Club! After last month's existential loathing in the fish farms, we present a lighter issue that tackles the woes of clerical overtime. No More Papers Please by Panchinerino, Urbancat, NotFrancis, and Flammyth is a game jam entry created for the 2020 Epic MegaJam, and we are inviting YOU to play along. You can read what the minds at SUPERJUMP thought about the game below and then try it free here for yourself!
And we are only taking a short break from the fish, because next month we are playing the adorable Ranita Fishing by Fáyer which you can play on itch.io for free ahead of our thoughts next month.
Enjoy this month's indie impressions and remember to give independent media a chance!
Nathan Kelly
A game that says a lot in just under 10 minutes. A simple physics game about processing paperwork that basically stays a simple physics game about processing paperwork all the way through. There is a distinct moment where the panic starts to well up inside of you as papers start to pile on top of each other. You struggle to finish even one thing, as more papers flood your desk, and you wonder if this will ever end. Eventually, it does. The paperwork then becomes a smooth process, and by the end of the pile, I even had a bit of a system going. Dragging papers and tools around your desk is super fun when you get the hang of it, and it even becomes a bit relaxing. I had time to organize my desk just a bit and pick up that clock that I threw around in all of the…
The clock read just about 9 pm, and a wave of dread poured over me. There is a second layer that is happening while you scramble to pile up papers. You occasionally get notifications from your family. Little blurbs like “Hey, Dad, I can’t wait to play video games with you tonight.” The closest thing that No More Papers Please has to a timer is the clock that tells you roughly what time it is. I technically beat No More Papers Please, finishing all of my paperwork. But seeing the messages from your wife saying “Dinners getting cold…” and “Goodnight, don’t work too hard” hits the same as any game over screen.
Just like any great short film, No More Papers Please takes a simple idea and puts the audience into an experience that makes them think about its themes long after its short runtime. The work never ends. I have seen enough toxic office culture in my lifetime to know how to say no to unfair requests. But if this game reaches an audience that hasn’t joined the workforce, I hope they can find a lesson among the game's layers of satire.
Hazare Renne-Glover
Six minutes... That is how much time I spent playing, cursing, enjoying, and ultimately finishing No More Papers Please, an indie title developed by Panchinerino. Designed with simple mechanics and straightforward objectives, you begin your day at the end, stamping or shredding the final documents to fulfill your daily assignments. Or so you thought.
Leaving the interesting parts for you to find out, I'll instead describe my experience playing No More Papers Please by setting a scene. Let me take you back to the movie theaters of 2004. The Incredibles, an animated superhero movie by Pixar, has been released, and there you are, in your seat. Ten minutes into the film, you're hit with the scene of Mr. Incredible at his current day job. Signing papers, heckled by his boss, stamping papers, more boss heckling. Now focus on his face; that look of pain, anguish, and abject loathing. Having yet to live through that exact scenario, Panchinerino's second published indie managed to serve that feeling to me on a coffee-stained document.
A behavioral pattern I've noticed is that sometimes, I might enjoy the pain, maybe a little too much. That typically lands me a second attempt at voluntary torture, a mistake in which I frequently indulge. After completing my first trek through the escalating organizational nightmare, I unfortunately thought I had worked out a simple meta and foolishly attempted to complete the game faster by using it. Never have I force-quit a game so quickly.
To my credit, I abruptly and reluctantly ended my second run because the blue stamp got stuck behind the monitor on my desk, and I couldn't get it back.
Sidestepping the masochism, I think some may share in the relief I felt upon completing this game. That feeling of being released or overcoming a struggle/hardship, Panchinerino's No More Papers Please is a testament to a specific kind of pain and suffering. Throughout the cubicle crucifixion, I was undermined by fits of anxiety and frustration. But still, after the credits, I was smiling and thankful to have weathered this unjust trial of unadulterated clerical abuse.