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[Stereotomy]

A lot of ideas that have been posted I've thought were pretty bad, but pretty much all of the stuff in the above post by gene123, especially the cosmetic suggestions, is spot on.

On the point about more freedom to choose when to use functions, it'd be nice to have to work out the 'use scanner to determine gender' thing yourself, rather than the game telling you.

[qqqbbb]

Who would have thought a game about stamping papers can be so addictive...

I like everything about the game except sniping people, it really looks out of place. How about making it optional? As gene123 wrote an alarm button seems like a good alternative. The quicker you press it the less chances runner has to get away or hurt guards.

Here is some more ideas:
Your family will get hungry and ill if you dont make enough money but somehow you are invulnerable. Why not make hunger and illness affect player? If you are ill you may start coughing (which waists precious time) or your eyesight may get worse. If you have not eaten in days you may just faint.
What about bribes and threats? That would be quite immersive if someone threatens you or your family and you have to figure out if they are bluffing or not. And if some thug threatens you with a weapon you have to quickly pull down shutters to protect yourself.
People want hotkeys for documents... How about this: if papers are stacked you can rightclick drag all of them (like you do in RL). This would make returning papers to immigrant workers much easier.

And some minor thing:
In slavic languages names are gender dependent. Male last names end with ski, ov, ev, in. Female last names end with ska, ova, eva, ina. So Maria Kozlovski is westernized version which does not make sense to native speakers.

[Mirka]

I'm sorry, Lucas Pope, but I was unable to reproduce the bug of detaining the pimp and getting the girls killed. I saw it in version 0.5.07 and tried to reproduce everything I did in version 0.5.11, but no luck. I did however, get something strange in the news and I will post it later.

Also, as someone offered earlier, I would like to offer my translation services, for free.

[Gila]

This game is great, no doubt about that. I've played through the beta three times now, and there's a suggestion I figured couldn't hurt. Since playing the latest beta version I really wish you would implement a difficulty setting in the game. It could be something as simple as making the days shorter in real time as the difficulty increases. Actually, that would be pretty awesome.

The game wasn't exactly hard the first time I played (ended up without heat on two separate days I think), but now it's getting just a little monotonous. The only real reason for this is the amount of applicants I ended up processing through the days. The days that are artificially cut short by terrorist attacks are kind of a nice exception to this. My record so far is 19 people processed on day 3. I was never really short for cash during this playthrough and at the end of day 8 I had around $90 saved up. This kind of takes the challenge out of the game and reduces the replayability value at least for me. Learning new things to look out for always takes a bit, but once you've learned them, the difficulty of doing that thing is just so much less it makes it almost too easy. Making it possible to shorten the days would make things challenging again and at least for me challenging is fun.

[Angrytemplar]

Cool game so far, completed all of the current beta, however, I encountered a pretty severe bug. For some reason medicine didn't work, and it killed off everyone in my family except my wife, despite having purchased it every single time. Was I also meant to keep them warm and fed or something?

[Flotilla]

Congrats on getting Greenlit!

[Monolith]

First off, hi everyone! Newbie here. I absolutely loved playing the beta, had me fascinated for hours! Splendid work! The atmosphere is brilliant and flawlessly exectuted, right down the texture of the paper. As someone who lived in a place similar to this fictional Communist State, it made me feel... well, I dunno if "nostalgic" is the right word for it, but it certainly helps the immersion, that you got all that right. Reminds me of when I used to leaf through my parents' old documents.

Right then, with that out of the way, I have a few things to add to the ideas floating around. In no particular order:

• Weather effects: I'm 100% behind this (assuming it's feasible for the dev, and not a huge pain). Seeing the queue of miserable people lined up outside the checkpoint was a vital part of the oppressive feeling of the game, as a whole (which, incidentally, is why I support your "no speaker hotkey" policy, even though it would make things easier). But you'd have to make sure to really nail the sound design. I can't think of a better way to set the mood of a crappy, rainy afternoon than the sound of rain as it hits the cheap aluminum roof of the booth. Maybe make a transition when the character first moves across the screen to his station, from an outdoor rain sound to an indoor one.
• The gun debate: Seems to me that this is something a lot of the fans don't like (although I might be wrong, seeing as I didn't go through the whole thread. But I really like that idea. Sure, it might remove the feeling of helplessness and powerlessness one feels when some desperate terrorist makes a break for the fence, but, I think it would be a critial factor in establishing your station in the game world. For one, it's an immersion thing. Part of the appeal of the game is feeling like this is your actual job (I made sure to wear the unimpressed, joyless face of a government clerk while I played for the full effect   ) and it's vital to remember that your avatar is living in a heavily militarized dictatorship, so it should stand to reason that all boarder staff be armed. Further, it helps to establish the power-dynamic of the game. You are helpless in some ways, but you're not the bottom of the food chain. You may be struggling, but you're still better off than the sorry wretches filing past your window. Having a gun is an ever-present reminder of why that is. They comply because they're afraid of you and what you represent. To them (most of them, at any rate) you are an insufferable, pedantic bureaucrat, squinting and hemming and hawing over their paperwork, and barking orders at them. By all rights, they should want to reach into the booth and throttle you, but they don't. Maybe instead of a rifle, it should just be a Makarov handgun in a drawer, a simple 26 ounces of power and fear that separate you from them. It might also add to the challenge of the game, having to remain alert, and to not get hypnotized by the constant barrage of paperwork (and add another reason to look up from the desk). Maybe make it so there's no penalty for failing to stop a runner (the other guards will get him if you don't) but include a bonus for bagging a desperate man making a break for the boarder. But I also like the idea of remaining alert to ensure your immediate safety, and keeping an eye on whoever you're examining in case they're a desperate renegade.
• fingerprint/detainment being a constantly available option: Sounds interesting. Would help the procedural gameplay, but it also might be a little overwhelming for new players. I say give it a shot. Maybe make it optional.
• A new suggestion: This one is a little tentative (as it makes me a little uncomfortable even to bring it up, but hey we already explored the wonderful, charming world of human trafficking in the beta). Let me preface this by saying that the "search" mechanic is a brilliant idea, really evoking the distasteful nature of your "job". So, what if the ramifications of such a gross invasion of privacy came into play in the form of an opportunity to earn extra bribe-money? Say for instance, on a certain day a sleezy-looking individual approaches your booth offering to pay you in exchange for the photographs you took, creating another morals vs. pragmatism decision for the player to make? Like I said, it might be taking things a little too far (in terms of both decency and subtle nature of the game), and if that's the case, I apologize, but it's something to consider as a one-off occurrence.
• I also like the idea of making the political ideology and system ambiguous. Might be Communist. Might be fascist. Might even be a corporate autocracy. Who cares? Probably not at all like what it was on paper, and likely too mired in self-interest and internal backstabbing to be any recognizable political system. "Workers' Republic of Arstotzka". I like it

[TL;DR: Weather effects: yes please, Gun: yes please, persistent tools: I 'unno, maybe. Consider adding a one-off immigrant who wants to buy your "dirty" photos.]

[Edit: Hell Yeah! Greenlit! And now we drink, Comrades! Glory to Arstotzka!]

[melos]

WOAH greenlight.

nice man.

[Belimoth]

 

[melos]

AND THE TIGSOURCE GREENLIGHT VICTORIES CONTINUE.

[gimymblert]

  let's party!

[Panurge]

Great news! Can't wait for the full game to be released.

 

[Eigen]

HOLY SHIT, LUCAS! YOU MAD IT!

[Stereotomy]

 

[JohnnyG]

This is a great game, very atmospheric and immersive. I have a few suggestions to make it even more immersive:

Cosmetic/Balance changes:

• The game atmosphere shared both Communist and Fascist elements (e.g. the eagle is a Fascist/Nazi rather than Communist symbol, while the red color is indeed Communist). I think it's great to be purposefully ambiguous, so instead of introducing the country as "communist country of Arstotzka", try for a title such as "Workers' Republic of Arstotzka". This is nice and ambigous as historically both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union considered themselves "Workers' States", and also sounds like something the country would officially title itself as, adding to the immersion.

You've never seen the Albanian flag then?!?!?

The game is clearly set in a cold war setting (1982) in a fictional Eastern block country.  Of course it is communist.  I just wanted to knock this idea of introducing fascism into the game on the head as it is certainly NOT the correct timescale or setting.

[GepardenK]

Noticed this game through Totalbiscut and I just have to say that it is fantastic! Such a well executed idea. You have no idea how much I love the stress and the paper shuffling

One thing I feel is a slightly missed opportunity in the current beta is the family management at the end of each day. It is not quite up to the immersive standard of the paper shuffling. I also noticed a few people talking about being confused about if they had any power over their child getting sick or not, so it may not be clear enough in that regard.

What I propose is that buying food and heat etc is separate from the payment and rent calculation, and not in any way automatic. The simple change that the players themselves must buy food and other goods from a dedicated menu using their hard earned money will add a sufficient amount of worrying I think in this particular mode of the game. I know you can currently change what you want to spend money on, but I feel the current method is too simple and easy to ignore, you dont get that "using my money here" and "managing whats important" feeling. I believe this can be fixed with a simple store menu were you must choose to spend (or not spend) money

The second, more advanced, idea I had was that the player could get into debt if he couldn't pay rent and other automatic expenses. Maybe he has to take a loan (with a cruel down payment plan) or get kicked out of his current home. The specifics are up to debate but the general idea is that you can get into this slippery slope were your existence get darker and more desperate as you continue to get into monetary trouble. Maybe tie a simple emergent story to it with people knocking on your door demanding money if you are in trouble and so on. Just seeing that minus sign in front of your balance and an extra downpayment option to spend money on in the store should really get people stressed.  

I know gamedesign is hard work and that small ideas can quickly add up. I also know you have your own vision for this project. I just wanted to point out that this family management part can be a really nice opportunity for some overall "persistent" drama and emergent storytelling while still keeping the mode itself simple and fast (after all, the paper shuffling is the main game)

Anyways, thanks for a great experience and congratulations on the greenlight!

[forwardresent]

Glory to Arstotzka!

Congrats man. Very much looking forward to this.

[Mirka]

Congratulations, Lucas Pope, for being greenlit! You deserve it!

Please don't make it a Steam Exclusive.
Glory to Arstotzka!

[reemr]

First of all I have to say that I really like Papers, please & congrats on getting greenlit. One of a kind! There is however something that I am hoping that you will change. Right now there's some scripted events that happen in the campaign and the characters in those events always have the same name (and face I think). Would it be possible to randomize that too? It would make it a lot harder when you've got a new name to remember each time an event pops up. If it's the same old name it will be easy to remember & spot.

[Squeegy]

Huzzah for being greenlit! I tried out the "accept everyone except obviously wrong passports":



Still ended the game with $255.

I think it'd be cool also if how lax you are in previous days affected how many people show up the next day with discrepancies or forged documents.