An office, isolated from the rest and located in the darkest corner of the building, a constantly ringing phone, and a weary voice repeating: “Have you tried turning it off and on again?” This unmistakably reminds us of a certain British comedy from 2006, but developer Rebecca Cordingley decided to adapt the concept into a game called IT Simulator, giving players the chance to become one of those unsung heroes who keep entire companies on their feet while battling day after day against the limited skill of some employees…
After eliminating the malware infection number seven million (I’ll be honest, I lost count) and witnessing the death of another hard drive (which took all its data to the grave because its owner never made a backup), I can only reinforce the idea that some people have a very poor relationship with technology. If that relationship were nonexistent, they probably wouldn’t be in contact with a computer, but most can’t avoid it, as they need them to work or study. Now, let’s bring this to the “day-to-day” of a company. Imagine terminals full of toolbars and bloatware, jammed printers, paper and toner evaporating into thin air, the network going down, the Wi-Fi following suit, punches and kicks to the casings (yes, some people have no patience), constant complaints, and a chronic lack of help. Do you want to be part of that? No? Don’t worry: Someone is about to turn it into a game.
A Glimpse into IT Simulator
Welcome to IT Simulator, a game by English developer Rebecca Cordingley, whose goal is to introduce the player to the chaotic and fast-paced world of technical support. One of IT Simulator’s priorities is to turn these technical activities into minigames that the user needs to solve as quickly as possible. IT Simulator places a lot of emphasis on the visual aspect, trying to convey a bit of humor in the form of burning computers, employees making desperate gestures, and papers flying from one end of the office to the other. Apparently, IT Simulator won’t be focused solely on technical maintenance; it will also feature management functions, so the player will need to improve multiple details in the office.
The Road Ahead
IT Simulator is a work in progress, and there’s nothing beyond a few isolated images accompanied by various animated GIFs on the official Twitter profile, but it’s likely to follow the crowdfunding route with a Kickstarter campaign and its introduction to Steam Greenlight. If interest is great enough, maybe we’ll see a unique simulator of its kind.
