Welcome to smallsoft™️! Your job is to filter out spam from our email delivery system before our server runs out of storage. Try not to get a virus, and live the monotonous lives of our employees vicariously through their inboxes.
Spam Simulator was our entry into the Ludum Dare 53 (72 hour) game jam. This jam's theme was delivery.
In Spam Simulator you take the role of an unnamed IT employee of the burgeoning 90's software company smallsoft™️. Your job is to filter out unwanted emails from the company's email system. All the while keeping server usage low, listening to directions from your Administrator, and trying not to infect the company's network with viruses.
The game's interface is that of a 90's email client, and we tried to give everything a Windows 95/98 aesthetic. All dropdowns, buttons, scrollbars, and popup windows work just as you expect from a Windows-like program or operating system.
The game is a survival game. As you play, the rate at which emails come in increases. In addition, emails containing viruses begin to appear - which may cause distractions or impose penalties. The game ends when the "Available Storage" on your server is filled, or when you receive too many "Strikes" from your Administrator; strikes are caused by filtering out good emails or passing bad emails.
Within 72 hours, we managed to complete all of the main features of the game in addition to making art assets (art, sound, music, and email writings). Not only that, we ended the jam with it nearly bug-free (there were only a few non-game-breaking bugs inthe final release). We used the Unity Engine to make the game and thus were able to release it for all major operating systems (Windows, Mac, and Linux). Below are our scoring results:
Results (there were a total of 2310 submissions with 1720 of them being the Jam)
Overall: 92nd (!)
Fun: 211th
Innovation: 61st
Theme: 111th
Graphics: 262nd
Audio: 131st
Humor: 16th (!)
Mood: 69th
- Brian Sharp: programming and design
- Mitchell James: art, music, design
- Parker Spielvogel: programming and design