Update Fifty-Four: 20 September 2017
Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor
7.5 hours, 30 of 44 achievements
7/10
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Hi, you guys.
I’m sorry for posting so much - around this time of the month it gets pretty quiet here. I also don’t usually get personal, but I’m in a unique position here, now, and with this game.
So, today, I did not get a job I really wanted and thought I had a good chance for - interviewed well, fit well within the culture, job was in the field I wanted to go into. It feels…. pretty bad. I’ve been looking forward to this for the past month, and while I know, obviously, it’s not a done deal, I thought I had a damn good chance. I’m not sure how it is where you are, but the American job market for people a couple years out of college isn’t great, so it’s a bigger loss for me than it might have been for, say, my mom at my age.^
So I’m feeling pretty bad, you guys, and I like to play games to feel better. And this game, while I do like it, won’t make me feel better, so I’m stopping it for now.
Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor is a self-described ‘anti-adventure game’. Sort of like Recettear, you play as a non-adventurer in a typical adventurer story - Recettear you’re a shopkeeper in a rpg fantasy, in this game you are, well…. a spaceport janitor, just adjacent to the rad quests that must be going on in the port. There’s spellswatches, lazer weapons, huge tunnels under the city that serve as dungeons… and you don’t use any of them.
You’re a janitor android. You walk around, pick up trash, and incinerate it. That’s most of the game. The one time you DO go into the underground, you get cursed by a scary 3D skull that hovers around you and screams at you. The rest of the game is you trying to rid yourself of this curse.
The world is 3D, but your player character and the other player characters are 2D sprites. While the map is designed, what items show up on the ground and in the shops are randomized, and are influenced by your luck. The entire world is colorful and goofy - think Adventure Time but in space and a liiiiittle less twee. The game has no fail state, and even after you ‘win’ and lift the curse, the game continues on as long as you’d like.
I don’t do well at games like this - directionless games, and games that involve a lot of randomization. I wouldn’t call myself an addictive personality, but the 7.5 hours I played were 7.5 hours in the same sitting. It sucked me in, but in a bad kind of way, where I felt I couldn’t pull myself away.
I still liked this game, however, though I don’t know how much I’d recomemnd it. I like the art style, the writing, and getting to know the spaceport was really fun! It just made me feel really anxious, and there wasn’t a strong throughline (or any throughline, period) to make me want to see it out through to the end.
I think it was the case of wrong game at the wrong time. I think I’m going to keep this as ‘unfinished’ and try it again later, when I’m more at ease to sweep up among the stars.
Next up: I wanted to ease my woes by disappearing into an RPG. So -
See you soon!
^and, I mean, hey, my dad at my age was in jail, so at least I’m doing better than one of them!
Dunno if it’s been fixed, if my previous PC was just bad, or if it’s because I didn’t have an SSD, but I quit PoE because I got fed up with too many loading screens that took a very long time to finish loading (a.k.a. the loading screens of eternity) when I got to the middle of Act 2. I’m still afraid of going back to that game. :p
Uh oh. I’ll keep an eye out for that - my laptop is surprisingly robust but there have been a few games I’ve come across that I just couldn’t play on it. I’ll try to keep things on lower settings for this one.
I was challenged to play Pillars of Eternity, could you keep me posted? Maybe that’ll motivate me a bit more to get around to it :]
Have lots of fun playing it! happy
Happy eternity killing ;)
I will, nin! I’ve heard good things about it, though I’m glad I got it on Humble Bundle. Like I said above, I haven’t played a CRPG before so it’s a new experience going into it.
Yeah, that’s the same way I got it. Don’t think I would have taken it otherwise ;)
Buy the way, I’m nearly done with the second part of Narcissu. Then there is only the extra left. Guess it’ll be more reading :D
Ahh! I hope you’ve liked it. I remember especially enjoying the music and the solitary feeling it gives.
It is lovely. And by now it’s also real sad cry
Oh wow, I haven’t played it, but Pillars of Eternity is no joke. Although the word “hardcore” is overused and doesn’t mean the same thing to everybody, I use it here to say that PoE has a great deal of depth, and intricate story, lots of character and item customization, etc. It will take some getting used to, but it sounds like a great thing to “disappear” into as you say– I hope you enjoy it!
I’m really sorry about the job, tsuper. :( It’s been a long time since I’ve looked for a job, but it’s never easy, especially when first starting out. But I know you won’t be defeated by this setback. Enjoy a little break, then stand up, dust yourself off, and throw yourself back into the job-hunting fray! :D
I’m hardcore when it comes to story and character complexity - less so when it’s all about the hackin and the slashin’. I’ll probably be playing on Easy and talking to absolutely everybody about everything. I found some good guides, too, that will help me get all of the content. And, hell, maybe I’ll even get the DLC expansions if I like the game.
And yeah <:c thank you for the encouragement - it’s helpful the more people I hear it from - but it’s just frustrating because it feels like… I CAN do this job, I can do this job so well, why isn’t anyone letting me? There’s not a lot of good openings, so a lot of people are competing for the same ones. I’m hoping that the reason why I didn’t get this one was just more experience, which I can’t help. I’m only 11 months into my first paying job, so I know it’s not like I’m stuck or something. It’s just…. haaaa.
I’ve applied to ~13 jobs since yesterday, so - !! I’ll keep going. Thank you again
Glad to see you’ve back on the horse! Good luck! <3
Strangely your review of “Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor” made me more interested in the game. The one thing that would bother me is that it’s probably kind of grindy to complete fully. Pillars of Eternity seems like a fun game, though it may be quite long to beat/complete.
Try not to let the negative thoughts get you down, not having a job (yet) isn’t the worst thing in the world. I know how hard and frustrating it can be, just hang in there :)
I’m glad it did! while I might not outright recommend it, I did have a pretty positive experience with it. It is grindy, but varied enough in the grind that it scratches that kind of brain-itch. Dangerous and anxiety-making to the right brain, of course. And yeah, PoE sounds long but I think I’m due a longer game - I’ve played a lot of shorter ones lately.
And thank you, Kal. I have a job now, even though it’s not one I want to be in for very long. I’ll keep trying, and I reached out to my old university to take advantage of some of their alumni services. That should help get me past the hellish task that is searching online job posting sites ><
Yeah, I’ve been there too, but I’m sure you’ll find a job that really suits you as long as you don’t give up searching :)
Aw, I hear you, I’m still struggling to get a proper job too. Well to be honest, I don’t try that hard, but yeah, it sucks :/ Don’t let things like these let you down, life’s too short and it’s important to enjoy the few good things while you can
Pilars of Eternity looks like an awesome game, I’m sure it’ll help you feel better! :)
By the way, on the plus side, your dad didn’t need to worry about getting a job when he was in prison! …Yeah, I’m sorry, that was a bad joke ;D
Yeah c: thank you. I’m trying to think positive, even if it’s difficult. I’m going to keep putting in for jobs - I found another good one that I just have to write a cover letter for.
I looked the game over and I don’t think I can 100% this one - so I just picked out the achievements that I WILL go for and I’m just going to have my fun with it. I haven’t played a CRPG before, (unless a little bit of Diablo 3 counts?) so I don’t want to try to go crazy.
And it’s okay, it was a good joke c: My family copes through humor, so he would’ve appreciated it, too (although, now that I think about it, he did have a job in prison. He ran the commissary, which is a pretty high-privilege position bc he influenced who could get what whatever. Damn it, dad!)