Office Documents 1

These are several documents that players might find in EMPLOYEE when they play or are assigned by the Referee as Human Resources staff as their initial job. Even though the files at Human Resources are strictly confidential even for a new recruit in HR itself, let's assume that the players granted the access for the majority of these files. Some are locked and encrypted, which means they need the authorization of their supervisors to open this kind of files. Or they could try to decrypt by themselves, but with heavy consequences if they failed.

_____________________

Rummaging the existing folders inside the computer assigned for them at their desk, players could find these files. Some might be well hidden, while some are open in plain sight. Some are locked and encrypted, some are freely open files.

There's a lot of types of files inside the computer, from the number-filled large sized spreadsheets to a tiny sized low resolution file of image.

Legends:

[xxxxx] -> filename

Lorem ipsum…-> description and summary of the files, either in visual terms or in transcription if the files are audio (and transcriptable).

_____________________

[employment records - (month) 20XX]

A spreadsheet filled with names, date of births, employee ids, job positions and any other relevant data regarding the employee's personal and working information. Some rows of cells are highlighted green while some are colored with red. Some other sheets are listed alongside the DATA sheet, which includes TURNOVER, CERTIFICATION, CONTRACTS and PLANNING. Another sheet titled 4ROOM is present but by having a padlock next to it, it is inaccessible. Players could find pretty well documented and organized files of employee records from 1985 to present day.

[technical competency_(division)_upd20XX]

Another spreadsheet files that are filled with numbers, names and level of competencies for each name listed. Several files are listed with different names of division and different years regarding when the updates had occurred. On the list of names, some names can be found highlighted with red color, some are yellow, some are green.

[employee contract - (name) - (period)]

In the not so hidden folder, there are files filled with contracts wording for every employee existing, both those still working and those who already left the office due to resignation or death. Old data from the old days are stored as document scanlations, while the newer and latest ones are already in digital portable document format.

[durahan.exe]

This file truly is a virus application. It dates circa 1990s when the office starts to implement computers and servers as standard peripherals. If the players run the program, a notification will pop up on their screen, noticing that this file is already scanned and flagged as a virus program and already stored in the antivirus vault.

[request on IT support regarding Durahan’s Infection]

A scanlations of a document requesting Office’s IT team to solve and prevent further effect of Durahan.exe. The file was dated 10 March 1991.

No : 00049/HRD/60/██████/03/1991

Date : 10 March 1991

From : Human Resources Division

To : Information Technology Division

Subject : Request on IT Support regarding Durahan’s Infection

Regarding the situation that been happening in ██████ involving the mass corrupted data, ransom files and the possibilities of data leaking that might been used irresponsibly by other party that might not affiliated by ██████, we asking for IT team to conduct a deep and thorough investigation, analysis and actions regarding the infections of Durahan.

As additional information, Durahan virus was initially engaged and run by one of our employees while accessing ██████’s server. The virus was mimicking one of his files. As per this letter, there are eight divisions of fourteen that report the infection of Durahan already infiltrating their dedicated division folder inside the server.

We are looking forward to this being solved immediately.

Human Resources Division Head

██████████ █████ ████

[file requests]

Files under this name are mainly filled with customized data that is provided by Human Resources Staffs by the request of other divisions. Usually it is filled with either the data of employee’s demography, training history, cross-table spreadsheets, list of names, list of vacant positions, presentations or the list of employee’s birthday.

[4ROOM - (month) - (year)]

This file is heavily encrypted and well hidden. Players that took time to dig up the folders one-by-one, especially on their supervisor’s folder, might find one of these (with the risk of being caught-up of course). When the player successfully decrypts the file, it contains a detailed list of names that are currently being a member of the “Fouroom”, from the date they joining, what Fouroom that they join in, their position inside the Fouroom, what are they contributing to their Fouroom and so much more.

[riwpoalksdj_dasnalksd_934u023jdas]

a text file. The file was created circa mid 1995 and well hidden inside a folder within a folder at Human Resource's server. The file hasn't been opened since it's last saved which also the day it created. It remains a mystery who wrote the note in the first time.

“I hope no one read this file before I was gone. No one understands me anymore. All of them called me crazy, but I’m not. Everything I said, they’ll just let it slide away. I’ve tried so many ways to convince them that I’m still competent here. The accident was just an ordinary accident. I even tried to convince the Directors. But I guess the words are already like wildfire. Uncontrollable. I guess I just have to wait for the time to come. Right after that day, my life is different. I see things. Things that are not supposed to be here. Walking among us, untouchable but present. I see some people in this office can see them too, but they can communicate with them. When I asked them about it, they said I’m already incurable and they don’t want to talk to someone that crazy as I am! I’m already beyond madness. That’s what they said. I wish I’m not taking extra time that day. I wish I could stay at home, watching tv, and eating food that I am bored of eating. I wish Gunarha didn’t ask me about that damn office blueprint. I wish. I wish I didn’t see that bright red being.”

Office Politics in EMPLOYEE

In real life, office politics are inevitable. It will always present in every shape and size of a company. From only one small group that could steer the whole company due to their vocal and massive influencing power, to a multi power-sided group that could steer the whole company into one humongous stew pot of ideology, visions and each different mission. From the clicks of janitors to the board of commissioners - everyone had their own vision they dream about and missions they want to achieve.

Searching on office politics on the internet, the main ideas are always referred to 1. To improve someone or some group status and 2. To pursue a personal or group agenda with or without a chance of sacrificing others. Power is the most frequent thing that drives and feeds office politics. Some use communications, networks and information. It can be positive office politics (that are usually being pulled off in order to increase employee performances for example) or negative ones (gatekeeping significant information for themselves or blackmailing a particular employee they want to control). Office politics is inevitable. It is always present, can’t be absent.

Translating it into a game feature, office politics may be translated and treated just like clans and factions in larger table top RPG settings. In EMPLOYEE, the “world” that players explore is the office itself - Nüearth Re. GM/Referee/Dungeon Master could expand the size of the building as far and big as they want - will it be a 10-floor buildings or pentagon-sized width buildings, will it have a basements or even become an office complex with several smaller building scattered on its ground for each divisions existed. Will it be a simple mundane office building or not, office politics will always be there.

For creating some office feud and heating up some political movement and “relationship” between the factions, first you need to create a faction or clan or in EMPLOYEE we call it "Fouroom". You need decide which things that they want to get grasp on their hand as their main mission or we can say what is the main driver they existed:

1.     Sole Owner of Power and Authority (Power)
2.     Center of Knowledge (Information)
3.     The Hive of Connections (Network)
4.     Anything except those three above - it can be about wealth, status, public perception, public affirmation, or recognition from other employees.

After deciding on what their main mission is, you can flip a coin to determine if they are against the current "Management"or supporting them. For example, a fouroom of network is against the management. They will significantly bad-mouthing the current management to the fellow clients and stakeholders. Or another example is a fouroom of information that helps the current management. They will do a market surveillance, human resources monitoring program and any other actions that might supports the current management to survive.

Like many other clans and factions, Fouroom also had their mutual alignment. This alignment is attached to the fouroom itself, not to the members - their alignment is expected and can be perceived as the same as the fouroom they belong to. But some employees can exist inside two or more different and opposite fouroom. The alignment of an employee is not always mirroring the alignment of the fouroom they joined or involved. GM/Referee/Dungeon Master could refer to basic 9 moral alignments to be implied on the fourooms.

After deciding the foundation of a fouroom, GM/Referee/Dungeon Master could decide on what approaching method this fouroom will be used in order to achieve their target. Will it be a silent / guerilla operation that is kept in secret; optimizing and piggybacking the current flow of corporate actions; or executing plans and pulling strings under the shadows. It might take time to achieve the main goal, but it is steady and subtle. Or will it be a full frontal operation that can be witnessed and might involve the employees like strikes; or confronting the opposition’s or the current management’s action plans with their own actions. Bold indeed, but might lose some employee’s interest or sympathy if the operations are too risky and could severely hurt the company. Covert operation and diplomatic operation could also be options to consider. Covert operation is literally a spying action involving kidnapping, blackmailing, hacking, sabotaging oppositions or current management. This also involves information leaks that might hurt and damage the opposition's status and existence. Diplomatic operations on the other hand involve a peaceful approach to the opposition. Communication (and ass-licking) is the main skills needed to engaging a professional, well-mannered negotiations to oppositions - they can asked them politely to step up the way with some incentives as a reward; negotiating with one of significant member of opposition to join their fouroom; or maybe seeking for help to the opposition for some unsolved problems they currently had. Diplomatic operations is one of several slow-paced but high success rating operations because it might involving the highest rank member of the fouroom to negotiate - we’re talking about a conversation between head honchos.

In EMPLOYEE, there’s no exact numbers on how many fourooms could exist. The more fouroom you have in your game, the more complex the relationships will be. It is impossible for a company to only have one fouroom, but also a chaos if there are 20 fourooms inside a 200-employee company (for example). If you thought “man, I don’t have time to set up a lore to build for a single fouroom..”. Fear not fellow adventurers, I prepared a simple table generator below if you just want to roll-and-create a fouroom. It WILL be random, and I believe some aspects might cancel or contradict each other. But hey, at least they are quick and easy.

dn	Target / Mission	Sentiment	Alignment	Approaching Method
1	Power	Againts	Awful Good	Silent / Guerilla
2	Information	Supports	Neutral Good	Full Frontal
3	Network		Chaotic Good	Covert
4	Other		Lawful Neutral	Diplomatic
5			Neutral	Other
6			Chaotic Neutral
7			Lawful Evil
8			Neutral Evil
9			Chaotic Evil

Republishing My Previous Works

Earlier this year and at the closing end of the 2022, a movement happens - Artstation was filled with "No To AI Generated Images", covering their wall of arts which usually filled with superb and amazing images of art created by the artists.

The movement are also spread into Itch.io, where there are (in my perception) sentiments for the usage of AI Generated images, mainly on the Physical Games category. Unaware of this situation, up to December 2022, I made my own works still using AI Generated images - Walk of the Candy, Weird Mirror Arkney and Is It Monday Yet?.

Then at one point, I stumbled into some tweets stating and I'm paraphrasing that if you use any AI Generated images for your works, at least mention it on the page, so people will know what will they get when they download it.

It hit me to the core - this images, the generated images that I used on my works may or maybe not using someone works without their consent. I surely do takes time to finally updating my previously using AI images into "cleaner" ones by using and utilizing CC0 / Public Domains images for the content.

Yes, AI Generated images is far way easier and faster for making an appropriate context. It might take times for you searching a CC0 images of sinister, lean, boney hands of a man wearing black tuxedo. Or maybe you believe that you are not a great illustrator or maybe not able to produce such drawing that can represent an image of a sinister, lean, boney hands of a man wearing black tuxedo.

But once again, a short walk will not always be better than a longer ones.

Now, I use AI Generated images as point of reference. When I got writers block or trying to sparks some ideas for my works on Office23, I gather some ideas, put it on the machine, and wait for the results I prefer to come out. AI, in my opinion, is not a threat, it will helps you if you use it properly and accordingly.

Hence with that kind of revelation (and also having some quite free time), I updating my works - Weird Mirror Arkney and Is It Monday Yet?. On their second version, all the AI generated images are replaced by CC0 ones. I'm trying my best to make it helpful for the reader or players in creating such context. While for Walk of the Candy I can't do much - even though the game was a hexcrawl and having a quite simple gameplay mechanism, the AI Generated images I used in it are purely for theme, nuance and context builder. Hence in this situation, I put an all caps notification for the reader / players that this works is using AI Generated images for content.

At least, by doing this, I had my own peace of mind knowing that I did my best for the community. Even it's not a perfect one.

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You can find Weird Mirror Arkney and Is It Monday Yet? from widget below.