Phone Tree of Despair by Jezzamon
Phone Tree of Despair
Phone Tree of Despair is a game where you navigate a phone tree while trying to avoid getting stuck on a hold loop. To play this game, you literally call a phone number.
Your goal is to navigate the ~~infuriating~~ expertly designed, user-friendly phone tree to renew your registration! Solve some puzzles along the way, and reflect on how much we all love automated phone systems.
Warning: This game may frustrate you. It sure frustrated the heck out of me!! :angry:
How to play:
US :flag_us: Call +1 (928) 569 9118.
AUS :flag_au: Call +61 2 5551 6125.
Web :globewithmeridians: jezzamon.itch.io/phone-tree-of-despair
Estimated time to completion: 30 minutes.
(Also there is a secret ending!!)
Note: If you call one of the real numbers, this game may cost you money depending on your phone plan. Watch out for international phone call fees if you're calling from a different country.
If that's a problem, you can use the web version on itch.io, which doesn't need to you make a real call :)
The reviews are in! :newspaper2:
Now I have to figure out what to do with my time. Like anything sounds fun now.
- My housemate, upon completing it.
Walkthrough :feet:
For those who are having trouble (or don't have the patience to figure out the full game), here's a walkthrough!
Hosting costs :moneywithwings:
This game costs a small amount to host, so if you want to help cover costs, you can send a donation via the itch.io page. $1 will be more than enough. I've loaded it with enough credit to last a while but it's possible it'll go down if it goes viral or something :sweat_smile:
Credits :sparkles:
The programming and music were created entirely by me. Special thanks to those who did voice acting:
- Zoe
- Kang
- Michael
- Me (Jez)
- Random person yelling on the street who you can faintly hear in the background in one part.
All recordings were obtained during the compo time period, as per the compo rules :)
Post compo tweaks:
- Fixed a typo in a URL redirect that previously gave you an error message and ended the call
- Added an entire web calling interface!
Ratings
| Overall | 2th | 4.5⭐ | 27🧑⚖️ |
| Fun | 27th | 4.04⭐ | 27🧑⚖️ |
| Innovation | 1th | 4.852⭐ | 29🧑⚖️ |
| Theme | 9th | 4.54⭐ | 27🧑⚖️ |
| Audio | 1th | 4.462⭐ | 28🧑⚖️ |
| Humor | 2th | 4.635⭐ | 28🧑⚖️ |
| Mood | 6th | 4.42⭐ | 27🧑⚖️ |
| Given | 16🗳️ | 23🗨️ |
So this is what I end up using my international call credit on...
Unfortunately I can't make this kind of call from South Africa. :sob:
sounds like a cool concept!
Good news! The online version of the game is here!!
Which is frustrate the hell out of the caller, wanting to throw my phone onto the ground.
But it's a game, so instead I was laughing most of the time trying to remember all information that was given to me, because I didn't actually write things down.
Very well done, and very creative!
I just tried it in Firefox then, and it seems to work fine for me... :/
loved it! I was equally amazed and freaked out by the mic input, OUTSTANDING *COMPO ENTRY
10/5 stars from me
When I first got in the main menu, I tried typing a code directly, and was put on hold, so I didn't get the introduction in this case. This might scare away a few players, who don't understand that you have to hang up at that point. :)
My wife thought I was legit dealing with a customer service call and wondered why I was laughing my head off. I can definitely say it was very infuriating, but every time I got a bit of a clue it felt really great.
Might be one of most interesting takes on the jam theme!
Here's a little video of what I did when I saw the results :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4U2ALaRa0s
I'd love to see a post mortem for this one if you have the time, especially to understand how this works altogether, if many people can play it at the same time, how this is set up... so many unanswered questions. :D