In a dystopian vision of the future of the rust belt, Nameoki Bottleworks wraps a narrative about corporate greed, income inequality, and personal agency around a simple minigame about working as a quality assurance technician in a bottle factory.
The game marries a “spinning plates” central minigame inspired by the Duff Brewery in The Simpsons and a narrative-driven interstitial bar scene inspired by Catherine and StarCraft II. The game uses an oppressive economy similar to Papers, Please to convey the bleak realities of disenfranchised laborers.
This demo was put together during the month of November 2017 as an entry in the 2017 Logan Theatre Playtest Party juried competition. You can read a review of the event, including a nice write-up about the game here: https://thirdcoastreview.com/2017/11/22/playtest-party-2017/
I created the concept and handled all of the programming. The name, and in large part the premise, is inspired by my hometown, Granite City, Illinois (Nameoki Township), a steel town struggling to find its way in the 21st century. In an amazing bit of irony, the name Nameoki means “smoky,” at least according to Wikipedia.
