Show HN: SmartHome – An Adventure Game

smarthome.steviep.xyz

268 points by scyclow a month ago

SmartHome is a free, browser-based game written in vanilla JavaScript and no libraries. I don't want to spoil anything about the gameplay, but if you like text adventures, point-and-click adventure games, puzzle games, escape room games, art games, incremental games, cozy games, and/or RPGs, then this might be your speed.

If you find it too hard and don't mind some mild spoilers, then check out the hints page: https://smarthome.steviep.xyz/help

kbrackbill a month ago

This is a really impressive rendition of our corporate hellscape. It reminds me of games like cart life in that I appreciate what it's doing, but even though the frustration is intended it still makes it really unpleasant to play. I lasted until I needed to figure out how to pay the ISP bill before I threw in the towel.

Groxx a month ago

Oh god this is vile. Phenomenal job.

If I can add a recommendation: the app search is far too fast. Add a random delay to the results after each letter is entered, and let them arrive out of order.

  • scyclow a month ago

    ooo, good idea. I might build that in.

  • dheera a month ago

    Or build the China version that asks you for an SMS confirmation every time you click anything in the phone.

    • esperent a month ago

      Why is that the China version? I already have to do that all the time with my European bank, and my Facebook and Google business accounts.

  • Evidlo a month ago

    Too much in my opinion.

j0hnyl a month ago

I had the pleasure of trying this out before it was released. I think it's one of those things I can imagine might have a high bounce rate, but I would really like to encourage anyone checking it out to really give it at least 10-15 minutes. There are so many details and easter eggs and the frustration that's baked into the game design compounds quite nicely given some time.

EDIT: it's also more rewarding if you delay looking under the hood for a while.

esperent a month ago

I played for a while on my phone but gave up because it's too much hassle to remember and enter things like phone numbers and passwords.

I know that's kind of the point, but I think it would be much more playable and still get the point across if you made text fields automatic.

As it is, I expect 99% of players will get to the create account screen on the phone and bail.

It would also help give the game some personality: when I have to create phone account, let me choose from 3 personas: one male, one female, and one clearly fake.

  • scyclow a month ago

    Not saying you're wrong, but I don't really understand people's aversion to creating an account. It's like quitting an RPG once they reach the create a character screen.

    Also, it seems like ~60% of people give up before creating an account.

    • jamalaramala a month ago

      You should use this as a sign that people don't understand "creating an account" as part of the game.

      • scyclow a month ago

        I guess if they can't figure that out then they probably wouldn't have a very good time with the rest of the game.

  • nottorp a month ago

    > As it is, I expect 99% of players will get to the create account screen on the phone and bail.

    That's what I did, sorry. Didn't want to write down the generated user name and loong password etc.

  • unosama a month ago

    You're missing the point.

UniverseHacker a month ago

I stayed at an airbnb with all of this smarthome crap once. The game is accurate at reproducing the experience. I give it a full negative 10 out of 10.

KTallguy a month ago

A few comments:

1. It’s not very fun on iOS, especially because crypto mining makes the screen zoom in and it’s no good. Also the sound for the phone doesn’t work so that’s a big blocker. You probably know already.

2. Later, playing again on PC, I fist pumped when I finally was able to pay my ISP and the network clicked on. It felt like I defeated some boss in Dark Souls. You made that feel so horrible … thank you.

3. I sent this to a friend and he said that the browser was requesting microphone permissions so he turned it off. I didn’t encounter this but I’m wondering what that was?

Anyway I don’t know if I’ll continue to play and try to pony up the six thousand dollars I need to pay my rent and open the door to the endless staircase, but good job anyway :)

  • scyclow a month ago

    Thanks!

    Yeah, even though most of the game takes place on your phone, I (ironically) couldn't think of great ways to port some of the mechanics to mobile in a satisfying way.

    The microphone thing is just a small interaction when you try to talk to the intercom. It doesn't affect the game whether you accept or deny the permission

    In any case, it sounds like you already know the ending, but I think it's worth sticking it out. Paying the ISP seems like it's the hardest/most frustrating part for a lot of people. Besides, some of my favorite parts are around the middle-end.

butz a month ago

This is too realistic. I became annoyed after 5 minutes.

  • tensor a month ago

    I bailed at create an account.

    • miah_ a month ago

      Me too. I'd like to explore the tree and see what can happen but have zero interest creating an account, tracking progress or whatever. I got the gist of what the game was about in the first few minutes.

    • cthackers a month ago

      It's a dummy account for your phone. You will need to 'hack' the other admin account so you can install some stuff on it and find some helpful notes

      • tensor a month ago

        Yeah, I realize it was part of the game, but I just have such a strong aversion to it that that was the line for me. Even creating a fictional account is too much.

        • addandsubtract a month ago

          Same. Luckily, you only need to provide a name. Still gave up at the next form. I don't even know what I "played".

    • agnishom a month ago

      Don't worry, it is not a real account and does not send an email to you

    • entropie a month ago

      Same, thats for sure not the first thing I do after waking up.

kramer5252 23 days ago

Great game. Only issue, phone freezes now when I try to open it. Blank screen. I am kind of far, have all the money/coins, still missing some big picture stuff though. Here are the errors. mobilePhone.js:5698 Uncaught TypeError: Cannot read properties of null (reading 'toFixed') at Object.assign [as onRender] (mobilePhone.js:5698:101) at ReactStyleComponent.render ($.js:216:12) at ReactStyleComponent.connectedCallback ($.js:221:12) at createComponent ($.js:230:18) at mobilePhone.js:489:1 Object.assign @ mobilePhone.js:5698 render @ $.js:216 connectedCallback @ $.js:221 createComponent @ $.js:230 (anonymous) @ mobilePhone.js:489Understand this errorAI 6mobilePhone.js:5698 Uncaught TypeError: Cannot read properties of null (reading 'toFixed') at Object.assign [as onRender] (mobilePhone.js:5698:101) at ReactStyleComponent.render ($.js:216:12) at ReactStyleComponent.connectedCallback ($.js:221:12) at Object.assign [as onRender] (smartTV.js:489:25) at ReactStyleComponent.render ($.js:216:12) at ReactStyleComponent.connectedCallback ($.js:221:12) at createComponent ($.js:230:18) at smartTV.js:33:1

kramer52 23 days ago

Great game. Only issue, phone freezes now when I try to open it. Blank screen. I am kind of far, have all the money/coins, still missing some big picture stuff though. Here are the errors. mobilePhone.js:5698 Uncaught TypeError: Cannot read properties of null (reading 'toFixed') at Object.assign [as onRender] (mobilePhone.js:5698:101) at ReactStyleComponent.render ($.js:216:12) at ReactStyleComponent.connectedCallback ($.js:221:12) at createComponent ($.js:230:18) at mobilePhone.js:489:1 Object.assign @ mobilePhone.js:5698 render @ $.js:216 connectedCallback @ $.js:221 createComponent @ $.js:230 (anonymous) @ mobilePhone.js:489Understand this errorAI 6mobilePhone.js:5698 Uncaught TypeError: Cannot read properties of null (reading 'toFixed') at Object.assign [as onRender] (mobilePhone.js:5698:101) at ReactStyleComponent.render ($.js:216:12) at ReactStyleComponent.connectedCallback ($.js:221:12) at Object.assign [as onRender] (smartTV.js:489:25) at ReactStyleComponent.render ($.js:216:12) at ReactStyleComponent.connectedCallback ($.js:221:12) at createComponent ($.js:230:18) at smartTV.js:33:1

felixyz a month ago

Excellent! This scenario has a precursor in Philip K. Dick's "Ubik" (1969). It's just a sub-plot there, but the parallels are striking.

  • j0hnyl a month ago

    He has had this theme in multiple works, the idea of paying your door to open was so on point. I think of it all the time when I see things like auto makers charging subscription fees for remote start, etc.

brumar a month ago

I regret there is not a merciful option like "wait for death in a corner".

Great job! I had fun and got bored to death at the same time.

  • scyclow a month ago

    Try calling 1-800-666-0000. They might be able to help.

    • brumar a month ago

      Thanks. I tried the AI assistant but ended up mindlessly mining crypto...

macshome a month ago

Is something supposed to happen when I call a number on the phone? If the number picks up I just have silence until I hang up.

Also I made the mistake of resetting the phone in an attempt to get into the admin account!

  • scyclow a month ago

    Some folks are having issues with the SpeechSynthesis on their device. Try refreshing. If that doesn't work, then go to Settings and disable sound.

  • Evidlo a month ago

    Same for me. Iceraven 1.14.0

Sirikon a month ago

I hate it so, so much. Excellent job.

jasfi a month ago

I like the style of the game, minimalist with a focus on language. It would be great to see this style with a story-line that doesn't intend to irritate the player.

UniverseHacker a month ago

Suggestion: phone calls always connect to call the Los Angeles Municipal Court phone menu system, and the experience replicates the song "LAMC (L.A. Municipal Court)" by Tool: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTUUnbr5d4E

  • mdaniel a month ago

    I'm guessing the Tool reference is due to the song Push It but aside from the tool cover art and that reference, I didn't find the linked video especially Tool-y

    • UniverseHacker a month ago

      The linked audio only video is literally a song from the Tool album Salival, it is not a “reference.” I linked it because the song is a joke in the same vein as this game.

codebje a month ago

I got as far as having the cash to pay for the door before running out of time jumping through hoops to transfer it.

It’s horrifying. The only not-unpleasant thing, though, is that once you start making money it’s absurdly easy to make a massive sum. I was expecting something horrible to happen to my balance at some point but it never did. Maybe that’s a bug!

qwertytyyuu a month ago

I have been tricked into reading a fake economics blog, and concurrency control

bassrattle a month ago

It's the morning, and there is no coffee and there is no way to get coffee

maille a month ago

"The phone app appears to use text-to-speech based on the device's locale. On my laptop, it's speaking English with the worst French accent imaginable

  • scyclow a month ago

    Ah, sorry about that. If you go to https://smarthome.steviep.xyz/talk do you see any en-US voices on your device?

    • maille a month ago

      Yes I do

      • scyclow a month ago

        Oh well. Try playing with the sound disabled in Settings

        • maille a month ago

          Can I select the tts engine from your /talk link?

          • scyclow a month ago

            Try adding `?voice=` to the end of the url, and then the first name of the voice you want based on the /talk link. Example: `?voice=Samantha`

hiatus a month ago

At least on mobile there is no way to copy and paste things from the main screen into the phone screen. Each time I navigate from the phone screen and return the state is lost which makes it impossible to copy/paste multiple long hard to remember strings.

spoiler:

trying to copy the required info to get data working is where I am running into this issue.

  • scyclow a month ago

    That's a premium feature, which will run you 1 Credit.

  • otteromkram a month ago

    Do you mean that you phone doesn't let you long press the display to enable text selection?

    I was able to copy text. I have typical ad/tracker blocking enabled on an Android device (Note even close to the latest release).

    • RonaldDump a month ago

      When trying to enter the SPTX address dictated over the phone, I'm only able to get a few digits at a time, but returning to the phone app to press 2 to repeat the address clears all progress in the other app where I'm trying to enter it.

      I battled through it and even double checked the address but it still failed.

      If that's part of the game, then fair enough, but I'm not doing that again so that's the end of the line for me.

      • cyberax a month ago

        Ah, the genuine phone experience!

        Looking at you, Android dialer.

        • withinboredom a month ago

          iOS isn’t much better. Paste in a number and just want to add a country code? No way.

      • Snoozus a month ago

        pen and paper for the win!

mlmonge a month ago

It just occurred to me... Why have I not seen an Escape Room with this type of theme? I'm in LA, Calif. I would think there would have to be something like this in LA. Who would go to experience this ingenious hellscape?

  • mdaniel a month ago

    I would imagine this kind of game - and thus escape room experience - is very solitary. Short of having someone be a stenographer for writing down the oppressively long bitcoin^W crypto addresses for you, I don't know what kind of teamwork would be involved

    Now maybe if you have to secretly swindle your co-incarcerated peers out of their crypto to win, like a "werewolf meets Bernie Madoff" scenario, that could be interesting

yesthisiswes a month ago

The reminds me a lot of a dark room! Awesome game thanks for the adventure!

Max-q a month ago

Very unusual that new text appears at the top. Is there any specific reason why you chose to do it this way?

I played for a bit but the frustration soon became too real, haha :-D

  • scyclow a month ago

    Because all the buttons are in the top right, and I thought it looked nicer if the new text was even with the buttons :)

laurentlassalle a month ago

I managed to pay my internet bill and then quit, 5/5

Evidlo a month ago

My plant died about 2 minutes after I looked at SmartPlanter for the first time 45 minutes into the game. Is that supposed to happen?

  • scyclow a month ago

    Must've been all the heat from mining crypto

Evidlo a month ago

Wow, fridge has a lot of memory.

astonex a month ago

Anyone know how to get out of the stairwell? The floors seem infinite.

It seems like that is actually the end.

02:34:39

  • scyclow a month ago

    You can always get up to Infinity on YieldFarmer2

    • ctm92 a month ago

      But are the stairs a softlock?

  • ctm92 a month ago

    loved the game until I entered the stairwell and was not able to proceed or go back. Having this as a softlock is sad, especially since this could be a continuation of the story by using the stairs as some kind of emergency exit

    • scyclow a month ago

      I was thinking that if I ever do an expansion or DLC, then maybe you'll be able to open the door to the roof.

yapyap a month ago

wow, a true horror game

saw-lau a month ago

Is it possible to reset progress somehow?

  • em-bee a month ago

    try to reset the phone. that sounded like it might do it. i didn't try it for fear it actually would.

    • wrboyce a month ago

      Indeed, factory reset in the phone settings will reset your progress.

yapyap a month ago

just went to the main website and wow, that guy really wanted to get some $$ out of the blockchain ‘technology’ boom

  • scyclow a month ago

    It's fun, you should try it some time

pn3k0 a month ago

very cool, loved the tv controls