It seems like every week there is a new article about how difficult it is to work in places like Amazon Warehouses, and Fulfillment is looking to take that experience into a game.
Fulfillment starts out quite easy. You are in a large warehouse with shelves, labeled horizontally with numbers and vertically with letters. You are tasked with grabbing a box from a specific section and taking it to a designated slot at the bottom of the screen. For your first day, you just get one box.
At the end of the day, you get paid $120 if you do the job perfectly, and then you can go home and spend your money. You’ll need some money for rent, which is shown at the top of your house, as is however many days are between now and the time it is due. You also have a food and happiness bar. You can purchase food by going shopping and have more fun by going out.
As you continue life at your job, things get more challenging. The number of boxes that need to be moved are greater, your boss introduces technology that only shows you one order at a time and then times how fast you go, and you can’t see the full warehouse anymore. As an added issue, the boss keeps telling you that you will get bonuses if you are fast enough, but these aren’t bonuses and instead are taken from your initial pay of $120, only giving you the full amount if you run your day perfectly.
When it rains, it pours, as they say – so things like getting sick can happen, which will cost you a hefty doctor’s bill or otherwise affect your work day. It’s very hard to keep yourself happy and keep your head above water when it comes to Fulfillment, and it seems like each day you have to start work earlier and end much later. This game isn’t fun, per-se, but does aim to showcase how challenging it is to work in warehouses and fulfillment centers, giving the experience to players so they understand more about what happens.
Fulfillment is available now on the developer’s site.