The_Notice_Period

Honeymoon phase begins
Day 1
Day 16: Grind Phase
The Grind Phase Begins
Day 9: HoneyMoon Phase

Inspiration

I really hate corporate life. Most of us just survive through it, dealing with endless meetings, corporate buzzwords, and the soul-crushing grind that turns optimistic graduates into burned-out workers. I wanted to create something that captures this universal experience - a game that shows the amount of rubbish we go through and stress we face in the modern workplace.

You hate emails? Play this game. You hate colleagues? Play this game. You hate corporate culture? Play this game. If you hate corporate more than anything in the world - JUST PLAY THIS GAME!

What it does

The Notice Period is a satirical 30-step workplace progression simulator that takes players through the complete corporate experience cycle. Starting as an optimistic job seeker, players navigate through four distinct phases:

Phase 1: The Hunt (Steps 1-8) - Optimistic beginning with resume building and interviews
Phase 2: Honeymoon Period (Steps 9-15) - False hope as the new job seems perfect
Phase 3: The Grind (Steps 16-25) - Reality sets in with endless meetings and corporate bureaucracy
Phase 4: The Choice (Steps 26-30) - The ultimate decision: escape by starting your own business or repeat the cycle at a "different" company

The game features progressive UI deterioration that mirrors the emotional journey - starting bright and optimistic, gradually becoming gray and corporate, finally turning dystopian as your soul dies.

How we built it

Built entirely with Bolt.new using AI-powered development, the game leverages:

Reddit Developer Platform integration for community engagement and viral sharing
AI content generation for dynamic workplace scenarios
Progressive CSS that literally deteriorates as players advance through corporate hell

Each step features AI-generated workplace scenarios that are painfully relatable, from "Pizza party announcement during layoff discussions" to "Your 'quick sync' becomes a 2-hour deep dive."

Challenges we ran into

Emotional accuracy: Making sure each step felt authentic to real workplace experiences without being too depressing
Progressive deterioration: Implementing UI that gradually becomes more corporate and soul-crushing
Reddit integration: Balancing game mechanics with social platform requirements
Viral mechanics: Creating shareable moments that resonate with working professionals globally
Time constraints: Building a comprehensive 30-step experience in the hackathon timeline