Replayability determines a sim game’s potential for lasting appeal, especially when a relaxing sim routine breaks away from the usual stresses of daily life. However, for Parcel Simulator dev Dan of Dansan Digital, sim games often tread the fine line between fun replayability and tedious repetitiveness. Throughout his game’s development, Dan wanted Parcel Simulator to secure package-inspecting fun without confining the game to “just” package inspection.
The Parcel Simulator trailer teases gameplay similar to other routinary matching-type simulators, with players taking on the role of parcel inspectors ensuring a package follows its expected requirements. Through visual inspection, barcode scans, and even x-ray machines, Parcel Simulator players can accept or reject parcels for shipping. In a recent The Best War Games interview, Parcel Simulator dev Dan spoke about taking a simple idea, making fun gameplay elements to match it, and developing it all into a cohesive package.
There’s A Document For That
The idea for Parcel Simulator came when Dan stumbled across a sorting facility tour YouTube video, while playing Papers, Please. Coincidentally also an inspection game, Papers, Please saw players become immigration officers in charge of a strict nation's applications. Touted as a prime example of “video games as art,” the accessible inspection mechanics of Papers, Please paved the way for a compelling meta-narrative through moral dilemmas and other emotionally-driven subtexts connected with immigrant stories.
While already impressed with the critically-acclaimed inspection sim, the Parcel Simulator dev’s ultimate praise didn’t focus on how personal playthroughs could get in Papers, Please, but on how a straightforward inspection mechanic created an enjoyable sim.
It seems strange and counterintuitive, but that's kind of the beauty of a lot of simulator games: they take a seemingly-mundane activity and gamify it, and make it really fun, engaging, and satisfying.
Dan’s dev instincts in finding a way to gamify package inspection kicked in even during his research. Courtesy of his best friend who also worked in the sorting industry, Dan got access to pictures of “a day in the life” of a sorting specialist. However, whereas these things are typical workday dealings for his best friend, Dan saw said processes brimming with gaming potential.
I think that's the beauty of being a sort of solo game developer is always looking at things and thinking, "Oh, could I make a game out of that idea?" Or, you know, "Could I turn this activity into a game?"
Breaking Linearity With Progress
Despite the inspiration from Papers, Please, where Parcel Simulator diverges from its familiar inspection mechanic is the overall gameplay loop. Dan acknowledges that elements such as checking documents can be fun and replayable, but there’s always a risk of a routinary system making a sim feel boring to play.
You're building up these inspections over and over, and you get more, more, and more things to check. That reaches a point where you've got this monolith that you have to check and inspect. That's super fine and cool, but I wanted to move more towards automating some of the ones that you've already done quite a bit.
I think that's where the mechanics came from, my thinking of: "Hey, I want to make this not feel like you're doing the same thing over and over again."
Therefore, Dan approached the sim genre’s routinary problem in Parcel Simulator by removing the idea of plain linearity through automation. As with other sim games, Parcel Simulator also follows the familiar “tasks per day” system where they need to check specific parcels. This time around, Dan gives players the freedom of building and expanding their sorting facility, giving them upgrade options and new tech that they could use to streamline aspects of parcel sorting they wish to improve.
There's more focus on freedom for the player being able to build and expand this warehouse, however they please, to make it feel like there's a proper progression system, and you're really building out a proper facility. Because arguably, that is how a small sorting facility or sorting company might build up their own facility.
Beyond Parcels
The Parcel Simulator dev’s focus on progression to facilitate enjoyable replay value extends to future ideas. Throughout our discussion, Dan mentioned concepts that fit Parcel Simulator that may not be a part of the final release but popped into his head anyway, just from the premise of gamifying something he's seen on TV.
Dan elaborated on this notion, explaining that some fans have compared Parcel Simulator and popular border control television shows. In the latter’s case, episodes of these shows tackle contraband hidden in what appears like ordinary parcels, demonstrating techniques and technologies that spotted these discrepancies, elaborating how they caught the perpetrators, and explaining why contraband could harm the country they’re trying to enter.
From a game development perspective, Dan cited the potential of Parcel Simulator adapting some aspects of border control inspection. Dan also said another Parcel Simulator concept may come from players being customs officers now in charge of inspecting imported packages in airports.
I also had a lot of inspiration from border control TV shows. I've seen a few people make the contrast between my game and these customs shows or the border control shows, and I think that's super cool as well.
I think maybe long, long term - there are no guarantees on this - but there's a thought of having some sort of airport where you can have suitcases coming through, and you're checking those, too.
Parcel Simulator is slated for a Q1 2024 release on PC. Those interested in its ongoing development can check out its Steam page and the official Twitter account.