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Show HN: SmartHome – An Adventure Game (smarthome.steviep.xyz)

268 points by scyclow ↗ HN
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

Enjoy!

95 comments

[ 4.1 ms ] story [ 192 ms ] thread
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hiatus
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
That's a premium feature, which will run you 1 Credit.
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otteromkram
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
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
Ah, the genuine phone experience!

Looking at you, Android dialer.

withinboredom
iOS isn’t much better. Paste in a number and just want to add a country code? No way.
Snoozus
pen and paper for the win!
j0hnyl
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.

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butz
This is too realistic. I became annoyed after 5 minutes.
tensor
I bailed at create an account.
entropie
Same, thats for sure not the first thing I do after waking up.
miah_
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
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
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.
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addandsubtract
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
Don't worry, it is not a real account and does not send an email to you
kbrackbill
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.
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pn3k0
very cool, loved the tv controls
felixyz
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
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.
Sirikon
I hate it so, so much. Excellent job.
Max-q
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
Because all the buttons are in the top right, and I thought it looked nicer if the new text was even with the buttons :)
bassrattle
It's the morning, and there is no coffee and there is no way to get coffee
Groxx
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
ooo, good idea. I might build that in.
dheera
Or build the China version that asks you for an SMS confirmation every time you click anything in the phone.
esperent
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
Too much in my opinion.
brumar
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
Try calling 1-800-666-0000. They might be able to help.
brumar
Thanks. I tried the AI assistant but ended up mindlessly mining crypto...
maille
"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
Ah, sorry about that. If you go to https://smarthome.steviep.xyz/talk do you see any en-US voices on your device?
maille
Yes I do
scyclow
Oh well. Try playing with the sound disabled in Settings
maille
Can I select the tts engine from your /talk link?
scyclow
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`
macshome
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
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
Same for me. Iceraven 1.14.0
astonex
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
You can always get up to Infinity on YieldFarmer2
ctm92
But are the stairs a softlock?
ctm92
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
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.
UniverseHacker
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.
yesthisiswes
The reminds me a lot of a dark room! Awesome game thanks for the adventure!
scyclow
A Dark Room is great! I started playing it a lot mid way through developing this. That and Universal Paperclips are the gold standards of minimalist web-based games.
mdaniel
As best I can tell, it's this: https://adarkroom.doublespeakgames.com/ -> https://github.com/doublespeakgames/adarkroom (MPLv2) although when searching for that phrase this is the one that materializes: https://adarkroom.github.io/

And then, for the "happy 10,000 day" folks: https://hn.algolia.com/?q=universal+paperclips -> https://www.decisionproblem.com/paperclips/ but DO NOT CLICK THAT IF YOU HAVE AN ADDICTIVE PERSONALITY for just like "Multi Undergraduate Destroyer" it will "Oh, is that birds chirping I hear? Well, no problem, just one more click ..."

yesthisiswes
Agreed! Am I supposed to call the number on the bottom of the router lol. I called it.
scyclow
If you mean in-game, then yes. If you mean IRL, then no one can answer that question but yourself.
yapyap
wow, a true horror game
codebje
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!

yapyap
just went to the main website and wow, that guy really wanted to get some $$ out of the blockchain ‘technology’ boom
scyclow
It's fun, you should try it some time