Five steps of one night
Receive→Inspect→Cross-check→Decide→Face the consequences
GIF · full loop, 8-12 secondsParcel arrives → inspection → rule conflict → decision → knock at the window
For publishersworking draft
01 / 10WINDOW No. 6
Night shift
Other people's parcels
Your decisions
A short horror sim about a warehouse night operator. Check parcels against standing orders that contradict each other - then face the people whose things you shipped, shelved or destroyed at your window
Playable vertical sliceWindows · Godot 4.7EN / RU
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Core loop
Core loop
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Feature
Feature
Every box is a small investigation
It can be weighed, scanned, listened to and opened. Several standing orders can demand opposite decisions at the same time
14-C Weight differs by more than 20% - open
33-F Knocking inside - do not open. Quarantine
[!] Orders conflict: 14-C and 33-F
33-F Knocking inside - do not open. Quarantine
[!] Orders conflict: 14-C and 33-F
GIF · inspecting a boxShow the hands, the scale, the scanner and the conflicting requirements
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Feature
Feature
Decisions come back to the window
Fourteen visitors come for specific things. Key characters return night after night: new parcels reveal their stories, and the operator's earlier decisions change the encounters that follow
A parcel introduces them→A visit raises a question→The next item tells the story→Your decision sets the ending
One shoe… who needs it besides me?
Your shift runs until six. I am in no hurry.
Your shift runs until six. I am in no hurry.
GIF · visitor at the windowKnock → shutter opens → conversation or handover
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Position
Position
Familiar genre, a different source of pressure
Papers, PleaseA growing rulebook and consequences that arrive late
Security BoothA booth, a window and darkness outside
The Closing ShiftA work routine that stays a routine for a long time
USPHere you inspect people's belongings, not the people. The consequences of your decisions reach the operator on their own - and knock at the window
Current build30-minute vertical slice
Full version10 nights, decisions carry between shifts
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Status
Status
The slice has been played by outside testers
Every system the full version needs already runs in the slice. Rules, parcels, items and lines are stored as tables
Version0.3.0 · Windows
Slice ready3 nights · about 30 minutes
Slice content39 parcels · 14 visitors · 68 items
Release target10 nights · about 3 hours · multiple endings
Localisation719 strings · English and Russian
SystemsConveyor, tools, rules, lockers, window, dialogue and shift report
Team1 developer
External testsTwo streamers played the slice live
Chat during the streams
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Roadmap
Roadmap
8 months to release
- Month 1-2Full external playthroughs and two iterations of game design audit: onboarding, the pace of the belt and the window, the difficulty curve and how readable the rule conflicts are. Trailer and capsules in parallel
- Month 2The Coming Soon page goes up as soon as the trailer and capsules are ready: six months are left before release, and wishlists accumulate the whole time
- Month 3-5Nights four to ten: arcs of the key visitors, script editing, new connected parcels and consequences carried between nights. 3D artist and animator work in the same window
- Month 5-6Polishing sound and feedback, EN/RU editing, QA and optimisation of the Windows build
- Month 6Demo on Steam - the same three nights of the vertical slice brought to release quality. Next Fest if it fits the calendar
- Month 7-8Final QA, localisation proofing, store preparation and release
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Budget
Budget
Two production scales
Solo development
$40kThe whole game, its content and its integration stay with one developer. Specialists are brought in only for specific jobs
Development · 8 months$19,000
Sound and final audio mix$3,000
Game design audit · 2 iterations$2,000
Narrative audit: character arcs and endings$3,000
QA and external playtests$3,000
English copy-editing and EN/RU proofreading$1,000
Steam capsules and trailer$4,000
Contingency$5,000
Total$40,000
With a 3D team
$61kSolo production is reinforced by character specialists. This lowers the visual risk and frees time for the game itself and for polish
Everything in package A$40,000
3D artist · characters and integration$11,000
Character animator$8,000
Additional production contingency$2,000
Total$61,000
Ask to the publisherAt minimum - fund the completion of the solo version. Preferred - additionally reinforce production with a 3D artist and a character animator
Sums are fixed and broken down by line. Contractor rates are confirmed by quotes at contract stage; the contingency covers the difference
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P&L
P&L
Break-even lands below the weakest reference
Price $9.99. Copies estimated from Steam review counts at 30 copies per review. Net per copy $5.50: after the store cut, regional pricing, discounts and refunds. Break-even is calculated on the full budget; doubling assumes the investment is recouped first and revenue is then split evenly
Break-even, budget A7,300 copies · 245 reviews
Break-even, budget B11,100 copies · 370 reviews
Doubling the investment, A21,800 copies · 730 reviews
Doubling the investment, B33,300 copies · 1,110 reviews
Security Booth272 reviews · the floor of the genre
The Closing Shift2,900 reviews · work routine, the same audience
No, I am not a Human26,000 reviews · over 1M copies
ConclusionThe weakest reference in the genre clears budget A with room to spare. Doubling the investment happens at half the base scenario - a volume this niche considers modest
Copy estimates derived from review counts; sources: SteamSpy, games-stats, public publisher announcements
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Contact
Contact