[b]my summer jobs: dialing for dreams[/b] is a time/resource management puzzler with some deductive elements, about a girl selling magazines to people over the phone. for youths, a magazine is like a website on paper. wait, they don't even know what a website is anymore... so maybe like insta comments or tweets but longer, without hashtags and on paper. and a rotary phone? imagine a big ol' clunky mobile with a long wire and no screen, you might've seen one at grandma's place. and no, that upside down horn thing doesn't even have a camera, absolutely useless.
the game is [b]entirely mouse-based[/b], no hotkeys, just click stuff. interactable objects react on mouseover, some have tooltips. the phone is the main thing, the notebook is the help/how-to-play section, your face on top shows basic stats and there's some coffee on the desk. more interactions just for fun and tooltips for a bit more clarity would be good.
unlike my reviews, the notebook is concise, but here's what you need to know. [b]there's both a clock and an energy meter but no real-time elements, they're more a sort of move limit.[/b] you can only do a certain amount of actions per day, at your own leisure, feel free to stare at the crack on the wall for hours irl, and can't just keep bombarding people with questions and every magazine you have until they yield.
the first thing chosen from the 3 conversation starters decides how many questions can be asked from that person, then it's just a matter of finding out what they want. an excellent quality of life feature is showing the answers to already discussed questions on mouseover. the more efficient you are in offering suitable reading material AND a reason/selling point, the more calls you can make each day. best not to jump to conclusions though, as customers have a happiness meter. piss them off completely by offering the wrong mags or reasons and they'll hang up.
[b]striking a deal doesn't deplete energy[/b], only failed attempts, running out means you're done for the day. [b]taking a 30-minute coffee break restores some[/b] but it's only allowed once a day. [b]the game saves after every call[/b], so you can quit and continue later, don't have to play an entire day in one sitting.
I thought 3 weeks would mean 15 workdays, apparently between noon and 3pm (poor overworked kid), but there are 14 people to call on the first week and you can do that in 2-3 days even if you dilly-dally or fail some, then get the rest of the week off. [b]each week comes with additional magazines, 14 new names, plus the ones you failed before.[/b]
colorful cartoony presentation, the writing is fine, found a few typos, nothing major. different people are different enough, there are even a few connections and references to each other. [b]everybody only has one set of answers, no randomization, which puts a dent on replayability.[/b] not something I care about but many do, though [b]the ending is based on your success rate[/b].
settings are good too. [b]very separate volume settings to get rid of annoying gibberish[/b] while keeping the fitting music that wasn't to my taste and the functional sfx and ambience. sliders are somewhat buggy, I had re-adjust some of them every time I started the game. an [b]instant text display toggle[/b] got patched in upon request if you're sick of the similarly annoying typewriter effect. resolution options and windowed mode are also in, all of these accessible while playing as well, plus [b]3 save slots/profiles[/b].
based on the brief store page I envisioned a game with more deduction, but it's still [b]a pleasant experience if you don't expect branching dialog, endless randomized content and whatnot[/b]. the price is way too high though.
