Funnily enough, this is exactly the premise of a Malaysian-made video game that has been making waves in the video game market.

The Company Man, released late May, is the first game produced by local studio Forust, which spoofs office culture.

Taking place in an exaggerated office environment, with literal mountains of paperwork and icy air-conditioned offices, players fight off colleagues and bosses with nothing but a trusty keyboard.

To put it lightly, this game is a dream come true for many corporate drones.

Speaking to FMT, Forust’s founder, Andrew Teo, explained that The Company Man is the studio’s first game and was produced entirely in-house after much trial and error.

“A big inspiration behind the game is the American version of the sitcom, ‘The Office’,” said Teo.

“Growing up, we thought that the co-worker stereotypes of the show were just jokes, so we were shocked to come into the working world and discover that they were real! The older we got, the more we found humour in parodying office culture and realised that this was a game concept that would relate to many people.”

This is something the game does effortlessly and the developers hope that this helps people look at their workplace from a different (and humorous) point of view.

“Whether it’s the huge amounts of paperwork raining down on the HR department, or the fact that you need to drink coffee to heal from your co-workers’ attacks, we hope that this game helps Malaysians to find joy in the ordinary — to see the weird, wacky and fun of their everyday 9-5,” said Teo

That being said, Teo and his team are just one of the many examples of Malaysians leaving a mark in the video game industry. However, many of these local talents lack the opportunity to create their own games.

“Due to the lack of opportunity for career progression for these local talents, many end up working in studios overseas,” Teo lamented.

The Covid-19 pandemic has also made the situation a little more tenuous for Teo and his studio.

“Pre-Covid, we had plans of showcasing our game to an international audience through gaming conferences, but due to current circumstances, all that has to be done virtually,” he said.

These conferences are important venues for developers to create and maintain relationships with their players, and virtual conferences tend to lack a personal touch.

He also added that there are many difficulties in setting up a video game studio in Malaysia as well, to the point that Malaysians are setting up overseas instead.

“Because resources and talent are so limited, game developers must establish a clear set of priorities as we can’t afford to design every desired feature in a game,” explained Teo.

He added that it is important for fledgling companies to set the right priorities to stay afloat and maximise whatever resources one has, seeing as Malaysia and Southeast Asia can potentially be a video game development hub in the future, especially with its large pool of talent.

Despite the challenges, Teo said that plans are underway to port the game to the Nintendo Switch platform to reach players there.

As for why he entered the field in the first place, Teo attributed his career choice to his desire to tell stories via video games.

“I believe all art is storytelling and stories have the ability to bring people together. Through video games, we can create shared memories and experiences that people can enjoy,” he said.

But what makes a good game in the end?

“A good game must have great gameplay, characters, artwork, animations, and a clear theme that brings all the elements together. It also needs to have a strong rewards system and clear incentives for the players to have a desire for play,” said Teo.

“It must be simple to use but difficult to master. Good games should be user-friendly to newcomers and provide an invitation for players to pursue mastery over the game.”

The Company Man is available for purchase on Steam right now. For updates, follow the game on Facebook and Twitter.