The Working Man

Game Play:

First-person shooter. Single Player.

The Working Man is the product of my honours research project into persuasive system design and performative masculinity, with the idea to create a system that challenges masculine gender norms, while targeting the demographic of young males through the first-person shooter genre.

Gameplay takes place between two distinct levels. The first is situated in a “dreamscape” combat space that serves as a loose abstraction of the workplace. Players aim to survive from 9 am to 5 pm (roughly 2 minutes) as they fend off an aggressive, angry mob using the options often found in first-person shooter games. As the player explores gameplay styles through the combat system, they must find a balance in their aggressive actions. As the character shoots, they get angrier, and their weapon becomes harder to control. The character’s anger can be balanced by taking deep breaths and avoiding enemies. Each action the player takes is tracked and mapped into one of four behavioural categories informed by research into hegemonic and normative masculinity.

The second level takes place in an office space where the player is confronted by the results of their actions within the combat space. The results of their tracked behaviour are reflected through the coloured lighting and more clearly through a bar chart on the wall showing the relative stats in each behaviour category. This space has no combat and serves only to provide a safe place for players to reflect on their actions and re-enter the combat arena to find a better balance between the four behaviours.

Abertay Digital Graduate Show 2025

^{Abertay University, Dundee. 15th – 17th May 2025}

Abertay’s biggest ever graduate show, with more than 140 innovative Honours Projects covering everything from concept art and character design to cutting-edge tech like virtual/augmented reality and 3D modelling.

the show offered a plethora of opportunities to play and explore games, view graduates’ work, chat to exhibitors and connect with people in the local digital and creative industries.

In theme with the game, I dressed in my business suit and set my booth up to look like a messy work station (I’m generally much tidier than this).

_{‘The Working Man’ at Abertay Digital Graduate Show 2025}