Viewed from a top down perspective, Harry The Handsome Executive sees the player rolling their way through 15 levels of puzzle solving and combat.
Story
After years of diligent service in middle management Harry the Handsome Executive finds himself at a crossroads. The fluorescent lights seem to be blinding, the walls are closing in, and the trip to the incinerator to dispose of unread employee suggestions just wasn’t enough to shake off the cobwebs. Harry goes on a pilgrimage to find the only office with a window, hoping to feel the sun’s gentle caress. Unfortunately, as he sits, soaking in the warm rays, robots invade the office building, threatening employees and generally being a pain. Harry must venture into the basement and discover the dark inner workings of the ScumCo and it’s mysterious CEO, Dr. Ubermann.
Are the robots the only threat in the basement? What exactly does ScumCo do? What does Harry’s title of ‘Manager of Core Proficiencies’ really mean? Only he can find out!
Gameplay Basics
Due to the physics of swivel-chair based travel, Harry will spend most of the game propelling himself backwards towards his destination (although he can scoot forward in tiny increments). For a larger boost of speed he can ‘power kick’ off of a solid surface to cover more ground quickly. The power kick is also used to open unlocked doors throughout the office building. The rate at which the chair travels is determined by the surface resistance of the floor being rolled over and is noted by a meter on the right side of the screen. Smooth surfaces like tile allow faster travel and across longer distances per push than a surface like carpet.
Health is represented by ‘comfort’. As Harry feels less and less comfortable his comfort will drop. Once his comfort is depleted he will lose his will to continue working… and explode.
In addition to surface resistance and comfort, the player must keep an eye on the ‘corporate favor’ meter. If Harry harms or harasses coworkers too much he will be dismissed from ScumCo… and, of course, explode.
Weapons
- Silver Stapler - Acquired early in the game. Fires staples in a straight line. Hold down the fire button to let loose an automatic stream of staples.
- Gold stapler (AKA the Bi-Angular Directional Accelerated Staple System) - Fires staples in several directions. Hold down the fire button to charge a rapid 4-short burst.
- Blue stapler - Fires staples as fast as you can pull the trigger in a straight line. It can even pierce through some thin walls.
- Soda can - When shaken to the limit, soda cans can be thrown like an improvised grenade.
- Force of the Swivel - Acquired late in the game. Sends a concentrated wave of force that can go through walls and damage enemies. Charged up with the use button. Uses comfort as ammo so make sure to use sparingly!
Ammo and Health Pickups:
- Mug full o’ coffee - Increases comfort.
- Single donut - Increases comfort.
- Donut box - Increases roughly twice as much comfort as a single donut or coffee.
- Caffeine pill - Makes Harry quicker, flashier, and invincible.
- Test tube - Makes Harry invulnerable to ghosts.
- Blue staple pack - Ammo for the silver stapler.
- Red and yellow staple pack - Ammo for the gold stapler.
- Blue-and-green staple pack - Ammo for the blue stapler.
Enemies
- White Robot - These basic robots will move around and take pot shots at Harry. Takes four staples to destroy.
- Yellow Robot - These robots don’t move, but act as turrets that track Harry’s movement. Takes four staples to destroy.
- Red Robot - This is a more aggressive and hearty version of the white robot. Takes approximately 9-11 staples to destroy.
- "Bouncer" Robot - Moves in a straight line and doesn’t change direction unless shot or directed into an angled surface.
- Red bouncer robot - Does everything a regular bouncer does, just much faster.
- Green poltergeist - Poltergeists will chase after Harry, uninhibited by walls or obstacles. After being shot they will pop up in a random location on the screen and continue to attack. Takes four staples to destroy.
- Red poltergeist - Does everything a green poltergeist does, just much faster. Takes six staples to destroy.
- Yellow mold - Doesn’t really qualify as sentient. Scoots around randomly.
- Green mold - A bit smarter, will gravitate towards Harry.
- Red mold - Smart and fast, red molds will actively chase Harry.
- Green Soldier - Stationary. Shoots at Harry.
- Yellow Soldier - Can’t move. Shoots an automatic weapon at Harry.
- Red Soldier - Packs much more damage than the green or yellow variants.
