The Occupation is a single-player[1] adventure video game developed by White Paper Games and released on PlayStation 4, Xbox One,[2] and Microsoft Windows on 5 March 2019.[3][4][5][6] The game takes place in a single government building, in real-time over four hours. The game advances with or without input from the player, but almost all in-game actions can affect the game's story.[7]
The game is set in late 1987 within the same universe as White Paper Games' first title Ether One.[8]
The game does not have a health bar or energy system, when the game needs to punish the player it does so by using up the player's time, for example if a player is caught doing something they should not, they are taken to a security office and lose 15 minutes of game time, which shortens the time available to achieve the main aim of the game, obtaining knowledge.[9]
Prior to the start of the game; a terrorist attack has killed 23 people and led the British Government to create The Union Act, a "controversial act which threatens the civil liberties of the British population."
The game's plot starts at 3:27 PM on 24 October 1987.[10] The player character is a journalist that is researching The Union Act, players have freedom of choice on how to act; become a whistle blowing journalist fighting against the act, or do nothing as the game progresses on its own.[7]
The game was developed on Unreal 4[11] and uses dynamic artificial intelligence, which combines scripted activities for the in-game characters, along with deviations to their normal routine based on their in-game requirements or interactions.[12] The developers illustrated this by explaining the actions of a character called Dan, a Scottish Muslim who is a "towering bald man who screams security", he breaks his usual desk based routine, because of his need to pray at certain times, creating a circumstance that the player can take advantage of should they wish.[8]
