I think I can understand why someone would point to this as an example of style over substance- if you have a rudimentary understanding of how markets work a few hours playing SWOTS will make it simple enough to speed through without much challenge save for the odd hyper-specific client demand. That said, this really doesn't bother me or change what I DO like about SWOTS, which is that I think it generally has a lovely aesthetic which it uses smartly.
Trading organs on the stock market is like the most in-your-face device for getting an anti-capitalist message across, but I think what makes SWOTS succeed so much at its concept is how well it puts the player in the seat of a "market speculator". The second you've pressed the button to start the trading day you're accosted by just enough beeps and dings and bright colors to keep you perpetually stimulated without leaving you confused, and the fact that the gameplay is dead simple (you'll spend most of your time buying cheap, shitty organs to flip to clients for a profit) means that every 2-and-a-half minute trading day is a frenzy of trying to meet 6 or 7 client demands in as little time as possible, all while the incredibly catchy soundtrack shifts with the menus to keep the aesthetic from being too monotone. Lights flash, organs pulsate rhythmically, a number representing your worth keeps dipping and going up- it's a very, very pretty slot machine. It succeeds wonderfully at putting you in the mindset of the kind of ridiculous, greed-driven, morally bankrupt gambling that governs an insane amount of global finance. It'll occasionally try to make you think a little about what you're doing- maybe a client's request is clearly written in desperation and you know you'll be screwing them over by selling them something shoddy- but with the exception of the shocking, out-of-nowhere endings there's always a number going up and a dozen fun noises and pictures pulling your attention back away from how fucked up this all is. It's simple, but really effective at making you empathize with the kind of disgusting dopamine junkie that will happily scam someone out of their life for profit. It's a very effective device. You can know almost nothing about markets outside of having watched that Dan Olson crypto video or playing Cruelty Squad and you'll get what it's trying to say
I don't think SWOTS is a game that anyone's going to stick with for too long- its multiple endings weren't that tantalizing to me after a couple playthroughs- and so the lack of difficulty or depth isn't really something that bothers me. It's a thrilling, simple little stocks game that has really fantastic audiovisual design that feels considered. In that regard, it pulls off what it's going for very well.
Trading organs on the stock market is like the most in-your-face device for getting an anti-capitalist message across, but I think what makes SWOTS succeed so much at its concept is how well it puts the player in the seat of a "market speculator". The second you've pressed the button to start the trading day you're accosted by just enough beeps and dings and bright colors to keep you perpetually stimulated without leaving you confused, and the fact that the gameplay is dead simple (you'll spend most of your time buying cheap, shitty organs to flip to clients for a profit) means that every 2-and-a-half minute trading day is a frenzy of trying to meet 6 or 7 client demands in as little time as possible, all while the incredibly catchy soundtrack shifts with the menus to keep the aesthetic from being too monotone. Lights flash, organs pulsate rhythmically, a number representing your worth keeps dipping and going up- it's a very, very pretty slot machine. It succeeds wonderfully at putting you in the mindset of the kind of ridiculous, greed-driven, morally bankrupt gambling that governs an insane amount of global finance. It'll occasionally try to make you think a little about what you're doing- maybe a client's request is clearly written in desperation and you know you'll be screwing them over by selling them something shoddy- but with the exception of the shocking, out-of-nowhere endings there's always a number going up and a dozen fun noises and pictures pulling your attention back away from how fucked up this all is. It's simple, but really effective at making you empathize with the kind of disgusting dopamine junkie that will happily scam someone out of their life for profit. It's a very effective device. You can know almost nothing about markets outside of having watched that Dan Olson crypto video or playing Cruelty Squad and you'll get what it's trying to say
I don't think SWOTS is a game that anyone's going to stick with for too long- its multiple endings weren't that tantalizing to me after a couple playthroughs- and so the lack of difficulty or depth isn't really something that bothers me. It's a thrilling, simple little stocks game that has really fantastic audiovisual design that feels considered. In that regard, it pulls off what it's going for very well.