IT Specialist Simulator
Preview
Ironing out the bugs
by Howie Howard
previewed on PC
It really does take experience to do this IT job
.I have gained a lot of computer related experience over the years. Since college graduation with an almost - at the time - insignificant degree in microprocessor design, I can at least say that I am quite familiar with the inner workings of computers. However, I'm not an IT specialist and never claim to be one. As such, I deem IT Specialist Simulator (forthwith to be known as IT Sim for this article) to be a pretty darn good learning experience and simulation. Back when I went to school the concept of an information technology as a means of having computers on a world wide network was still in its infancy and just a dream. This game will allow people like myself to actually experience the inner working of the job of an Information Technology specialist! My college experience and interest in the subject did allow me to be able to fix most computer problems that I encountered along the way with my own personal computers and networks. With that said, the value in this game is more than it just being a game and as a consequence IT Sim is really very complex and in-depth when it comes to the actual subject matter and how it is presented. Some users might not be as in-to-it like others such as myself are.
IT work can sometimes be very detailed and challenging
With that said, experience is what makes a good IT specialist. You have to be able to work on and solve what are sometimes very complex computer problems in order to keep productivity on track. IT Sim will definitely help with learning how to do that, because the game acts more like a guide to teaching the actual job of IT specialist than being a game. It is that in-depth. and can be very challenging - if that is what you are looking for. The game is extremely detailed and very realistic concerning the way that computers interact with other devices on a network and what is required to maintain and fix them. It is kind of like actually working on a computer problem in real life.
There are three difficulty modes in the game and they are easy, medium and hard mode. All of the modes contain tips that can be activated with a decreasing amount of information based on the most information being given for easy mode down to not much information at all being available in the hard mode. Beginners and those folks inexperienced with this subject should start out with easy mode first. Then as you progress and have problems, the steps needed to fix various in game problems will come up as hints when you get stuck. If you don't possess a very good memory that can remember every step to problem resolution, then you could get stuck time and time again. It is that complex with everything requiring a step by step procedure and high learning curve. That is how computers are when using them and trying to fix them in real life. I can say that you probably won't have an easy go of it even in easy mode, that is if you are not an experienced IT professional. So the game will cater more to a certain type of game player and person that has an interest in the subject.
Everyone has to start somewhere
In the beginning of the game, players are hired for their first IT job as assistant IT specialist on the night shift, and are given a tablet and access to a work computer. Initially, the service requests are rather easy. Most all of the fixes in the game, just as in real life are user issues which are submitted by the employee in email form. The emails are constantly coming in and they can be read on the tablet. Each request for service is marked as being critical, high, medium or low priority tasks. As the IT specialist on duty, it is your job to manage your time while handling and successfully completing as many tasks as possible during your work shift. Each task has a time limit, and if you fail to finish then the failure will not add to your work experience. The work shift runs from 2 pm and it ends at 10 pm, which is actually the second shift I believe. Note that it is currently not possible to save the game in the middle of the work shift. You have to wait until you log out of work at the end of the day to be able to save the game. Plus, it is not possible to end the shift and clock out even one minute early! Hopefully that will be fixed in the full game release with a better save option because it can take quite a bit of time to finish a shift.
On the job experience is how you learn
As you complete tasks you gain experience and can eventually look for a better job, or hope for a promotion that has even more responsibilities than being just an assistant IT specialist on the evening shift! When promotions or higher level jobs are accepted, the required tasks become even more difficult in nature. This is where some of your problems as the specialist on duty will begin, because some of these repairs can be very complex. Unfortunately, the hints sometimes won't help a whole lot, so you will need to do an in game Internet search in order to find a solution to a similar problem and then work in a step by step procedure to achieve success. Or let the time limit trigger and you can move on and probably get the same problem again later.
Recently, I had a major problem upgrading my gaming computer to Windows 11. The seemingly simple action of upgrading the computer from Windows 10 to 11 just would not work and I tried everything. Even though my computer more than met the new operating systems requirements, it could not be done via the upgrade option so I had to head out onto the web to find a solution. In the end, I had to find a way to do a new full installation of Windows 11 rather than an upgrade (something that was an easy process in the past). It is the same in IT Sim. The not knowing how to progress is always very frustrating in real life, and - believe it or not - it was very frustrating having to do exactly the same in this game! Some of the in game problems couldn't be completed because time ran out so I took the failure and moved on. However, you can use it as a learning experience because the IT Sim community is very knowledgeable and helpful. I was very frustrated during the week long experience I had trying to upgrade my own computer and that's because I generally won't resort to quitting. I always keep going until I come to a result but doing that in game isn't the same because of the time limit.
IT solutions and conclusions...
Folks, this game does show a whole lot of promise for the person interested in fixing computers - either working in the IT field or being able to simply maintain and fix your own computer(s) like I am. Yes, at this is still in Early Access, it can be buggy at times. I feel that it could contain more tips and better hints, and more content. However there is a big presence on the net with people that are dedicated to this game and they will answer questions, offer suggestions and the devs take user input very seriously. With that said, if you presently have problems with bugs or whatever, don't worry because the real IT Specialist Simulation experts are on the job and I am sure they will resolve all of the problems present in this early access version of the game. IT Sim can be and will be a very good learning tool as the game matures, so stay tuned.
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