3 out of 10
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| This article, 3 out of 10, has recently been created via the Articles for creation process. Please check to see if the reviewer has accidentally left this template after accepting the draft and take appropriate action as necessary.
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| 3 out of 10 | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Terrible Posture Games |
| Publisher(s) | Terrible Posture Games |
| Director(s) | Joe Mirabello |
| Engine | Unreal Engine |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch |
| Release | Season 1
Season 2
|
3 out of 10 is a 2020 episodic adventure video game created and developed by Terrible Posture Games that is designed as the world’s first playable sitcom about a group of developers struggling to make a game from their company, Shovelworks Studios, which is the worst video game studio in the world and never made a game that scores higher than a "3 out of 10" before, but they still try. The game was released on PC by August 6, 2020 on season 1 around 5 episodes for five weeks to September 3, then later released on Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Nintendo Switch on March 3, 2021.[1] Season 2 was released on April 8, 2021.
Gameplay
The game is described to be "part animated show, part game" which combines a single, overarching narrative with genre-bending mini-games. Players control an animator, Midge Potters, who must adjust her life with her new colleagues over an endless runner called Surfing with Sharks with an unique gimmick that it has a end.
Episodes
| Season | Episodes | Originally released | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | |||
| 1 | 5 | August 6, 2020 | September 3, 2020 | |
| 2 | 5 | April 8, 2021 | ||
Season 1 (2020)
| Title | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|
| "Episode 1: Welcome to Shovelworks" | August 6, 2020 | |
|
After Midge, a new animator hired a week ago, arrives at the studio somewhere in New England, a genetic group of mobile fan-protesters from the New England chapter of the Global Internet Fandom Coalition are outside due to the game trailer that the studio made for their game "Surfing With Sharks", an endless runner that actually has an end, which the lead designer, Kevin, calls an "Endful Runner". The shark is a great white shark, but Kevin makes it a tiger shark in the script for the trailer. The devs try feeding the crowd a concoction with granola, ketchup, and hot sauce. This causes them to end up with a "2 out of 10" on their meter. So save their studio from the protesters as a last resort, Midge was tasked to get an intern inside a pet crate and put it in a dumbwaiter to feed to the engineers to make a distraction trick at the protesters to leave. The rating system returns to 3 out of 10 and Midge almsot quits her job before getting a call from Mr. Umbrella. | ||
| "Episode 2: Foundation 101" | August 13, 2020 | |
|
Francine, the HR administrator, gets a "wall of interns" surrounding her in her workspace. Midge decided to take them back to the college they were from at the Center of the Institute to the Academy of Higher University of Games (CIAHUG), a for-profit school run by administrator Provost West. Recruiting Ben, an game artist, and Viper, lead character artist, they drive to the university in a van with the interns stacked as a wobbling tower. When they arrived, they have to outrun West’s ex-military grade recuiting robot agent, Recuitus Maximus, as well. Ben and Viper managed to escape with the intern while the rest try to put the interns in classrooms on campus. However, Midge finds a secret room behind a painting from opening a head bust of West, leading her, Kevin and Pylon, the technical artist, to an Intern packing plant. Ben and Viper finds a Faculty-Only room of workers chained up and hanging as West locks them up inside. The Intern outside helps them to get the keys to the door. Midge finds a memo around Phase 2 in CIAHUG, but it’s only ripped in six pieces. Pylon managed to find the missing five pieces and reveals that CIAHUG is planning to rent the interns out as cubicles. West arrives to stop them with her robot agent, but Viper throws the intern at it to replace the head and destroying it into pieces. West sends all of her robots at them as Viper fights them off with his bat, hitting interns at them to snotkick the robots in 5 waves. West was defeated as Frank, Ben’s old friend, makes some changes to the college to take the interns away. However, they keep one intern to put in the supply closet back at the studio. | ||
| "Episode 3: Pivot Like a Champion" | August 20, 2020 | |
|
Jeb, the CEO, decided that he wants to turn the game into a battle royale game. The team cannot agree on what to do, so they themselves do a "battle royale" with foam dart guns. | ||
| "Episode 4: Thank You for Being an Asset to Our Company" | August 27, 2020 | |
|
Francine is asked to make the office look "better" for an upcoming investor meeting. However, she buys too much. Mannequins similar to the default character from Unreal Engine take over the office and lock the team in the supply closet, and Viper, the character artist, uses a flamethrower on them, causing a fire in the studio and forcing Jeb to cancel the upcoming investor meeting. | ||
| "Episode 5: The Rig is Up" | September 3, 2020 | |
|
Pylon, the technical artist, wakes up to his face being missing, due to a graphical glitch. He tries to go to the local hospital, but they cannot help him. He then tries to go to a hospital in Canada, but they kick him out. He then goes back to the American hospital and is cured using a device similar to a pinball machine. Midge is a new employee at Shovelworks. The week before, their lead animator, Javier, spontaneously exploded. | ||
Season 2 (2021)
| Title | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|
| "Episode 1: The Kevin Effect" | April 8, 2021 | |
|
Kevin discovers that his computer was stolen. Midge and Pylon decide to go look for it. Meanwhile, Kevin starts drinking coffee using Francine's new coffee machine, much to her dismay. Kevin starts teleporting around and there are also two Kevins. Pylon and Midge find the missing computer in a walk-in fridge, but Pylon throws it into the air, causing it to get shredded by the fans. Pylon then drops his magnifying glass and says that he and Midge will "deny all knowledge of the case". | ||
| "Episode 2: Green Screens and Hammers" | April 8, 2021 | |
|
Pylon decides to turn the meeting room into a motion capture studio. However, the computer used to control it becomes self-aware. | ||
| "Episode 3: Welcome to the Club" | April 8, 2021 | |
|
A nightclub opens outside of the studio. Viper is let in, but the other characters have to sneak in. The person running the nightclub threatens to rip out the characters' larynxes, and Viper decides to play a rhythm game involving cows. | ||
| "Episode 4: Catapults and Conspiracies" | April 8, 2021 | |
|
The team finds out that a rival studio sabotaged their router, causing their network to go down. They then go to the rival studio, which is full of catapults. | ||
| "Episode 5: It’s Fun O'Clock Somewhere" | April 8, 2021 | |
|
Jeb decides to have a "day of fun". They do a hotdog-eating contest and Pylon thinks that his liver was damaged. They also have a giant ball pit, but the tentacle living in their fridge has laid eggs everywhere. At the end, Javier's voice is apparently heard through a vent, suggesting that he either did not explode (i.e. the blood on his desk was not even real), or he somehow returned to life. | ||
Development
Joe Mirabello, creative director of Terrible Posture Games, wanted to develop a new game aside from their first person shooters Tower of Guns and Mothergunship. The inspiration for 3 out of 10 came from his odd experiences working at 38 Studios who developed Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, but the game Joe’s making doesn’t punch down on the industry, rather highlighting the absurdity of it. The sitcom style of the game was also inspired from shows on Adult Swim and Comedy Central with cues taken from classical 2D adventure games like Grim Fandango and The Secret of Monkey Island.[2]
Reception
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | PC: 85/100[3] NS: 73/100[4] |
| OpenCritic | 73%[5] 50% Critics Recommend |
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | PC: 79/100[6] |
| OpenCritic | 83%[7] |
While Season 1 received "mixed to average reviews", Season 2 received "generally favorable reviews" according to review aggregator website Metacritic.[8][9] 50% of critics recommend Season 1 on OpenCritic.[5]
TV adaptation
In May 2021, Dj2 Entertainment announced a partnership with Terrible Posture Games to make an TV adaptation based on their game.[10]
References
- ^ "3 out of 10 is a free "playable sitcom" about life at the world's worst game development studio". Eurogamer.net. 6 August 2020.
- ^ "3 Out of 10 is a New Free-To-Play Sitcom Parodying the Games Industry".
- ^ "3 out of 10: Season One critic reviews". Metacritic.
- ^ "3 out of 10: Season One critic reviews". Metacritic.
- ^ a b "3 out of 10 - Season One Critic Reviews".
- ^ "3 out of 10: Season Two critic reviews". Metacritic.
- ^ "3 Out of 10: Season Two Reviews".
- ^ "3 out of 10: Season One". Metacritic.
- ^ "3 out of 10: Season Two". Metacritic.
- ^ "Dj2 Entertainment Adapting Playable Sitcom '3 Out of 10' for Television". The Hollywood Reporter. 12 May 2021.