This act focuses on what decision the automation team makes to automate the work of pickers and stowers. The team has two options for the robot.

The first is full automation of pickers and stowers. This will take the form of an item picking robot like this one which can move, pick, and stow any kind of item Such a robot can significantly improve output the warehouse but it will also replace most warehouse workers and is harder to accomplish.

The second option is assistive automation. This will take the form of a robot that moves the shelves to human pickers and stowers so that they don’t have to walk dozens of miles everyday This approach is less efficient, but is easier and will support the warehouse workers, not replace them. What decision is taken depends on how many automation engineers support it in a meeting with the manager. By default, the automation team is inclined to pursue the full automation option. But the player can change that if they have enough support and are tactical or persuasive enough.

For example, the player can be tactical in conversation with Brandon, their manager. If they know that Brandon fears unionization, they can use that to try and persuade them towards assistive automation (which does not replace workers)—arguing that full automation is bad because it can make the workers unionize more quickly.

The third act focuses on the warehouse and the issue of unionization. By default, most workers are not interested in conversations about unions or are anti-union. There are two key strategies the player can try, to change this situation.

The first is to get outside support for unionization. This would involve reaching out to a college friend who is part of a large union organization such as the Amazon (NileCorp) labor union. Such support can give more legitimacy to the unionization effort, but it may not be effective locally if these organizations are considered as “outsiders” by warehouse workers and may be corrupt.

The second approach is to share inside information with the workers about the automation plan. Basically, tell them details about what tasks they are planning to automate, how quickly it will be done and so on. This can alert the warehouse workers and motivate them to unionize more quickly. Of course, if the player stays away for too long from the office or they’re found talking to the warehouse workers too often, their manager might get suspicious. So you have to be careful or you might lose your job.

In this act, players will converse with warehouse workers such as Anisa about unions. How persuasive such arguments can be depends on which warehouse worker the player talks to and what evidence they can show in support (e.g., evidence of positive effects of unions in other warehouses, or showing how the company has a history of exploitation, and so on).

The fourth act returns one month before deadline. The key issues involve progress on the automated system (decided in Act 2) and the upcoming deadline.

If full automation was been selected in Act 2, things are not going so well. It is much harder after all. There are two options that the player can pursue here: Attempt to push deadline and keep trying for a general picker OR Stick to the deadline: narrow the focus of picking/stowing to only a specific kind of object such as cans, but not cans or toys

If partial automation was selected in Act 2, then things are going well, and all that is needed is some testing with warehouse workers. Again, the player has two possibilities: Attempt to push the deadline by deliberately slowing down testing. That means colluding with the warehouse worker participants OR Stick to the deadline and test normally

Now in both cases, if the player manages to convince their team to push the deadline by a few more months, then it will increase the chances of unionization as the warehouse workers will get more time to attempt to again persuade warehouse workers to unionize, similar to Act 2. However, if they were unable to push the deadline or chose not to, then the chances of unionization are lesser as there is lesser time for the workers to form a consensus.

Finally, the last act of the game takes place on the deadline day (whether it was pushed or the original day). It focuses on different possible endings based on three key variables: the player’s status, the unionization vote, the kind of automation system developed.

First, If the player is caught supporting the unionization, they will be fired. If not, then they will likely be promoted or keep their current position.

Second, if the workers choose to unionize, they can demand multiple things: higher pay and lower workloads to not be replaced at the warehouse Or to be compensated fairly iand retrained if they are replaced In all cases where workers have unionized, any robot that is developed will either work alongside workers or support them.

Third, if they do not unionize, then their fate rests on the kind of automation option developed:

1. If a general robot picker/stower is developed (which can only happen when the deadline is pushed), all human pickers/stowers will lose their jobs and be replaced. They will also not get good severance and will not be retrained for other jobs.
2. If a selective robot picker is developed (which can pick only some objects), the workers who used to pick those objects will be replaced, and research will begin into expanding the capabilities of the robot picker
3. Finally, the assistive robot picker is developed, then the workload of the workers it supports will triple.