Line #34 VideoGame/HarryTheHandsomeExecutive


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/HarryTheHandsomeExecutive_3058.png]]
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3	[=ScumCo=] is a DangerousWorkplace, and Harry is its finest troubleshooter: a BadassBureaucrat packing a [[NailEm Staple Gun]], power-kicking off walls in his mighty [[SwivelChairAntics Swivel Chair]]. But years of service have left Harry with nagging questions, like: what exactly does [=ScumCo=] ''do?'' Why is it housed in a sinister black obelisk? And does his boss, Dr. Ubermann, plan on being his [[FinalBoss FINAL Boss]]?
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5	Harry stars in a {{Shareware}} [[TopDownView Top-Down]] ActionGame, released by Creator/AmbrosiaSoftware for the Platform/{{Macintosh}} in 1997. Creator Ben Spees also developed ''VideoGame/FerazelsWand'' for Ambrosia.
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7	!! Tropes employed by ''Harry the Handsome Executive'':
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9	* BadBoss: At the beginning, Ubermann has you toss unread employee feedback forms in the incinerator. By the end, he's planning to [[spoiler:sell his employees' bodies as [[DemonicPossession hosts for incorporeal demons.]]]]
10	%% * BlobMonster: A product of [=ScumCo's=] Artificial Life Creation and Study Institute.
11	%% * BondOneLiner: "Eat staples, electrode breath!"
12	%% * BossArenaRecovery: Level 15.
13	%% * BossOnlyLevel: Level 15.
14	* CastFromHitPoints: TheForce of the Swivel can channel life energy into weaponized blasts.
15	%% * CorridorCubbyholeRun: Done with [[IndyEscape boulders]].
16	%% * DevelopersRoom: Ambrosia rents office space in [=ScumCo=] Tower. The staff is out when you visit, but they each left you a memo.
17	* EdibleAmmunition: Shaken-up soda cans become grenades.
18	* EvilInc: [=ScumCo=] is under constant attack from the robots and monsters it tries to harness. The R&D labs work on [[spoiler:mind control drugs]] amid nearly wall-to-wall chemical spills. [[spoiler:And yes, the boss is nursing a scheme for world domination.]]
19	* EvilCostumeSwitch: [[spoiler:{{Brainwashed}} Pam dons a leather skirt and stiletto heels.]]
20	* FunWithAcronyms
21	** The '''S'''pecial '''P'''lanning, '''I'''ntelligence, and '''E'''spionage '''S'''ection.
22	** The '''B'''i-'''A'''ngular '''D'''irectional '''A'''ccelerated '''S'''taple '''S'''ystem.
23	* GameMod: Unlike other Ambrosia titles like ''VideoGame/EscapeVelocity'', this game came with a LevelEditor, and Ambrosia had hosting space on its site for mods.
24	%% * GirlFriday: Harry's secretary, Pam.
25	%% * HellGate: The true purpose of [[spoiler:[=ScumCo=] Tower, as conceived by swivel chair inventor UsefulNotes/ThomasJefferson.]]
26	* HyperactiveMetabolism: Coffee and [[BlandNameProduct Dorky Donuts]] boost your [[LifeMeter comfort meter]].
27	%% * HypnoticEyes: Dr. Ubermann has them.
28	* IdiotHero: Harry is comfortable in the roles of "action hero" and "ladies' man," and bewildered by almost everything else that happens to him.
29	%% * ImMelting: [[spoiler:Dr. Ubermann's fate.]]
30	* TheInspectorIsComing: One mission is to destroy all traces of a dangerous substance invented by [=ScumCo=] R&D before the health inspector arrives.
31	%% * InterchangeableAntimatterKeys: Color-coded.
32	%% * MacGuffinDeliveryService: [[spoiler:Ubermann needs the Force of the Swivel Chair as a component of his EvilPlan, but is unable to pass the [[OnlyTheWorthyMayPass tests of character]] needed to reach it--so he dares Harry to try.]]
33	* MadeOfExplodium: Most things that can be shot with the staple gun will explode into fireballs, [[EnforcedTrope "as strictly regulated by game design law."]]
34	%% * TheMaze: Made of doors that can only be kicked open from one side.
35	* MeaninglessMeaningfulWords -- [=ScumCo=] runs on the corporate buzzword variety. Harry is [[http://www.ambrosiasw.com/ambrosia_times/September_97/4.5Harry.html "Manager of Core Proficiencies,"]] and was anointed "Most Likely to Enact a Paradigm Shift in the Workgroup Mission Statement." Coworkers he approaches will sometimes spout MadLibsDialogue in this vein.
36	%% * MegaCorp: [=ScumCo=].
37	%%* NailEm: The titular Harry's .
38	* NarratingThePresent: Harry narrates his own journey to the basement.
39	--> '''Pam:''' "'Vaulting concrete heavens'? Harry, I never knew you had such a literary bent."
40	* NoFairCheating: The level select cheat was disabled at some point, replaced with the message "Harry sez: No more cheating!"
41	* NoGearLevel
42	--> He had no weapons. He was drained, empty, hollow, and all he had was the Power of the Swivel Chair.
43	* NoManShouldHaveThisPower: [[spoiler:Harry resolves that contact with [[AnotherDimension The Other Side]] must end.]]
44	--> [[spoiler:"''All'' of it? But we've learned so much... we can make contact, under controlled conditions, secretly..."]]\
45	"No!" snapped Harry. "''It must end now!''"
46	* NoOSHACompliance: The [=ScumCo=] workplace is full of [[ExplodingBarrel volatile toxic waste barrels]], pipes that vent gouts of flame, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking scattered thumbtacks on the floors]], and mail trolleys that rush about with no guardrails to keep people from blundering into them. In the latter case you can also turn it around: shove a chair or an office plant into a trolley's path and it will run into it and explode.
47	* NonStandardGameOver: If you lose all corporate favor, a voice booms "YOU'RE FIRED!" ...and ''then'' you explode.
48	* NoticeThis: Memos to Harry pulse with a red glow.
49	* ObliviousToHints: A stewardess tries at length to slip Harry his MissionBriefing in the guise of an in-flight film.
50	--> "We also have ''Secret Message for Harry'' and ''Important Assignment from the Boss'' available this evening...."
51	--> "What kind of idiot are you?" snapped Harry. "''I do not want to watch a movie! No! No! No movie! None!''"
52	* OnlyThePureOfHeart: [[spoiler:One of the Tests of the Swivel Chair requires you to [[SheatheYourSword empty your staple guns]] to cross the threshold.]]
53	%% * OpeningScroll: Most levels have one to narrate between-level events.
54	* OpenSaysMe: {{Inverted}}. Harry ''only'' opens doors by kicking them in--but if a door is locked, he has to use the key first.
55	* PercussiveMaintenance: The only way to get anything out of a vending machine, is to apply some well needed force.
56	%% * PhlebotinumOverdose: Never drink two test tubes at once.
57	%% * PivotalBoss: Dr. Ubermann.
58	* PixelHunt: Blue keys are sometimes hidden on busy blue backgrounds.
59	* PowerUpFood: Caffeine pills make Harry temporarily flash colors, move faster, and become immune to all damage.
60	%% * RampJump
61	* ReflectiveEyes: When Harry looks into Pam's, he gets to admire his own reflection.
62	* SaveGameLimits: You can save at the beginning of each level, plus once per [[JustifiedSavePoint photocopier]].
63	%% * ScreenShake: Accompanies explosions.
64	* ShoutOut
65	** Several to Franchise/IndianaJones, starting with the logo and [[SuspiciouslySimilarSong Suspiciously Similar Theme Song]]. Eventually {{lampshade}}d by the narration.
66	--> A ''[[TempleOfDoom temple]]?'' This was simply too much. Too much, too much, too much, too much. Who the hell was he, anyway, Indiana Jones?
67	** [[Franchise/{{Dune}} "Fear, Harry. Fear is the mind-killer."]]
68	** The traditional Ambrosia EasterEgg (press X on the title screen) yields a Music/TheyMightBeGiants lyric.
69	* SpeechBubbles -- Used to display the text of signage and memos as well as dialogue.
70	* {{Technobabble}} -- {{Parodied}} by the schematic of Harry's chair, which highlights its "Hyper-Ergonomic Comfort Cradle," "Secondary Spinal Support Beam," and "Dynamic Non-Skid Tailbone Suspension Pad (Extra Kooshy)."
71	%% * ThereAreNoGoodExecutives: A notable exception.
72	* TurnedAgainstTheirMasters: The robots who staff the customer service lines revolt.
73	* TurnsRed: When nearly defeated, Ubermann starts [[FlashOfPain flashing]], hopping in place, and hurling poltergeists.
74	%% * ViolenceIsTheOnlyOption: A HardTruthAesop in the epilogue.
75	* WorkCom: Harry's world is an utterly absurdist look at white-collar corporate work. In one level, Harry is driven to fight his way across the building past hazards of all kinds just to find an office with windows.

Context VideoGame / HarryTheHandsomeExecutive