The Convenience Store

The Convenience Store | 夜勤事件 is a J-horror game about a college girl on a night shift working at a convenience store
== Synopsis ==
A college girl is working the night shift at a local Convenience Store. She must handle multiple customers and perform various tasks from her manager. But as the nights go by, she discovers that strange things start to happen around the store. But is it all an imagination? Or is the store truly haunted?
== Gameplay ==
===Prologue Night===
The protagonist (who is unnamed) wakes up to get ready to work at her local convenience store. It is nighttime so she is working the night shift. After getting changed and heating up her bento, she grabs a flashlight then heads off to work. Once she arrives, she notices a mentally disturbed homeless man (in which the player can choose to interact or not) who claims to "know what has happened here" but refuses to mention anything. Afterwards, she heads inside and greets her co-worker, Ken Funahashi. He's relieved to see her and tells her someone fell off the bridge she just walked across, and an old lady told him that she saw a man walking down the street with his legs completely bent the other way! But he admits the stories were fake and apologizes. The protagonist then goes behind the counter and then into the office. She then notices a note from her manager, who wants the person reading the note to take out the expired food on the shelves. After punching in her timecard, Ken will then head home, and the night shift will begin.
The protagonist is then able to look over the shelves for expired food, where she can choose to put them in the trash bin at the back of the convenience store or choose to give one of the bags to the homeless man outside (who is demanding food). During the shift, a customer comes by to buy a few things and then leaves. The protagonist continues to remove the expired food when the automatic door opens on its own, indicating that a new customer has entered the store. Upon investigation no one is in sight. In fact, the door constantly opens and closes despite no one being there. But after a while, the door stops opening on its own, which makes the protagonist believe the door may have been malfunctioning. Then, a truck shows and out steps a delivery man who has arrived to deliver a package. He claims he will come back every night to either deliver or pick up packages. Once the protagonist's shift is over, she takes the package home.
=== Night 1===
The protagonist then wakes up again to the loud humming of a lightbulb before noticing that the microwave has turned on by itself. Inside the package she received is a VHS tape which she decides to play. However, the details in the VHS tape are confusing and hard to understand. It appears that the person recording the video is filming at a house that is blocked off by police tape. Once the VHS tape ends, the protagonist grabs her flashlight and heads back to work to start her shift, marking this the official start of Night 1.
While walking to the store, the night is noticeably darker than the previous night. But the protagonist arrives to the store with no issues whatsoever. She enters the store and greets her co-worker again, who claims that the doors were recently inspected and turns out the door had some loose wiring. He then jokes around with the protagonist asking if she presumed it was the work of a poltergeist. After entering the office to punch in, the protagonist notices a note from the manager. He wants whoever is reading the note to handle a rat infestation at the back of the store since someone left the garbage bin open. After punching in, Ken heads back home, leaving the protagonist to handle the rat infestation. The protagonist heads to the storage room to grab some rat spray and then to the back of the store to get rid of the rats. (A total of six has to be handled). After she has completed the task, she heads back to the counter and notices an elderly woman with a walker, walking to the bathroom. Once she closes the door behind her, a car pulls up to the store and the customer demands the protagonist to fetch him a packet of cigars and 5 beers, much to her annoyance. After grabbing the items and checking out the customer, the elderly woman exits the bathroom. When the protagonist approaches her the elderly woman asks, where is "Ken-kun?". She claims that the convenience store was her daughter's house, and then lashes out at the protagonist, demanding to know "what you've done" before walking away.
Once she leaves the store, the automatic doors resume erratically opening and closing on their own. The protagonist checks the security cameras in the office and notices what appears to be a small boy pulling pranks on the store. She goes outside to confront him, but the boy is no longer there. She then heads back inside where the delivery man from the night before pulls up to the store to retrieve a package. Once he leaves, the night officially ends.
===Night 2===
The protagonist will once again wake up back at her apartment and notices that it's raining outside. So, she grabs her umbrella and the flashlight before heading out to work. But all of a sudden, there was a knock at the door. The protagonist opens the door and notices a package on the ground but no one there to greet her. She opens up the package revealing another VHS tape. She plays the tape with the footage showing what seems to be a house. But no clear intentions on why the person decided to film it. Once the tape ends, the protagonist will head off to work. However, when she arrives, Ken is not there at all! The protagonist then heads to the office to punch in, only for him to pop out of the lockers to jump scare her. He apologizes afterwards and promises he won't do it again. 
After the protagonist punches in and Ken heads back home, she then notices a note left by the manager who wants whoever is reading it to restock some of the items since some of them are missing from the shelves. The protagonist will start grabbing the items from the storage area and begin restocking the shelves. But at some point, when the protagonist continues to grab more items, the door to the storage room closes on her! She tries to open it, but the door is now locked. She then hears someone come inside the store, but she is still unable to get out of the storage room. Then the door becomes unlocked, and the protagonist is able to get out of the room but finds no one inside the store. So, she continues work as normal, until a maintenance worker named Hamada lets the protagonist know that he will be inspecting the air conditioner as the manager reported it was acting funny. He then goes to the back and the protagonist can either look through the security cameras or head to the back to see what he's doing. Either way, she eventually discovers that the area that was covered in police tape has been ripped off. So, the protagonist decides to go to the back of the store and investigate the previously tapped off area. She discovers that there is a storage shed at the back of the store but is unable to open the door as her shoulders go numb whenever she tries to open it, saying that something is "grabbing her". At some point, another customer walks into the store to buy some things. After checking her out, the customer is surprised to see her working all alone. So, she decides to give the protagonist a protection charm and asks her to be careful before leaving. At the same time, Hamada leaves as well.
When the protagonist decides to continue re-stocking the shelves, she hears a whirring noise coming from the bathroom. She finds out the toilet lid is opening and closing on its own! And when she goes inside to investigate, the door to the bathroom closes on her, and also locks her in! She hears the sound of the automatic doors opening again but is unable to get out of the bathroom. Eventually, the door unlocks and the protagonist notices that some of the items fell onto the ground. Some clicking noise is also heard somewhere in the store. She heads back to the office to check the security cameras to see if someone is pulling a prank on her again. But on Camera 2, a long, tall and dark woman with very long black hair appears on the camera right in front of the counter. Then the entity teleports to the camera jump scaring the protagonist, before disappearing. The protagonist then leaves the counter and notices a pile of talismans on the floor. She picks them up and heads to the back of the store and to the storage area. She places the talismans on the door to exorcise it but is still unable to open the door without a key. Luckily, inside the air conditioner is a key and conveniently, a wrench that was left by Hamada is placed right next to the air conditioner. The protagonist opens up the air conditioning unit and uses the key to unlock the door to the shed.
But when she opens up the shed, the protagonist is shocked to see that the manager is dead! With his corpse showing that his eyes are gouged out and is slumped down on a chair with a bunch of VHS tapes and dead rats surrounded around the shed. With a TV that has the number 4 displayed on screen. When the protagonist tries to leave, she finds the door to be locked. Then she hears loud banging at the door, then hears the demonic growls and screams of the spirit she saw on the security cameras. As this continues, the corpse of the lifeless manager, slowly looks up at her. Then, the screen cuts to black and the night ends.
===Night 3===
The protagonist all of a sudden, wakes up in her apartment and questions whether or not on what she just experienced was a nightmare. But before she heads off to work again, she notices an open package on the floor, with a VHS tape in it. She decides to play the tape, and the tape shows the storage shed she was at the night before. And despite everything that has happened to her over the past few nights, she still decides to head to work. Once she arrives at the store, she notices that Ken is not there again. But this time, he is not there at all. She goes inside the office to punch in, but notices that the punch in ticket is not there. Also, a note from the manager isn't there either in its usual place. She proceeds to leave the counter to check on things...but makes a horrific discovery that the store has all of a sudden become pitched black. With rusted nails all over the ground, creaking noises are heard, all the doors in the store have been locked, and the items around the store has now been replaced with televisions. Accompanied by the demonic grunts of the vengeful ghost. 
When the protagonist goes back to the office to watch the security cameras, she discovers that the little boy who was pranking her on the first night (now revealed to be a spirit) is wandering around the store. He occasionally looks up at some of the TVs before continuing to walk around the place again. This is a puzzle that the protagonist has to solve in order to stop the paranormal occurrence. The player must turn on four different TVs that the boy was looking at. If the player gets at least one TV wrong, the TVs will turn off and the player will have to try again until they get it right. The player can turn the TVs on in any order. These are the locations for each TV:
* The 1st television located on the top row of the first shelf next to the entrance of the Convenience Store. (It will make a static noise when turned on, hence it is correct).
* The 2nd television located on the center of the third shelf. (The 3rd one is the correct one).
* The 3rd television located on the bottom row of the fourth shelf. (The 2nd one is the correct one).
* The 4th television located on the second to last top row of the seventh shelf. (The 6th one is the correct one).
(*Heads up: If you decide to go on the left side after turning on the 3rd television, you can count the final television being the 2nd one instead of the sixth one*).
When the puzzle has been completed, the protagonist can go to the storage area, where she notices the boy from the security camera is back there sitting down on the floor, crying. But when she goes over to him, she turns around to see the same vengeful spirit she encountered from the previous night! But the protagonist blacks out and wakes up to discover that the convenience store is back the way it was before. Then she hears the sound of the automatic doors opening and goes over to check it out. That's when the protagonist notices a VHS tape has been left there and decides to take it home with her.
===Night 4===
The protagonist wakes up in her apartment again and finds the VHS tape she grabbed the previous night, lying on the ground. From here, the player can choose what the protagonist should do with the VHS tape.
* Play the VHS tape.
* Throw the VHS tape in the trash.
* Send the VHS tape somewhere else.
== Endings ==
=== Bad Ending:===
If the protagonist decides to play the VHS tape, the VHS tape will show someone filming outside of the protagonist's apartment window which shows her on her bed. Then the VHS tape ends. After the screen cuts to black for a few seconds, the protagonist is lying on her bed, when she hears the same demonic growls, she heard at the convenience store. The protagonist tries to get up and investigate but is unable to move her body. And without warning, the demon she saw at the store crawls onto her bed and kills her off-camera.
The same ending will happen if you decide to throw the tape into the trash. The only difference is that the footage from the VHS tape will not play.
=== Good Ending: ===
If the protagonist decides to put the VHS tape into a package and send it off to somewhere else, the protagonist will feel a sense of ease come across her. She still questions on what she experienced was real or not. So, she decides to look on the internet to find more about the convenience store's past. She discovers via. forums and old articles that a gruesome murder took place on September 14th, 2009. 
It was revealed that a home use to exist on the property where the store currently stands. The man (who was the mainstay of the family) was constantly harassed by his boss at work and complained to his colleagues about it. Due to the constant bullying and harassment, followed by depression. The man arrived back at his house one day with an emotionless face and decided to kill his son with a kitchen knife while his wife was at a grocery store. The wife arrived back home, only for her to be killed as well. With the husband killing her by puncturing nails into her body, while also puncturing nails into her stomach to kill their unborn child. He then hangs himself on the same day.
Completely disturbed by this, the protagonist decides to call her manager to tell him what she just discovered. But the phone calls were never picked up. But at some point, someone did answer the phone, a franchise leader by the name of Mr. Hosoe wanted to let her know that the manager is actually dead! With his body discovered in the same shed she was in. Completely disturbed by this, the protagonist decided to quit her part-time job and refused to ever go near the place ever again. The day after she quit, the store closed down due to "poor management".
After some time, the protagonist felt better and started to forget about the whole incident. But when she walked by the now closed store one day, she heard the voice of a little boy. And discovers that the woman she encountered was standing inside the store. And when the protagonist looked down at her hands, she discovers that she picked up one of the rusted nails from the middle of the site.
==Controls==
* WASD - Move the protagonist around.
*Mouse - Look Around.
*Left Mouse Click - Interact.
*Esc button - Options.
== Achievements ==
* Security - Use the CCTV 5 times.
* Expiration date - Checked all expiration dates on the shelves.
* Homeless - Help the homeless.
* Ending 1 - Get ending 1.
* Ending 2 - Get ending 2.
==Characters ==
===Main Characters===
*The Protagonist - A young female college student who goes to work the night shift at her local convenience store. Her name is unknown.
*Ken Funahashi - The protagonist's co-worker, who likes to joke around and scare the protagonist.
*The Manager - The boss of the main protagonist. He writes down a note asking his employees to do some tasks around the store. He is later killed at some point before Night 2 from the vengeful spirit. With his body being found in the storage shed behind the store.
===Minor Characters ===
*Delivery Man - A postal worker who comes to the store to pick up or give the protagonist a package.
*Hamada - A mechanic who fixes the air conditioner on the second night.
*Homeless man - A mentally disturbed man who sits outside of the store on the prologue night. He claims to know what happened here at the store. But never specifies what and demands the protagonist to give him some food.
*Male Customer - A man who comes into the store on the prologue night to buy a bento and a drink.
*Impatient Customer - A man who comes to the store on the first night and demands the protagonist to fetch him some items for him.
*Old Lady - A elderly lady who comes to the store on the first night to use the restroom. She accuses the protagonist of doing something to Ken-Kun and claims her daughter used to live at the house where the convenience store now stands.
*Female Customer - A woman who comes to the store on the second night and gives the protagonist a protection charm.
===Antagonists === 
*Little Boy - A minor semi-antagonist who at first plays pranks on the main protagonist but plays an important role on the third night to help the protagonist escape the nightmare version of the store. It is revealed in the good end that he used to live on the property where the convenience store is now located. And was killed when his dad was in a fit of rage.
* Female Ghost - The main antagonist of the game who haunts the convenience store. It's revealed in the good end that she used to live on the property where the convenience store is now located. But was killed by her husband in a fit of rage. Because of this, she becomes a vengeful spirit and haunts the convenience store and even kills the manager.
=== Mentioned Characters === 
*Father/Husband - A man who became depressed after constant harassment from his boss at work. Causing him to snap and kill his wife and son before killing himself.
*Ken-Kun - The old lady mentions someone named Ken-Kun, who assumably is a reference to the protagonist's co-worker.
*Mr. Hosoe - A franchise manager of the convenience store that the protagonist works at. He informs the protagonist in the good end about the manager's death after the protagonist tries to call the manager multiple times to no avail.
== Trivia ==
* This game does not offer save points.
* A chinchilla plushie is seen in the protagonist's apartment. Which is a reference to the creator: Chilla's Art.
* Several items within the store are named after some of the Patreon's.
* The game shares its similarities to that of The Closing Shift.
** Both protagonists are females.
** Both protagonists are working the night shift where they work.
** Both protagonists greet their co-worker before they start their shift.
** Both games require the protagonist to handle customers and certain tasks during their shifts.
** Both games have the main protagonist dealing with someone (or something) dangerous.
*** The protagonist in The Closing Shift is dealing with a stalker.
*** The protagonist in The Convenience Store is dealing with the supernatural.
** Both of the protagonists are given a good luck charm from a customer to help protect them.
*** With the protagonist in The Closing Shift being given a rosary bracelet. And the protagonist in this game being given a protection charm.
** Both of their co-workers disappear at some point during the game.
*** In this game, the protagonist's co-worker (the manager) was killed at some point, with his status being confirmed deceased.
*** In The Closing Shift, the protagonist's co-worker disappears with no known explanation on what happened to them.
*When the main protagonist discovers the manager in the shed behind the store. The number four is displayed on the TV. 4 being considered an unlucky number in most Asian cultures, with the number 4 being pronounced as: shì (四), which sounds like the word for "death", shǐ (死).
*Ken's jumpscare has become a notable moment within the Chilla's Art community, as his jumpscare has caused many players to jump back or scream in fright after he comes out of the locker.
*In a thumbnail of this game, the protagonist is seen inside the Convenience Store, along with the Ghost Woman and the Little Boy.
*In 2022, the game became the part of Masters of Indie Horror Bundle.
== External links ==
The Convenience Store on Steam
== Gallery ==
File:Convience Store (1).jpg|Official Picture on Steam #1
File:Convience Store (2).jpg|Official Picture on Steam #2
File:Convenience Store (3).jpg|Official Picture on Steam #3
File:Convenience Store (4).jpg|Official Picture on Steam #4
File:Convenience Store (5).jpg|Official Picture on Steam #5
File:Convenience Store (6).jpg|Official Picture on Steam #6
Category:Games