WHAT KIND OF GAME IS SUPPLE?
Supple is an episodic game, much like a television sit-com, but you control the star of the show. We call this an interactive sit-com, and you are now playing the premier episode. Powered by breakthrough Artificial Intelligence technology, the game is all about relationships, shopping, money and getting ahead at work.

WHO ARE YOU?
Arin Costello is the star of Supple, and you control her actions. You decide whether she will work or chat or buy new clothes. You decide if it's time for her to get a drink, or maybe have a latte and lunch. But Arin has her own feelings about it all. For example, Hugh Chadwick, her co-worker, might insult her and it might make Arin angry (and her anger meter will show it), but you decide whether to respond to Hugh in a friendly or a nasty way. You control her actions; she controls her own feelings.

WHAT IS SUPPLE  MAGAZINE?
Supple is the premier magazine for Single Urban Professional woman. Arin, Hugh and Margot all work at the magazine: Arin and Hugh are Associate Editors and Margot is the boss. In this episode, the position of Style Editor just opened up.Both Arin and Hugh want it, but it is up to you to help Arin be the one to get it.

HOW DO I GET ARIN TO TALK TO HUGH AND MARGOT?
Click on either character and a menu will appear. This will show your current options. These options will change throughout the game depending upon previous choices you have made. Sometimes you might see an option that is grayed out. This means that option is close to being available, but is not available yet.

HOW DO I MOVE ARIN?
To move Arin, click on an object with which you want her to interact. She will then move to that object.

WHAT IS THE GOAL OF THE GAME?
All episodes of Supple will play out over a single workweek. The goal of this episode is to help Arin get promoted to Style Editor on Friday. Arin is competing against Hugh for this promotion. To reach the goal, and beat the episode, you must guide Arin through each day of the week, helping her to pass each performance review, then do better than Hugh in the performance review on Friday.

WHAT IS THE PERFORMANCE REVIEW?
At the end of each day, Margot will call Arin and Hugh into her office for a performance review. Arin must pass her performance review to make it to the next day. To pass the performance review, her Game Performance Meter (GPM) must be in the green. If it is, Arin will get a money bonus for passing the review, the size of which is determined by how far into the green her GPM is. If her GPM is not in the green, Arin will fail and you will lose the game and you must start over.

WHAT ARE THE GAME PERFORMANCE METERS (GPM)?
The two long horizontal meters in the bottom center of the screen are the GPMs. Each meter has a red area, a yellow area and a green area. If Arin’s meter is in the red and Margot comes by, Arin is in jeopardy of getting fired. If Arin’s meter is in the yellow, she is okay, but to pass the day’s performance review, her meter must be in the green. Her GPM will move in response to the six smaller horizontal meters above it.

WHAT ARE THOSE SIX SMALLER METERS?
These meters show how much confidence Arin has, how much Margot likes and respects Arin, and how much Hugh likes, respects and desires Arin. Everything that Arin does and everything that is done to her will affect one or more of these meters and, in turn, affect her Game Performance Meter.

WHAT ARE THOSE THREE VERTICAL METERS?
The three vertical meters on the left show how drunk Arin is, how much energy she has, and how angry she is.

WHAT ARE ALL THOSE WORD CAPSULES THAT FALL IN THE GAME?
Those capsules tell you how Arin’s actions and the actions of Hugh and Margot are affecting Arin’s meters. If you watch the bubble fall all the way down, you can see the positive and/or negative way that a particular game event influences one or more of the small meters.

SHOULD I LET ARIN GET NASTY?
If Arin is angry she can let off steam by being nasty to Hugh or to Margot. If you let Arin stay angry, her confidence and other meters will start to decline. Of course, if you are too nasty in the game, it will backfire on you. Just like in real life, what is called for is a balance between being a bitch (or a bastard) and being a wimp.

IS IT GOOD TO FLIRT?
Flirting increases Hugh’s desire for Arin, thus causing the Hugh Desires Arin meter to rise, and thereby helping Arin’s Game Performance Meter. And flirting can lead to kissing and other exciting activities. Be careful about flirting in front of Margot, though. It will make Margot jealous and that can have negative consequences for Arin.

WHAT ABOUT KISSING?
As was said above, kissing follows flirting, but gifts -- giving AND getting them -- are also important for kissing to be an available option. In the bar, though, sometimes the rules are thrown out the window.

IS THERE SEX IN THE GAME?
Like any good sit-com, there is the potential for a romantic spark between some of the characters. And sometimes this spark can lead to fire. But since this is a game, that spark needs some fuel. The fuel here is gifts (from Hugh, of course!), lingerie and flirting. But don't even think about sex if there hasn't been a recent kiss or if Margot is around or if Arin and Hugh are in the store. Oh, and if it’s Monday, it ain’t gonna happen!

CAN ARIN GET FIRED?
Yes, if she is not wearing appropriate clothes or is not working enough; if she is drunk, or if her GPM is just hanging out in the red too much, then Arin can be fired. But before she ever gets fired, Margot will reprimand her; which will tell you what Arin needs to do to avoid being fired.

WHAT IS MONEY USE FOR IN THE GAME?
To buy clothes and gifts, as well as coffee, snacks and drinks at the bar.

HOW DOES ARIN EARN MONEY?
Arin can earn money in three ways. When she works she earns money as she makes progress. She also earns money from working when she wins a star. And when Arin passes a performance review, she can earn bonus dollars.

HOW DO I GET ARIN TO DO WORK IN THE GAME?
When you click on Arin’s computer monitor, which is on her desk, a menu will appear with two options: Work and Take Course. When you choose Work, Arin will do research on her computer to try to find answers to various work-related questions that Margot might ask her later in the day. Each day Arin and Hugh can find a total of five work answers. Each work answer is represented by one of the stars on the bottom right of the screen.

WHAT ARE THOSE STARS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SCREEN?
When Arin and Hugh do research they are trying to be the first to find the current work answer, which is represented by the current pulsing star. If you move the cursor over that star, you will see how the competition is going. The first to get to 100% wins that star and gets money. Each successive star is worth more money.

SOMETIMES ARIN WORKS FASTER, SOMETIMES SLOW. WHY?
The speed at which Arin works is called her work efficiency. In general, the more energy she has, the higher her work efficiency. But, if she has worked frequently, her enthusiasm for work declines and this will drag down her efficiency no matter how much energy she has. Once Hugh wins a star, though, Arin’s competitive nature takes hold and her enthusiasm returns to full.

WHAT ABOUT TAKING COURSES?
In addition to keeping Arin’s energy high, another way to increase her work effectiveness (and thus her chances of winning stars) is to have her take courses. The more expensive the course, the bigger the boost to her work efficiency.

HOW ARE THE STARS RELATED TO MARGOT'S QUESTIONS?
When a character wins a star, the character learns an answer to a question Margot might ask later. For example,  if Arin wins a star, you might see in the text window at the bottom of the screen: A shrug is just a shrunken sweater. Take note of this answer. When Margot asks Arin a question later, you need to remember whether or not Arin knows the answer to that particular question. So, if Margot asks Arin: What is a shrug? you know Arin learned the answer and you can choose to have Arin answer the question. If you think Arin does not know the answer, then you can choose to have her evade the question.

IMPORTANT: Arin must have learned the answer IN THIS PLAY OF THE GAME to know it. If she learned it in a previous time you played, that does not count.

If Arin answers correctly, her GPM will rise. If you choose to have Arin answer the question and she does not know the answer, her GPM will fall. So, knowing whether or not Arin knows the answer to a particular question is important.

WHAT DOES "SHARE WORK INFO" MEAN?
Once Arin or Hugh has won a star, they can choose to share the answer they discovered with the other person. When this is done, you'll see the star becomes half red and half blue. Both characters then know this answer and can give it if Margot asks the appropriate question. If they both have won stars, the character receiving work info can choose to reciprocate and share one of the answers they learned. When work info is shared, it is important for you to listen to the answer so that you are aware of what Arin knows and are prepared when Margot asks a question later in the game.

WHY DOES ARIN NEED COFFEE AND SNACKS?
To increase her energy level and decrease hunger. Low energy and hunger only hurt her chances of getting promoted. More expensive items give more energy.

HOW DO I MOVE ARIN TO OTHER ROOMS?
Aside from the office, there is a store, a bar and a secret love nest in the game. To move Arin to another room, click on the icon on the bottom left that represents that room. The point of view will then change to that room. But, to actually move Arin to that room, you must click on something in that room for Arin to interact with. For instance, if you click on an outfit in the store, Arin will leave the room she is in, walk to the store, and interact with that outfit.

HOW DOES ARIN CHANGE CLOTHES?
Arin will start with one outfit. When she buys more outfits, click the clothing icon on the bottom of the screen. This will open her closet. Simply click on any outfit to change Arin into that outfit.

HOW DOES ARIN BUY NEW CLOTHES?
To get Arin to buy new clothes, click on an outfit in the store. You can have her
examine it, try it on or buy it. She must first examine it before she can buy it.
She must also have enough money to be able to afford it.

DOES IT MATTER WHAT ARIN WEARS?
Yes, some outfits are not appropriate for the office and will anger Margot. Some outfits will impress Hugh or Margot, boosting Arin's GPM. Over time, though, the power of outfits diminish so it is best to change Arin’s clothes every once in a while during the day to get the most punch out of outfits. Also, in the store, Arin can buy lingerie, which is necessary for Arin to get more intimate with Hugh.

WHAT ABOUT THE GIFTS IN THE GAME?
Arin can buy gifts in the store, and then give the gifts to Hugh and Margot. Giving the right gift at the right time can really boost Arin’s meters.

SHOULD I WORK OR TALK OR FLIRT? WHAT IS THE BEST STRATEGY?
To do well in Supple, balance work and social activity (such as talking to Hugh and Margot.) Keep Hugh happy, but not too happy or he might get too confident and beat you. Doing well in the game is a balancing act. Experiment! Remember: if Arin’s GPM is in the green, you know you are doing well. If her GPM is lagging, try something different.

WHAT IS THAT LIST OF ACTION ON THE TOP RIGHT?
Those are the actions you have chosen for Arin to do. To delete an action, click it. If an action becomes impossible (such as if you wanted to talk to Hugh, but he left the room), then that action will disappear from the list.

WHAT IS ZOOMING?
If you want to zoom in on Arin, click that button. To zoom out, click it again.

CAN I SAVE THE GAME?
To save your current game, click the MENU button. Then choose Save. The game will be saved. To run that saved game, choose Load from the Title Screen menu or from the menu you get by clicking the MENU button during the game.

CAN I CHANGE THE SOUND VOLUMES?
Yes. On both menus, you’ll find a Sound option. This allows you to set the volume level of the sound effects (sfx), the music, and the speech.

CAN I CONFIGURE THE GAME WINDOW?
Click configure on the Title Screen menu and it will bring you back to the configure window you saw when you first played the game. You can select your 3D card, as well as select a screen resolution. You can also set it to be full screen or not.