Discussions

Recently, I came across an indie game called That's Not My Neighbor, and while it’s presented as a retro horror experience, what stood out to me was how closely its core mechanics resemble real-world identity verification and decision-making workflows.

In the game, players act as a doorman responsible for validating who is allowed to enter a building. Each decision relies on checking documents, cross-referencing details, spotting inconsistencies, and making judgment calls under uncertainty. No single data point is enough on its own — patterns matter.

What makes it interesting from a systems perspective is how the game highlights the human side of verification. Even when all documents appear correct, subtle anomalies can signal risk. Conversely, over-relying on instinct without evidence leads to false positives.

It reminded me of challenges we face in compliance-heavy environments: balancing efficiency with accuracy, handling incomplete information, and understanding how small process gaps can compound into larger issues.

While it’s clearly a game, the underlying mechanics offer a surprisingly thoughtful illustration of decision pressure, rule-based validation, and exception handling — all wrapped in a simple interactive format.