Dotcom is an office politics game being developed using Dr. Michael Mateas' AI programming language ABL (A Behavior Language). The game is set during the dotcom boom of the late 1990s in a new internet startup. The player is cast as a newly hired producer who must help to produce a new killer app being developed. The company consists of four Non-Player Characters (NPCs), each of which is controlled using ABL, each with a distinct personality, likes and dislikes. Only by constant politicing through flirting, gossiping, smalltalk and insults can the player hope to get the correct team members to work together to create the next great thing to hit the web. The fate of the company rests with the player's ability to manage the motley group.
