First of all, great job!
Now I'll give some harsh feedback but because I love the game.
Pros : The puzzle, interns, production lines and synergies are very very good, I could see myself playing this game long time, very much like a Balatro to be honest. The loop is addicting and does scratches the optimization itch. I really like it's theme, even tho it's not what the jam proposed.
Cons : The art is good for a game jam, but there is so much going on in the game info's that I would've wanted a cleaner color palette, some stuff bigger and some smaller (for readability reasons), and maybe pixel art is not the way to go, not sure. What I know is that I had to squint and really inspect things at first. Mostly a UI/UX pass and some art adaptations would go a long way. The art in itself is good but there needs to be a fit for the game.
There is much more in both categories, but those are the biggest imo. Overall great stuff. Hope it wins the gameplay category :D. Also let me know if you continue this project.
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Thank you very much for the comment. Idk why you prefaced it by saying it was harsh but that was a pretty nice comment overall haha. It's true that I thought about Balatro and some other combo-based games and try to see how can I put a spin on it. I get the theme criticism as well. Like I wrote in another reply, it was supposed to be about college summer internships, which may or may not be very relatable to everyone.
You're also absolutely right about the game info too. I chose a very limited color palette (only 5 colors) because I thought that's the limit of my art skills given the jam duration XD I could maybe see it continue with this palette, but I would need to solve other problems like the different types of task should have different conveyor belt and avatar artworks and silhouettes, a better detail description panels etc.
Thank you again for the kind words and for enjoying the game!