We've been getting a few questions about the story of the game, so we decided to post an update. Here is some of the new text that's on the kickstarter page:
How does this game play?
Think of games like “Amnesia: The Dark Descent” or ‘Eternal Darkness,” but with more puzzle solving and less creature attacks. Imagine if you can also set the difficulty level of each. There is an inventory system for using items against other objects in the world, and there are also puzzles that require interacting with the world, similar to Myst but written by a mental patient.
What's the story?
Symphony Hall was crowded, all eyes fixated on him as he sat down to play his new composition. Joe started to hear buzzing in his ears, but that always happened when he was nervous.
This occasion was different. As he played, the piano keys became teeth. He closed his eyes and tried to ignore it, using his muscle memory to hit the right keys. However, the tones rang dissonant. Then each key played screamed in pain.
He stood up, and quickly tried to apologize to the confused audience, but he spoke nothing but gibberish. He saw all those hollow faces, all of them dressed up in their typical suits. As he turned away he felt their scornful eyes. Everyone grew quiet as he walked off stage. Some looked at him like he was an animal, ready to attack at any moment.
A year goes by and his therapy was stalling. His drugs only made problems worse. He decided it was time to go back to the one thing that always supported him: his wife Kim. He packed a single bag, left the Symphony behind, and gambled it all on the hope he could patch things up.
On route to Kim's house, his new doctor, Dr. Reynolds, called him. Today was supposed to be his next session, and he had skipped it. Joe explained his plan, and Dr. Reynolds seemed cautiously sympathetic. But something in his voice told him that Reynolds thought that Joe was about to break into a random house, and possibly hurt someone.
And Joe wondered if the Doctor was right.
You are Joseph Springer, a schizophrenic patient who skips out on his therapy sessions and drives down to Virginia to repair his estranged relationship with his wife. As Joseph nears the house he blacks out and wakes up in a strange environment filled with conflicting clues and disturbing visions. With only limited meds to cope Joe explores the house, learning that each previous resident is somehow connected to him, and each has met a horrible fate. Eventually his meds run out and you are left with primitive methods to cope with the strange and surreal visions, hoping that if you close your eyes or look away they'll disappear.
How is Schizophrenia portrayed in the game?
Joe has both auditory and visual hallucinations. Some can be obviously dismissed through cognitive reasoning. But innocent scenes could also be feeding a deeper delusion, and these will keep the player guessing. Is this really my house? If this is Kim’s stuff, where is she? Who are these other people I keep seeing?
And why does everyone react as if I’m going to hurt them?
