Your Story

You wake up in a cool, dark room. Your face is pressed against the dusty floorboards of what seems to be an abandoned apartment. Rubbing the sleep from your eyes, you make out a looming figure nearby. You get a feeling of wrongness from it, as if it’s not really present or even real. Even so, you can tell that it’s searching for something. Something that this person desperately needs, but they seem to have lost the energy needed to continue looking.

What could they be searching for?

The question sinks into your mind as you take inventory of what you have. On your person is a small journal and a magnifying glass. Perfect tools for a detective. Is that what you are? Written on the journal’s inside cover is a name. Ace Fletcher. That must be your name. That mysterious figure there would be a perfect case. There are several tabs within the journal. You could use them for suspects and clues that you find.

Excitement builds within you as you pull out the magnifying glass. It’s surprisingly large, and if you hold it up to your face, it focuses the world around you. Certain things seem to glow as you look around the room, one of which is that mysterious figure. Perhaps you could go to them to start asking questions. Or maybe you want to look around the room first. That figure weirds you out.

You look through the magnifying glass again and see a glowing vent nearby. What does it do? Is something buried underneath it? Is something stuck in it? Your curiosity only grows as you approach it.

Standing on the edge of the open vent, you can see that there is definitely something down there. A tiny shard of light pierces through the darkness below, almost begging you to explore. But something feels off. As you look around again, you see that the figure is no longer in sight. Where did they go? You spin around, only to be startled by the shadow directly behind you. Something feels familiar about the face, but you don’t have time to register anything else as you slip off the edge and fall down, down, down.

You plummet past pipes and bundles of wires, slipping through the cracks, toward that bit of light.

The world goes dark again.

This time when you sit up, you are surrounded by yarn. It’s soft and warm, unlike wherever you were before. It’s not nearly as dusty, but there’s still something lingering in the air. Upon a closer look, you can tell it’s cat hair. Sure enough, there’s a cat up on a shelf, just above you.

As you climb out of the box of yarn, you see someone else. An older woman who looks like she could be your grandmother stands a little ways away. She seems very similar to that figure you saw not too long ago, but she’s a lot more grounded and real. Could she be your grandmother, perhaps? You realize you don’t remember much about yourself. All you have is a name, Detective Ace Fletcher, and a mission.

This intentionally hazy opener allows for players to begin the game with just as much information as their player character, Ace. They will then go on to experience this narrative continued through our dialogue system.

Rebecca D, Apartment 20 Narrative Lead