I’re

I’re is a piece of interactive fiction where you play as IRE 1561003, a newly-manufactured post-human automation being ravaged by a past they have never known. They are tasked to go to a medical unit in the city centre in order to be assessed and repaired. On the way they are met with hostility, their condition deterioates and the city itself starts crumbling before their eyes.

It was my entry for the 2024 InkJam. You can play it here!

Design Process

From a narrative design perspective I tried to craft an experience that contrasts normal everyday choices – responding to dialogue, deciding where to go, who to speak to, with the way more emotive and prose-saturated episodes when our character is dragged into an involuntary memory fit. 

I also had episodes where I translated the interactivity of actions such as doing pull-ups, tracing something with your finger or exploring street murals, into the mechanics and vocabulary of the interactive fiction format. I tried this as I wanted to create a richer experience that does not limit its interactivity to dialogue choice or navigation.

Overall, It was a great learning experience, which really tested and expanded the limits I previously thought I had, especially in regards to writing and keeping its consistency over a long working session.