Maybe my description sounds more exciting than the game actually is. It’s really a pretty simple game, and since it’s a journaling RPG, a lot depends on what you make of it. That’s just the basic premise of the game, and it’s somewhat inspired by Silent Hill and Lovecraft. You invent your own memories and then have to question them within the game. But there’s also the possibility that your journal is based on another player’s.
If you want a quick overview, I recorded a video:
My game testers and I have already written six consecutive diary entries, and the memories and experiences described in them are growing increasingly at odds with one another.
So if you know other people who play journaling RPGs, try playing this game in a row, with one player always passing their journal on to the next.
thats a cool twist, memories that start contradicting each other over six entries sounds genuinely unsettling. passing the journal around in a group is a neat idea too, gonna watch the rules video
During playtesting, we played it exactly that way—by passing the journal along. In the end, there were 6 playtesters (including me), and one person would always pass their journal on to the next. It was interesting to see how the city’s story unfolded. Of course, this doesn’t result in a consistent story, especially since you only ever know the previous player’s journal entry. But it’s also worth noting that there were one or two playtesters who found it harder to respond to the previous player’s entry. It might have been easier for them if they’d written their own journal entries independently. And one playtester also found her own entry a bit unsettling in the end and asked me if a content warning might be appropriate. But I have to say, everyone writes their own story, and it can be very dark or not so dark.
But as with all journaling games, it really depends on you and how deeply you lose yourself in the game or in the act of writing.
thats really interesting, especially the playtester who found her own entry unsettling. i think thats kind of the magic of journaling games, you dont know how dark it gets until youre writing it. what was it that got to her, if you dont mind sharing? and did you end up adding a content warning? im making something pretty dark myself and been wondering the same
I didn’t find her journal all that dark, compared to mine and that of another playtester. But she herself apparently found it scary. Probably because it simply plays on one’s own mental instability.
And no, I didn’t include a warning. I should also mention that my entire game fits on a single A4/Letter-sized page. That means space has always been limited, the font size is already borderline small, and I’ve had to keep it very brief. There just wouldn’t have been room for it.
If space isn’t an issue for you, then I’d probably include it.
that makes a lot of sense, the scary part isnt what you write but what it pulls out of you. and fair point about the one page format, every word counts there.
hadnt really thought about it before, but yeah, there are definitely people it could help. good timing too, my game is in the last round of proofreading and the test prints are on the way, so theres still time to sneak a short content note in before it goes out.
thanks for the honest answer and good luck with yours!
pdf for sure, on drivethrurpg and itch.io. drivethru also does print on demand so there will be a softcover and a hardcover too. the proof copies are actually on their way right now, kinda nervous to see how all the dark pages print tbh. and like always ive already spotted a few things, so theres some small fixes left to do. theres also gonna be a free character sheet at some point, once i find the time to put it together
the itch page is already up if you wanna take a look, and you can follow it to get notified when its out
what about What Remains Below, is it going up on itch too? and The Promise coming out in spanish first, is that with a publisher or are you doing it yourself?
