A Room Without You In It
A downloadable game for Windows and Linux
THE SHORT PITCH
A first-person, sort-of-escape-the-room, point-and-click adventure dealing with grief, trauma and depression, and how they can take us to a place that's very hard to come back from.
THE LONG PART
This is my very first game, so it doesn't have much in the way of actual gameplay aside from a couple of simple puzzles. It's mostly narrative-focused, which means that exploring and clicking around the environment is encouraged, as it provides more details of the story (no pixel hunting though, promised!). Because the total play time is only around 15 minutes, there's no save function.
Move the cursor to the top of the screen to access your inventory, click on an item to select it and right-click to deselect it. Press Esc to access the Pause menu in which you can quit or resume the game, as well as adjust the global volume.
All coding, art and music by me, with some invaluable scripting advice from the fine folks over at the AGS forums and the help of Ronen Ness' Pixelator tool for additional processing of backgrounds and sprites.
Additional sound effects from Freesound.org.
Download
Install instructions
For Windows: Simply extract the game folder from the .rar file and run aroomwithoutyou.exe. To change game resolution among other options, run winsetup.exe, also included in the folder (for example, if you have issues switching in and out of fullscreen mode, you can try changing the graphics driver from Direct3D to OpenGL.)
For Linux: extract the game folder from the zip file, set the executable bit for the aroomwithoutyou file in the top directory as well as either ags32 or ags64 (or right click and select "Allow this file to run as program") and run "./aroomwithoutyou" from inside the game folder. In order to change game resolution among other options, you'll need to edit the acsetup.cfg file manually.
Development log
- Linux build addedJun 12, 2019
Comments
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Short and well made, especially for a first game! Reminds me of "Return to Zork".
Played all your other games and I really love the writing and and ambiance you build with it! This one as well, it really showed strong emotions in a small area and small time and was done well! (Can't wait for more if you do work on more projects! >.>)
This game was the reason why I took up AGS ! Love it !
great game but sad that kitchen ewwww
I love how a game so simple, covered so many aspects of how it feels to deal with derealization, and depression. The letting you, and your surroundings become a wreck, not eating well or not eating at all, having moments where all you do is put yourself down, it was incredible that you were able to make a game that was less then a 30 minute play, and yet so detailed. I played it twice to make sure I got the full experience and d*** you did a great job.
Thank you so much! It's always nice to know this little game can still touch people in some way.
Proof that a game doesn't have to be a thousand hours long to make an impact. Thank you for this, and for If On A Winter's Night, Four Travelers as well. <3
Thank you for giving this silly little game a chance!
I played If On A Winter's Night, Four Travelers and loved it, came here and found this little gem, brilliant and powerful.
I'm really looking forward to the next games!
Glad you enjoyed it, and thanks a lot for letting me know!
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!
This is an excellent first game; your talent aldready shows.
Thank you :)
God, this game brings back so many numb memories of depression. I can't believe I actually enjoyed playing it. But I did. I really did.
There is always something cathartic in reliving those experiences or seeing yourself reflected in somebody else's work, I think. But at least they are only memories now, right? :)
Thanks a lot for giving this little, still-amateurish game of mine a chance!
Well, judging from the state of my kitchen one could think otherwise, But yes they are very distant memories now. I wish I had played this game back then. Its ultimately a very uplifting story. Mainly because it feels like sharing an authentic experience instead of telling a cautionary tale. Thanks for making it! I didn't find it amateurish at all. Well except for that utterly pointless inventory. Sorry! ;)
It's a well known fact that if you don't include an inventory and at least one random puzzle in your first adventure game, the Point & Click Police will show up at your place and take away your license. It's a mandatory rite of passage :P
Now that is P&C culture gone mad i tell you! Gone mad!
-Made a Video. (Old Video)
So cool, thanks! :D
Although it's optional, it's interesting that most people I've seen playing this never get to use the inventory. Maybe I should have included better hints!
Very well written story, good atmospheric music. For your first game, it's awesome. Keep doing this stuff!
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks a lot 😃
very sweet and charming, teared up a bit on the 'don't forget to open the curtains' part, it hits home
thank you for making this!! <3
That's so sweet, thanks for taking a minute to let me know! <3
A game has not to be long to be good and enjoyable. Yours is a proof of that.
The background theme is interesting. The story is well written. The graphics choice is well executed. The atmosphere is strong : there's life in this game/story.
It's a really good first game!
Nicolas
Merci Nicolas for such an encouraging comment! I've actually been wanting to play your game for a while now because I saw the the thread on the AGS forums and it looks really cool, but I still haven't found a moment to get around to it. When I do, I'll certainly let you know!
You're welcome, Laura!
Don't feel obliged to play my game, though... (it hasn't the 'depth' of yours). That said, if you do, I'm always happy to have a feedback - every criticism is welcome 😉.