WGTC: Earlier this year, Her Story released and it also included a unique interface where you were interacting with it in certain manners and it almost became one of the game’s characters. Would you say that the chat client itself is almost a character in the game?
KS:Â In an abstract way, yes! The chat client helps draw players into the world and the mechanics. It also ends up generating a lot of nostalgia. I’m hoping that nostalgia transports the player into their own memories, allowing them to connect with the story even more.
WGTC:Â Certainly a lot of work went into nailing the design of the messenger itself, did you find old versions of AIM to model it after, or did you mostly design from memory?
KS: Â A little of both! I tried to stay as true as I could to the old design. I also added some more modern features for the player. For example, while Emily is responding the client will show “emerly35 is typing…” That feature didn’t exist in the old client, but it adds so much potential for engagement and narrative design that I had to include it.
WGTC: Do you have any embarrassing old screen names that you’d like to share? I remember a lot of friends having some pretty awful ones.
KS:Â Oh god yes. I created my screen name in early middle school. It was ‘somanyquestions0’ because when you create an account they ask you so many questions! I thought I was being so clever, but nope, no one ever understood it.
WGTC:Â You’re currently on Steam Greenlight. How has that campaign been going, and how can gamers help get Emily is Away on Steam?
KS:Â The campaign’s going well! The best way to help would be to send a yes vote our way at bit.ly/VoteEmilyIsAway. The Steam version will be free to play and will include some extra features.
WGTC: Â Emily is Away is available now on itch.io, what made you decide to let users name their own price? Would that sort of pricing be possible on Steam?
KS:Â I wanted to make Emily is Away as accessible as possible. It’s a weird little game and I didn’t want to require a payment to play. That being said, donations are always appreciated!
Pay what you want pricing is unfortunately not possible on Steam, so the game will just be free.
WGTC:Â Since gamers can try it for free, there really isn’t a good reason not to check it out, but give us your pitch why Emily is Away is worth people’s time!
KS:Â It’s a weird little narrative game that will transport you back to your own teenage years and make you incredibly uncomfortable. Who doesn’t want that?
That concludes our interview, but we’d like to give a big thank you to Kyle Seeley for taking the time to speak with us. Kyle can be found on Twitter at @KyleSeeley23, and more information on Emily is Away can be found on its official website.
