Sagrannus Gaming: Emily is Away

Have you ever wanted to be reminded in a strange way of your teenage years? Relive all those horribly angst-y and awkward conversations you had with your friends on MSN Messenger? No? Well, apparently someone has decided you should - so, deal with it.

The worst bit, is - and I can't say that I like this game - but I can respect how and what was done, and its execution.

(Note, the screenshots do contain SOME spoilers)

Emily is Away

Developer: Kyle Seeley
Publisher: Kyle Seeley
Genre: Indie Interactive Story
Released: November 21, 2015 

I have a tendency to be cautious around games recommended by friends, or friends of friends, or even friends of a friend of a friend of mine: In case my opinion offends them. But this time was a little different. This game wasn't recommended to me - I was vented at across a dinner table about this game. I can't recall the exact words, but there was an implication that half an hour of the speaker's life had been stolen away. I admit I was intrigued - and a little dubious. I've played bad games - and to be clear, Emily is Away isn't bad - so I decided to act the sacrificial lamb and try it out.

Gameplay

The gameplay is very simple. You are in a messenger program akin to AOL or MSN Messenger, and you progress through 6 chapters  - 1 per year - which each feature one conversation with the titular Emily. In these conversations you choose your responses from 3 options, which can have varying impacts on the plot and your relationship with Emily. To make sure that you haven't fallen asleep, you have to type randomly on the keyboard so that your virtual self writes and sends the message. This is an interesting idea, and works. Beyond that, there is no real gameplay - this is an interactive story after all

Graphics

Again, this is an interactive story - don't expect soaring vistas (it's set on an XP computer - hear the audience groan at that one) or smooth combat animations, cos there ain't none. That said, the pixel art for the profile pictures is fairly well done, and what they are supposed to be is clear. I'm not sure how the designs stand with copyright, but the game is free so I'm sure it's fine....

Sound

There is no soundtrack - just clicks, clacks, and nostalgic XP sounds. That's fine, just have your media player playing in the background. For that extra nostalgia, if you have the music library to do this, see if you can listen to music specifically from the year that your are currently in in-game. And...you know...if you are old enough to have nostalgia for 2004...

Plot and (Re)Playability

The plot is what this game is all about. What it does, is create a basic idea of a relationship between two individuals, starting from the end of their final year at high school. The two characters communicate once per year (that you know of) but you can influence some of the other yearly events through the conversations in-game. Much of the narrative is left to be fleshed out by you, mentally, and by vague allusions during conversations. What fascinates me, as someone who actually did use MSN Messenger quite frequently around the time that this game is set, is how well Kyle Seeley captured the way teens communicated. The execution is excellent - the awkwardness, the deleting of what you wanted to say to be replaced by inane questions about the weather, and the slight adrenaline rush when you are waiting for the replay to something you think you shouldn't have asked.

The ending(s) that I experienced certainly left me wanting to replay the game differently, though a playthrough takes roughly half an hour, so the overall replayability is definitely limited.

Conclusion

As I said at the beginning, I can't like Emily is Away - what it is, to me, is a game making a point; not  a game trying to be fun. But I can respect it. The developer set out with a clear goal in mind, and as far as I am concerned, achieved it. The writing, such as it is, is solid and well presented, with some interesting character development. The game, unsurprisingly, runs smoothly on my system. Beyond that, there isn't much to say. Lots of nostalgia for people who are old enough to remember AOL and MSN Messenger, lots of nostalgia for those who want (though I don't know why) to relive their angst-y teenage years. A solid indie presentation.

Sagrannus Rating – 6/10 (It's free and short, try it)

Oh, and just as an aside - F*** that ending. Seriously, what the S***!?