‘Disappearance of a Sister’ – A Compelling Story in a Thoughts Map

Notes on the Disappearance of a Sister captures a charming, affecting story throughout the limitations of a thoughts map program.

I wasn’t certain precisely what I used to be anticipating once I first clicked by means of Notes on the Disappearance of a Sister‘s ‘Restore Investigation’ button, however I wasn’t anticipating to be anyplace close to as drawn in and shaken by the story.

This sport is an interactive fiction title created in a free, kanban-style productiveness instrument, domino2, as a part of the latest anti-productivity jam. The jam, if you happen to haven’t already surmised, is themed across the idea of taking a instrument designed particularly for productiveness and ‘work-related’ use and constructing out an expertise inside it.

As you possibly can most likely think about, that could possibly be fairly robust (regardless of trendy city tales of Doom operating on the whole lot, and that model of Excel having Microsoft Flight Simulator constructed into it). The workaround, within the case of Lithobreakers’ creation, was to take a mind-map program (a instrument for brainstorming concepts and getting them on paper to arrange them or broaden them) and stretch out a story — an investigation — throughout the display screen.

I’m avoiding spoilers right here as a result of I genuinely consider that you must go and play it. However I’ll say that it’s not simply the intelligent use of the instrument that makes this stand out; it’s the exceptional writing. Throughout it’s half-a-dozen characters, the author managed to create a bunch of personalities that stand other than one another from their first sentences or mentions. These characters are well-written and plausible from the get-go, they usually’re launched by means of logical sequences of occasions. I really like that completely different word backgrounds are used for various interactions and notes — together with notes from the “board creator’s good friend” — and that there’s even somewhat legend and information in there, all written totally in character.

Being an expansive, mind-map utility it’s, as you’d most likely count on it to be, a bit difficult to search out your method by means of at instances. Nevertheless, even if you happen to do stumble by means of issues out of order it’s all written in a method that compels you to search out the inquiries to the solutions you’ve simply learn. It didn’t take me lengthy to get by means of the entire thing, however I used to be left with questions on the finish that I do know won’t ever be answered – and I do know that I’ll be speaking about, and fascinated by, my time with the sport for a very long time.

Notes on the Disappearance of a Sister is playable without cost on itch.io.

About The Writer

Dann Sullivan

After nearly a decade of promoting video games, Dann determined to strive his hand at writing about them as an alternative. A couple of years in and he’s the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Huge Boss Battle, the place he and his workforce cowl video games of all sizes and shapes. When not within the position, he can typically be discovered looking for out small, memorable sport experiences.