''Cibele'' is a 2015 adventure video game about a romance developed through an online multiplayer game.

Gameplay

''Cibele'' is an

adventure video game An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an Interactive storytelling, interactive story, driven by exploration and/or Puzzle video game, puzzle-solving. The Video game genres, genre's focus ...

in which the player navigates a simulated

desktop computer A desktop computer, often abbreviated as desktop, is a personal computer designed for regular use at a stationary location on or near a desk (as opposed to a portable computer) due to its size and power requirements. The most common configuratio ...

interface to follow a budding online romance. The story is based on the experiences of Nina Freeman, the game designer, and its simulated environment is that of her personal computer. In ''Cibele'', the player can rummage through Freeman's personal files, including emails, photos, and journals, and pursue quests in a mock

massively multiplayer online role-playing game A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game. As in role-playing games (RPGs), the player assumes the role of a Player charac ...

(MMORPG) to advance the story. The mock multiplayer game, ''Valtameri'', is designed to be incidental to the relationship that develops between Nina and Blake. The game's story is divided into three acts spanning six months. The two begin as part of a team of ''Valtameri'' players but eventually spend more time without the group. As the game advances, they share compliments and contact information and decide to meet in person, outside of the mock multiplayer game.

Development

The events of ''Cibele'' descend from the experiences of its designer, Nina Freeman. The story is based on her first love interest and sexual encounter, a relationship that developed through the massively multiplayer online role-playing game ''

Final Fantasy XI also known as ''Final Fantasy XI Online'', is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), originally developed and published by Square (video game company), Square and then published by Square Enix as the eleventh main installme ...

''. Freeman's avatar was named Cibele. The in-game mock-MMO uses terminology drawn from

Finnish mythology Finnish mythology commonly refers of the folklore of Finnish paganism, of which a Finnish Neopaganism, modern revival is practiced by a small percentage of the Finnish people. It has many shared features with Estonian mythology, Estonian and othe ...

, with areas named after mythical figures such as

Hiisi Hiisi (; plural ''hiidet'' ) is a term in Finnic mythologies, originally denoting sacred localities and later on various types of mythological entities. In later, Christian-influenced folklore, they are depicted as demonic or trickster-like ent ...

and Iku-Turso: Valtameri itself is the Finnish word for '

Ocean The ocean is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of Earth. The ocean is conventionally divided into large bodies of water, which are also referred to as ''oceans'' (the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Indian, Southern Ocean ...

'. Many of the game's assets, such as photos and chat transcripts, are artifacts from Freeman's relationship. Freeman's previous games were also based on personal, intimate experiences. ''Cibele'' was released by Star Maid Games.

Reception

References

External links

* {{Portal bar, Video games, Human sexuality 2015 video games Adventure games Indie games MacOS games Romance video games Video games developed in the United States Video games set in the United States Windows games Independent Games Festival winners