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''Dyscourse'' is a
survival Survival or survivorship, the act of surviving, is the propensity of something to continue existing, particularly when this is done despite conditions that might kill or destroy it. The concept can be applied to humans and other living things ...
adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...
video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
developed and published by Owlchemy Labs. It was released on March 25, 2015 for
Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
,
OS X macOS, previously OS X and originally Mac OS X, is a Unix, Unix-based operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 2001. It is the current operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. With ...
, and
Linux Linux ( ) is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an kernel (operating system), operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically package manager, pac ...
. The game has he player take on the role of Rita, a
barista A barista ( , ; ) is a person, usually a coffeehouse employee, who prepares and serves espresso-based coffee drinks and other beverages. Etymology and inflection The word comes from Italian, where it means a "bartender" who typically works be ...
stuck on a desert island after a plane crash. Along with five others, Rita has to lead the group to survive. The game was funded by a
Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...
campaign, raising over $40,000 from 1,816 backers. Inspirations for the video game are ''The Oregon Trail'',
tabletop role-playing game A tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG or TRPG), also known as a pen-and-paper role-playing game, is a kind of role-playing game (RPG) in which the participants describe their characters' actions through speech and sometimes movements. Participants d ...
'' Werewolf: The Apocalypse'', and television series '' Lost''. It received average reviews from video game critics. After its release, Owlchemy Labs switched to creating games made for
virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a Simulation, simulated experience that employs 3D near-eye displays and pose tracking to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video gam ...
.


Gameplay

''Dyscourse'' is a
survival Survival or survivorship, the act of surviving, is the propensity of something to continue existing, particularly when this is done despite conditions that might kill or destroy it. The concept can be applied to humans and other living things ...
adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...
video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
. There are six characters in the game. Rita, an art graduate working as a
barista A barista ( , ; ) is a person, usually a coffeehouse employee, who prepares and serves espresso-based coffee drinks and other beverages. Etymology and inflection The word comes from Italian, where it means a "bartender" who typically works be ...
and the game's protagonist; Steve, a pessimist; Teddy, a
conspiracy theorist A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that asserts the existence of a conspiracy (generally by powerful sinister groups, often political in motivation), when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * ...
; Garret, a gamer; and George and Jolene, a couple with marital problems. The game is set on a desert island with the six characters being the only survivors of a plane crash. The leadership of the group falls to Rita, allowing the player to make decisions about the group's actions. The choices have effects on the other survivors, including potentially triggering events that lead to their death. The game has numerous potential outcomes depending on the choices made by player, in which all, some, or none of the survivors are rescued by the end of the game. The player is encouraged to replay the game to make different decisions and in turn to obtain alternate endings. A "memory marker" system is also used, which allows Rita or the other survivors to revisit areas without the need of a map. After completing the game for the first time, the player unlocks the "Day Rewind" feature, which allows players to go back to the beginning of the day. An additional mode in the game, ''Indie Island'', was later added as
downloadable content content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can be added for no extra cost or as a form of video game monetization, enabling the publisher to gain ad ...
. This mode offers a similar scenario to the main game. The player controls Emily Park, a game developer on her way to the
Game Developers Conference The Game Developers Conference (GDC) is an annual conference for video game developers. The event includes an expo, networking events, and awards shows like the Game Developers Choice Award for Game of the Year, Game Developers Choice Awards and ...
for the first time. The plane on which she is traveling crashes on a desert island with ten indie developers, including
Tim Schafer Timothy John Schafer (born July 26, 1967) is an American video game designer. He founded Double Fine Productions in July 2000, after having spent over a decade at LucasArts. Schafer is best known as the designer of critically acclaimed games '' ...
,
Edmund McMillen Edmund Charles McMillen (born March 2, 1980) is an American video game designer and artist. He is known for his Adobe Flash games with unconventional visual styles. His works include 2010's Side-scrolling video game, side-scroller ''Super Meat Bo ...
, and
Robin Hunicke Robin Hunicke (; born March 15, 1973) is an American video game designer and producer. She is a professor of game design at UC Santa Cruz and the co-founder of Funomena. Hunicke began her career at Electronic Arts where she worked on multipl ...
, who have twelve hours to get off the island before they miss the conference.


Development and release

The game was developed by Owlchemy Labs. The developer's previous works included 2011's '' Snuggle Truck'' and 2012's '' Jack Lumber''. ''Dyscourse'' was first conceived at an "IndieCabin" retreat with Owlchemy Labs founder Alex Schwartz, CTO Devin Reimer, and artist Carrie Witt. A
Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...
campaign was launched on November 6, 2013 with a minimum funding goal of $40,000. The Kickstarter ended on December 6 successfully, raising $44,134 from 1,816 backers. The developer described the game as "''
Lord of the Flies ''Lord of the Flies'' is the 1954 debut novel of British author William Golding. The plot concerns a group of prepubescent British boys who are stranded on an uninhabited island and their disastrous attempts to govern themselves that led to ...
'' plus a choose-your-own-adventure book, with a dash of '' Lost'', and a sprinkle of '' The Walking Dead'' (minus the zombies), crafted with the humour and style Owlchemy Labs is known for." In addition to ''The Walking Dead'', the game's influences include the
tabletop role-playing game A tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG or TRPG), also known as a pen-and-paper role-playing game, is a kind of role-playing game (RPG) in which the participants describe their characters' actions through speech and sometimes movements. Participants d ...
'' Werewolf: The Apocalypse'' and the video game ''The Oregon Trail''. Taking between 60 and 80 minutes to complete, the game contains about 80,000 words of text, with a typical playthrough seeing around fifteen percent of these. The game was shown at the 2014
SXSW South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...
gaming showcase. ''Dyscourse'' was released to
Steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...
on March 25, 2015. To promote the game, Owlchemy Labs hid thumb drives containing Steam keys for the game all over the United States. One hundred of the keys were hidden in a tree on Hawaii 2, an island in
Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...
that was bought by the producers of card game ''
Cards Against Humanity ''Cards Against Humanity'' is an adult card-based party game in which players complete fill-in-the-blank statements, using words or phrases typically deemed offensive, risqué, or politically incorrect, printed on playing cards. It has been co ...
''. In May 2015, Owlchemy Labs joined forces with the
subscription box Subscription boxes are a recurring delivery of niche products as part of a marketing strategy and a method of product distribution. Subscription boxes are used by subscription-based ecommerce businesses, referred to as "subcom" for short, which ...
company IndieBox to offer an exclusive, individually-numbered, physical version of ''Dyscourse''. The limited collector's edition included a flash-drive with a
DRM-free Digital rights management (DRM) is the management of legal access to digital content. Various tools or technological protection measures, such as access control technologies, can restrict the use of proprietary hardware and copyrighted works. DR ...
copy of the game, official soundtrack, instruction manual,
Steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...
key, and various custom-designed collectibles. After the game's release, Schwartz told
GamesIndustry.biz Gamer Network Limited (formerly Eurogamer Network Limited) is a British digital media company based in London. Founded in 1999 by Rupert and Nick Loman, it owns brands—primarily editorial websites—relating to video game journalism and ot ...
that ''Dyscourse'' would be Owlchemy Labs' last game made "for 2D monitors", with future titles being made for
virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a Simulation, simulated experience that employs 3D near-eye displays and pose tracking to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video gam ...
.


Reception

''Dyscourse'' received "mixed or average reviews", according to video game review score aggregator
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
. ''
Destructoid ''Destructoid'' is a website that was founded as a video game-focused blog in March 2006 by Yanier Gonzalez, a Cuban-American cartoonist and author. Enthusiast Gaming acquired the website in 2017 and sold it to Gamurs Group in 2022. Histor ...
''s Darren Nakamura found the game's brevity to be warranted. Don Saas, writing for ''
GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
'', praised the game's writing and its "storybook visuals". Steven "Bajo" O'Donnell and Stephanie "Hex" Bendixsen from the Australian television gaming program '' Good Game'' both gave the title three and a half stars, with the final rating being a seven out of ten.


References


External links

*{{Official website, dyscourse.com 2015 video games Crowdfunded video games Indie games Kickstarter-funded video games Linux games MacOS games Owlchemy Labs games Single-player video games Survival video games Video games developed in the United States Video games featuring female protagonists Video games set on islands Windows games