UK developer Viperante has released the first in its "Short Story" series. The Death of Erin Myers is a first-person point-and-click game and the first in a planned series of 5 standalone titles.
In The Death of Erin Myers, players must piece together the circumstances and cause of the titular Erin Myers' death. Erin was a police officer, and by puzzling through 9 prominent moments in her life, players will come to understand how and why she died. The game uses pre-rendered visuals to tell what Viperante's Daniel Lee Peach calls a story "primarily about character". You can check out an official trailer for the game right here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwWvup-JqU4
Peach says he's interested in character histories - what might drive a person to commit certain acts, or what might lead them into certain situations. He says that following a character's journey to a particular point "might be a lot more interesting" if players already know how the story ends. If you want to test his theory (or you're just interested in the game), you can pick up The Death of Erin Myers right now on Steam and DRM-free on itch.io.
Viperante's Short Story series is planned to span 5 games. Each will last between 1 and 2 hours, and each will tell its own self-contained story. All of the Short Story games will include "standard point and click adventure game elements" like exploration, conversation, and environmental puzzles. The settings and stories will be unrelated in terms of narrative but will share certain themes and atmospheric elements. We don't yet know what the next game in the series will be or when to expect it. Until then, you can pick up The Death of Erin Myers at a 10% discount during its launch period. The game usually retails for $1.99, so even if you miss this window it's still well worth a look.
Will you be picking up The Death of Erin Myers? Let us know in the comments below!
