This is The Novelist, an upcoming indie game by veteran designer Kent Hudson. It looks kind of amazing.
Iâll let Hudson explain the concept, via his website:
The Novelist asks one central question: can you achieve your dreams without pushing away the people you love? The game focuses on Dan Kaplan, a novelist struggling to write the most important book of his career while trying to be the best husband and father he can be. The Kaplans have come to a remote coastal home for the summer, unaware that theyâre sharing the house with a mysterious ghostly presence: you.
Read the familyâs thoughts. Explore their memories. Uncover their desires and intervene in their lives. But stay out of sight; you canât help the Kaplans if they know thereâs a ghost in the house. Itâs up to you to decide how Danâs career and family life will evolve, but choose carefully; there are no easy answers, and every choice has a cost.
Danâs relationships â to his work, his wife, and his son â react and shift in response to your choices. With a different sequence of events in every playthrough, The Novelist gives life to a unique experience each time you play.
The decisions you make will define the Kaplansâ lives, but they may also tell you something about yourself.
Sounds really interesting, donât you think? The Novelist will be out this summer. Itâs on Steam Greenlight, too.