"You might know a man who has lost his wife," begins the Kickstarter trailer for Memoranda, a narrative-heavy video game currently in the works. A series of poetical emotive, comparable associations follows, until it hits a climactic question that describes the heart of the intended game: "But can you imagine losing your name?"
The dream-like quality of the trailer isn't accidental, nor is the aforementioned final question that propels the story of the game; it's Murakami-esque, and rightfully so -- because it's inspired by the writings of Haruki Murakami to begin with.
Developed by the independent studio Bit Byterz located in Vancouver, Canada, Memoranda is a 2D point-and-click adventure game that also serves as an homage to the celebrated, post-modern Japanese novelist. According to their Kickstarter page, the creators of the game were profoundly galvanized by the author's works, convinced that the "the vague, surrealistic reality of his fictional world would have a great potential for being turned into something visual." In turn, they composed a game script based on 20 of Murakami's short stories.
The conceit of the game is simple: the player assumes the role of the narrator, who is a woman who has -- as indicated in the trailer -- lost her name, and the goal is to invariably (and obviously) find it. But as Bit Byterz posits, "...is she really losing her memory? Or is there something else that would explain the strange circumstances?"
As per a true Murakami tale, the feel of the game touts surrealist elements: the town in which the story takes place contains "both laptops and water bamboo clocks." As the trailer indicates, the timelessness of the game is purposeful, and coming across a World War II vet one moment and an elephant who yearns to become a human in the next is meant to heighten a sense of Murakami-like magical realism.
If completed, the computer game will be available for Mac, PC, and Linux. As of now, the campaign has raised over $9,000 of its $13,695 goal, with 32 days left to go.
Check out the Kickstarter video for Memoranda below.
Via Fast Coexist
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