murmures

Clara does everything she can to stay emotionally stable.
And it's not going very well.

Something is chasing her, and every place she passes through seems to know what she refuses to understand.

We're constantly told to stay positive.
To move on.
To be resilient.

murmures is more about what happens when that doesn't work. About the emotions we keep somewhere because they're inconvenient, because they take up too much space, or simply because we've been taught we should get rid of them quickly.

And about taking care, too. Of yourself, of others. Even when you don't really know how.

murmures is a short, contemplative narrative exploration game. Clara moves through ordinary places, searches, observes, listens, opens doors.

Very ordinary things.
Except something is wrong.

Explore

Start in an old changing room. Find your way. Open a door.

Clara moves slowly and tries to understand why something always seems to be following her.

Roll your d20s

As you explore, you'll find actions you can attempt.

Search a locker. Force open a door. Read something you might have been better off leaving alone. Help someone.

Then assign a d20 to each of those actions.

A good roll can help Clara.
A bad roll can too, in a way.

You'll never be blocked because you failed a roll. You'll simply get a different version of what just happened, of what Clara understands, or of what she'd still rather not understand.

There's no perfect playthrough.

Some words hurt

And sometimes they literally become projectiles.

Some sequences turn the words, thoughts and expectations that follow Clara into very real objects she'll have to avoid.

It's a little less subtle when a word comes flying at you at high speed.

You won't save the world

There's no combat and no brutal game over. You explore, observe, miss some things, understand others, and slowly piece together what these places are trying to tell you.

The point isn't really to make what Clara feels disappear.

Some things are just there. You can try to hide them, control them, pretend everything's fine. Or try to figure out what to do with them. And sometimes just accept that they'll stick around for a while.

And all the while, something keeps following Clara.
The real question might be how long it's been there.

murmures is a short, slow and strange narrative exploration game, developed solo by Selane Studio. It should take around 2 to 3 hours to finish.