République (video game)

République is a stealth survival horror video game, developed by Camouflaj LLC and Logan Games. The game was originally announced for iOS devices but has since expanded to PC and Mac computers. A Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign was completed successfully on May 11, 2012, raising over $500,000. The first episode, Exordium, was released on iOS on December 19, 2013, with a release for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X scheduled for 2014.

Gameplay

République combines elements of stealth action with survival horror. Players communicate with the main character, Hope, through their phone or computer, in order to help her escape.^[1][2] The player controls surveillance cameras in the fictional totalitarian state of République in order to monitor Hope's actions, as well as hack into various electronic devices.^[3] The interface that the player must use is the "OMNI View" software, which allows them to lock and unlock doors, distract patrolling enemies, and obtain information. In some situations, the player must upgrade their OMNI View to higher versions, enabling them to access areas and nodes with stronger security. In the PC and Mac versions, players will be able to access multiple cameras at once.^[4]

Story

Setting and characters

République takes place in an unnamed totalitarian state (similar to George Orwell's 1984^[5]), within a facility called "Metamorphosis".^[6] Here, the Prizrak, the people of the totalitarian state, perform mysterious experiments on "Pre-Cals", people who were born and raised in the facility.^[7] One Pre-Cal woman, Hope (voiced by Rena Strober), manages to contact the player through their phones, and requests them to help her escape from Metamorphosis.^[8] She and the player receive assistance from Cooper, an American operative who is working undercover in Metamorphosis. Other characters include Daniel Zager (voiced by David Hayter), a deceased revolutionary who leaves audio logs behind for Hope and the player;^[9][7] and Mireille Prideaux (voiced by Jennifer Hale), who serves as Hope's caretaker.^[8][10][11]

Plot

In Episode 1: Exordium, the player accepts a call from an unknown person, and discovers a live video feed of Hope, who pleads them for help.^[12] Hacking the room's security camera, the player watches on as Mireille enters the room and confronts Hope with a "defaced" book containing Zager's words.^[13] After Mireille sends her to a confinement cell, Cooper discovers Hope's phone, and manages to slip it (and the player) back to her.^[14] After the player hacks the cell door open, Hope leaves the cell, with the player watching her through the security cameras. Cooper contacts the player through text-to-speech, claiming that he wants to help Hope escape from Metamorphosis, and gives the player tips and useful information as they progress through the facility.^[15]

Development

Ryan Payton, founder of Camouflaj, initiated the project because he wanted to "stop complaining about the lack of real games on mobile and start making one".^[16][17] The idea for Hope came about when he was performing a thought experiment about how to make Love Plus for a Western audience.^[18] Payton cites Nineteen Eighty-Four as a major influence on the atmosphere.^[19] The game also draws inspiration from Metal Gear, the first Resident Evil, and Demon's Souls.^[1][20] The central themes are "voyeurism, paranoia, censorship, and control".^[1] Logan co-founder Alexei Tylevich serves as art director; Logan will focus on visual development while Camouflaj handles the gameplay and systems.^[6] Payton claims the game will last 4–6 hours and feature "Metroidvania"-style exploration.^[21]

On April 11, 2012, Camouflaj launched a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign to raise $500,000 to help with development costs. The game was initially for iOS devices only but PC and Mac versions were announced two weeks in.^[22] The project was funded on May 11, 2012 with a total of $555,662.^[23][24]

Reception

Geoff Thew of Hardcore Gamer gave the first episode a 4/5, calling it one of the best looking games on the App Store and saying "If you can ignore the more tasteless elements, you’ll find yourself being sucked into the world of République. The stealth gameplay feels fresh and engaging, even if it can be a little clumsy, and there are the beginnings of a great story here that I can’t wait to see fleshed-out in future episodes."^[25]

References

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: République (video game)

• Camouflaj website
• Logan website
• Kickstarter page