Echo Bazaar
Social RPG pushes boundaries, apparently.
The Guardian
“Simply and brilliantly produced on what can only be a minuscule budget... some of the most interesting storytelling methodology we've seen and some of the best use of mystery.”
Extra Credits
Social games frequently get bad press from the gaming community, but despite its small budget, its beta status and all-round indie RPG-ness, Echo Bazaar demonstrates that, done right, social games can offer experiences other games can’t. Blurring the line between IF and social gaming, it allows players to bend the fourth wall and incorporate real-life social connections into their own unique game narrative.
Incorporating social interactions with excellent writing and narrative hooks Echo Bazaar creates stories unique to each player in a fascinating, mystery-ridden setting, and players can construct and share their unique narratives in their own profiles. This is the only game on Facebook where you can invite a friend to dinner or beat them in a sparring bout, seduce an heiress or a devil, solve murders or steal from Hell, wrestle a tiger or keep one. Failbetter Games have filtered H.P. Lovecraft through P.G. Wodehouse to create an award-winning game of darkness, danger and depravity where player choices generate compelling narratives.
For further information, screenshots, interview requests or press access to the game, please drop me a line at Alice French, alice@failbettergames.com
Notes for editors
A little more about Failbetter Games:
A dangerous cadre of wild-eyed narrative engineers, Failbetter Games was founded a little over a year ago by Alexis Kennedy and Paul Arendt, to develop narrative driven social games and interactive digital storytelling. Their first game, Echo Bazaar is an awarding-winning handful of Lovecraftian Victoriana set in Fallen London, once the capital of the British Empire and now home to the Bazaar.
A sample of further reading:
“Best Browser Game of 2009” – the Escapist Awards
The Escapist interviews Alexis Kennedy and Paul Arendt
JayisGames review
Respected interactive fiction commentator Emily Short on Echo Bazaar
Radio 5 Live interview
The Guardian on Echo Bazaar