REC/REW

Record. Rewind. Replay. All over again.

... I never saw a real sun.

Those quartz lamps shining from the ceiling are all the sun you'll ever need.

And, I never saw a blue sky.

... Don't you feel safe in this peaceful concrete womb?

... Is this the life I am supposed to live?

Do you really think you ever had a choice?

...

The girl in my dreams. I'm sure I've never met her.

Then why does she feel so familiar?

She says, freedom is the right to choose our binds.

... Did I choose mine?

Synopsis

Your best friend died.

Everybody calls it an accident. The police says so. Your friends say so.
Hell, evidence says so.

You... you remember everything. The blood. Guts spread like grotesque festoons. The reek of half-digested food, the metallic scent of his entrails.

"Have I gone mad?"

The shrink says, "Go on. Live your life as if you were right, and see what happens."

It's just therapy... right?

About the project

REC/REW is a currently in-development visual novel, a solo project almost entirely driven by passion - and the insane desire to leave a tribute of sorts to Philip K. Dick.
There are a lot of top-notch visual novels dealing with time loops, and how character can break free of them.

REC/REW asks: what if breaking free is not the answer? What if breaking free has a price you're not willing to pay?

It is not a story about breaking free. It's a story about choosing which prison is worth living in. You cannot save everybody - maybe you don't even want to.

Can you live with that?

Featuring a cast of three main female heroines (one of which will be the main character's love interest) and 6 supporting characters, it's a very long-term project (likely spanning several years of development) comprising four main story arcs, likely going to hit the 40+ hours reading time.

It's an "old-school" visual novel with a strong focus on the novel part of the genre. Do not expect mini-games, combat mechanics, or particulary "interactive" gameplay.
It's going to be a complex, thought-provoking narrative about time loops, how experience shapes ourselves, and whether an imperfect reality can be better than a perfect illusion.

I focus primarily on putting my ideas into proper writing. Art is either tweaked/filtered photos (backgrounds) or Koikatsu-made (characters' sprites, CG). Nothing cutting edge, just serviceable.

Any constructive feedback will be greatly appreciated as I develop the story.

Dev status

The project is going through an extensive rewrite that will bring some clarity to the 4+ MB script I wrote so far.

• Currently releasing: demo version comprising the "introductory arc". It will be entirely kinetic - ie. your choices won't matter - and will only lead to a bad ending.
• M1 story arc: you may think of it as a version of the demo "with added agency". It's not going to be just that. It will provide an additional, one-time only bad ending , and a good ending coming up in two different flavors.
  Writing complete, requires some polish. Will start rolling it out once the demo is finalized.
• M2 story arc: this is where the story starts to diverge heavily. This path will explore the themes of trauma recovery as characters struggle to escape the time loop.
  A lot of material has been already written for this arc, that I plan to re-use in the rewrite. Existing parts are being extensively refurbished, checked, and embellished. A brand new "M2 introductory loop" is being written, that will hopefully wrap the whole arc together giving it much more consistent, and compelling narrative. Player agency will be there across the whole arc, only with a twist: your choices will determine how much agency you retain as the story draws closer to the ending.
• M3 story arc: this arc will explore what happens after the "good ending" to a story is reached. The matter maybe is, "good for who?" Not providing further detail - all of this arc is new, never-seen material. Currently under detailed planning.
  This arc will be entirely kinetic - ie., pure reading, no branching paths, no critical choices. I plan it as a slow-burning descent into hollowness as the lies a certain character kept telling herself crumble one after the other.
• M4 (and M5) story arc(s): the final, twin arcs, meant to join all threads, explore the actual origin of the loop, and provide a well-earned end. Comprising a common path branching into two main narratives, exploring two diametrically opposite (and consequently contiguous) themes: what makes an "individual" worthy of being considered one - and what makes reality "real".
  Currently planned, main themes and synopsis for each sub-arc defined, pending detailed planning & writing..

A word of warning

REC/REW contains (or is planned to contain):

• mature language,
• blood and gore (not a key feature, but people die here - often not pleasantly),
• nudity (REC/REW is not and will never be an erotic game—scenes will depict intimacy and emotional connection, not pornography),
• themes of trauma and memory,
• implied (non-graphic) violence,
• mental health struggles (dissociation, obsession, grief)