Emily Is Away <3 - PAX East Preview
Emily Is Away devastated me. I drew out the choice options in a flowchart trying to piece together the perfect set of choices to make this impossible relationship work and, in the end, I realized the only way to win the game was not to play. Emily Is Away Too is about balancing two friendships as they both hold the potential to break your heart into pieces. But it has happy endings. Both games irrevocably changed me, losing me to a nostalgic state that cannot be understated. These games are tiny file sized time machines that exist as an argument that invoking the past can be a powerful narrative tool to tell intimate stories that can almost immediately connect to you.
Emily Is Away <3 is the third entry into the series, and the first to depart from its use of the AIM format. Taking on the beginning of the social media phenomenon that is Facenook, the opening moments reminding you of the sad sorry modern state of the platform. From there, it’s off to the races as the clock shoots backwards to 2008, as you create a profile, selecting your likes for films, music, and tv. The moment you’re done, your notifications popup with a friend request from your Best friend Mat. This conversation is immediately familiar, as Mat is a friend you know in real life for many people. The friend with his serious girlfriend that you play third wheel to. He tells you about two parties, one being thrown by Evelyn, and one thrown by this game’s titular Emily. From there, you’re off to the races as you break into the story of the game.
Throughout the first chapter, the dialogue choices continue to be incredible, humorous, and thought provoking. The cast of characters is so fantastic, and this game has the largest one so far. But a massive part of Facenook is the pictures. The photo albums that most people spent their time curating on the white on blue website.
“It’s something I worked really hard on. Because photos are such a huge part of Facebook. So I was asking myself how do I capture that?”
Developer Kyle Seeley
The result is a pixel art version of different people, each color coded in a way that feels very in sync with their personalities. Mat and Kelly, warm orange and yellow respectively, with Evelyn in purple and Emily in green. Develop Kyle Seeley described coming up with the right color for Evelyn was immediate, and it fit her to a tee. Emily was more difficult, as Seeley describes going through several colors before deciding on the green.
The first chapter of Emily Is Away <3 is an incredible indicator of what can shape up to be an incredible game. With the same trappings of its previous entries, and more being done to flesh out a whole cast of individuals instead of the standard few, and a new way of relaying information in a timeline summary after each chapter, and the continuation of its YouTube-like site and other options. It’s 2008 again, AIM is dead, and Facenook is the place to be. You’ll be able to join Mat, Kelly, Evelyn, and Emily when Emily Is Away <3 is released.
