Sweet little lies
Sam Barlow is no slouch when it comes to telling stories through interactive fiction. His last game,Her Story, was a winding thriller that blended short, live-action film clips with keyword-based investigations. Barlow’s efforts earned praise from players and critics alike, selling more than 100,000 copies since releasing in 2015.
Barlow recently announced a “spiritual follow-up” toHer StorycalledTelling Lies. This time around, he’s working with Annapurna Interactive.
According to a report byVariety,Telling Lies“will follow the same interactive movie structure ofHer Story,” but with a larger scope thanks to Annapurna’s involvement.
The Barlow-Annapurna marriage sounds like a match made in video game heaven. Barlow’s live-action, filmic technique falls in line with Annapurna’s roots in the movie business (the publisher is an offshoot of Annapurna Pictures, which producedFoxcatcherandHer, among others). Barlow’s quoted in Variety saying that “[Annapurna] had plans to move into the video game space in a similar way they’ve done with film – to empower creatives with a unique voice,” when they started speaking.
There’s little information floating around regardingTelling Lies, other than Barlow’s mention that it’s a “political thriller with 3-4 key characters.” The different characters will weave different perspectives throughout the game, which is sure to confuse — and hopefully, engage — players. Shooting is scheduled to start either late 2017 or early next year.
