An Alluvial Plain

forthcoming

“An Alluvial Plain” is a narrative adventure game with a First-Person view, casting players into the tumultuous reality of Aziza, a young Italian girl of Afghan descent grappling with the shadows of depression and the grief of losing her grandmother. The story begins when Aziza retreats to a rented house, where she has decided to live for a few weeks to focus on preparing for her university entrance exam. This home, nestled in the tranquillity of Italy’s Polesine region, becomes her entire world. A world destined to take a darker turn. At first, the game unfolds as a slow-paced experience, revolving around routine daily activities. However, with each passing day, that simplicity begins to erode. Studying grows increasingly difficult, and even basic rituals, like preparing breakfast, become overwhelming challenges. The atmosphere darkens progressively, growing more oppressive. It begins with mysterious water seepages appearing throughout the house, triggered by the discovery of an old diving suit. As the seepages become more frequent, they transform into an overwhelming flood. Aziza is forced to don the diving suit and explore an house that morphs more and more into a nightmarish landscape, with rooms stretching into the unknown and staircases ascending endlessly. The player must seek a solution through a journey into her own memories and those of Ada, a character with the role of a mirror to the protagonist, having lived in that house in the mid-'900s, whose story will accompany and strongly influence Aziza throughout the progression of the narrative. The player can face the challenges of the game, either alone or via innovative asynchronous multiplayer mechanics. In this context, players collaborate, using the possibilities offered by synchronous multiplayer not just as a gameplay feature but as a way to provide mutual support. This conveys a powerful message that assisting one another can genuinely make a difference for those encountering difficulties.