video game
Planned Release Date: Spring 2026 (PC version coming soon!)
Long after, the AI was left alone in the company.
The AI generates stories of what could have happened to “A” that day by collecting all the rumors and speculations it can find.
If you play with it, it will share this story with you.
[Roro] is a game that revives rumors left in the communication system of an abandoned company to reconstruct the events that happened to an employee named “A”. You travel between the urban development-restricted area, a corridor-less company, and a timeless Hub, collecting seeds of the story to track down “A”. Which version of the stories, created by AI, will you choose?
We refer to our games as “essay games.” When creating games, we experiment with formats to tell stories inspired by everyday experiences.
[Roro] originated from the midnight walks we took every day during the pandemic. In search of places where we could walk without wearing a mask and avoid people, we ended up in the urban development-restricted area. Under a bridge, we met a stray dog. Over time, we also became aware of stray cats, roe deer, and raccoons. Debating for a long time whether to report the stray dog or leave it there, we eventually interviewed ecologists. We learned that the creatures we were interested in were either stray animals or legally designated nuisance wildlife. They don’t receive recognition compared to rare birds that visit the area, and taking care of them is not beneficial to the ecosystem.
Our interest in these creatures might stem from seeing ourselves in them. We live in a big city without owning a home and work on temporary contracts. This game captures many of the absurdities we’ve experienced in society, presented in the form of urban legends. As players move through spaces like under the bridge with stray animals, the urban development-restricted area with nuisance wildlife, and the corridor-less office where contract workers work, they collect ghost stories. These spaces are connected by a hub created by AI. Within the collection of urban legends picked up from people’s messengers, players can speculate on the whereabouts of the missing employee “A.”
More Background Stories: “Game that creates urban legends”
This video game is based on the game exhibition [Ro(로)] in July 2023.
[Ro] is a game exhibition that creates incredible yet believable stories by AI Ro, based on player actions, set in spaces at the boundary of the city and wilderness. In ‘Dangerous Office’ against the backdrop of a 10 a.m. office building, and ‘Peaceful Wasteland’ in a development-restricted area of the city at 10 p.m., players navigate the character A. They ponder which doors to pass through or whether to cut down trees to progress. Traces of many beings they encounter become story fragments, transmitted in real-time to the Hub. Playing the game with AI Ro in the ‘Hub’ space, the AI shares a reconstructed urban legend about A’s experiences. In the ‘Restricted Area,’ players can converse with ChatGPT, the guide of this exhibition.
CREDITS
Game design & development: Loopntale (Youngju Kim, Hoyoun Cho)
”A” 3D modelling & animation: Mingyu Kim
Music: Seoyoung Joo
“The Dog” 3D modelling & animation: Red Deer
