Owlchemy Labs launches Kickstarter for psychological adventure Dyscourse

Indie studio Owlchemy Labs, a company bent on creating the "perfect enjoyable, silly gaming experience," launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund its latest project, a psychological adventure called Dyscourse.

Dyscourse is a survival game for Windows PC, Mac and Linux that features an emergent story dependent on player choices. The game stars Rita, a barista with an art degree that finds herself stranded on a desert island after a plane crash. Rita and the other survivors of the crash must find ways to endure the island's hardships — and each other.

Gameplay isn't simply a "glorified choose your own adventure story," Owlchemy writes. Dycourse promises to weave its mechanics into the narrative as they are called for, such as the ability to sneak, hunt, use weapons and utilize a fight-or-flight response in situations.

On the campaign page, Owlchemy notes that rather than focus on the resource management elements of survival games, the studio wanted to hone in on the human component.

"We want to explore people at their best, their worst, and everything in between," reads the post. "Dyscourse focuses on the interactions, tough decisions, bonds, and betrayals of a small group of survivors. What's a greater threat to the survivors: the dangers of the unforgiving island they've been cast upon, or the threat of their fellow man?"

Owlchemy Labs notes that Dyscourse is already slated to launch in beta on Steam on May 2014, as part of a deal with Valve. Every backer of the project will receive a Steam key. Despite the promise of the game's launch, the campaign page notes that Kickstarter funding will go directly into Dycourse's development; backers will be funding polish on the title, "not just of the visuals, but also of the story, gameplay and the overall experience."

The campaign for Dycourse will end on Dec. 6. Currently the project has made just over $5,000 of its $40,000 funding goal.