I Was Born in a Shirt

Ya v Sorochtsi Narodylas (Ukrainian: "Я в Сорочці Народилась", lit.: "I was born in a shirt" meaning someone who is extremely lucky and lived through a great tragedy or terrible illness) is a concept for a story-driven photography/stealth game. The goal is to give insight into how millions of innocent civilians' lives were affected by the genocidal invasion of russia using an experimental storytelling method focused on subjective perceptions of the world. 

You are Nadiya ("Hope"), a 14-year-old girl from the Ukrainian city Mariupol with a passion for film photography. Due to the trauma of your life being destroyed by the 2022 invasion, you use your camera's viewfinder to see the beauty of your home prior to the war. When taking the actual photo, however, the harsh reality can be seen in the picture. Your mind severely clouds and distorts your vision as you walk the broken streets you grew up in, so you must rely on your ability to view the world clearly through your camera in order to recognize familiar spots that have become nothing but rubble. Your goal is to escape Mariupol and document its tragedies for foreign lands, inform them of the pains, and hopefully motivate the world to come to Ukraine's aid. But beware! Not only do you have a limited number of photos you can take throughout your journey, but you must also avoid getting spotted and caught by the monstrous soldiers patrolling the streets. You will have to find ways to avoid the enemy by hiding and sneaking around them. 

You can download and play the prototype which showcases the core mechanics in a rough block-out of one of the levels. The goal is to find HOME.

CONTROLS:

WASD: Movement

Space: Jump

C: Switch between Camera and Real-Life View

LMB: Take photo