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The Eigentlich Institute
Date
In-progress
The historian as detective
Puzzle and detective games have something in common with the work of a historian: looking at evidence, joining up disparate facts to make sense of what happened, understanding motives and proposing and verifying theories. "The Eigentlich Institute" asks the player to do just that. The player is a time traveller tasked with tracking down rival time agents, and must uncover evidence to work out which of the historical figures they meet are imposters.
History narrated by its inhabitants
To figure out which historical figures are time travellers in disguise, the player needs to learn enough about the period to spot what doesn't seem right, and they do that by talking to people. They might befriend the Queen or join a conspiracy against her, help one advisor scheme against another, put on an Elizabethan play or join the kitchen staff in preparing for a feast.
The frame story
As for the Eigentlich Institute itself, the time agency employing the player has secrets of its own - which they might uncover if they gather enough information about the past to win the Institute's trust.
Hollow Way's current in-progress project is a predominantly text-based game that invites the player into the court of Queen Elizabeth I. Lifting the historical figures in the textbook off the page, it lets players learn by immersion in a world and its stories.
