Her Story is a non-linear storytelling game revolving around a British woman who is interviewed seven times about her missing husband in 1994. The game was created by Sam Barlow, targeted to young adults (mystery lovers and problem solvers specifically), and is available on Steam and mobile app. During the game, players become a detective who pieces together this woman’s story by watching archival footage on a L.O.G.I.C database. Unlike other games I’ve played where there is a clear “win” or “lose” objective, Her Story ends when players determine their own conclusions about the woman’s responsibility in her husband’s disappearance and assumed murder. The game relies on a mix of interaction loops and arcs to deliver evocative content and drive narrative.
The architecture of the setting controls contributes to the main interaction loop in Her Story. The game is set in a L.O.G.I.C database where players have to use keywords to search through videos. The player starts with a mental model about the British woman’s story that prompts them to search up a specific keyword. The game system then returns videos related to that keyword that gives the player feedback about their original mental model / hypothesis. From those videos, players pick up new theories / key words to explore which updates their mental model. Then, they start the interaction loop of investigation and information-gathering all over again.
Although “Her Story” mainly relies on this repeated loop of “investigation,” the game has one arc that also relates to the architecture of setting controls. During the process of investigation, players can save up to 5 videos in their user session. Saving videos encourages users to link together existing mental models and use them as evidence proving the woman’s guilt. Once a player compiles their saved videos, they are most likely able to exit the game with their own conclusions. Since saving videos is an infrequent simple action, it can be considered an arc that helps users “fully deliver the final payload.” 
Overall, the narrative of mystery in Her Story is constructed by the architecture of the L.O.G.I.C database that creates a non-linear story, the dynamic of continuously hypothesizing and searching as a result of the game’s main interaction loop, and the arc of saving “damning” videos in a player’s user session. This game was extremely successful in achieving the “narrative” aesthetic of fun due to these mechanics. However, I would be interested in seeing how this game would be even stronger by adding parallel arcs and levels to the game. While I was playing, I noticed that levels of investigation (discovery -> interrogation -> arrest) similar to how TV crime shows unfold would make the overall game progress further and prevent content burn out. I would love to also see parallel arcs, watching flashbacks or additional evidence of the woman and her husband together in the past, as a way to interject the main looping gameplay. This was a great first mystery game!
