As Long As You’re Here
an emotional family drama about Alzheimer’s disease
— PROJECT NAME
As Long As You're Here (Autoscopia)
— ROLE
Creative Lead, Game Designer, Artist
— DATE
December, 2018 – Present
— LINK
Creative lead, game designer and artist on As Long As You're Here, an emotional family drama about Alzheimer's disease.
The prototype (called Forgotten) was developed at the IT-University in 2018, and after 7 million views on Youtube and an IGF-nomination, this early version showed us that the game moves people in a unique way that makes them open up about their own family stories.
As Long As You're Here will release in 2025.
This project is very dear to me. It grew out of experiences with my grandmother who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, and time and time again we have seen it resonate with others too. Youtuber CoryxKenshin found the student version on itch.io back in 2019 and it went viral – today it has over 7 million views and tens of thousands of touching comments.
The student version was created in just 7 weeks on the Master’s programme in Games at the IT-University of Copenhagen. We are currently a team of 4 developers working on a full release of the game.
SUBTLETY
Our design ethos was always to stay subtle – something I care about a lot in video games, especially games about serious topics.
We quickly found that even small subversions to the player's in-game routines has a strong impact. The game is built around the simple "look away" logic that one might normally find in horror games where objects in the world change position when you’re not looking at them. A coffee cup not being where you left it, or a family member suddenly talking to you when you thought you were alone, mirrors the feelings of forgetfulness and confusion of someone with Alzheimer's disease.
The game is full of these subversions, and by making enough of them and keeping them subtle we make sure that the player experiences at least some of them. When players discover a small change in the environment, it's impactful.
In the end this project felt very personal to all of us, as we drew a lot of inspiration from experiences with our own grandparents. This is why we decided to include real photos from our families that have been affected by the disease.
If you want to learn more about our design choices, Game Developer wrote an article about us here.
ART STYLE
This is my first time being in charge of everything visual, especially all 3D art. I initially chose a low poly, flat shaded style, not just because of my technical limitations at the time, but also because I believe minimalism is a powerful way to engage the player’s own imagination. Seeing family members' blank faces encourages the player to fill in the expressions, but it also feels evocative as you do not fully recognize who they are to you – mirroring the real experiences lived by those suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.
Since the early days of my very first 3D models for the prototype I have learned a ton, and I am now working on an environment that feels more rich in detail and atmosphere, but which preserves some of the simplicity and blank faces of the student version.
2018
TODAY
