websim

It's fall 2007. You have a desktop, a buddy list, and a best friend named Jess who always messages first.

websim is a story told entirely through an old computer. You sign on, chat, click around, and go to bed. Over one senior year and one last summer, you get the chance to tell Jess how you really feel. Or you could keep typing it out and deleting it, like you always do.

HOW IT PLAYS

Pick what you want to say, then type it out yourself, one key at a time. Sometimes your fingers type the thing you really mean first. When that happens, you choose: press Enter and send it anyway, or delete it and say something safer.

Every night is yours. Chat with Jess, answer your other friends, browse the web, play Minesweeper, listen to your music, and turn off the computer when you're ready for the next day.

FEATURES

- 7 chapters and an epilogue, from Halloween 2007 to August 2008 and beyond

- Choices that carry forward, with 8 different endings

- Side conversations with Sarah (and her ferret), Tyler, Mike, and your mom

- Late-night chats for the players who stay online

- A fake 2007 internet with profile pages that change as the year goes on

- Minesweeper, Solitaire, a media player, and a Chat Logs folder that keeps every conversation

- 36 achievements to find

- Pixel art, a chiptune soundtrack, and a desktop that feels like 2007

ONLINE MODE

websim also has a real online space that looks and feels like the internet back then. Make a screen name and add friends to your buddy list. You can IM them, hang out in chat rooms, and draw in simPaint and post your drawings to SimSpace. You can also compose chiptune songs in simTunes, build a GeoCities-style homepage with a guestbook, a hit counter and webrings, and post on the SimBoards forums.

Online mode needs an internet connection and is for players aged 13 and up. Please read the community rules before signing up.

DETAILS

- Length: about 1 hour for one playthrough of the story, more to see every ending

- Platform: Windows

- Controls: mouse and keyboard. Press Esc for settings, including text speed, volume, and an auto-type option.

- Content: teenage feelings, first crushes, and saying goodbye. No violence or explicit content.

Made with love for everyone who ever typed something and deleted it.