Publisher Raw Fury and developer Playmestudio have just announced that they will soon be launching their “tech-noir and mystery adventure” game The Signifier for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC via Steam soon.
In a released three-minute game developer preview, we are introduced to The Signifier. Basically, it’s a first-person mystery adventure that mixes together elements of “investigation, experimental psychology, and artificial intelligence.” As narrated by Playmestudio’s Creative Director David Fenner, players will assume the role of Frederick Russell, who is an expert in AI technology and psychology. It starts off in a laboratory where Russell and his team are working on controversial technology that allows users to explore virtual recreations of recorded sense and unconscious realms of the mind of a subject. This device is known as the Dreamwalker, an experimental deep brain scanner.
The plot begins to move when Russell is asked by a government agency to use the Dreamwalker on Johanna Kast – a high-level executive of the largest tech company in the world (named Go-At, as seen in the trailer). Kast has been found dead in her apartment under mysterious circumstances. This is where Russell’s investigation now starts by going to real-life locations, talking to persons of interest, collecting data and evidences by scouring the crime scene, and making significant decisions. Once you have collected enough information, Russell will be able to use the Dreamwalker to delve deep into the brain scans collected right after Johanna’s death.
The complicated part comes in when the player is now piecing these events together and reliving them, as there are two aspects that need to be considered when going through these memories: objective and subjective. Objective depends on Johanna’s tangible experiences such as sight, taste, hearing, and smelling. Subjective now ties these events and occurrences with possible emotions that she may have felt at the time.
The Signifier is an intriguing project that aims to raise questions regarding “AI, intrusion to the consciousness, privacy, and whether we see the world as it is or a subjective creation of our minds.” The Signifier is set to release on October 15 for PC via Steam and for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in 2021.
