Detritus: A Solo Narrative Journaling Game

Physical copies are now available at Indie Press Revolution!

It’s been ten years since the bomb. Ten years since everything you once knew just…ceased. Your family. Your job. Your day-to-day habits. You’ve managed to pull together an existence from the shreds of humanity that survived. You wouldn’t call it living.

No, you wouldn’t call it anything close to living, but you’ve still got a pulse. You still wake up every morning whether you want to or not.

But it’s time for change. You’re done just getting by. It’s time to search for something better, though you’re not quite sure what that means yet.

You gather your things, walk toward the nearest intersection, and choose a direction. Beyond seemingly endless desolation, debris, and remnants of a near-forgotten past, you don’t know what lies down the road. But then again, it can’t be worse than another day here…

Detritus is a 24-page solo narrative journaling adventure. The central story beats are pre-determined, but your character’s discoveries, thoughts, and reactions are yours to decide. As you encounter new scenes and dilemmas, you will be asked to reflect on your emotional reactions, as well as those of your character. Your responses determine how events unfold and what items you discover along your journey.

Each two-page spread presents a scene where your character experiences a new development in the story. After reading, you'll be asked to tune into your feelings as the reader and your character's feelings in that moment. Your responses to these two questions result in your character discovering some new item to add to their collection of physical and emotional detritus.

After making your discovery, you'll be presented with journaling prompts to complete the scene, uncover features about your discoveries, and illustrate your findings.

The road is not easy, but maybe your character can learn something along the way. Maybe you can, too.

Every aspect of Detritus was composed by a human. Each two-page spread is lovingly illustrated on paper in an ink and wash style, rendered digitally through high-resolution scans. The story was composed over the course of several months with a focus on creating a strong narrative arc that unfolds through a series of difficult choices and encounters. This game is the product of hours and hours of focused work – not generative AI.