Numinous Games, in association with CYAN Ventures, has announced a new, innovative VR game titled AREA MAN LIVES.
AREA MAN LIVES is a VR adventure that mixes comics and radio drama into an engaging, narrative-driven video game. What really makes the game special, though, is the ability to talk to it. As the new DJ for a radio station, when you aren’t spinning records, you are recording commercials and interviewing callers. You do so with your actual voice, asking questions, and promoting products to your listeners. You only get a break from talking on air when you play songs, but even then, you can talk with your odd and lonely producer.
After interacting with callers for some time, however, AREA MAN LIVES starts to get weird. The locals you call in demonstrate how strange the coastal community you broadcast to are. You receive strange voicemails, hear of atmospheric phenomenons, and much more. Eventually, Area Man calls in, insisting on saving the day from the outlandish danger posing a threat to the entire community. The question is: can you do anything to prevent the death of Area Man as he charges headlong into danger?
AREA MAN LIVES is the re-imagining and finished product of what was previously called Untethered.Â
AREA MAN LIVES is developed by Numinous Games, an award-winning independent studio. Founded in 2012, Numinous focuses on developing meaningful interactive experiences. For example, you may know their debut title, the heartbreaking That Dragon, Cancer, an interactive experience that detailed losing a child to cancer.
Although That Dragon, Cancer was an incredible game, AREA MAN LIVES looks to be more light-hearted.
CYAN Ventures is the publishing arm of CYAN, Inc. Cyan, Inc. isn’t a big deal, except that the indie studio has developed some of the best-selling, classic video games, like Myst and Riven. The publisher, CYAN Ventures, is devoted to supporting indie developers, such as Numinous Games.
There is no release date as of yet for AREA MAN LIVES. It certainly looks incredibly intriguing, especially the concept of talking to the game. It’s the kind of game that makes me wish I had a VR headset!
In other news, there is a new indie game convention that’s free to attend. Events like that make supporting indie developers much easier, and that’s always a good thing.
Are you excited for AREA MAN LIVES? Do you have a VR set? Do games like this make you want to get into VR? Let us know in the comments below!