Frequently Asked Questions

[Osmotic Dan]

Investigators,

in case you have any questions regarding the Orwell system or your part in it we have created a short FAQ covering the most common ones.

General

What is Orwell and what do I do as player?
Orwell is a five-part episodic thriller about information and surveillance, in which you take the role of an investigator in the Orwell project, who is in charge of finding the perpetrators of a terrorist assault that happened in the fictitious Nation.
You will research on online documents, chats, calls, and files of suspects while they go about their lives. You will upload information on those people into a profile on Orwell. You will decide which information goes in there and which doesn’t. Your decisions will have consequences.
Think Papers, Please meets Her Story and you’ll get close to Orwell.

How is the game related to George Orwell or “1984”?
The game was inspired by the works of George Orwell, especially “1984”, and uses some motives from the book. However, the story of “Orwell” is not directly related to “1984” in any way. You may regard it as modern day approach to topics that were close to those in Orwell’s writing.

How long is the game?
This is highly dependent on your playstyle and whether you try to find and read everything. Note that Episode One is the shortest and most guided episode! We estimate the other episodes to have a length of about one hour or slightly more. All in all it should sum up roughly to a five hour experience.

What will a (pre-) purchase of the game get me?
The full game, i.e. all episodes from the moment they are released. You will not be charged again.

When will the episodes be released?
The episodes will release weekly, on the following dates:

• Episode One – The Clocks were Striking Thirteen: Oct 20 (demo releases, preorder available)
  
• Episode Two – A Place where there is No Darkness: Oct 27 (full game releases)
  
• Episode Three – Unperson: Nov 3
  
• Episode Four – Memory Hole: Nov 10
  
• Episode Five – Under the Spreading Chestnut Tree: Nov 17

Where do I find the soundtrack (OST)?
If you purchased the soundtrack (OST) DLC, make sure it is downloaded. To do so tick the checkbox in the DLC tab in the game's properties. After the soundtrack has been downloaded an "Orwell OST" folder should appear in the game's local files. You may open this folder through the "Browse Local Files..." button in the game's properties.

Will Orwell be translated into my language?
For the moment we do not plan to localize the game. We’d love to, but since Orwell is a text-heavy game and we’re a rather small team it would require tons of work for localization. If there is a significant demand to it we might consider localizing the game, maybe with the help of fans.

Does the game include violence or strong language?
The game includes swearing and hateful comments. It sometimes hints at violence (especially in the skippable intro), but it does not show it.

Demo

What does the demo include?
The demo includes the full first episode of the game, which takes about 40 minutes to play through. Thereby the first is also the shortest chapter of the game.

What happens to my savegame after I finish the demo?
Profiles (i.e. savegames) from the demo are 100% compatible with the full game. After you bought the game, your profiles will remain available for you to pick up the game exactly where you left off.

Is the demo available forever?
No. It will probably be taken down at some point in the future. So get it while it’s hot.

Can I unlock achievements in the demo?
No, but you will unlock all achievements you would have unlocked the moment you pick up from your profile in the full game.

Can I unlock trading cards in the demo?
No.

Technical

Can I play Orwell on my PC?
Please refer to the official system requirements on the Steam Store page. If your system does not meet those requirements, Orwell might still run, but we cannot guarantee it. You can give the demo a try and find out, mind that the game will ramp up RAM usage a bit in later stages of the game.

Will Orwell come to Mac or Linux?
We really want to bring the game to those platforms. We will consider this topic in more detail once all episodes have been released.

Will Orwell come to mobile devices?
We think a tablet version is feasible, but will require some work to get right. We cannot tell yet whether we'll port to tablets.

Are cloud saves supported?
Yes. By default the game will share your profiles among the devices you use Steam on.

I have a technical issue. Where can I get help?
Please report technical issues to the Technical Issues forum here on Steam or write a mail to [e-mail].

[Maximus]

I am so excited about this game

[Eliz]

Wow, great to learn that it'll be a windows only game this far into the future. What a bummer that new games still won't build out with cross platform in mind :.

[Hellerphant]

@eliz - we are investigating other platforms. Our turn around on the development, along with the unique nature of our systems meant we really needed to focus on one platform to make sure we could release it in a solid state. We will keep you updated about possible other platforms (Linux user myself here btw)

[Cabbo]

Went ahead and pre-ordered because I'm super exicted about Orwell. Just wondering if that purchase will include all of the episodes?

[Eliz]

Originally posted by Hellerphant:

@eliz - we are investigating other platforms. Our turn around on the development, along with the unique nature of our systems meant we really needed to focus on one platform to make sure we could release it in a solid state. We will keep you updated about possible other platforms (Linux user myself here btw)

Yeah, but you guys are using Unity. There should be little to no reason you couldn't launch at release cross platform.. :/. Especially since you pretty much seemed to model some of your UI over OS X it would seem. It's just bizarre lol.

[tricosahedron]

Originally posted by El Kemosabe:

Just wondering if that purchase will include all of the episodes?

I was wondering the same; apparently, the store page answers that with a 'yes':

This demo is the first episode of Orwell. There are five episodes in total and they will release weekly on the schedule detailed below. Purchase the game for access to all of the episodes.

[Cabbo]

Originally posted by tricosahedron:

Originally posted by El Kemosabe:

Just wondering if that purchase will include all of the episodes?

I was wondering the same; apparently, the store page answers that with a 'yes':

This demo is the first episode of Orwell. There are five episodes in total and they will release weekly on the schedule detailed below. Purchase the game for access to all of the episodes.

Ah okay, I missed that. Thanks!

[Osmotic Dan]

Originally posted by El Kemosabe:

Originally posted by tricosahedron:

I was wondering the same; apparently, the store page answers that with a 'yes':

Ah okay, I missed that. Thanks!

Good question! Just wanted to confirm: Yes, a purchase will get you the full game (all episodes as they are released). We will not charge again. I added that to the FAQ.

[Powerlord]

Dumb question, when you create your Orwell profile, what is the email address actually used for?

It seems like a bad idea to enter a real email into a game about Big Brother.

[Osmotic Dan]

Originally posted by Powerlord:

Dumb question, when you create your Orwell profile, what is the email address actually used for?

It seems like a bad idea to enter a real email into a game about Big Brother.

I know it's kind of ironic. ;) We use it to mail you when a new episode has been released (you can unsubscribe at any time). Leave it empty if you feel uncomfortable with it, it's optional.

[VARCODE "Cookie Queen"]

Originally posted by Osmotic Dan:

I know it's kind of ironic. ;) We use it to mail you when a new episode has been released (you can unsubscribe at any time). Leave it empty if you feel uncomfortable with it, it's optional.

but u guys just said to won't make more episode..? the 'new episode' just announced all here. so it's pointless for now.

[fantasia]

I've played the demo, and bought the game, so what happens now? When the game releases on 27 Oct, I can pick up from where the demo (which is also episode 1) ended? But the demo and the game are two separate items in my library. And will the game automatically update itself to get the latest episode when they are released?

[Osmotic Dan]

Originally posted by xxxyuri:

Originally posted by Osmotic Dan:

I know it's kind of ironic. ;) We use it to mail you when a new episode has been released (you can unsubscribe at any time). Leave it empty if you feel uncomfortable with it, it's optional.

but u guys just said to won't make more episode..? the 'new episode' just announced all here. so it's pointless for now.

We won't make more than the planned five episodes, only one of which is released yet. So it does serve a purpose. ;)

Originally posted by fantasia:

I've played the demo, and bought the game, so what happens now? When the game releases on 27 Oct, I can pick up from where the demo (which is also episode 1) ended? But the demo and the game are two separate items in my library. And will the game automatically update itself to get the latest episode when they are released?

The savegames (profiles) are shared between versions, you'll have your demo profile in the full game and can pick up exactly where you left off. This also works between the Non-Steam demo and the full game on Steam. You will also unlock any achievements you would have unlocked in the first episode.
The game will auto-update itself when new episodes release as long as you don't turn it off in Steam.

[Winnefuego]

Just wanted to submit my vote for bringing it to the Mac platform.

[JACKIEXIA]

Is there any pre-order bonus? And will the price be different after you release the full game?