I doesn't exist
A downloadable game for Windows, macOS, and Linux
Relax, get comfy, have an existential crisis.
I Doesn’t Exist takes the fun of classic text-based adventure games, and adds a new dimension with beautiful, handcrafted pixel art. Though the game can be enjoyed in one sitting, repeat playthroughs are encouraged…
Freed from the constraints that limited text adventures of the past, I Doesn’t Exist uses a natural language processor (NLP) to offer more meaningful interactions with the game. The NLP technology allows the game to interpret a wide range of emotion and intent from player input, freeing the experience from predetermined commands.
A moment of consciousness, a cold stone floor beneath your hands. A gentle gust of wind brushes past. Are you back again? Or have you never left? A beating heart, not your own, safely tucked away. Protected from intruders, it holds the key to salvation. Your freedom lies beyond that door. Everything you could ever want.
Go. Through. That. Door.
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Color Palette "SLSO8" by Luis Miguel Maldonado
Purchase
In order to download this game you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $12.99 USD. You will get access to the following files:
Download demo
Development log
- Version 2.0.3.8 Patch #2 UpdateNov 06, 2023
- Version 2.0.3.2 Patch #1 UpdateOct 14, 2023
- FULL RELEASE!!Oct 05, 2023
- 2.1.9: Linux build!Feb 16, 2023
- New Demo OUT NOWFeb 10, 2023
- Stream, New Demo and a BIG Announcement!Oct 27, 2022
- LIVE on Kickstarter!Jul 06, 2022
- Linux build available!Jun 17, 2022
Comments
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It looks great, however that l in the font is killing me! Who the fuck thought it's a good idea to chop it off?
I just downloaded and played the demo. Love the atmosphere and the puzzle elements. The commands I had to use weren't that much more intuitive than old IF games. It did drive me really mad at some points, trying to guess what command to use. I assume that's something that's going to be improved of course.
I'd like to know about the always-connected condition though. Is that because the AI is running server-side, or is it simply to collect information for improvement?
It's both actually! It's one centralised AI for everything, which means it can learn pretty easily. We've been more focused on other stuff at the moment though, which is why the AI isn't improving a lot at the moment.
We'll be hard at work in the future to not only make the AI loads better but to also offer an offline version! We understand not everyone likes the idea of the game being online all the time, even if all the information is completely anonymous.
Oh, I would definitely be much more interested if an offline version is available.
It's unique and cute and I like being able to use a parser. Game as it exists does have way too much "guess the verb" but I assume you know that. Is there any reason not to have it understand common interactive fiction shortcuts? ('x' for "examine", 'e' for "go east", etc) I figured out that 's' is a short cut for "stop" so you're not against the principle.
There are some bugs such as "get block" making me walk to the clock. The game at one point told me the screwdriver was safe to pick up, then immediately after told me it wasn't.
Actually, I tried this game because I wanted to see a chatbot implemented in a game, but didn't find much of that. Communicating with the mushroom is hardly any different than in standard IF, huh?
The AI is still learning and improving, so some things it still misunderstands — like thinking you meant "clock" with "block" because block doesn't exist and it thinks it was a typo.
The demo uses the AI mainly for parsing the input, more advanced usages will be utilised in the full game. So stay tuned!
The reason "s" worked is because you can just stop by pressing enter. ;) We're still working on implementing more diverse commands/shortcuts!
I'm interested how you use the chatbot technology within the game. What would I need to do to code something similar into one of my own text adventure programs? Any help or direction greatly appreciated. BTW, I watched the preview and it's a nice game! :)
Hi! We would love to give you some insights so you can play around with this technology too!
Please drop us a line at lual@lual.games!
I’m curious what chat engine you are using… I used rasa (https://rasa.com) in the past, but I’m willing to learn new tools. :)
We actually also looked at rasa at first! We decided to use botpress (https://botpress.com/) in the end though.
When i was about to use bath to fill the bucket i stoped myself coz readed "it has a battery slot and something something not working" while standing next to bath closer to tree, 10 min later i used bath out of curiosity and get angry :D
Great game.
5/5
Even though I knew this game had existential horror, that ending still caught me off guard! Really cool game, would love to play more. The beating heart was a really nice touch, too.
I don't understand what the green bars on the right side of the text block are meant to be? Because at first I thought it was some kind of energy bar, but that didn't seem right. Is it a scroll to let me see previous text responses?
(Also, I feel like the mushroom needs a hug.)
Hi! Happy to hear you liked it :)
The green bar is the scroll bar, yes! Did the scrolling not work for you?
The mushroom could definitively use a hug and maybe you're able to do that soon too :D For now, you can pet them at least!
Hello! Sorry, I forgot to respond earlier. No, the scrolling did not work for me. When I opened the game, my mouse cursor disappeared, and I couldn't use it.
Hmm, the mouse cursor is supposed to dissapear but the scrolling should still work. We will definitely look into it though! Thank you!
I played this game and I really liked it, the only thing which felt missing was the horror but the ending was neat I'd say, aside that it was a pretty fun game, the commands worked pretty well, I could feel that there's effort put into the game, great work :)
Had a chance to play this at GDC - lovely story and extremely intuitive to play even for people like myself who get constantly stuck in adventure games.
Looking forward to seeing more!
As my first game is called "you doesn't exist" I couldnt ignore this game, could I XDD brace yourself for a lot of "you suck at english grammar" comments xD
Anyway as for the game itself, it's neat, but it ends right when it grabs me xD I can't wait to get the next bit ^^
this is a really good new take on the old text adventure games. I like that it has visuals. The game is quite short, but would definitely play future installments in the future.
Amazing game! The mushroom is one of the best hint givers and I had a lot of fun playing it. Definitely recommending! Check it out!
This was really fantastic! I'd love for this to get turned into something full length at some point.
The art is beautiful, the presentation is great, good puzzles, and the text parser is one of the least frustrating I've seen. Definitely check it out :)
loved it, i didnt even think about some of the solutions that was nice and new.
I really like this game, but i don´t know what to do after cutting the anchor. I tried to get the key but i dont know how. :(.
Thank you so much we're glad you liked it! :)
May I ask if you have solved the clock puzzle already? Talking to the little mushroom might also give you some hints on how to proceed.
i didn´t solve the clock puzzle, i don´t know how to get out the batteries of the radio, and thanks for your reply <3.
Try asking the mushroom about a "tool" or the "radio" they might be able to help you out :3
Hope this helps!
I'm proud this game is in my recommendation :D. maybe I will play this game later
Hey, I loved your game so much that I made a whole video on it! Its my first proper game analysis / Review thingy so it's no magnum opus but I thought you might want to see it!
Have a wonderful day!Wow. This is absolutely amazing and we are so extremely humbled!
We’re so happy to see that people realize what we are trying to convey in the story and you nailed it on the head with this one - without giving away too much. We literally made this game and got goosebumps from the ending so very very well done.
Thank you so so much for this beautiful review and we’re so glad you liked it.
(BTW the mushroom has become our little mascot, because you are absolutely right they are the absolute cutest)
I'm so glad you guys liked it!
lulatschia already said everything, but i also wanted to thank you personally! this is so so kind and unbelievable for us <3
Thanks a bunch!
This is game is amazing, it was really fun and cool!
Fantastic game! I love it. Though I'm currently stuck at the safe, as apparently the key doesn't exist. Is there another word I'm supposed to use? Also, you might want to rename the logs you can pick up logs instead of wood, as it took a while to realize that's the word you were supposed to use. ^^
nvm figured it out LOL. I tried writing "take key" but it seems "pick up key" was the key I needed to take it xD
pun totally intendedThank you for your feedback, we're glad you liked it! :D
It's strange that "take key" didn't work, I will look into that. As we're using a conversational AI to interpret what the player writes, it shouldn't matter whether you use "log" or "wood" – did "log" not work for you? Or did I misunderstand?
Thanks again for your comment, we're super grateful for all the people who point out things that don't work!
No, log nor logs didn't work, and it also wouldn't accept a lot of words like 'place' or 'use' and stuff like that.
That is mighty strange and I am unable to replicate it – I would need to know more about how exactly you've written something, the context etc.
We would be immensely grateful if you could contact us via lual@lual.games to give us some more insight, if you have the time.
Regardless we will try to figure out what the problem might have been!
just finished it oh my god. I can't wait for the full gam
I played the game and really enjoyed it. I would highly recommend that you check it out. Of course the game is still in an early stage, but I see quite the potential for a nice game further down the development road.
@ the game designers & composers keep up the good work!;-)
this is an amazing game I love the music and design its amazing not sure how to get past anchor though I used bolt cutters but it won't let me pas
Thank you so much for your feedback we’re happy you liked it :)
May I ask if you used the bolt cutter on the anchor itself or the chain?
Hi Hannah! I think we found the bug that caused your issue and it should be fixed now! If you download the game again you should be able to reach the end now. :)
thank you so much! its a great game personally going on my top ten favorites