Orwell: Keeping an Eye On You

Orwell: Keeping an Eye On You is a single-player narrative-driven surveillance simulation game. The story is set in The Nation, a fictional state shaken by a series of bombings that threaten public safety and political stability. The player takes on the role of an investigator newly recruited into the government’s Orwell program, a classified system that monitors communications, personal data, and online activity. Guided by a government adviser, the investigator is tasked with identifying suspects, uncovering potential conspiracies, and preventing further attacks, all while navigating the ethical and political implications of mass surveillance.

Gameplay centers on searching through digital sources, such as news articles, blogs, emails, chat logs, and social media profiles. Players collect “datachunks,” fragments of information that can be dragged into Orwell’s database to build profiles of individuals. Each datachunk may contain facts, opinions, or contradictions, and uploading them can alter the course of the investigation by shaping how suspects are perceived by the system and authorities. The narrative unfolds in episodes, with player actions directly influencing the direction of the story and its multiple possible outcomes.

The investigative process requires careful judgment, as not all available data is relevant or truthful. Uploading certain information can criminalize a suspect, shift suspicion onto others, or escalate government interventions, while withholding details may allow threats to remain hidden. Contradictory data forces the player to choose between competing narratives, locking in consequences that ripple through future events.