As We Know It

As We Know It is a branching narrative game set in Camden, an underground city where humanity seeks shelter from a world that has become too hot. After waiting for a place, Ashlynn Phillips and her mother move into the city, where they have food, water and shelter. As Ashlynn tries to settle into safety, problems arise, and you uncover what is happening while making choices that affect her relationships and fate.

Life in Camden

You can get a job, meet Camden’s residents and find romance. The city has fresh food, filtered air, spacious living quarters, a gym, a library, a bar and a community center where residents gather for coffee, conversation, events and meetings. Greenhouses provide resources including clothing and medicine, while geothermal energy supplies power and the security and medical departments look after residents.

Ashlynn’s story

Ashlynn is suspicious but determined to make her new life work. She spent much of her time on the surface struggling and going without, and is resolved to protect the safety she and her mother have found. You can customize her name and appearance, including her skin tone and hair color.

Work and relationships

There are four career options, each with its own story line, and four potential love interests whom you can befriend or romance. You can spend time with anyone regardless of your job or romance choice. Three potential friends and several other residents also feature in the story.

• Micah Everett: A perfectionist and the community’s lead doctor, he speaks eloquently and quietly. Insecure after a previous relationship, he can seem distant at first and throws himself into work.
• Jude Myers: Often found at the bar with Sam, the closest thing to family he has left, or tending plants in the greenhouse to loud 1990s grunge music. Tech in his possession is likely contraband.
• Gloria Miller: Camden-born Community Affairs Supervisor who tries to keep spirits up. Less familiar with the surface’s harsh realities, she is bored underground and wants either to shake things up or escape.
• Eva Turner: A charming, overly friendly security officer with a sad smile. She tackles criminals, sings karaoke with you and may challenge you to a race, then feel bad if she wins.

Choices and endings

The story branches from day one, with different paths revealing different sides of it and encouraging replay. It has 30 unique endings and over 135,000 words.