Closed Hands

Closed Hands is an interactive fiction game about five people whose lives become intertwined through their involvement in a fictional terror attack. Its 130,000+ words span almost 150 scenes, telling the lead-up to and aftermath of the attack through traditional interactive text, explorable computer interfaces, conversations, instant messages and phone calls.

Five connected stories

The narrative follows five distinct character arcs, with dozens of additional scenes that fill out the wider story. You can follow one character or move between perspectives to piece together what happens to the city and its inhabitants. The story can be played in any order: some arcs move forward in time, others backward, and some do both.

Choices and endings

The game has nine possible endings and non-linear progression. Experiment with key character decisions to discover how the stories can conclude.

Sound and commentary

A dynamic ambient soundtrack by Ciaran McAuley (RUMA) responds to tension and events as the story unfolds. The theme music was composed and performed by Paul Wolinski (65daysofstatic, No Man's Sky).

The game also includes audio commentary from the developers throughout, discussing the context, writing, sound and production scene by scene. Its soundtrack includes a curated ambient selection of layered tracks by Ciaran McAuley and the original and remixed theme by Paul Wolinski.

Additional editions

The game includes an ebook of the story in EPUB and PDF formats, arranged in the sequence and scenes selected by the writing team, as well as a library of original artwork, sketches and example Ink scripting files.