Ether Void

Ether Void is a narrative investigation game set in 1990s New York City. You play Detective Frank Miller, a seasoned, world-weary cop investigating a brutal murder. What seems like a straightforward case leads into a web of lies, hidden motives and danger in a city on the cusp of the digital age.

The investigation

Your main tool is an aging computer terminal running the XardiOS system. You review police reports, witness interrogation transcripts and files from old cases, then use the command line to access police databases, verify alibis, check registries and search records for connections. The terminal’s mail client lets you exchange messages with colleagues, superiors, anonymous informants and a mysterious hacker who may help you or set a trap.

You connect facts, assess conflicting testimonies, and break simple ciphers and access codes to uncover more evidence. Your decisions and the information you find can matter, while people with something to hide may try to stop you from reaching the truth.

Frank Miller and the city

Miller is an old-school detective hardened by years on the force and tough cases. His street smarts and experience now have to contend with clues hidden in encrypted files and system logs, which he examines on his terminal.

New York is a metropolis of contrasts, with Manhattan skyscrapers, yellow cabs, neon-lit storefronts, bars and theaters, rain-slicked streets, steaming subway grates and shadowed alleys. As computers and networks begin to spread through the city, they create new opportunities as well as new paths for crime. Beneath the glamour, quiet deals, unfulfilled dreams and concealed affairs shape the world Miller investigates.