Summary
Five Adam is an interactive short story set in the outer boroughs of New York City. You follow the life of Gabriela (Gabbi) Velez, a NYPD police dispatcher.
Gabbi’s story is told primarily in a visual novel format. She gossips with co-workers, gets harassed by strangers on the subway, and texts her mom.
But during her job, using a clunky city-issued workstation, she stands in the middle of 911 callers and police units.
While reading live transcripts of emergency calls, dispatchers must quickly and accurately determine:
- the crime
- the suspect’s description
- which police unit should respond
- the presence of weapons, injuries, etc.
Unfortunately, this isn’t always given to you by a panicked caller. You’ll have to use your judgment. Remember: lives are on the line.
Our Vision
The three of us at Late Leaf Games have spent a lot of time in NYC (two of us were born and raised in Queens). While most mainstream media has historically focused on Manhattan, we wanted to point the spotlight at the inner city - voices that are rarely heard.
Influenced by films like Nightcrawler and Joker, Five Adam reveals the pressures of working class life, in a city rapidly decaying under inequality, misused technology, and the resulting civil unrest.
We began crafting the story and prototyping in late 2019. Several months later, with various protests gaining newfound momentum both nationwide and in New York, we knew that this was a story worth telling.
This was our chance to bring an unprecedented level of authenticity to games about NYC: real voices from police radio, real ambient sounds captured from the streets, and a real perspective on the intersection between law enforcement and public safety.
Currently, about one-third of the development is already completed via a fully playable Prologue. We’re looking to partner with a publisher to help us bring this story to life.