Façade is an interactive drama, download-able for Windows and Mac, that puts you in the role of a dinner guest catching up with your old college friends, a married couple named Grace and Trip. Using the mouse and keyboard, you're able to move around their apartment and manipulate objects inside. But Facade is no escape-the-room adventure game, most of the interaction involves, get this, talking to Grace and Trip.
Using a keyboard that allows expressions of about twenty-five characters—it also enforces a brief delay between expressions—you can say anything you like to the couple; and, if it's on-topic, their AI will make some sense of what you're saying and react, as if everyone was an improvisational actor. Initially everything is calm and good, catching-up, ice-skating on pleasantries, we've all been there. It doesn't take long before the facade slips and the ugly truth of Grace and Trip rears its ugly head. Unlike any game to ever come before, Facade forces you to think about social issues with no clear solution and deal with them as you feel appropriate, it challenges you with a dramatic, and most importantly human dilemma.
All this fancy drama has got me using a lot of italics.
Facade isn't without its faults. The use of a language-based interface was a bold way to go, and the game's creators, Micheal Mateas and Andrew Stern, succeed admirably at a problem that has haunted AI researchers for decades. When I say "admirably" I mean, if you type in-character, instead of dropping non sequiturs like "so Trip, I was abducted by aliens last night," then you'll get a dramatically appropriate response about 80% of the time, and the other 20% the time the system will fail gracefully. For instance, if you say something ludicrous, the couple is likely to look at you like you're a bit deranged, awkwardly shrugging it off with an "uh... yeah," and then jumping back into the previous topic. There are times when you feel like you aren't being heard, and this can be frustrating, but you can always chalk it up to Grace and Trip being self-absorbed yuppies you never really liked anyway, and then just keep playing in-character. The joys of typing in something clever and having a moment of repartee with a virtual actor, while rarely pure, do spring up from play to play, and those moments satisfy unlike any other play experience you've ever had.
I was present at a June 2005 conference where the final release version was demonstrated, it was a major moment, seeing someone type casually and get a response, but since then Mateas and Stern have kept busy tweaking the language processing. Playing Facade recently on a Mac, I can confirm the experience has been smoothed out immensely. Currently the two are seeking financing for "The Party", a spiritual successor to Facade that will offer ten fully-realized characters in a party situation. Just downloading the game, but even more so, donating a buck or two through PayPal, will help demonstrate to their potential investors that there's a strong market for this sort of play. In the meantime, download Facade.
Windows:
Download the free full version
Mac OS X:
Download the free full version
A seriously interesting game, if a bit clunky. I'm very much looking forward to the Party.
Also, I'm so glad they included my name as one of the player-name options. =]
Personally I was never very impressed by the game's language interpreter. As far as I could tell, it basically just looked for key words in whatever you said (assuming what you said isn't a specific phrase known to the game), and guesses at your meaning. There were a few times when it would interpret what I said as the exact opposite.
Still, very interesting game.
Hints for "winning:"
Ask lots of questions. If they say "that helps me/him/her/us," you're on the right track. Sometimes it's better to let things play out, sometimes to just ask "why." The exact scenario changes each time you play, so don't expect the same things to be revealed. You need to get both of them talking, though, without taking sides, in order to keep them together.
i found this game several months ago. attempting to create an interactive drama is quite an ambitious endeavor. i welcome the effort to transform the way games are played and how a player connects with the world of a game. this seems to be part of a move toward further blurring the line between storytelling and gameplay.
Please someone help me? I waited 2 hours for all the stuff to load....then FINALLY got into the game only to be stumped at the very beginning! I am in front of a door upon which I knock.....and knock.....and knock...to no avail. I call out Grace! Trip! Anyone home? Nothing. I turn around and notice an elevator....oh....I must be supposed to enter the elevator! Wrong! I press the button....and I am back at the menu telling me if I wish to replay, I have to exit and load again...which takes another 10 minutes! Grrrrr! What am I doing wrong? How do I get the door to open?
Thank you anyone!
Ah, but it wouldn't run on my computer. According to the author the program does some pretty funky OpenGL calls, so I am guessing integrated can't handle it. Another reason to get a new computer...
I remember seeing this on G4TV and thinking it looked really cool, but I never got around to playing it,. Thanks for reminding me!
Tiffany: Just be patient. If you knock on the door you should hear Trip saying "oh, she's here!" and Grace saying "what? I thought it wasn't for another hour!" and so on. Then Trip answers the door, and it begins.
Morwen: I know Facade has gotten a good deal of press (both in tenor and volume) but I wasn't aware G4 did a piece on it. Too bad there's no YouTube clip of that.
I can't win. I just can't. I never say the right thing, and I always end up taking sides and .... gah! I like it, but its way frustrating.
This game makes no sense to me. And I can't even be called my own name (James)
Patrick...thank you. I went back into the game though and as you suggested, I knocked and waited....I knocked a few times as after 2 whole minutes went by I thought perhaps I hadn't knocked enough. I waited 6 minutes with no response. Can you (or anyone) give me an idea of the time frame involved? It just seems an awfully long time to wait for someone to answer the door.....but perhaps I am being impatient?
It shouldn't be that long. A minute at the most, Tiffany. I'm not sure why its taking so long for you.
The game was good, but i really wanted to rip my hair out. Not so much because i couldn't really do anything right, but because i hate people like that. yeah... annoying, but good game.
I'm so bad at this, it's really depressing. :( This game is awesome, and I want to help them. :(
Very interesting idea. I personally got stumped figuring out what to say... but then that's how it is in real life. Which makes me wonder, do we really need a game simulating awkward social encounters? I think I have enough of those already...
I would really appreciate some advice from someone who understands computers better than me (ie: a grade 3 child! Lol!) I have tried everything to get past the front door to no avail. I have waited and waited for the greeting...but nothing. Should I remove the game from the computer and reload it? Will I have to re-do all the lead up stuff again (those extra programmes that took forever?) I waited so long for this game to be ready to play...I am determined to see what it's like!
Thank you very much.
Tiffany: Have you moved closer to the door? (Use the arrow keys to move.)
This game looks great! I cant get the bittorrent thing to work for some reason though...
this looks so cool! too bad I have don't have a 1.6GHz. they weren't kidding when they say it doesn't work properly. it doesn't work at all. :( sad sad day. especially after it took so long to download.
HopefulNebula....thank you....yes...I have tried moving closer to the door....I moved so close I was PART of the door! I moved to the sides and back and forth....I did a wonderful door dance....still nothing. Thanks for the help though....if only that had been the problem.
This may be a huge step forward for programming and gaming technology, but I can't like this game.
The characters are just simply ugly people. The sort of folks I would run away from in real life.
The premise is interesting, but the characters lack of ability to understand basic questions, or worse, misunderstand basic questions, makes it even more un-fun.
Hey Tiffany I am having the same problem, I knock and knock and knock and nothing. The first time I played the game I could hear the characters arguing behind the door, and now I dont hear anything except the knocking. I am using a mac, I was wondering if that may be the problem....let me know if you have any luck entering that darn door.
Oh Tammie....at least it's nice to know I am not the only one! I do not have a Mac...so we can rule that out. I've never heard any arguing behind the door though. Isn't it frustrating after downloading all those other programmes in order to work this one, then waiting an hour for the "sound to decompress"....and not being able to play? I can't even exit through the lift (elevator) anymore to get back to the menu screen so that I can see if there is any support to email or anything. Aaargh!
After countless tries and hours playing this game, I got them to DIVORCE!
Wow! Now I'm trying to make an outcome where they are happy and stay together!
I have never been so frustrated with a game! It sounds like it's probably fun, but waiting hours for the exe file to load and then for the game to load and then the sounds, and then the game to open, just to accidentally hit the elevator, and now it won't reload. I almost don't want to give up because I've come so far!
So, how long are we supposed to wait for this thing to load? It says three hours remaining, and that's just ridiculous. This game looks like a great idea, but I can tell there are some bugs in it. Like the door thing I've read about? Three hours is a long time to wait to get a picture of a door.
Yeah, this is crazy. It's been a long time, and it still hasn't loaded. Should I wait?
Talk about frustration, I've tried every keyword I can think of. Anyone up for showing a few in spoiler mode? The only thing I seem to get right is how to get kicked out. I've got that down.
I'm on a PC I can hear them argueing but I also have to keep knocking and knocking on heaVENS DOOR....
Wow! Facade is exactly the kind of game that shows the true potential of an immersive gameplay while leaving outside of the scope of the game the graphic quality. It's not a genre that is easy of approach for everyone, but it's certainly a good idea to follow in the future.
to say the least, this game truly is impressive. having the interactive speech capability is an awesome way to go. granted, it's still nowhere near perfect, like they might answer questions i didn't know i asked (sometimes, i think they just look for key words in what you say and base their dialogue off of that), but it's still a daring and impressive way to go.
while glancing at the credits, i noticed that they referenced the neo-futurists... i've heard of them before, and regret not getting a chance to see one of their TMLMTBGB shows while i was in chicago. anyway, i scrounged around their website, and found a page (http://www.neofuturists.org/neofuturism.htm) that pretty much sums up exactly what this game did... they tried to break that separation between actor and audience, in order to make the audience a direct part of the scene... and hot dang, this game nailed it. i found myself emotionally struggling with trip and grace, trying to find the right words to bring them together... i say, cheers to making that oh-so-necessary connection, and props for using the right inspiration to go about it.
my biggest gripe... and really, i'm not sure if this is about the game or myself... of the two times i've played this game so far, i couldn't get them to stay together (which is my goal). part of it is, in real life, i really do know how to talk with people in order to resolve conflicts... but this game brings that ability crashing down. i found myself speechless at times, trying to find something helpful to put into the conversation. nada. i had nothing to add. that, OR, i had something to say, but the ability to only put in one line of text really limited what i could say. i could try to rephrase what i wanted in fewer words, but doing so usually took too long, and they've already moved on to the next topic of conversation.
maybe i'll have more to add to this later. i dunno. let me play a bit more, then i'll see how i feel.
wow i just finsihed downloading this game for 12 hours and i didn't even work!!!!!
wow. i usually suck at games.
not only was this game really cool and unique, but i actually did what i wanted to do on the first try. i got them to stay together.
whoo.
Okay, somehow the two of them argue too much, Grace went inside her room and both of them sulk, doesn't respond to me at ALL, and I can't get myself out of the door and leave. Perhaps I can't fit through the door? and it's so frustrating to have to reload it over and over to start a new game (and hearing the same message from Trip...)
Please help me! I knock at the front door, but Grace and Trip won't open. And the elevator dosent seems to be working too. Tell me how to get in the apartmen. Should I say something?
All that arguing and junk. Blechh. Too much like real life. It's depressing as all get-out!
For all of those having the problem with the door: It's (as far as I know) an OpenGL problem. There is no fix except to buy a new video card or try a different system. I had the same issue on my old desktop, but it works on a laptop I use now.
Great, interesting experiment. Emotional and interesting.
hm... bizarre... i think i might have had a revelation... i'm not exactly sure, but i think i might have had a winning situation...
as mentioned by hopefulnebula above, it really helps to ask a lot of questions, and "why" is a very helpful question to ask. to quote from the screenplay,
GRACE - Ah, good, you're asking questions, see, that helps...
but i think it also helps if you really attempt to direct the conversation, instead of follow it. i used a few leading questions that helped to push the conversation toward where i wanted it to go. such as,
PAUL - Why did you let him do that?
PAUL - Are you sure?
PAUL - Grace, why can't you be happy?
At some points, I actually made direct commands, such as telling trip to tell the truth, repeatedly. i think that to "beat" the game (if what i did was beating the game, and it very well could have not been), controlling the conversation is key, even if you have to repeat yourself to get your point across. i'm tempted to post the transcript as a file, just to see what other people might make of it.
haha, i tried to break them up and get with grace but i got them back together
This game is hilarious! I got into a big fight with them and got thrown out. It was so much fun. I was insulting, kissed Grace, etc. At first they were in disbelief, but then I made Trip so angry he just kept telling me I had to go. I laughed so hard I cried.
How do you make Trip admit his affair with Maria?
Its a fun interactive game however i hate it when they start blaming things on your like..
Me: You love grace..
Trip: You tell me i dont love grace!!!
Me: no im telling you that you do love grace
Trip: and i thought you were my friend
sometimes they can say nothing at all! thats funny x]
i once had a glitch too where grace arms stretched she looks eek lol!
if you want to see something funny kiss grace or trip when you enter! They do the best face ever
Ok, so if you want to know how to "win" the game, read this.
example
The game basically has 5 outcomes. The first one if for you to be kicked out. You'll be kicked out if you say offensive things, or kiss them a lot. The second is that Grace admits to sleeping with some artist guy named Vince. You get this option if Grace asks you if everything you've been doing that night was adding up to something, and you say yes. Then it will result in Grace leaving Trip. The third option is that Grace will admit she is an artist, and then she will leave Trip. You will get to this if you say no to her question of if everything you've been doing adds up to something. The fourth is that Trip will admit to his affair with Maria, and say that he forced Grace to marry him, resulting in Trip leaving Grace. You get this if you say yes to him asking if everything you've been doing that night adds up to something. And the last outcome is them staying together! Trip will admit his affair or that he was ashamed of his parents, Grace will admit to sleeping with Vince, and then Trip will admit to forcing Grace to marry him. They will say they need to talk and ask you to leave. To get either one of them to ask you the question, ask the one you want to ask the question questions like "are you happy trip/grace" or "do you love grace/trip?" To avoid getting kicked out, don't say anything offensive until the tension starts to build and they start arguing. Also, asking questions like why really help move the game along. Hope this helps.
Whew... after 8 playthroughs trying to reason with them as I would in real life, I finally
decided to alternate siding with them for a bit and then just pinged on the key word 'why' and after they asked the final question I just kept spamming 'Trip/Grace - are you happy' or 'Trip/Grace - Do you love Grace/Trip?' and they shoved me out the door to 'talk'... which I assume is the good ending.
It's a good game, and it shows a lot of promise as to the future of how games could be. The responses to my statements and questions seemed wooden and sometimes just downright unnatural. Sometimes the scripted action got in the way of what I was doing such as
when Trip goes to pour a drink but stops at the photo of Italy and Grace asks you to sit on the couch... I was already moving towards the couch and sat on it before Trip said anything, but took my sitting down as me expressing disinterest in his painting... which made him angry.
Over all a good game... it held my interest for 9 run throughs, which is saying a lot. I usually quickly tire of having to redo things over and over. I have to say, there should be a way to lower the loading time and not make it force you to completely exit the game to retry.
Thanks for the memories.
-Psychonemesis
The best thing to do is to
not give them enough to nag you on at the end when either Trip or Grace say "Look. I've peen paying close attention to what you've been saying tonight".
If you keep the player's "opinions" to a minimal, and not take sides, neither Grace or Trip will be able to come up with a decent argument. If you do this right, they will just end up saying "We're fine... You can leave now" where they will escort you out, and say their goodbyes. This is the only ending you can get that doesn't involve one leaving the other. HOWEVER if you stand close to the door one it closes, you can hear Trip shouting "You really outdid yourself tonight!" with Grace arguing after, so really, they're not as fine as they say. But Hey! You won the game, right?
Hope this helps xx
[Edit: Spoiler tags added. -Pam]
The first time I tried, I didn't do very well. The second time, just for the heck of it, I put the lyrics to "Opheliac" by Emilie Autumn. It didn't matter how ill-fitting it was to the situation, that's all I would say. The text file thing doesn't work with my computer, but I ended up with something like:
Trip: Flirting with me... flirting with Grace... questioning if I love her... (something else that I don't remember)... is all that supposed to mean something?
Me: It's not the way I want to be
...Apparently that equals no. Anyway I went through the song once and almost twice. I got kicked out just after the first "doubt thou the stars are fire".
But anyway. They actually did a lot better that time than the first time, which was super weird.
Hahaha! Oh man. This game is hilarious! I agree with everybody about how annoying it is when they misinterpret what you're saying, but it certainly is hilarious. I do realize this was made in 2005 though. An example of hilarity is when I came into their house, acted all nice, complimented their apartment, and said they looked happy in their wedding picture. They both looked at me with shock like "What?! You think I'M... not... DEPRESSED?!" "Well. Yes. You look happy in the picture." "HEHE. *awkward laugh*. Always the kidder! Pushing our buttons!". Someone please tell me how that's pushing buttons. Then later, when they started to argue, I said "Please don't fight" and was consequently kicked out the door before even receiving my cosmopolitan.
On a more serious note,
I cannot seem to get Trip to fess up to his cheating but I can with Grace. I also got him to say he was a phony for pretending to like nice things, was afraid of being poor, and that he is ashamed of his parents. What do I need to say to talk about Maria?
This game has the worst installer that I have ever come across, and I've played thousands of games, indie and mainstream alike.
It's literally taken me 30 minutes to do 50% decompression of the sound files, for a 200mb game. This is just ludicrous. It should have taken more along the lines of 5 to 10 seconds - my computer is not slow, I can run games like Crysis on high settings.
This took FOREVER to download then it didn't even work. & its been 5 years, 'The Party' isn't gonna be made is it? =P
How do I get Trip to open the door? I know for a really long time,but they're just talking
i keep knocking and knocking and knocking and... knock... ing..... wait where was i? oh yah! KNOCKING!
I love this game but they never understand my point, i say love and Trip says quit the flirting!! and i don't think them saying we need to talk just by themselves is really considered them getting back together. lol!! I also find it really annoying when he is making drinks then grace says do you want juice or water, then if i say i want a drink by Trip she gets all offended and starts fighting then Trip stops making the drinks! I just want a drink LOL!!! Then when Grace or Trip asks a question about helping out your spouse, and i say the answer that he/she wants, then they both give me this look and say 'WHAT!' and open up their mouths in shock, then the next time i played i answered the question differenetly to before and they do the same thing! I love this game but it needs sooooooooooo much fixing up!!
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