"He worked really hard, he loved his job. On Sundays we would go to the park to feed the ducks. He loved ducks. They always made him smile. It was our place to be together."

When someone close is no longer in your life, it's impossible to know what might trigger the next wave. It might be the sight of a restaurant where you had dinner, it might be throwing away a t-shirt they left behind, it might be hearing a song. Fragments of Him tries to capture these quietly paralyzing moments.

In Fragments of Him, players slowly navigate environments plucked from the real-world: an apartment, a restaurant, a park. Some objects can be clicked on, and these objects trigger short narration. It becomes clear this narrator is recovering from a severe psychological trauma, one that's slowly revealed to be the loss of a longtime partner to a fatal car crash.

Fragments of Him started as a game jam project, and you can still play that version on Kongregate. The surprising response to the game jam version encouraged the team to work on an expanded version, set for release this winter sometime. This game jam was part of the internationally-focused Ludum Dare, and the theme was minimalism. Given the Ludum Dare only allows for 72 hours to develop a game, there's something humorous about a theme that's backed by a tiny development time.

"[I] woke up at four-o'clock in the morning, saw the theme for the jam, and it was minimalism," said game and narrative designer Mata Haggis. "[I] went to sleep, woke up a few hours later, and thought 'what kind of person would live in a minimalist house? Why would you have minimalist decoration in your house?'"

Haggis pitched Fragments of Him to a couple of students he'd taught at the My Academy for Digital Entertainment in the Netherlands. These days, he juggles game design and teaching. In a previous life, Haggis worked on big-budget games as a designer, including Burnout Paradise and Aliens vs. Predator. His students are part of SassyBot, a four-person team that's been collaborating on several games.

In constructing a reason for someone to remove a person's possessions, Haggis kept coming back to the end of a relationship.

"That idea of intense pain driving these actions was something that really spoke to me," he said.

The relationship that forms the narrative backbone of Fragments of Him is between two men. One of them dies. While such a relationship remains somewhat unique to games, the story hardly makes a fuss about it.

"I think it emphasizes the universality of these feelings to have that slight difference to a large group of the [playing] audience," said Haggis. "That was really the origin of all that."

In the last few years, developers have tried to explore ways for games to express new kinds of stories. It's a trend anchored by games like Papers, Please, Journey, and Gone Home, and the approach for each was different. Games have become particularly good at expressing particular kinds of stories, and we often see them repeated over and over again. New stories demand new kinds of gameplay experiences.

"You think of an emotion you want to convey, you think of an experience you want to go through," said Haggis. "Then, you have to try and work out 'what actions would this person want to do in that space?"

Fragments of Him tries to explore the largely invisible process of grieving. In one way or another, we all experience this. When an emotional upheaval occurs, the shock is enormous. Eventually, that wears off, and the business of getting back to your daily life, a life without that person, begins anew.

As someone who's received emotional body blows the last few years, I can tell you it's the hardest part. I wear my father's wedding ring. What I'd figured would be my greatest honor is also a curse. It's a constant reminder. When the people leave us, objects, and the memories we imbue to them, are what remain.

Many games tell stories after the events have occurred. Fragments of Him is near-present, but does not indulge in shocking the viewer with a spectacularly destructive and fatal car crash. Instead, it's focused on the seemingly mundane. But anyone who's picked up the pieces after the loss of someone will tell you the same story: the mundane moments are the ones that, oddly, become the most tragic and heartbreaking.

"At some point in our life, everybody is going to experience the emotion of grief," said Haggis. "If we’re lucky, most of us experience this through a breakup. That’s some sense of grief that we have in a relationship breakup. It’s that taste of what comes when we lose someone really, really important to us forever. One of those things you get with these kinds of moments, this grief, is not necessarily your pain at that exact time which is the problem, it’s the pain that continues always. That sense of a lost future together."

Your actions in Fragments of Him remain simple throughout. Clickable objects are highlighted in yellow, and they eventually fill a meter that triggers the next scene. It's undoubtedly a clunky interface, one made more frustrating when you can't find the one bookshelf that's needed to move forward, but it works.

"At some point in our life, everybody is going to experience the emotion of grief. That sense of a lost future together."

SassyBot and Haggis knew the team was onto something when it had to start bringing tissue boxes to events where they were showing off Fragments of Him in person. It's also where they discovered how different objects would trigger different reactions from people. Though Fragments of Him tells a very specific story, it's one explicitly designed with universal appeal in how it's told.

"One of the parts from the prototype that always seems to get people is when they step into the bathroom, and they take away a towel, and they leave one towel there," said Haggis. "There’s no audio cue for this, there’s nothing recognizing you’ve taken this step, just that tiny moment of going 'oh, that person’s not coming back.' [...] I remember very clearly doing that after a breakup of a relationship once. I think I was coping pretty well until that point. It was such a tiny thing to do. [But then I felt] the enormity of what happened, all those hopes that I had, how things had changed."

The upcoming version of Fragments of Him will, again, focus on loss, but from the perspective of many, exploring how a single life can impact so many others when it's suddenly and unexpectedly extinguished.

"I’m not writing this to be over-the-top dramatic, he said. "I’m not intending this to be this massive tearjerkers. I’m writing this to be a good, honest story about emotions that I’ve felt, that I believe other people feel."

It's certainly an interesting subject. Although I hope it will do more than Gone Home at least, gameplay wise.

I wonder why this isn't on the front page anymore.

Won't personally read it until I've played through the game.

No thanks. Enough loss in real life. Don't need it simulated.

Too heavy for me, man.

Looks like a cool guy depression game - hope Dan checks it out.

I think it's important for games to explore this territory. Safely simulating something like this will, hopefully, help those who play it move on or act as a catalyst for understanding one's feelings.

As someone who's suffered multiple profound losses of family, I'm interested in this game. But I think the gravity of the subject matter just won't come off properly. The emotions and memories associated linger for the rest of your life.

Not something very easy to capture in a video game, but I guess we'll see?

Sounds interesting. Reading it made me tighten up a bit, I'll play through a story like this. It looks like it'll be very easy to project your own losses onto the losses of the protagonists.

"New stories demand new gameplay experiences", though. It would be nice to have a story like this and have interesting, new gameplay along with it, instead of this point & click adventure game light/picking up objects in Skyrim stuff. I don't know what it would be. To the Moon had you talk to people and examine objects in an area until you had all the pieces you needed to go deeper into an old man's memory by following objects that meant things to him, and would have sections with small puzzles and one weird action sequence. Brothers had those weird controls and puzzles that felt new to me and made it easy to feel like you and your brother was a team and made the final, final part of the game pretty cool, but it had no dialogue to convey any deeper connection or slow pacing to establish relationships.

Both of those games affected me(to a different degree, To the Moon made me cry and Brothers made me think "Ah, that was quick, but the finale was neat"), but I wouldn't say they were innovations. Not that they have to be, I cried when I played Tsukihime too and that's a choose your own adventure novel with badly drawn pictures and repetitive music. I cried at the end of Okami as well thanks to Issun's actions, and Zeldalike is about as traditional as you can get. New gameplay experiences aren't really necessary to tell stories that are emotional, and don't pretend like examining objects is a major, engaging new gameplay experience. These kind of games just are that way because of the small teams, out of restriction. To me there is no value to their delivery mechanism that would be no fun without the plot.

I'm usually pretty quick to shrug off these games, but I played the prototype and it's one of the few games of its type that hasn't left me incredibly cold. Maybe the themes of Loss and rebuilding things hits the right chord with me, I dunno. Having to come to terms with losing people is such a hard thing to capture, but this does it very well. I wouldn't want to play an expanded version of it though.

Nice article. I loved the initial version, very eager to play the new one.

As someone who just recently lost a father, this really hits me pretty close. I don't know if this is the type of game I'd actually want to play, but more a game that I appreciate for existing.

Looks interesting. Doesn't really seem like a new kind of gameplay experience though, seems like it's a point and click adventure but instead of being silly and full of puzzles it's serious and full of narrative. I could be mistaken though. I hope it can handle the subject matter without beating us over the head with the MC being gay, I can't stand that.

I'm so glad games such as this, Gone Home and Dear Esther exist. The latter two have more emotional resonance than most titles I've played, and even if the gameplay isn't particularly strong they do a lot to prove the medium is uniquely positioned to explore such feelings.

I literally thought this either had to do with Him the band or Him from Powerpuff Girls and it was neither.

I wanted to piggyback @alex_v and say "nice article."

This game looks depressing as all hell but really worthwhile.

exactly. why in the fuck would anyone want to play this? I've dealt with enough loss and still have plenty I could lose before my time comes. Why in the hell would I want to play a game centered around the hell you go through?

Strangely conflicted about this: on the one hand, it's encouraging that games can tackle all kinds of subjects, even heavily emotional ones. On the other hand, this hits a bit too close to home.

Though this could be a wonderful and elegant tool for friends to understand what someone is going through.

When you click something that is on the promo slots (that is, the main header thing or the three below that), it disappears from the promo slots and just end up in the feed further below. This is because it assumes you already finished that piece/video/whatever, and something else fills its place.

This looks highly interesting. I like to play something emotional and story-driven like this whenever I feel uninterested in other games. It's kind of a grounding process to get my perspective back.

I sense a new wave of cries about what a "video game" is when it releases, much like Gone Home. Personally, I realize that games like this are more for telling a story, not for challenging your reflexes. If you want high-impact gameplay, pop in CoD or Farcry, it's as easy as that.

Hopefully this turns out better than other expanded Ludum Dare projects. (Looking at you, Gods Will Be Watching.)

Sometimes we feel like experiencing/consuming varying forms of media on the matter can help us appreciate and understand loss more.

This game is something I'd love to at least see more of, though I doubt a console release is on the cards...

I'm glad this sort of "game" is being explored, but as anyone who has lost someone knows it is probably impossible to convey this feeling to someone who hasn't experienced it first-hand. I lost my wife to cancer 3 years ago, and while a horrible experience, we were at least thankful for lots of notice. I cannot even begin to imagine what a sudden death must be like.

Not to be flippant, but in computer terms, maybe it's that hard drive full of photos you've really been meaning to back up, that starts clicking one day...

Patrick, you truly are the reason I come to this site. The quirky video Quicklooks and good times have diminished somewhat with Ryan gone and you not in the office, but it's your focus on actual game journalism that makes GiantBomb a worthwhile stop on the web.

I challenge any other site to bring the poignant and thought provoking issues to the forefront the way you do. It's what sets GiantBomb apart.

Thank you, for not just this article, but for the enormous body of work you have provided to this community. It really is something special.

I think exploring these emotions and situations is very important. Not all games should just be a place to escape to. I think one of the biggest misconceptions about games is that they should always be something to take you out of real life and have happy-fun-dumb-time. They can be and should be much more than that. Obviously not every game should be, but its great that something like this exists.

I mean, it's an interesting point. What I'd say is that some people like to explore, understand, and mediate on loss through movies, games, and books. My wife is someone who doesn't like watching "sad" movies. I'm sure there are people who won't want to partake in "sad" games. I'm the opposite, though. It's cathartic to experience stories that align with my own life stories. It helps me understand them.

That's very kind of you to say. Thank you.

Interesting I guess, though I'm not sure I see the appeal of simulating loss unless it was perhaps somehow helpful for someone already dealing with something like this.

I mean if it achieves the tone it sets out for, I can't see anyone coming away from playing it feeling anything but fucking miserable. But I guess it depends how it's handled.

I mean I don't know, it kind of reminds me in a way of the trend of people (predominately woman in my experience) watching sad movies so they can like "have a good cry" or something.

@patrickklepek said:

I would agree with this sentiment. I tend to seek out movies and books that make me feel a wide range of emotions, even those that I don't normally want to feel. I don't want to feel sad, or terrified, or disgusted, or enraged, but movies and other art forms are a safe place to explore those emotions and push those boundaries. They also allow us to reflect on things we may have experienced and perhaps come to a deeper understanding of ourselves in the process.

While I know this game would be difficult to play because of the emotions it will probe in me as a player, I think it will be worthwhile. Just like I know that reading something like Night by Elie Wiesel won't be a fun experience, but it will be worth the emotional investment and effort to experience it.

That's like saying "why would anyone ever watch a sad movie?" Art can make you feel things besides "fun."

It may sound weird but I am really interested to play this. This medium allows people to approach ideas and emotions like this in a visceral sort of way, and I want to experience that, the visions of the creator, and the world they create.

Very happy they expanded this beyond the Ludum Dare entry, as it was a fascinating entry that was quite respectful in its tone and approach. I'm also hoping they fixed the issue with not being able to locate the last piece of evidence to "evaporate", as it breaks immersion when you realize you're consciously doing a polygon hunt.

Sometimes the point is to evoke empathy from the player/viewer, allowing them to understand their own grieving in a different light. There's a strange catharsis in discovering that your suffering has been shared by others before, even if it doesn't help you feel like you're moving beyond the issue. Plus, finding a piece of media that perfectly encapsulates a time of hardship in your life can be helpful for others to experience if they're trying to know more about you.

Everyone has their own reasons for why they play video games today - whether it's escapism, power fantasy, entertainment, boredom, exploration, understand, grief, education, etc. - and there's a chance that their reasoning is a combination of a lot of those things, and a good chance it might be only one or few of those things.

I've pondered a lot on the thought of how video games have gone outside from its original intention - notably, escapism - and of course, it all loops back into the "what is a video game" question, which is a deeper discussion than the semantics of categorization (or is it?). I'm sure there's something thought-provoking to be said here, but I don't really have it in my system right now. Maybe later.

Well that's what i meant when i wrote this ^

Still, i think it's ground that needs to be treaded carefully in cases the effect triggers in a harmful way, or sets people into bad headspaces.

I can't imagine this is the last we'll hear about this game.

@wrecks: I'm with you here. Somehow simulating loss, while I'm sure it will elicit an emotional response from just about anyone, it just doesn't sound fun. Hopefully they will inject some 'fun' somehow - gone home had a lot of neat stuff to discover and read, and to me, that was enough 'fun' for me.

Like a lot of others I'm happy that this is something that can exist in this medium. It's interesting and important to try and explore ideas like this in this way.

I'm the kinda person that when I'm down, I want to listen to music that's sad. When I'm angry, I want to listen to music that's angry. This is a game that would match the kind of emotions I've felt over the last few years, and if handled right, may help others understand their various losses through the eyes of someone else's experience with loss and expression.

Should be interesting to see how they expand this since the concept isn't something that lends itself to anything particularly big, at least I don't think so but hopefully I'm wrong since I did quite enjoy the original build.

I will probably never play this game because just reading this article brings back painful memories, but I am glad it exists.

@brodehouse: The girl returning home wasn't a lesbian. Her sister was.

Lost my mother about 14 years ago to cancer. Dont really want to experience those feelings of loss again. Great that someone is making games like these but these arent the kind of games that I like to play myself.

I'm very eager to play this. I love when games try to resonate strongly.

Cool

I am incredibly happy this exists and that people will get to have this experience. It probably serves as a great outlet for the developer.

I will never play this. I don't go to games for saddening emotional experiences, so I won't really appreciate. But again, awesome that it exists and that we have a market that will support this.

I've already played this game in real life. I don't need to do it again.

The thing that makes me uncomfortable about games like this (Fragments of Him) is that I get the impression it's being tailor made for grief thieves. That's probably an unwarranted cynical response, but I'm confused as to why someone who has felt grief and loss and all that bullshit would want to inflict it on themselves again. I don't know. It's weird.

I almost didn't want to click on this article just because of the visceral response of "no, I don't want to play a game about that" but it's interesting to read where the dev is coming from. Still have no desire to visit dark personal places like that outside of life experiences, even as catharsis it sounds unappealing, but good to know projects like this are being approached thoughtfully all the same.

Games that strive to create a sense of empathy are intriguing for sure and I've loved a couple of them, but I find it's a fine line between allowing the player to organically let mechanics and systems inform the intended themes and "I want the player to feel ___, here are emotional triggers." The former can be revelatory, the latter feels manipulative. I hope developers continue to approach ideas like this but from a place of game design first, emotional button pressing second; not sure what camp Fragments of Him falls into yet.