Early AccessAttract Mode
10 / wfmag.cc Despite the allusions to
Firewatch, A Brave Plan
promises the relationship
between the player and
Amber is “like no other.”Early AccessAttract Mode
A Brave Plan’s debut focuses on narrative and engaging settings
ollowing the success of narrative-
led exploration games like Firewatch
and Gone Home, many doors were
opened on the indie scene for
developers who prioritised telling
stories and creating interesting environments
over designing complicated mechanics. This was
the exact motivation London-based studio
A Brave Plan needed when producing its mystery
thriller, The Bradwell Conspiracy.
“We saw Firewatch get a warm reception, and
we felt validated that we were on the right path,”
says The Bradwell Conspiracy director Georg
Backer, whose previous work includes Fable and
The Movies at Lionhead Studios. Backer calls the
game “Spielberg-esque” as it doesn’t lean too
hard into sci-fi or horror, and that it remains
accessible for everyone to enjoy.
You are an employee of the tech
conglomerate Bradwell Electronics in the
near-future year of 2026. At the launch of the
company’s latest innovation in humanitarianaid, an explosion occurs that puts the facility on
lockdown. Trapped in an isolated environment,
your only companion is Amber – a Bradwell
worker stuck in another part of the building.
Your primary form of communication is
from using a pair of augmented reality glasses,
which lets you take photos you can send to
her. This allows you both to work together to
find a means of escape. You can photograph
anything you come across, from doors to
signs, to random objects within the facility, with
each point of interest yielding unique dialogue
opportunities with Amber.
“I wanted to design a unique way to
communicate with another character that
doesn’t use dialogue trees,” Backer says.
“We have a system that tracks where Amber is
within the story, so when you send photos to
her, she might react differently depending on
what point you’re at. If you don’t check in with
her after a while, she may get in touch with you
to see what’s up. The story is all about you both
having the same goal, so it feels natural for her
to be concerned about the player.”
This type of relationship with an AI character
immediately calls back to Firewatch’s Delilah, and
how you would communicate with an unseen
individual via a walkie-talkie. While Amber – like
the protagonist – is an employee of Bradwell,
she doesn’t know everything. As you explore the
facility, there are areas you discover together.
This is where the Induction Narrator, voiced by
television personality Jonathan Ross, steps in
and acts as a personal adviser for the player,
like a museum tour guide, and fills in the blanks
where Amber can’t.The Bradwell Conspiracy
F
GENRE
Adventure, Puzzle
FORMAT
PC
DEVELOPER
A Brave Plan
PUBLISHER
Bossa Studios
RELEASE
Autumn 2019Info