Moirai was a 2013 indie game developed by Chris Johnson, Brad Barrett and John Oestmann. Described as an experimental game, it is revealed to the player that their decisions and input influence the experience of the next person to play the game. Moirai received analysis and reflection from critics and academics about the moral implications raised in the game. Due to trolling and a hack of the game's database, Moirai was discontinued in June 2017.
Plot
Moirai is set in a small village where the player is informed that a woman named Julia has gone missing. Players are tasked to investigate noises coming from a local cave beyond the village. They can explore the village and speak to her neighbors to learn about Julia's story. The player is given a lantern and a knife by a lumberjack to assist them with exploring the cave. Whilst walking through the cave, players encounter a blood-stained farmer wielding a lantern and a knife. Players are able to ask three questions to the farmer: Why do you have blood on your overalls?, Why do you have a knife?, and I heard moans, what have you done?. The player then is given the option to let the farmer pass or attack them. It is later revealed that the farmer is a stand-in for the previous person that had completed the game.
At the end of the cave, the player finds Julia. She tells the player that she came into the cave to end her life. Julia tells the player that her husband had found a golden nugget whilst mining in the cave, but buried the nugget and disappeared. Her son had come into the cave searching for his lost father, and also met the same fate. Julia asks the player assist her in ending her life. The player may choose to kill her, or refuse to do so and seek help. Regardless of the choice, the player will be covered in blood. Upon exiting the cave, players encounter a farmer, also carrying a lantern and a knife, who is the stand-in for the next player of the game. Players are required to input a response to the same three questions asked of the blood-stained farmer when they entered the game. The game then ends, with the player being told: It is up to the next player of this game to choose your fate. Just as you chose for the previous player. Players are invited to input their name and email address to receive the information on the outcome of the succeeding player's decision to kill or spare them.
Development
Moirai was created as a collaboration between Australian developers Chris Johnson, Brad Barrett and John Oestmann. The lead developer, Chris Johnson, was a lecturer at the School of Computer Science at the University of Adelaide and a programmer in the visual effects industry, who had worked on prior projects including the puzzle game Expand. Moirai was developed over a two-month period in 2013, originally intended as an entry for the 7 Day FPS Game Jam, until time constraints motivated the developers to consider a standalone release. Johnson stated "we spent a few hours on it each week between jobs, study and other projects. It took us about two months to finish the game and we tested the game over a month long period".
Chris Johnson stated the concept of Moirai was inspired by his experience watching the experimental play A Game of You by Belgian theatre performance group Ontroerend Goed. Described as "a game in which the rules are bent and that only become apparent as you play", the audience is invited to make comments about the appearance of other audience members isolated behind a one-way mirror, that are later revealed to be shared with the person in question. Other influences included the films of Alfred Hitchcock, whose narratives frequently involve "characters in scenes where they look guilty, and look like they're going to be framed", and the social deduction video games SpyParty and Hidden In Plain Sight. The title of Moirai references the Moirai of Ancient Greek religion and mythology, whose personification of fate connects to the themes of player choice in the game.