Photos by Virginie Stubi.
What if they didn’t live happily ever after, even though they tried to? What if, after a promising encounter, bitterness, sadness or anger slowly entered their life? Confronted with the opportunity to erase their memories and start a new life, will they seize it?
Les Petites Choses Oubliées is a game in which you and a gaming partner play the members of this couple. You’ll explore their story by recounting some of their memories. You’ll call to life these two strangers by focusing on meaningful everyday life moments; the kinds which perhaps aren’t spectacular, but that one will always remember. The first meal they shared, the last argument over the family or the once endearing habit that became intolerable.
To explore this bitter-sweet story, the game rests on a simple narrative structure in three movements.
- The encounter, wherein the freshly created protagonists meet and fall in love.
- The memories: some time after the encounter, the characters have separated. Their suffering having become unbearable, they decide to undergo an “oblivion procedure”. To do this, they attend an appointment with a specialist, where they recount some memories of their relationship. Each game partner invents a memory based on a photograph received from the other player at the beginning of the game, who may then chose between different option to react and nuance the past events.
- The epilogue, where the players take stock and decide if their respective characters erased their memories and what they become after that.
The principal mechanism which guides players during the game is based on the principle that in a sentimental break-up, there are always two sides to each story and it is often difficult to distinguish who is to blame for what wrongs. Did she try hard enough? Should I have listened to her more often? Each player can thus intervene to add touches to the other’s account. In the end, the choice for the character’s future depends uniquely on one judgement: do they deserve a second chance?
Les Petites Choses Oubliées is a game for two which last about an hour. Each player brings six photographs as the basis for play and gives them to their partner. This is the only additional material you’ll ever need in order to enjoy the game again and again!
We’ve some examples of play unique to this website. You might also want to check out what others say about the game.