Project Yarwood

Project Yarwood is a historical, what-if thriller. A multi-part long game, played in slow time.

THE STORY

Ewan is an ordinary copper doing security work. He joined London’s Metropolitan Police six months ago, as a detective inspector in the Special Branch. The department of the British police responsible for political security, and counterterrorism.

He’s also a mole, planted inside police by someone within the British security establishment. A someone with audacity, and the funding to train and run an agent within one of the world’s foremost law enforcement agencies.

THE SETTING

In March 1976, Prime Minister Harold Wilson shocked Britain by resigning half way through his second term in office. A few weeks later, he told journalists that he had been forced from office by MI5.

What if he was right? What if the motivation was far darker than people imagined?

Project Yarwood starts 6 years earlier, in a London that’s awash with the flotsam of a crumbling empire, and agents from half the world’s security services.

Internationally, it’s the height of the Cold War; the Vietnam War is raging; and within a span of five short years there will be a coups in Chile and Cyprus, the Watergate scandal, and a constitutional crisis in Australia.

In Britain, it’s a time of growing social change, and of political paranoia. The next six years will see increased industrial unrest, Britain join the Common Market, and The Troubles in Northern Ireland boil over.

GAME PLAY

Project Yarwood is an interactive story. Your choices shape the story, guiding Ewan as he balances his daily duties with his clandestine espionage activities

Just as in real life, Ewan’s physical and mental health have a large impact on his current abilities, effecting how he reacts to a given situation

Interpersonal relationships are pivotal throughout the game. Each character behaves independently, and that character’s opinion of Ewan affects how they interact with him

Other police officers will initially view Ewan based on their respective ranks, and the confines of the ever present British class structure. The other characters will initially begin with a positive opinion of Ewan

The story is flexible enough for you to correct your mistakes, and to change your mind as you go

Hint’s are available, if you want them.

STORY PROGRESSION

It is essential that Ewan’s cover as a police officer is maintained at all costs. If his cover is broken then he may be imprisoned, or worse

Each episode brings a fresh opportunity for Ewan to improve his investigation skills, and to grow his career as a police officer

As you play through the episodes, you’ll also pick up snippets of information, and form personal contacts that will shape your long game

Initially, Ewan’s choices are constrained by his limited familiarity with police work, and with London

As the story progresses, Ewan will be able to make a wider range of choices including to ignoring people and to suppress evidence

As Ewan’s career progresses, the story will expand to include other locations in Britain

Allowing Ewan act unprofessionally will slow down his career progression

GAME DESIGN

Project Yarwood is a stats-based game with most of Ewan’s core abilities fixed at the start of the game. The exception is his policing skills which develop over time

The game revives the format of 60s and 70s TV shows, with each episode is split into two parts. Each part takes 20-30 minutes to play

There are no visual puzzles, and no ads

You are free to replay part of an episode as many times as you wish but doing so will reset any later parts of the story

New parts are published every 4-6 weeks