Finding Ubuntu

|| This game was made in 12 days for the Unlikely Collaborators™ Game Jam, 2025 ||

Content Warning:  Depiction of a dead body/body parts, Death & Loss, Death of a sibling, Grief, Self-Harm & Self-Injury, Mental health. 
*Triggers inspired by the Trigger Warning Database*
---

In "Finding Ubuntu", you step into the shoes of a funeral director in the small town of Windwood Oaks - a haunted place, fractured by a complicated history, years of unresolved personal grievances, and insidious, hidden biases. When the sudden death of a local figure ignites controversy, you’re tasked with preparing their final rites, but the story of their life is anything but clear. Conflicting accounts from the townspeople paint vastly different pictures of who they were, and even the body itself holds secrets waiting to be uncovered.

Through point-and-click investigation, and dialogue-driven, meaningful choices, you must navigate the delicate balance between truth, perception, and remembrance. Will you preserve the version of the deceased the town wants to remember, or will you challenge the narratives that have shaped them? Your choices will determine how the deceased is honored (or erased) and what “ubuntu”, our shared humanity, really means.

Features:

• Choice-driven narrative: Shape the town’s collective memory through your inquiries and conversational choices.
• Multiple endings: The funeral, and the legacy left behind, depends on your choices.
  
• Themes of memory & bias: A story-driven experience exploring the power of perception in shaping truth. Inspired by Judith Butler's work on grievability.

Credits:

• Art Direction - Zara Jump
• Music & Sound Design - Scott Stinson
• Narrative Design & Production - Roshelle P. (Team Lead)
• Programming - Avah Afshari & Ryan Fina