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Suzy and freedom is a short adventure game made for RMN’s 2013 All Hallows’ Eve Event. Theme: Non-fiction horror. It is inspired by a real life crime that happened in Brazil.

On October 31st 2002, a couple was found dead in their bed. What first appeared to be a burglary followed by murder left too many unusual traces, and the police soon figured that whoever did it was probably someone familiar with that house. Less than a week of investigation revealed that the murder was planned by the couple’s own daughter, with the help of her boyfriend and his brother.

The game tries to reenact this story from the perspective of various characters involved. Each scene is focused on a different character, and uses a different style of gameplay to represent his motivations and goals.

Suzy and freedom is NOT, however, an attempt to recreate the original story in a completely faithful and exact fashion.

Latest Blog

Suzy and freedom: the movie

They made a movie about Suzy and freedom!

Kidding, they made a movie about the case that inspired the game.
Interestingly, they made not one but two movies. They are called The Girl Who Killed Her Parents and The Boy Who Killed My Parents. The first one describes the story from the point of view of Dan, putting Suzy as the evil manipulator mastermind behind everything. The second one uses the point of view of Suzy, putting herself as the victim of her boyfriend's evil plans.



I just watched The Girl Who Killed Her Parents. My opinion: not a good movie. Some people mentioned that in Suzy and freedom the transition from "life is hard" to "let's kill my parents" was too abrupt, and I blamed that on the small scope of the game. The movie had a lot more time to tell the story, and it still felt forced. It's like everyone lived a happy life and suddenly got crazy and decided to commit murder. Maybe because they had two movies they wanted each one to be the polar opposite of the other, but extremism is the opposite of sensitive and smart. Other than that, I was not impressed by the acting.

In any case, while watching I couldn't help but think "it's a movie about my game", which made it a lot of fun. If you enjoyed the game, you'll probably feel something similar (and if you do, please tell me). Both movies are available on Prime Video.

  • Completed
  • calunio
  • RPG Tsukuru 2003
  • Adventure
  • 10/09/2013 09:11 PM
  • 08/04/2022 03:11 AM
  • 10/31/2013
  • 209856
  • 34
  • 6821

Posts

Pages: first 12 next last
This game looks really cool. Pretty masterful use of different styles, and mixing photos with sprites.
Fascinating subject matter. And it looks deliberately unsettling in the best Calunio way.
Well, it looks I’ve found my newest champion.
I've never been this nervous about making a game.
I have to say I'm very intrigued by this game. It isn't everyday you see a game with a Non-Fiction theme, so I'm pretty eager on how this will turn out. :3
So hyped. 7 days until the drop. Cannot be more excited.
Just nominated for game of the year Misao (and of course a few others). Review coming soon.
author=thatbennyguy
Just nominated for game of the year Misao (and of course a few others). Review coming soon.


\o/
I'm hesitant to say this as it's often a label for "pretentious" games but I think of this game as art. It was deftly executed the entire way through. While most of the game was told through cutscenes, the gameplay mechanics were not throwaway minigames. They were used as metaphors for what each character was experiencing and so the player can experience it too without just being shown it.


The serenity Dan felt flying the plane
The invincibility Chris felt taking on the hoards of gangsters
The tedium of working on an essay when all Suzy wanted was to break free
The futility of the father trying to defend himself from his attackers


It wasn't always fun but it was a compelling experience.
author=indiegamehunt
Good job, man. I wrote about it here: http://indiegames.com/2013/11/freeware_pick_suzy_and_freedom.html


Thanks! Great piece! I added a link to it on my Outer walls tab, at the top of this page.

author=ArtBane
I'm hesitant to say this as it's often a label for "pretentious" games but I think of this game as art. It was deftly executed the entire way through.


Thank you!
In truth, I think this discussion about "are games art?" is quite pointless. People are cautious about calling games art because, behind that, is a false belief that art is some superior form of expression. People are very comfortable with calling something like this art, but something like that is just... well, pretty. Games get an even bigger leverage because they're interactive, and that is a much more efficient way of conveying emotions. I don't think that's pretentious. But I don't think being "arty" is necessarily a good thing either. ;D
Oblic
Once a member of RMN, always a member of RMN!
1937
Just finished this intriguing piece. The stories of both this and what really happened seemed to coincide very closely, so well done on the portrayal. Although, I wasn't a huge fan of the minigames. Some of them were awkward at best, but I guess that may have been the point.

I have to add though... holy hell, what a twisted story! When I was finished, I felt like there had to have been quite a few liberties taken, considering how poorly some things seemed to be executed, but I was shocked to find that she really WAS that cold... damn.

All in all, I enjoyed the ride. The minigames were more or less unnecessary, but I guess that kept the player involved.
author=Oblic
Just finished this intriguing piece. The stories of both this and what really happened seemed to coincide very closely, so well done on the portrayal. Although, I wasn't a huge fan of the minigames. Some of them were awkward at best, but I guess that may have been the point.

I have to add though... holy hell, what a twisted story! When I was finished, I felt like there had to have been quite a few liberties taken, considering how poorly some things seemed to be executed, but I was shocked to find that she really WAS that cold... damn.

All in all, I enjoyed the ride. The minigames were more or less unnecessary, but I guess that kept the player involved.


Oh, well, I'm really stubborn when it comes to the puzzles. And by that, I mean... I don't really think they what that hard or weird. Looking back, I would have reduced the number of necessary fights in the Streets scene. But the climb puzzle is really not that hard. It's just a matter of knowing where to jump from. It's a bit trial and error, but it's not as punishing as the many horror games with instakill from this competition.

About the story... yeah, there is a lot of details in what I portrayed. And I believe the final product is very faithful to the original story, at least in the relevant aspects. One thing I read from the criminal investigators was something like: "what surprised us a lot is that Suzane was really surprised that we found out what really happened". The trio did a terrible job in covering their tracks, and Suzane's behavior was a huge giveaway... but they still thought they had committed a perfect crime. That is, until they got caught.
You know what I just realized? People are less patient with gameplay when they're interested in the story.
I was supposed to play this over the weekend but I don’t think I’ll be able to make it in time. :(

I’ll try to play this sometime during the week, calunio. Sorry, bud, but I’ve been a bit busy as of late.
author=Addit
I was supposed to play this over the weekend but I don’t think I’ll be able to make it in time. :(

I’ll try to play this sometime during the week, calunio. Sorry, bud, but I’ve been a bit busy as of late.


No hurry.

I hope it doesn't disappoint. :)
Oblic
Once a member of RMN, always a member of RMN!
1937
author=calunio
You know what I just realized? People are less patient with gameplay when they're interested in the story.


Haha, I think that's very true. I honestly skipped the street fight scene so I could get on with the story. As soon as this came out, I was pretty interested in knowing what really happened. And I didn't mean to be too critical about the puzzles; I just felt like they distracted the player from what was really important: the story.
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