Thomas Was Alone creator launches Subsurface Circular

After telling stories about shapes then even a teenager, the fella behind Thomas Was Alone and Volume has taken another step up the consciousness scale for his next story with a game about robots. Bithell's studio today both announced and launched Subsurface Circular [official site], a short text adventure starring a robot detective investigating missing robots. It's a text-based story-o-puzzler where you gather new words rather than items, an expanded vocabulary opening new opportunities. While it's all wordy-like, it does have some nice pictures to go along with it.

Bitho explains the big idea:

"A detective stationed on the Subsurface Circular investigates a series of disappearances among the city's robotic working class. Collect words and phrases, then use them in dialogue puzzles to uncover the world's secrets and determine its future."

This, we're told, "is the first 'Bithell Short', a planned sequence of short, single session games which explore storytelling in new and different ways."

Subsurface Circular, a Bithell Short from Mike Bithell's Bithell Games (founder: Mike Bithell), is out for Windows and Mac on Steam. A 20% launch discount brings it down to £3.83/4,79€/$4.79 until next Thursday, August 24th. A short trailer is up on that Steam page too.