The Last Survey
A downloadable game for Windows, macOS, and Linux
The Last Survey is a narrative essay game about a geologist contracted by a Brazilian mining company to survey rare earth metal reserves. Their research has found that there is not enough metals on the planet to sustain growing industries of green energy and you must deliver these findings to the company's CEO.
Based on studies by nickel and silver prospectors, geoscientists, and mineral analysts, recent findings show there isn't enough mineral material on the planet to sustain the current rate of electric car, high efficiency fuel cell, and solar paneling manufacturing.
Will your choices help steer the direction of your employer away from global mineral fatigue? Or will the urgency of your research fall on unsympathetic ears?
Story, Design, and Illustration:
Nicholas O'Brien
Assistant Art Director:
Becca Sass
Soundtrack:
Lewis Kopenhafer
Performance Documentation:
Intrinsic Grey
Download .zip file and open game application, all interaction based on mouse clicks. Additional instructions included at game start.
See how far you can get in the conversation. Depending on your choices, you'll be asked to leave prematurely.
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Purchase
In order to download this game you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $4.99 USD. You will get access to the following files:
Development log
- The Last Survey Releases AUGUST 7thJul 29, 2020
- The Last Survey: A Live Playthrough at KickstarterJun 03, 2019
- First Chapter Demo ReleaseOct 19, 2018
Comments
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The story concept is really topical, and I like the sketchy look of the animations, but the patience function is absolutely intolerable. I was reading normally, getting engaged in the story, and was reset multiple times. It's only more infuriating when attempting to replay. Maybe adding a setting to toggle it on/off, or only having it on sections that are especially dense...?
Thanks so much for playing!
I'll look into turning on/off the the patience function for itch.io version. I had it in a build initially on Steam and had a number of returns because of folks blazing through the game without reading and "not getting it." So I've been stuck with trying to find an elegant solution tbh.
I would argue that people who blaze through it without reading are not your target audience in the first place. It's a game where the primary mechanic is reading.
There is something uniquely insulting about a visual novel that punishes you for being a fast reader.
Thanks for playing!
could you possibly add card payment for those of us (me) who don't have paypal, please! I really would appreciate it!!
Updated! For some reason I thought paypal let you pay with a card as well!
can you upload a video of game play aswell
Hey mehrdadsh! Itch.io actually uploaded a nice YouTube clip of the first 10 minutes or so.
Check it out:
thanks
This was a really interesting experience! I thought the animation style was very engaging and helped keep all of the text visually stimulating. Even though this is an early chapter, there's already a clear and interesting perspective on the ramifications of the globalized mining industry. I think this could be a very useful story for getting people to engage with an underrepresented issue.
Thanks so much! Really glad you got a chance to play. I'm going to be publishing some big-ish updates soon so I look forward to hearing more of your thoughts!
missing GNU/Linux version - it's known that Unity also compiles to GNU/Linux...
Thanks for the feedback @nitrofurano!
I've released my other games on Linux, but haven't had a chance to test The Last Survey on a Linux distro yet. Since the game is still in development I haven't got around to it... but if you're interested in volunteering to test it and letting me know how it runs, that'd be great!
Otherwise, I'll be sure to let you know when I release a build for Linux. Thanks again!
yes, i'm interested! will be a pleasure testing the GNU/Linux version! thanks for the feedback as well!
Awesome! I found your contact on your website so I'll send you a message in the next couple of days for testing :)
thanks! :)
Hey this comment is almost a year old. What is the current status of the Linux version?
Hey thiscris and nitrofurano. I'm going to try to create a Linux build today. Sorry for the delay, got really backed up with other projects and work.