IPHI

Overview

When the damage caused by work reaches a certain threshold, dreams transform into symbolic spaces. In these spaces, hobbies, health, and self-esteem appear as bosses. They should have been Iphi’s friends, but every act of overtime, compromise, and silence pushes them further away until they return through conflict.

Through dialogue, investigation—reading clues from spaces and objects—and combat against the parts of the self that strike back, the game asks one central question: are you building future choices, or burning yourself just to buy another ticket to remain in the city?

Creative Background

This game begins from a common real-life situation: many people come to major Chinese cities for better development prospects, but high rent and living costs make uninterrupted income the baseline of survival. Once work is lost, life quickly loses support, forcing people into constant tension—working overtime, staying always online, postponing rest, and compressing life until only “being able to keep working” remains. Under this structural pressure, compromise often does not come from a lack of effort, but from having no way out; many choices may look personal, yet behind them are the combined forces of urban costs, job competition, and performance culture. We want to turn this hard-to-explain experience into something players can personally feel. Rather than preaching about whether one “should work hard,” the game asks players to repeatedly weigh the cost through dialogue, investigation, and combat. Hobbies, health, and self-esteem are presented as parts of the protagonist’s subconscious that should have been “friends,” but after long-term repression and depletion, they strike back as bosses. They are not villains; they are reminders that when short-term stability is purchased through long-term burnout, the cost will eventually return in a more direct form.

You can learn more by visiting the website: IPHI | THE PROMOTION PLAN