ROAM0120.exe

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I shouldn't release this file. Roam around the basement.

Platforms: PC
Stores: itch.io
Price: Pay what you want
Rated: 4.7 out of 5 on itch.io (323 ratings)
Players: 1
Controls: Mouse: click the arrows to change angle and click to look closer
Made by: NSO9019

What frightens You roam a property at night through real flash photographs, angle by angle: a lamp in a dark garden, an open shed, a basement. Some images are blacked out with 'you're not allowed to see that', and the maker warns their memory of what they show is unreliable.

ROAM0120.exe is a free exploration horror game by NSO9019 built from real flash photographs taken at night on two days years apart. You click from angle to angle around a garden, a shed and a basement, where some things are blacked out and the maker is not sure their memory of them is right. It is unfinished and may change.

About ROAM0120.exe

ROAM0120.exe is made entirely by the itch.io creator NSO9019, with a few images found by an old friend. Its page is written as if the file should never have been released: the maker hopes they will not get into trouble, says all the photographs were taken by them on two separate days several years apart, and admits their memory is rocky enough that they are not sure all of it is true.

There is no map and no character. You see the place as photographs, numbered angles of each spot, and click arrows to turn or step on: a garden lamp in the dark, a shed and carport lit by the flash, a dirt yard at the edge of the trees, and the basement the game invites you to roam. Some views are censored with a black box and the words 'you're not allowed to see that'.

That is where the unease comes from. The photographs are ordinary and real, and that makes the gaps, the redactions and the sense that the pictures do not quite agree with each other more disturbing than a monster would be. The maker says the work is incomplete and that things will change as they recollect more.

It is a free download on itch.io. It suits players who like found-media and internet horror, and quiet, uncanny exploration more than chases.

How to play ROAM0120.exe

Download the zip from the game's itch.io page, entering 0 as the price if you wish, and extract it.
Run the program and look at the first photograph.
Click the arrows to step between the numbered angles of each place.
Look closely at each picture and keep roaming toward the basement.

Screenshots

ROAM0120.exe cover: a night photograph of a lone garden lamp on grass under dark trees

ROAM0120.exe screenshot: angle 3 of 5, a flash-lit carport and shed at night with arrows to move between views

ROAM0120.exe screenshot: angle 5 of 5, a dirt yard beside a shed at the edge of dark trees at night

Tips

Go slowly: the changes between angles are the point.
Play in the dark with sound on for the full effect.
The maker may update the file as they recollect more, so check the page for new versions.