The Interface Drama Master List

Interface dramas are games that tell an immersive story through software and app interfaces. They are commonly called "desktop simulators" or "UI games" but I've found these labels to be either too prescriptive or too general to describe this emergent genre. And so, I'm making a master list of interface dramas here for people to play and hopefully build support for this unique type of game.

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Games are in alphabetical order. Use the buttons below to filter by theme. Last updated September 19th, 2023.

AlethiCorp

AlethiCorp simulates the experience of working for a surveillance corporation somewhere in the future. Will you focus on your career or try to fight the system?

(Play | itch.io)

  • in-browser
  • mystery
AlethiCorp

A Normal Lost Phone

A Normal Lost Phone is a game about exploring the intimacy of an unknown person whose phone was found by the player.

(itch.io | Steam)

  • lgbtqia+
  • mystery
  • puzzle
A Normal Lost Phone

Blooming Panic

Depressed day-in and day-out from a draining corporate job, you become invested in a fantasy webnovel and find a mysterious link to a fan server. Everyone is warm and welcoming, but four members take a special interest in you!

(itch.io)

  • relationship-driven
  • lgbtqia+
Blooming Panic

Cibele

Cibele is a game about love, sex, and the internet. You play as a 19 year old girl who has become close with a young man she met in an online game. Her relationship with him heats up, becoming more and more intimate with each phone call and private chat.

(itch.io | Steam)

  • full motion video
  • nostalgia
  • relationship-driven
Cibele

Digital A Love Story

A computer mystery/romance set five minutes into the future of 1988.

(Website)

  • mystery
  • nostalgia
  • relationship-driven
Digital A Love Story

emily is away (series)

Emily is Away is an interactive story. Message your friends, surf the web and choose your path through this branching narrative. The series contains three games: emily is away, emily is away too, and emily is away <3.

emily is away (itch.io | Steam)

emily is away too (itch.io | Steam)

emily is away <3 (itch.io | Steam)

  • nostalgia
  • relationship-driven
emily is away

ESC

Slice-of-life drama about MUDs, with occasional interludes into science-fiction.

(itch.io | Steam)

  • lgbtqia+
  • nostalgia
  • relationship-driven
ESC

Her Story

A woman is interviewed seven times by the police. Search the video database and explore hundreds of authentic clips to discover her story in this groundbreaking and award winning narrative game.

(Website | Steam)

  • full motion video
  • mystery
Her Story

Human Errors

A contractor assigned to handle bug reports for a wearable mood-regulation device becomes unwitting witness to trauma and crime.

(Play | IFDB)

  • in-browser
  • relationship-driven
Human Errors

Hypnospace Outlaw

Greetings Enforcer, and thank you for enlisting in the Hypnospace Patrol Department! As the world falls into its slumber, Hypnospace becomes a bustling global village. These virtual streets aren't going to police themselves!

(itch.io | Steam)

  • nostalgia
Hypnospace Outlaw

Kingsway

Kingsway is the #1 operating system for daily tasks such as skeleton smashing and loot-organizing. Trouble sorting through all your potions and swords? Don't worry! Kingsway can help you manage, and with an easy to use interface you'll have time leftover for a peaceful stroll through the underworld.

(Steam)

  • nostalgia
  • puzzle
  • roguelike
Kingsway

Last Call BBS

Boot up your Z5 Powerlance and dial into Last Call BBS, the last game from Zachtronics! The Barkeep’s loaded up his retro computer with a full set of puzzle games for you to download and play. No need to worry about copy protection, they’re all fully cracked and ready to enjoy!

(itch.io | Steam)

  • nostalgia
  • puzzle
Last Call BBS

Lifeline (series)

Taylor just survived a crash landing in a barren desert on an alien moon. Scared, cold, and alone, your choices are the only thing keeping Taylor alive... but for how long? The series contains four games, Lifeline, Lifeline: Silent Night, Lifeline: Halfway to Infinity, and Lifeline: Beside You in Time.

Lifeline (iOS | Android)

Lifeline: Silent Night (iOS | Android)

Lifeline: Halfway to Infinity (iOS | Android)

Lifeline: Beside You in Time (iOS | Android)

  • horror
  • mystery
Lifeline

Midnight Protocol

Midnight Protocol is a tactical narrative-driven RPG with unique keyboard-only controls. Hack into servers, beat security systems and discover encrypted secrets while you try to find answers to why and how you got doxxed.

(Steam)

  • hacker
Midnight Protocol

NEEDY STREAMER OVERLOAD

NEEDY STREAMER OVERLOAD is a “multi-ending ADV” depicting daily life with “OMGkawaiiAngel”, a young girl with a rather extreme need for approval attempting to become the #1 “Internet Angel” (streamer).

(Website | Steam)

  • horror
  • relationship-driven
NEEDY STREAMER OVERLOAD

Neurocracy

Explore Omnipedia, a fictional Wikipedia successor launched in 2049, and uncover information about the assassination of its major investor, Xu Shaoyong, by perusing its articles, hyperlinks and revision histories.

(Website | itch.io)

  • community-driven
  • in-browser
  • mystery
Neurocracy

Secret Little Haven

An adventure game about old computers, community, creativity, fandom, gender, and the internet. Alex Cole is a teenage trans girl in 1999 who has yet to figure herself out. She spends much of her free time on the internet, browsing a fan forum for her favorite magical girl show, and chatting with her friends.

(itch.io | Steam)

  • lgbtqia+
  • nostalgia
  • relationship-driven
Secret Little Haven

SIMULACRA (series)

An interactive horror experience of exploring a missing woman’s phone. Piece the truth together by going through the phone messages, videos, and social media. The series contains three games, SIMULACRA, SIMULACRA 2, SIMULACRA 3.

SIMULACRA (Website | Steam)

SIMULACRA 2 (Website | Steam)

SIMULACRA 3 (Website | Steam)

  • full motion video
  • horror
SIMULACRA

SIMULACRA: Pipe Dreams

A spin-off of the critically acclaimed SIMULACRA, Pipe Dreams tells a brand new story, with a new interface, live-action cast and horrors to unravel. Follow the story of Teddy as he tries desperately to break free from the hold of a cursed video game.

(Website | Steam)

  • full motion video
  • horror
SIMULACRA: Pipe Dreams

Telling Lies

Four private lives. One big lie. Search through secretly recorded video conversations to discover the truth. The successor to the acclaimed Her Story.

(Website | Steam)

  • full motion video
  • relationship-driven
  • mystery
Telling Lies

Terranova

A nostalgic interface drama set in the early 2000's. Chat with your friends, update your LimeJournal, and discover yourself through a rich world of storytelling, love and friendship.

(itch.io | Steam)

  • lgbtqia+
  • nostalgia
  • relationship-driven
Terranova

TIS-100

TIS-100 is an open-ended programming game by Zachtronics, the creators of SpaceChem and Infinifactory, in which you rewrite corrupted code segments to repair the TIS-100 and unlock its secrets. It’s the assembly language programming game you never asked for!

(Website | Steam)

  • nostalgia
  • puzzle
TIS-100

VIDEOVERSE

Relive the days of past social gaming networks and dive into this fictional video game era, where the "Kinmoku Shark" gaming system and its online social network 'Videoverse' were still popular...

(Steam)

  • nostalgia
  • relationship-driven
VIDEOVERSE