Need to Know

Surveillance Thriller Sim • Windows, OS X, Linux • Released August 2018

Click here to visit the website for Need to Know.

Need to Know is a surveillance thriller sim that tests your ability and integrity within the shadowy, cutthroat world of a modern intelligence agency - the Department of Liberty.

You must spy on citizens, pick apart their private lives, and determine their threat level. You can also resist these suffocating privacy invasions by aiding underground groups and leaking internal reports to the media. Or, you can just use all of that juicy classified information for your own gain. Your call.

Need to Know emphasises story, and will sculpt the crushing growth of our real-world surveillance society into a meaningful, gripping journey. It critiques the system by passing the uncomfortable (or too comfortable?) mantle of power onto your shoulders, to test which choices you’ll make. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll sweat bullets under the searing blaze of an interrogation lamp.

Untitled Project

TBA • TBA • Release TBA

Stay tuned for information on our current project! We're excited to share our progess with you in the near future.

Need to Know - Backer polls

Here you can find the backer polls for Need to Know, where our Kickstarter backers can vote on questions about the game. Voting is open to backers at Clearance Level 9 and above, and your unique code needs to be entered for your vote to go through. These codes can be found on your Humble product page - a link to this was sent to your email address if you're an eligible backer.

These polls are hosted by Poll Maker - you can read their privacy policy here.

Backer Poll 14:
As well as desktop, on which platform(s) would you be interested in playing Need to Know?

Backer Poll 13:
Which elements of the beta release most need improvement?

Backer Poll 12:
You can generally take as long as you like to look at suspects. On average, and based on your experience with the alpha, how long would you like to examine each suspect for before moving to the next one?

Backer Poll 11:
Given that generated suspects will likely be more generic than handcrafted suspects, where would you strike the balance between more replayability and more handcrafted suspects?

Backer Poll 10:
Which in-game metric(s) are you most interested in seeing?

Backer Poll 9:
Which in-game phone app(s) are you most interested in using off-duty?

Backer Poll 8:
Which recent major news thread(s) would you most like to see incorporated into Need to Know?

Backer Poll 7:
Which elements of the alpha release most need improvement?

Backer Poll 6:
What did you most enjoy about the alpha?

Backer Poll 5:
Which parts of Need to Know interest you the most?

Backer Poll 4:
What kinds of off-duty ‘mission’ are you most interesting in playing?

Backer Poll 3:
Which forms of evidence interest you the most?

Backer Poll 2:
Which types of mission are you most interested in playing?

Once again, we had some great responses from backers who selected ‘Other’ in Backer Poll 2. Some ideas were ”Seemingly unimportant missions (ie tutorial) that come back later”, ”bonus missions with previously gotten intelligence” and ”Lots of poking around in ('innocent') peoples business”. There were also at least 4 comments about severely limiting timed missions, and we're definitely taking note.

Backer Poll 1:
Which types of suspects/profiles do you most want to see in the game?

In Poll 1, the ‘Other’ option provided us with some great ideas, and too many to list them all here! Suggestions included “International government agencies (i.e. competitors to DoL)”, “Just regular people with some veeery shady secrets?”, “Foreign nationals/spies”, and the ever-popular choice: “Everyone”. Thanks for your responses - we'll have them in mind as we continue writing!