Papers, Please

2013 video game

For the police state trope, see Your papers, please.

2013 video game

Papers, Please

Developer(s)| 3909 LLC
Publisher(s)| 3909 LLC
Designer(s)| Lucas Pope
Engine| Unity[1][note 1]
Platform(s)| Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux, iOS, PlayStation Vita, Android
Release|

* Windows, OS X
* August 8, 2013
* Linux
* February 12, 2014
* iPad
* December 12, 2014
* PlayStation Vita
* December 12, 2017
* Android, iPhone
* August 5, 2022

Genre(s)| Puzzle, simulation
Mode(s)| Single-player

Papers, Please is a puzzle simulation video game created by indie game developer Lucas Pope, developed and published through his production company, 3909 LLC. The game was released on August 8, 2013, for Microsoft Windows and OS X, for Linux on February 12, 2014, and for iOS on December 12, 2014. A port for the PlayStation Vita was announced in August 2014 and was then released on December 12, 2017.[4] A new port for iOS as well as for Android was released in August 2022.

In Papers, Please, the player takes on the role of a border-crossing immigration officer in the fictional dystopian country of Arstotzka, which has been and continues to be at political hostilities with its neighboring countries. The player must review travelers' passports and other supporting paperwork against an ever-growing list of rules using a number of tools and guides. Tasks include allowing in those with the proper paperwork while rejecting those without all proper documents, detaining those with falsified information, and balancing personal finances.

Papers, Please was positively received on its release, and it has come to be seen as an example of an empathy game and a demonstration of video games as an art form. The game was recognized as one of the greatest video games ever made along with various awards and nominations from the Independent Games Festival, Game Developers Choice Awards, and BAFTA Video Games Awards, and was named by Wired and The New Yorker as one of the top games of 2013. By its tenth anniversary, Papers, Please had sold more than five million copies.

## Gameplay

[edit]

The gameplay of Papers, Please focuses on the work life of an immigration inspector at a border checkpoint for the fictional country of Arstotzka in the year 1982.[5] In the time frame of the game, Arstotzka has recently ended a six-year-long war with the neighboring country of Kolechia, yet political tensions between them and other nearby countries remain high.

As a checkpoint inspector, the player is tasked with reviewing the documents of arrivals — allowing legitimate travelers through the border, denying entry to individuals with insufficient or expired documents, and arresting suspected criminals, terrorists, and entrants with forged or stolen documents. For each in-game day, the player is given specific rules on what documentation is required and conditions to allow entry, which become progressively more difficult over time. One by one, immigrants arrive at the checkpoint and provide their paperwork, which must be reviewed against the scheduled rules. If discrepancies are discovered, the player may interrogate the applicant, demand missing documents, compare the applicant's fingerprints against identity records, and order full body scans. If incriminating evidence is discovered, the player may order the entrant arrested. The player ultimately must stamp the entrant's passport to accept or deny entry, or order an arrest. If the player has violated protocol, a citation will be issued via in-game fax to the player's booth shortly after the entrant leaves. The player has a limited amount of real time, representing a full day shift at the checkpoint, to process as many arrivals as possible.

The player's immigration checkpoint workstation shows the current arrival (left center), the various paperwork the player is currently processing (bottom right), and the current state of the checkpoint (top third). A body scan of the arrival reveals a concealed firearm.

At the end of each in-game day, the player earns money per entrant that is properly processed as well as from any bribes collected, lowered by citation penalties for protocol violations. The player then must decide on a simple budget for rent, food, heat and other necessities for their family, if the player goes into debt, the game ends with a game over. Accepting bribes risks being discovered and imprisoned by the government. As relations between Arstotzka and nearby countries deteriorate, sometimes due to terrorist attacks, new rules are added such as denying entry to citizens of specific countries or demanding new types of documentation. The player may be challenged with moral dilemmas as the game progresses, such as allowing the supposed spouse of an immigrant through despite lacking complete papers at the risk of accepting a terrorist into the country. The game uses a mix of scripted encounters interspersed between randomly generated entrants.

Over the course of the game, the player encounters members of an organization called EZIC which plots a coup d'état against the Arstotzkan government. Decisions made to grant or deny entry to EZIC agents have consequences on the ending of the game. The player can also choose to escape to a neighbouring country, Obristan, to start a new life, with or without their family. The game has a scripted story mode with twenty possible endings depending on the player's actions, as well as some unlockable randomized endless-play modes.[6][7]

## Development

[edit]

Lucas Pope accepting an award for the game at the 2014 Game Developers Conference

Papers, Please was developed by Lucas Pope, a former developer for Naughty Dog on the Uncharted series.[8] Around 2010, after the release of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Pope left the company to move to Saitama, Japan, with his wife Keiko, a game designer herself. The move was partly to be closer to Keiko’s family, but also driven by Pope’s desire to pursue smaller, independent projects. While at Naughty Dog, he had been working with Keiko on side projects and wanted to move away from the "definite formula" of the Uncharted games to explore more experimental ideas.[9][10] The couple worked on a few independent titles and briefly relocated to Singapore to assist a friend with another project. From his travels in Asia and return visits to the United States, Pope became fascinated with immigration and passport control work, observing that inspectors had "a specific thing they're doing and they're just doing it over and over again."[9] He recognized that the "tense" experience of checking passports could form the basis of a fun game.[5][7]

Although he had designed the passport-checking mechanics early on, Pope initially lacked a narrative to support them. Inspiration came from films like Argo and the Bourne series, which feature characters infiltrating or escaping countries using forged documents. Pope decided to flip the scenario, casting the player as the immigration officer tasked with catching such individuals, complementing his gameplay mechanics.[9] He created the fictional totalitarian state of Arstotzka, set in 1982 and modeled loosely on Eastern Bloc nations, with players instructed to uphold the country’s glory through rigorous passport inspections.[9] Arstotzka drew partial inspiration from Pope’s earlier game The Republia Times, where players act as a newspaper editor in a totalitarian state.[11] He also incorporated elements inspired by the Berlin Wall and the division between East and West Germany, admitting he was "naturally attracted to Orwellian communist bureaucracy."[12] However, to avoid direct political commentary, he deliberately omitted obvious references like the word "comrade" in all translations.[10] Using a fictional setting gave him freedom to shape the narrative without real-world constraints or assumptions.[11]

Work on Papers, Please began in November 2012, funded by Pope’s personal savings from his time at Naughty Dog. He originally expected development to take only a few weeks before moving on to a more commercially viable project.[9] He used the open-source Haxe programming language and the NME framework,[13] building upon structures he and Keiko had developed for Helsing's Fire, an iOS game they created after moving to Japan. This allowed him to control how much information about a character was visible and to design random and semi-random encounters, ensuring each playthrough varied slightly.[11] The game’s "clunky" user interface was a deliberate design choice, inspired by Pope’s earlier experiences with visual programming tools like HyperCard.[10] Balancing rules and randomness without overwhelming the player proved challenging, leading him to scale back some initially planned randomness. Pope aimed for a non-judgmental narrative, letting players interpret events themselves. Even elements like the family status screen at the end of each day were kept simple to avoid swaying players’ feelings too much.[11]

Throughout development, Pope shared updates on the independent game development forum TIGSource, receiving helpful feedback.[9] He also released a public demo, which gained positive attention. In April 2013, he submitted the game to Steam's Greenlight program. Although initially concerned about its niche appeal, attention from YouTube streamers helped Papers, Please get Greenlit within days.[9][13][14] With increased visibility, Pope estimated six more months of development, though it ultimately took nine.[8] He expanded the game by incorporating thousands of unique character names via a public submission process, although many submissions were unsuitable due to misunderstandings about the desired Eastern European style or joke entries.[9] Following Greenlight success, Pope added features that introduced moral complexity, such as the controversial body scanner used to detect threats like suicide bombers.[9] These additions served the narrative, explaining why the low-level inspector would be given such invasive tools.[10] As Papers, Please gained recognition as an "empathy game," similar to Cart Life, To accommodate players less interested in narrative elements, he also created an "endless mode" focused solely on processing immigrants, limited only by the player’s error count.[12]

Papers, Please was released for Windows and macOS on August 8, 2013,[7] and for Linux machines on February 12, 2014.[15] Pope later ported the game to iPad and considered a PlayStation Vita version, although adapting the interface for handhelds presented several challenges that would require revamps.[16] The Vita version was formally announced at Gamescom 2014.[17] During the iOS release process, however, Apple initially required Pope to censor the body scanner feature, considering it pornographic.[18] However, Apple later commented that the rejection was due to a "misunderstanding" and allowed Pope to resubmit the uncensored game by including a "nudity option".[19] The iPad version was released on December 12, 2014,[20] and the Vita version was released on December 12, 2017.[21] By March 2014, Pope admitted he was "kind of sick to death" of Papers, Please, feeling that he had spent far more time on it than originally intended. While he planned to continue supporting ports, he had no intentions of expanding the game or releasing downloadable content, though he didn’t rule out revisiting Arstotzka in a future project.[10] On August 5, 2022, updated iOS and newly developed Android versions of Papers, Please were released, redesigned for smaller screens without the need for zooming. The iOS version was free for existing iPad owners.[22][23][24] For the game's tenth anniversary, Pope released a free, browser-based demake styled as if running on an LCD handheld console.[25]

## Reception

[edit]

Reception

Aggregate scoreAggregator| Score

|

Metacritic| PC: 85/100[26]
iOS: 92/100[27]
Review scoresPublication| Score

|

Edge| 9/10[28]
Eurogamer| 9/10[29]
GameSpot| 8/10[30]
IGN| 8.7/10[31]
PC Gamer (US)| 87/100[32]
Polygon| 8/10[33]
TouchArcade| iOS: [34]

Papers, Please received positive reviews on release, receiving "generally favorable reviews" from 40 reviews on Metacritic.[26] Papers, Please has been praised for the sense of immersion provided by the game mechanics, and the intense emotional reaction it evokes in players.[35] CBC News' Jonathan Ore called Papers, Please a "nerve-racking sleuthing game with relentless pacing and dozens of compelling characters – all from a desk job".[36] Simon Parkin writing for The New Yorker blog declared Papers, Please the top video game of 2013. He wrote: "Grim yet affecting, it’s a game that may change your attitude the next time you’re in line at the airport."[37] Some critics received the story very well: Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw of The Escapist's series Zero Punctuation lauded the game for being a truly unique entry for 2013 and even made it one of his top five games for that year; he cited the game's morality as his reasoning by explaining that "[Papers, Please] presents us constant moral choices, but makes it really hard to be a good person... while you could waive the rules to reunite a couple [...] you do it at the expense of your own family... You have to decide if you want to create a better world or just look after you and yours."[38]

Wired listed Papers, Please as their top game for 2013, recognizing that the game's title alongside the drab presentation captured the ideas of living as a lowly worker in a police state.[39] In 2019, the game was ranked 45th on The Guardian newspaper's The 50 Best Video Games of the 21st Century list.[40]

Some critics reacted against the paperwork gameplay. Stephanie Bendixsen from the Australian game review talk show Good Game found the game "tedious", commenting "while I found the issues that arose from the decisions you are forced to make quite interesting, I was just so bored that I just struggled to go from one day to the next. I was torn between wanting to find out more, and just wanting it all to stop."[41]

Papers, Please is considered by several journalists as an example of video games as an art form.[42][43] Papers, Please is frequently categorized as an "empathy game", a type of role-playing game that "asks players to inhabit their character's emotional worlds", as described by Patrick Begley of the Sydney Morning Herald,[44] or as described by Pope himself, "other people simulators".[45] Pope noted that he had not set out to make an empathy game, but the emotional ties created by his scenarios came about naturally from developing the core mechanics.[46]

### Awards

[edit]

Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref

|
|
|
|

2013  | VGX 2013 | Best Independent Game  | Nominated  | [47]
Best PC Game  | Nominated
2014  | New York Game Awards | Off-Broadway Award for Best Indie Game  | Nominated  | [48]
17th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards | Downloadable Game of the Year | Nominated  | [49]
Outstanding Innovation in Gaming  | Nominated
Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction | Nominated
SXSW Gaming Awards | Matthew Crump Cultural Innovation Award  | Won  | [50]
10th British Academy Games Awards | Best Game  | Nominated  | [51][52]
Game Design  | Nominated
Game Innovation  | Nominated
Strategy & Simulation  | Won
Independent Games Festival Awards  | Seumas McNally Grand Prize | Won  | [53][54]
Excellence in Narrative  | Won
Excellence in Design  | Won
Nuovo Award  | Nominated
Game Developers Choice Awards | Innovation Award  | Won  | [55]
Best Downloadable Game  | Won
Games for Change Awards  | Most Innovative  | Won  | [56]
Best Gameplay  | Won

Papers, Please won the Seumas McNally Grand Prize, "Excellence in Narrative", and "Excellence in Design" awards at the 2014 Independent Games Festival Awards and was nominated for the Nuovo Award. The title also won the "Innovation Award" and "Best Downloadable Game" at the 2014 Game Developers Choice Awards. The game won "Best Simulation Game" and was nominated in the categories of "Best Game", "Game Design", and "Game Innovation" at the 2014 BAFTA Video Games Awards. Papers, Please also won an Interactive Narrative and Game + Play Peabody Award in 2021.[57]

### Sales

[edit]

As of March 2014, at the time of the BAFTA awards, Pope stated that the game had sold 500,000 copies.[8] By August 2016, three years from release, Pope stated that more than 1.8 million copies had been sold across all platforms.[58] By its tenth anniversary, the game had sold 5 million units.[59]

## Short film adaptation

[edit]

Two Russian filmmakers, Liliya Tkach and Nikita Ordynskiy of Kinodom Productions, developed an 11-minute live-action film based on Papers, Please, entitled Papers, Please: The Short Film, starring Igor Savochkin as the passport inspector.[60] The film was authorized by Lucas Pope after Ordynskiy sent him the screenplay via email.[61] It premiered at the Trekhgorka House of Culture in Moscow, Russia, on January 27, 2018.[62] It debuted worldwide via YouTube and the Steam storefront on February 24, 2018.[63][64] It received "Overwhelmingly Positive" reviews on Steam upon its release.[61] Its success led Tkach and Ordynskiy to pursue a similar short film for Beholder, another game set in a totalitarian state.[65] Ordynskiy would later voice Seaman Aleksei Toporov in Return of the Obra Dinn, a 2018 video game developed by Pope that was also a Seumas McNally Grand Prize winner.[66][67]

## See also

[edit]

* Contraband Police
* Death and Taxes
* Not Tonight
* The Republia Times
* The Westport Independent

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ The PC version of the game initially used OpenFL (with Haxe)[2] but was later brought in line with the Android and iOS versions of the game which used Unity.[3]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Papers, Please - Version 1.4.9 - Engine Update - Steam News". store.steampowered.com. March 7, 2023. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
2. ^ "Papers, Please Out Today For PS Vita". PlayStation.Blog. December 12, 2017. Archived from the original on May 31, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
3. ^ "Cramming 'Papers, Please' Onto Phones". Development Logs by Lucas Pope. August 6, 2022. Archived from the original on August 7, 2022. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
4. ^ "Papers, Please Out Today For PS Vita". PlayStation.Blog. December 12, 2017. Archived from the original on December 15, 2017. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
5. ^ a b Costantini, Cristina (May 8, 2013). "New 'Papers Please' Video Game May Surprise You". ABC News. Archived from the original on October 16, 2019. Retrieved July 23, 2013.
6. ^ "Games created by Lucas Pope". Lucas Pope. Archived from the original on May 11, 2021. Retrieved July 23, 2013.
7. ^ a b c Gwaltney, Javy (April 14, 2013). "Glory To Arstotzka: Papers, Please And An Interview With Its Creator". CultureMass. Archived from the original on January 11, 2014. Retrieved July 23, 2013.
8. ^ a b c Lee, Dave (March 12, 2014). "Papers, Please: The 'boring' game that became a smash hit". BBC. Archived from the original on February 4, 2022. Retrieved March 13, 2014.
9. ^ a b c d e f g h i "The Making Of: Papers, Please". Edge. January 20, 2014. Archived from the original on January 22, 2014.
10. ^ a b c d e Cullen, Johnny (March 5, 2014). "Lucas Pope: 'I'm kind of sick to death of Papers, Please'". VG247. Archived from the original on July 28, 2021. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
11. ^ a b c d Alexander, Leigh (September 3, 2013). "Designing the bleak genius of Papers, Please". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on November 4, 2016. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
12. ^ a b Webster, Andrew (May 14, 2013). "Immigration as a game: 'Papers, Please' makes you the border guard". The Verge. Archived from the original on January 31, 2020. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
13. ^ a b "Papers, Please [Greenlight]". TIGSource. November 14, 2012. Archived from the original on April 8, 2019. Retrieved July 23, 2013.
14. ^ Sarkar, Samat (May 1, 2013). "Papers, Please and two other games added to Steam Greenlight". Polygon. Archived from the original on January 11, 2014. Retrieved July 23, 2014.
15. ^ Fretes, Luis Augusto (March 20, 2014). "Linux gaming: Papers, please". Open Content & Software Magazine. Archived from the original on November 5, 2016. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
16. ^ Cook, Dave (February 24, 2014). "Papers, Please creator wants to do PS Vita version". VG247. Archived from the original on March 2, 2014. Retrieved February 24, 2014.
17. ^ Matulef, Jeffrey (August 12, 2014). "Papers, Please is emigrating to Vita". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on August 16, 2014. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
18. ^ Scallion, Chris (December 11, 2014). "Papers, Please on iPad was rejected by Apple due to 'pornographic content'". Computer and Video Games. Archived from the original on December 13, 2014. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
19. ^ Webster, Andrew (December 13, 2014). "Apple's censorship of immigration game was a 'misunderstanding,' says creator". The Verge. Archived from the original on December 13, 2014. Retrieved December 13, 2014.
20. ^ Hall, Charlie (December 11, 2014). "After Apple censorship, award-winning Papers, Please finally headed to iPad". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on February 13, 2015. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
21. ^ Yin-Poole, Wesley (December 11, 2017). "Papers, Please Vita release rubber stamped". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on December 11, 2017. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
22. ^ Madnani, Mikhail (August 5, 2022). "The Brilliant 'Papers, Please' Is Out Now on iPhone and Android, Free Update for Existing iPad Owners". Touch Arcade. Archived from the original on August 5, 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
23. ^ Bonifacic, Igor (July 24, 2022). "Document thriller 'Papers, Please' heads to phones on August 5th". Engadget. Archived from the original on July 24, 2022. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
24. ^ Pope, Lucas (August 6, 2022). "Cramming 'Papers, Please' Onto Phones". Development Logs by Lucas Pope. Archived from the original on August 7, 2022. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
25. ^ Evans-Thirlwell, Edwin (August 9, 2023). "Lucas Pope marks 10 years of Papers, Please with a free demake for your browser". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
26. ^ a b "Papers, Please for PC Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on February 10, 2019. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
27. ^ "Papers, Please for iPhone/iPad Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on January 27, 2022. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
28. ^ "Papers, Please review". Edge. Future plc. August 21, 2013. Archived from the original on August 26, 2013. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
29. ^ Whitehead, Dan (August 9, 2013). "Papers, Please review". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on April 22, 2019. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
30. ^ Peele, Britton (August 13, 2013). "Papers, Please Review". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 7, 2019. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
31. ^ Corbett, Richard (August 12, 2013). "Papers, Please Review: Stamp of Quality". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on May 9, 2019. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
32. ^ Lahti, Evan (August 9, 2013). "Papers, Please review". PC Gamer. Future plc. Archived from the original on September 16, 2014. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
33. ^ McElroy, Justin (August 9, 2013). "Papers, Please Review: Mundane tyranny". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
34. ^ Hodapp, Eli (December 15, 2014). "'Papers, Please' for iPad Review – A Must-Play Storytelling Experience". TouchArcade. Archived from the original on June 30, 2022. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
35. ^ Sam Machkovech (August 8, 2013). "Papers, Please Review: Paper trail of tears". Ars Technica. Condé Nast Digital. Archived from the original on August 11, 2013. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
36. ^ Ore, Jonathan (August 15, 2013). "Papers, Please is a nerve-racking game about a desk job". CBC News. CBC. Archived from the original on August 18, 2013. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
37. ^ Simon Parkin (December 13, 2013). "The Best Video Games of 2013". The New Yorker. Condé Nast Digital. Archived from the original on December 19, 2013. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
38. ^ Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw (August 28, 2013). Brothers A Tale of Two Sons and Papers, Please. YouTube. The Escapist. Archived from the original on February 16, 2016. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
39. ^ Kohler, Chris (December 20, 2013). "The 10 Best Videogames of 2013". Wired. 10th position. Archived from the original on November 4, 2016. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
40. ^ Stuart, Keith; MacDonald, Keza (September 19, 2019). "The 50 best video games of the 21st century". The Guardian. 45th place. Archived from the original on September 22, 2019. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
41. ^ "Papers, Please (review)". Good Game. ABC. September 17, 2013. Archived from the original on January 2, 2014. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
42. ^ Alderman, Naomi (October 13, 2015). "The first great works of digital literature are already being written". The Guardian. Archived from the original on November 20, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
43. ^ Parkin, Simon (September 17, 2013). "How Evil Should a Video Game Allow You To Be?". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on November 11, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
44. ^ Begley, Patrick (November 1, 2014). "'Empathy gaming' focuses on emotions and moral decisions". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on November 8, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
45. ^ Campbell, Colin (May 9, 2013). "Gaming's New Frontier: Cancer, Depression, Suicide". Polygon. Archived from the original on October 21, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
46. ^ Wells, Jonathan (January 20, 2016). "From Project Syria to That Dragon, Cancer: the rise of empathy video games". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on November 16, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
47. ^ McWhertor, Michael (November 18, 2013). "Spike VGX 2013 award nominees announced". Polygon. Archived from the original on November 18, 2013. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
48. ^ "The Nominees! New York Videogame Critics Circle Awards, 2013". The New York Videogame Critics Circle. January 3, 2014. Archived from the original on January 27, 2014. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
49. ^ "D.I.C.E. Awards By Video Game Details (Papers, Please)". Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Archived from the original on January 24, 2019. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
50. ^ "Gaming Awards Past Highlights (2014)". SXSW. Archived from the original on January 24, 2019. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
51. ^ "BAFTA Video Game Awards - Nominations" (PDF). BAFTA. February 12, 2014. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
52. ^ Lee, Dave (March 12, 2014). "Bafta games: The Last of Us clears up at awards". BBC. Archived from the original on March 13, 2014. Retrieved March 12, 2014.
53. ^ "Papers, Please takes the grand prize at 16th annual IGF Awards". Gamasutra. March 19, 2014. Archived from the original on March 20, 2014. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
54. ^ "2014 Independent Games Festival announces Main Competition finalists". Gamasutra. January 7, 2014. Archived from the original on January 8, 2014. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
55. ^ "The Last Of Us wins top honors at Game Developers Choice Awards". Gamasutra. March 19, 2014. Archived from the original on March 20, 2014. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
56. ^ Lien, Tracey (April 23, 2014). "Games for Change Awards go to Papers, Please, Gone Home and The Mission US". Polygon. Archived from the original on January 24, 2019. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
57. ^ Beresford, Trilby (March 24, 2022). "Iconic Adventure Game 'Journey' Among Recipients of Peabody Digital and Interactive Storytelling Awards (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 21, 2023. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
58. ^ @dukope (August 8, 2016). "Papers Please is 3 years old today. 1.8 million units sold across all platforms/bundles/sales. Thank you all!" (Tweet). Retrieved August 8, 2016 - via Twitter.
59. ^ "Indie favorite 'Papers, Please' has sold 5 million copies". August 9, 2023.
60. ^ Yin-Poole, Wesley (August 11, 2017). "There's a Papers, Please short film". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on September 18, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
61. ^ a b Good, Owen S. (March 11, 2018). "In just 10 minutes, two Russian filmmakers pull off a great video game movie with Papers, Please". Polygon. Archived from the original on April 3, 2018. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
62. ^ "Премьерный показ экранизации игры Papers, Please состоится в Москве 27 января" [The premiere screening of the film adaptation of the game Papers, Please will take place in Moscow on January 27]. Daily.afisha.ru. Archived from the original on January 18, 2018. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
63. ^ Chalk, Andy (February 21, 2018). "The Papers, Please short film will debut on YouTube this weekend". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on February 21, 2018. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
64. ^ Yin-Poole, Wesley (February 24, 2018). "The Papers, Please short film is out now". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on February 24, 2018. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
65. ^ Fogel, Stephanie (September 17, 2018). "'Papers, Please' Filmmakers Working on a 'Beholder' Adaptation". Variety. Archived from the original on January 15, 2019. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
66. ^ "Return of the Obra Dinn Credits". MobyGames. Archived from the original on February 28, 2019. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
67. ^ "Return of the Obra Dinn takes Grand Prize at the 21st IGF Awards!". Gamasutra. March 20, 2019. Archived from the original on November 13, 2020. Retrieved March 21, 2019.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

* v
* t
* e

Lucas Pope

* The Republia Times (2012)
* Papers, Please (2013)
* Return of the Obra Dinn (2018)
* Mars After Midnight (2024)
* Moida Mansion (2024)

* v
* t
* e

Seumas McNally Grand Prize

1990s|

* Fire and Darkness (1999)

2000s|

* Tread Marks (2000)
* Shattered Galaxy (2001)
* Bad Milk (2002)
* Wild Earth (2003)
* Savage: The Battle for Newerth (2004)
* Oasis (2004)
* Gish (2005)
* Wik and the Fable of Souls (2005)
* Darwinia (2006)
* Aquaria (2007)
* Crayon Physics Deluxe (2008)
* Blueberry Garden (2009)

2010s|

* Monaco (2010)
* Minecraft (2011)
* Fez (2012)
* Cart Life (2013)
* Papers, Please (2014)
* Outer Wilds (2015)
* Her Story (2016)
* Quadrilateral Cowboy (2017)
* Night in the Woods (2018)
* Return of the Obra Dinn (2019)

2020s|

* A Short Hike (2020)
* Umurangi Generation (2021)
* Inscryption (2022)
* Betrayal at Club Low (2023)
* Venba (2024)
* Consume Me (2025)

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