Fremde Stimme (Borrowed Voice)

Fremde Stimme is a detective visual novel developed at Waseda University as an experimental approach to German language learning.

The TFO Project — a classified technological collaboration between East and West Zootopia — has been abruptly terminated by the West. No explanation. No warning. The damage to both cities is severe, and the fragile hope of reunification has gone dark.

You are an intelligence agent for East Zootopia. Your mission begins at the smallest possible opening: a scientist who left the project before it collapsed. Study him. Learn how he speaks, what he avoids, who he trusts. Then put on his voice — and use it.

The truth about two cities is somewhere in the silence between words.

*It is just a prototype right now. Welcome any comments. : )*

Fremde Stimme is designed around German pragmatics — the study of how language works in real social contexts. Players investigate targets through videos, phone calls, and emails, building a profile not just of what someone knows, but of how they speak. The final test is impersonation: speak as your target, maintain his register, and extract what you need without breaking cover.

Every clue is a linguistic observation. Every wrong answer is a broken cover.

Language: English interface · German dialogue with contextual cues Developed at: School of International Liberal Studies, Waseda University Engine: Ren'Py

Waseda SILS GameLab