Creative writing inspirational title Elegy for a Dead World surprisingly appeared on Steam today weeks before it’s expected 1st quarter of 2015 release date. This is the official release though and no mistake! Elegy is an interesting almost educational software title, encouraging users to be creative and craft a story about alien worlds as they explore them.

The almost madlib style that writers are presented prompts in allows for encouraged creativity. There is also a freeform selection that lets players input any text they like. We gave Elegy a run through and will have a review coming soon. Till then, read on for the press release details announced today.

From the press release:

A Game About Writing

In Elegy, you’ll travel to three worlds and write stories about their long-dead societies. You’ll lose yourself in settings inspired by the works of poets Keats, Byron, and Shelley, and use the game’s system of writing prompts to help create your own masterpieces.

Explore 27 different writing challenges, through which you create narratives about the worlds you visit, from multiple perspectives. In one challenge, you play an archaeologist, uncovering clues and writing about a city’s final days; in another, you’re a thief, composing a song about searching the wreckage for valuables; and in another, you’re a bard penning a lament in rhyming couplets.

When you’ve finished writing a story, share it with other players via Steam Workshop; then read others’ works, and commend your favorites.

Artistic Intent

The developers created Elegy to share the joy of creative expression — ideally, they want to give non-writers an environment in which they can tell stories. With visuals inspired by Romantic painter J. M. W. Turner, the game provides a playground for individual imagination, and a community where everyone is an artist. Elegy’s developers, Dejobaan Games and Popcannibal, are leaving the discussion of what art or a game is to critics, and merely asking gamers, “What will you write?”

Early Acclaim

Elegy raised 150% of its funding target in its October 2014 Kickstarter campaign. During development, it received two IndieCade selections, an Independent Games Festival Honorable Mention and a GDC Experimental Gameplay workshop selection. Educators are also using the game to inspire students in English as a second language (ESL), creative writing, and game design classes at nearly 50 institutions in 13 countries.

For more details, check out Elegy For A Dead World on Steam.