The Backrooms: Liminalphobia

AIC, the Anomalous Investigations Corps, formed after the discovery of The Backrooms, bringing together the greatest minds and highly trained operatives, managing a sophisticated research mission throughout The Backrooms.

As one of AIC's top researchers, you have been assigned an Cosmic Level mission after a man named James has phased into The Backrooms, leading to its discovery of existence. With your limited knowledge of the space and its nature, your objective is to gather information, avoid entities and locate James.

However, upon entering The Backrooms, you are met with an unsettling scene. The research site appears ransacked, with files scattered around and equipment abandoned, suggesting an emergency evacuation. There is no sign or any indication of your fellow researchers who you were tasked to enter The Backrooms with. Then, something catches your eye... a note, placed in an odd spot. Left by James, serves as a guide, pleading for you to find him.

Stranded far from home in a place that is unknown, you must rely on the scattered notes throughout the levels left by James. He is your only guide, your only hope for navigation. At the same time, you are his only chance for escape.

You're not entirely alone in this mission. Other researchers, tasked with the same mission, entered The Backrooms with you. Yet, like you, they find themselves abandoned, with no sign of the team they were meant to work with.

Form a taskforce with 4 researchers to increase your chances of survival. Cover more ground, share discoveries, divide resources, distract entities and use teamwork to navigate through levels.

The levels of The Backrooms are a collection of liminal spaces, in a state of transition, where nothing feels real yet disturbingly familiar. These environments resemble places you might recognize like; a silent parking garage, a buzzing office or an endless hotel corridor, but formed into dreamlike mazes.

Each level has its own unique layout, rules and entities, challenging your skills, instincts, knowledge and adaptability as you progress deeper into The Backrooms. When a new level is entered, you will be presented with notes, hinting the rules of the current level but even then, researchers must adhere to the following procedures:

• Entity Identification - Observe and identify any entities present. Avoid all contact and maintain a safe distance

• Pattern Observation - Examine your immediate surroundings for patterns, environmental cues, or rules that indicate the level's behavior.

• Survival - Stay alive.

The Backrooms is inhabited with entities, hostile and unpredictable beings that are beyond logic. While some may appear non-hostile, as a researcher, you must remain wary of all encounters with these entities. Unauthorized contact with entities are prohibited, as it will most certainly result in death. 

As you explore The Backrooms, you'll come across various items placed throughout the levels. The origin of these items remain unknown, however analysis suggests that The Backrooms itself may be responsible for their placement.  

As you gather more and more items, the problem of limited carrying space becomes apparent. At this point you must do careful planning to decide which items you'll keep to increase your chances of survival. 

Every AIC researcher carries an FD-93, an early floppy-disk digital camera. Raise it, zoom in, let the autofocus lock on and take the shot: the flash lights up what the dark hides, and every photo is written to disk with its date burned in.

Documenting is protocol. The first clear photo of an entity, an object or a landmark files a new entry in your research logbook, and your research stays with you from tape to tape. Not everything shows its true face to the naked eye.