Traveler Stories: Journeys of Real People

Traveler Stories: Journeys of Real People is a visual novel with simulation elements in which the player works as a staff member at a Tokyo bar frequented by travellers. The developer states that roughly 80% of the narrative is based on true events. The cast is drawn from real Japanese travellers: Rieko Ayumi, who has visited 98 countries and whose accounts include being attacked by a robber in Argentina and crossing a crocodile-inhabited river on foot; Kenty, a nomadic worker whose career has included being stranded while hitchhiking in France and being caught in a lockdown shortly after starting a job in the Philippines; and Bell, an indie game developer who left a large games company, went independent and later travelled the world.

Conversations begin as small talk and progress as the player’s relationship with each character deepens, unlocking further stories, such as a near-death experience or a former engineer’s account of his industry. The experiences gathered through these conversations, together with parameters the player develops, alter the design of the bar’s signboard, so the protagonist’s changing outlook is reflected in the appearance of the shop. Lessons and quotes from the travellers are recorded in a notebook called the Learning Notes, which accumulates over the course of the game.

The game includes a background gallery of 120 scenes from locations around the world, unlocked as the story progresses. Approximately 70% of these backgrounds were produced using AI image generation, and the gallery marks AI-generated images with identification tags. The game is made by a solo developer, who permits gameplay videos and livestreams provided a link to the Steam page and the official hashtags are included. On Steam, the game has now passed 10 user reviews and carries a Positive rating.