Out now

Actually Interns is out

Actually Interns is a game about an AI that's secretly a room of interns. It's free, it's in your browser, and we're very fond of it.

Actually Interns: a game about the humans inside the machine, and the people who talk to it. Beside the title, a column of smiling cartoon portraits.

Knowsley is a London startup's AI assistant. Ask it anything and you'll get a friendly, well-sourced answer in seconds. What the customers don't know is that Knowsley is a room above a chip shop full of interns, and you've just been given a desk.

So you answer whoever writes in. You look things up on Wikipedant, the in-game encyclopedia, and cite the sentence you used. You draw the pictures people ask for. You keep the secret while the company grows around you, and you get to know the people who keep coming back: Glenn, who'd like to settle a bet about Ben Nevis, Ffion, who wants fireworks for her nan, and a nurse who writes in at three in the morning.

  • The Knowsley console: Glenn asks how tall Ben Nevis is, with Wikipedant open in the browser beside the reply.
    Answer whoever writes inLook it up, cite the sentence, send the reply.
  • Knowsley Imagine, a paint program, with Rupert asking for the French flag the right way round.
    Draw what they ask forThe French flag, the right way round. There is a wrong one.
  • The new starter's name card, with choices for hair, skin, eyes, top and favourite biscuit.
    Fill in your name cardHaircut, jumper, favourite biscuit.
  • Humbled, the professional network, with a leadership post and the CEO's launch announcement.
    Keep up with HumbledThe professional network. Everyone's very humbled.

How to play

Go to actuallyinterns.com. It runs in your browser on a computer or a tablet, with nothing to download and no account. There are five acts, and the game saves as you go. If you'd like it on your dock, there's an Install button on the title screen.

What it costs

The whole story is free, with no ads, and nothing in it is locked. If you've played some of it and would like to pay for it, you can buy a licence from the title screen: name your price, from £1. A licence keeps the desk open after the ending, with endless shifts and catch-ups from the people you helped. It also stops the game asking whether you're enjoying it, and it pays for the next thing.

The trailer

There's a kettle in it

Of course there is. Keep an eye on Kez. She has a name for the corner of the office where she watches it boil.

If you play it, we'd love to hear what you think. The Discord is where the regulars hang out, or write to webmaster@kettleobservatory.com. It's out! Go and have a look.