>[!NOTE] > *No spoilers on this page.* But links almost certainly contain spoilers! *Voices of the Void* is an in-development horror/job simulator video game. - [Website](https://votv.dev/) - [Store](https://mrdrnose.itch.io/votv) # Notability Cool unique indie game. Huge lore. 90% easter eggs (if you can find them). A horror job-sim genre-bender that first demoed before they became common and much MUCH bigger than anything else out there. # Thoughts I "donated" to access the game in 2024 after hearing about it online (YouTube maybe?). The gameplay loop is simple but so much of the game is in the between moments. It has massive atmosphere which makes it ocassionally terrifying using only tiny cues but also lo-fi beautiful and goofy. I've watched a ridiculous number of hours of other people playing it, mostly [[The Librarian]] on YouTube. # Philosophy ## Public Development First made public in 2022, the game is in "alpha" but has around 50 hours of gameplay[^1] (depending how much time you spend looking for secrets), but its open-ended style puts no hard limit on playtime so hundreds of hours isn't unusual. There are usually around 2 major updates a year, one in spring and one in fall (preceding Halloween). Sometimes serveral smaller updates in between. ### Bugs There are ocassional bugs, the biggest ones historically have to do with NPC pathing. The horror aspects are 4th-wall breaking, where you may not be able to pause or save until an event is over. When an NPC gets stuck during one of these events you are locked into that state. If you can find the NPC and unstuck them then great, but the map is huge and some of these entities are invisible, so it can become a soft-lock that requires alt-f4ing and reloading your last save. [[The Librarian]], who is typically very chill and sweet, after playing hundreds of hours of this game (and who even has an easter egg dedicated to them!) had a 2025 meltdown that he left in a video after running into a game-breaking bug that made him unable to progress until after a restart. ## Game Engine Despite looking and acting like and even using (placeholder) assets from the [[Source Engine]], the game is built using [[Unreal Engine]] `v4.27.2`.[^4] ## Anti-Slop The developer posts anti-[[Generative AI|Slop]] (art *&* code) articles on their official [[Bluesky Social]] page. Their strategy for placeholder assets is to use easily accessible ones from the [[Source Engine]] games, which should be a pretty big reminder before making an official Steam release. ## Origin [[mrdrnose]] started making games in his mid-teens and was in his late teens when he started working on VotV. He was inspired by another indie game with a similar central mechanic called *Signal Simulator* (2018) and then expanded from there. I had no idea the dev was so young. I figured the reason for the [[Source Engine]] aesthetic was due to being in their late 30s or early 40s, but perhaps it is just the enduring legacy of [[Garry's Mod]] and [[Source Filmmaker]]. The original solo dev, [[mrdrnose]], made enough money from the pre-release to hire a team, including `SentientYeet` as programmer, [[Monique Sanctifier]] as 3D artist, `Vesper Akiiri` for QA & PR, a writer `Chubo Kway`, an artist `IDKY[Hannah]`, as well as others credited for playtesting and "major contribution" including `DerBall`, `Pecora`, `vitos21`, and `loopsdaloop`. [[Monique Sanctifier]] is a french[^citation_needed] artist and 3D modeler who periodically posts behind-the-scenes of the models and art she develops for the game, along with fan art.[^3] ## Ideology Despite the game's Russian origins there are a huge number of active Ukranian fans of VotV to this day. People don't get to choose under what banner they are born or what their mother tongue is, but it is context. While doing some additional research in late [[2026]] I found that `mrdrnose` not been without controversy, with some people claiming poor moderation, or people being banned or not banned when they should or shouldn't be, at least prior to 2022. The VotV Discord server has a handful of [[Russian]]-language channels (the rules require English elsewhere). I find it interesting that the Russian-language rules are *far* more specific and detailed than the English ones, likely based on prior experience with moderation - which at one point apparently resulted in the Russian community channels being purged. This purge lead to a series of campaigns against [[mrdrnose]] by those who felt wronged. Considering the age of the developer at the time (17-18) this is not particularly surprising and the last couple of years seems to show significant growth, but I suppose only time will tell. The official Discord server rules specifically ban homophobia and transphobia as well as racism. The server ban log is public. The moderators actively ban "Nazi stuff" and related dogwhistles. # Platform Support - Windows Only (including Proton, see [[#Tips]] blow) # Features ## Events No spoilers, just context. ### Story Events The main storyline takes place over 30 in-game days, with certain events happening on a fixed schedule. ### Timed Events Certain events aren't part of the story but can be triggered only at a specific time every in-game day. ### Random Events There are pretty much constantly other events occurring at random throughout the main 30 days and then ocassionally thereafter. ### Seasonal Events Based on your computer's date/time a new game will create a special type of game, including Halloween and Winter Season games. These games will have special events and enemies not available in other game modes, in addition to the usual events. ## Complex Interaction System The biggest learning curve with VotV involveshow many different ways you can interact with objects in the world, using a surprisingly large percentage of the the keyboard in unintuitive but powerful ways. I've worked on some controller mappings for the game so I've spent a lot of time thinking about ways this system could work whole still preserving all of its features - and it's a real challenge. In a 2025(?) update some of the original interactions were changed in an attempt to make them more intuitive, but it is simply a [[Hard Problem]]. It's not just different to be different, it's because it offers an unusually large set of ways to interact with your environment. While this is a learning challenge, it is also super cool that a game allows you to do so many things! ## Comprehensive Save States One of the coolest non-gameplay features is that saves are *nested*, as in, you don't overrite old saves in the same slot. You can expand a save slot and see all past saves inside. This is great for testing and dodging around bugs. ## Accessibility & Difficulty Features Many of the features which greatly increase the difficulty can be easily toggled off. Some are disabled by default, such as "Velma mode" which makes everything blurry if the player character gets knocked down and their glasses fall off. Many of the important in-game display colors are configurable to support users with different types of color vision. # Tips ## Proton VotV works fine with [[Proton]] in [[Steam|Steam]].[^2] This is, after all, the only way I've ever played it. ### Configuration Files Directory ```sh %APPDATA%/Local/VotV/ ``` Using [[Steam]], the `$APPID` will vary. ```sh $HOME/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/compatdata/$APPID/pfx/drive_c/users/steamuser/AppData/Local/VotV/Saved/Config/WindowsNoEditor/ ``` ### Asset Directory Using [[Steam]], the `$APPID` will vary. ```sh $HOME/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/compatdata/$APPID/pfx/drive_c/users/steamuser/AppData/Local/VotV/Assets ``` #### Radio Audio You can place audio files in the `radio` asset folder to play them using the in-game radio. #### TV Video You can place video files in the `tv` asset folder to play them using the in-game televisions. My own tests and that of other reports online indicate that custom video files may not load on Proton. This is likely down to codecs, but I haven't spent any time trying to figure out what it needs. ## Keybindings >[!ATTENTION] Last Updated [[2025-10-27]] > The keybindings may be slightly different for newer versions of the game. Many keybindings are not documented or explained in the main game. Some are explained in the tutorial, but going back to redo the tutorial for them is tedious. Others are explained in the hints menu item, scattered around in various submenus. There is no place in game that explains all of them in one place. It is import to know that *grabbed* and **held** are different concepts in the game. | Key | | | -------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `w`, `a`, `s`, `d` | Walk forward, strafe left, walk backwards, strafe right | | `e` | Interact / *Grab* item (item looked at with selected action) | | `e+r` | **Hold** *grabbed* item | | `e+alt` | Store *grabbed* item in inventory | | `e+LMB` | Throw *grabbed* item | | `e+RMB` | Rotate *grabbed* item | | `e+WHEEL` | Move *grabbed* item closer or farther away | | `f` | Toggle flashlight or headlights | | `SPACE` | Jump | | `SPACE, SPACE` | Climb onto ledge | | `shift+LMB`?<br>`shift+e`? | Drag heavy item | | `alt+e` | Quick use action | | `alt+f` | Change flashlight beam shape | | `alt+r` | Place held item (at location looked at if close, at feet otherwise) | | `shift` | Sprint | | `control` | Crouch | | `alt+LMB` | Throw **held** item | | `RMB` | Use **held** item | | `MMB` | Fix **held** item in place? | | `x` | Zoom | | `WHEEL` | The mouse wheel scrolls through the action list | | `e+WHEEL` | Press and hold `e` while looking at a knob<br>Then use the mouse `WHEEL` to turn it up or down for as long as you hold `e`<br>(even while looking away) | | `esc` | Pause, or dismount (chair, ATV) | | `tab` | Inventory | | `F5` | Quicksave | | `1` - `0` | Select numbered action, enter number on keypad, highlight inventory slot | | `v` | Noclip | | `q` | Spawn Menu? | | `NUM0` | Numpad `0` opens the Cheats Menu | | `c` | Pratfall/Ragdoll (sometimes helps get unstuck) | ## Errors ### Error Save Slot Exists If you see the message "Error Save Slot Exists" when trying to create a new game, it means that the name you gave the slot is already in use. Or that you haven't given it a name at all yet. Just change the name of the slot and you should be good to go. ### Unable to Change Settings Sometimes between versions VotV may get confused about its own settings. Clicking "Reset Settings" to restore the defaults should fix this issue. # References [^1]: https://howlongtobeat.com/game/124385 [^2]: https://itch.io/t/3628791/tutorial-how-to-play-votv-on-linux [^3]: https://bsky.app/profile/monique-monsters.votv.dev [^4]: https://modding.ariral.space/docs/tutorials/voidmod-fusion/creating-first-mod