Lost Again

Lost Again is an independent game development and narrative design studio based in the Netherlands. Founded in 2009, it develops original interactive stories alongside commissioned game writing, programming and narrative consultancy. Its work spans adventure games, interactive fiction, alternate reality games and experimental storytelling systems, with an emphasis on how players influence conversations and discover information.

The studio was founded by writer and designer Bertine van Hövell tot Westerflier and developer Thomas Wrobel. Its early work combined educational games, transmedia storytelling and web development, including cultural heritage projects. Following Wrobel’s death in 2017, van Hövell continued the business independently as its sole owner and director.

Original interactive work

Lost Again’s projects explore different ways of building stories around player participation. The Fanficmaker is a semi-procedural story generation application, while Meryll Wants a Cookie, released in 2018, combines narrative and puzzle play. Shorter works include the interactive detective mystery Oh Honey, There Is Something I Need To Tell You... and the browser narrative September 16 2017, created in memory of Wrobel.

Its game in development, Frayed Freedom, is an Art Nouveau–inspired roleplay thriller adventure. The project uses social engineering mechanics and adaptive dialogue systems, extending the studio’s interest in experimental conversations and interactive storytelling.

Narrative design and commissioned development

Alongside its own releases, Lost Again provides game design and programming, scriptwriting, narrative design, interactive text and puzzle development, and ARG design. Its work serves entertainment games, educational software, cultural heritage and interactive digital media.

Van Hövell also undertakes freelance narrative design, writing and consulting through the studio. This combines original development with contributions to external productions and advisory work for cultural institutions and film and game funds. The studio’s practice connects technical implementation with writing, including dialogue mechanics, narrative systems and the design of player-facing puzzles.