Clear Lake is an exploration adventure game in which the player uses the past to explore the present by means of a mysterious burning torch. Players take the role of the ranger, an old man on the search for a group of missing campers. Use the torch to find objects in the past that uncover the mystery of the present.

 The game was born out of the question how can a character's mental state be represented through game mechanics?

 The game explores the mental state of memory loss found in a person with dementia.  The mysterious torch found early in the game allows the player to view the past environment within the glow of the torchlight.  The longer a player uses the torch, the more it dies.  This makes the view into the past very restricted.

 This representation is not meant to perfectly simulate the dementia experience, but instead, work to describe these symptoms within an enjoyable game.