The WOND333RLAND DEMO showcases a crafted retrofuturistic cyberpunk world only partially revealed in the opening sequence, but with clear intrigue and humor. As a crow, the player is an interlocutor and witness to a drama playing out on a cosmic scale between the records and memories of all humanity, a time traveling trans robot, and literally GOD. The art style and electronic music soundtrack, composed by the game maker, both add a very stylish air to this visual novel. I can't wait to see more!
Work - Social - Family takes up the age-old gaming and life problem of time management. Where do your priorities lie? Both a branching narrative about a cartoon world of cute creatures who work in a game store, and a mirror held up to the player's own mental state, this game asks players to reflect on whether they are most focused on their work, their social life, or their family. Warning: your choices earlier in the game will affect what kinds of choices you are able to make in the end!
Marcy's Plight uses a beautiful cut-paper aesthetic and an analog violin soundtrack played and composed by the game maker to add audiovisual depth to an excellently written comedy-horror visual novel with multiple endings. In our digital age, do you like to touch grass, or are you more like Marcy? Can you log off? Will Marcy actually do what you tell her to do? Will she be ok?
The 925 demo captures the simultaneously grinding and terrifying life of an office worker, or so I think because I've never worked in an office? The creepiness builds over time but the story ends on a real cliffhanger for now!
A beautiful and atmospheric visual novel with a strong message about managing and listening to emotions...
The story of an art critic who just wants to spread positivity and take care of his mother!
Killers Are Noble, a final project for Queerness & Games at Brown University in Fall 2018, explores the trope of the princess-knight through a series of interesting choices about nobility and identity. The game's heart-wrenching narrative builds from the artist's dialogue-writing experiences building queer mods for the Fire Emblem series, and this writerly quality stretches the abilities of bitsy far past their usual limits. Finding and playing through each ending builds up a psychological study of the fantasy RPG and the political and romantic roles it offers to female characters.
