''Black Closet'' is a mystery

visual novel A visual novel (VN) is a form of digital interactive fiction. Visual novels are often associated with the medium of video games, but are not always labeled as such themselves. They combine a textual narrative with static or animated illustratio ...

strategy Strategy (from Greek στρατηγία ''stratēgia'', "troop leadership; office of general, command, generalship") is a general plan to achieve one or more long-term or overall goals under conditions of uncertainty. In the sense of the " a ...

RPG RPG may refer to: Military * Rocket-propelled grenade, a shoulder-launched anti-tank weapon **''Ruchnoi Protivotankoviy Granatomyot'' (Russian: ''Ручной Противотанковый Гранатомёт''), hand-held anti-tank grenade laun ...

and

life simulation Life simulation games form a subgenre of simulation video games in which the player lives or controls one or more virtual characters (human or otherwise). Such a game can revolve around "individuals and relationships, or it could be a simulation ...

game developed and published by

Hanako Games Hanako Games is an independent video game development company founded by Georgina Bensley that creates fantasy and anime-inspired PC games, mostly involving female protagonists. Their website includes free demos and wallpapers for their games, ...

and released on September 16, 2015 for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux on the digital distribution service

Steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...

. The game was received positively by critics, and was a finalist for the Excellence in Narrative award at the 2016 IGF.

Gameplay

''Black Closet'' combines traits of a visual novel and a strategy RPG. Players play the role of Elsa, a student in a prestigious school for girls named St. Claudine's. She must solve

procedurally-generated In computing, procedural generation is a method of creating data algorithmically as opposed to manually, typically through a combination of human-generated content and algorithms coupled with computer-generated randomness and processing power. I ...

mysteries in order to increase her leadership abilities, using a group of fellow student assistants. However, one of these students is a traitor, and Elsa must find their identity.

Plot

The main character, Elsa, is sent to an elite all-girls school, where she becomes the

student council president The student government president (sometimes called a student body president, student council president, or simply a school president) is generally the highest-ranking officer of a student union. While a student government group and a class preside ...

. Her job is to track down students who are committing misdemeanors and scandals to maintain the school's integrity. The game also has yuri elements to its story, letting players romance five potential women.

Development

The game was developed by Hanako Games founder Georgina Bensley, who was a full-time

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

game developer for 10 years prior to the game's release. It was created in a customized

fork In cutlery or kitchenware, a fork (from 'pitchfork') is a utensil, now usually made of metal, whose long handle terminates in a head that branches into several narrow and often slightly curved tines with which one can spear foods either to h ...

of the

Ren'Py The Ren'Py Visual Novel Engine (or RenPy for short) is a free software game engine which facilitates the creation of visual novels. Ren'Py is a portmanteau of , the Japanese word for 'romantic love', a common element of games made using Ren'Py; a ...

engine. The game was initially prototyped on paper to determine the gameplay concept's feasibility. The game took roughly three years to develop. The concept for the game was inspired by the

espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information ( intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ...

work in '' Floor 13'' as well as the developer's own experience in an

Episcopalian Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protes ...

private school, with some of the situations in the game being inspired by real-life events she had seen. The game's RPG aspects were also inspired by western RPG series such as ''

Baldur's Gate ''Baldur's Gate'' is a series of role-playing video games set in the Forgotten Realms '' Dungeons & Dragons'' campaign setting. The series has been divided into two sub-series, known as the ''Bhaalspawn Saga'' and the ''Dark Alliance'', both t ...

'' and ''

Dragon Age ''Dragon Age'' is a media franchise centered on a series of fantasy role-playing video games created and developed by BioWare, which have seen releases on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Microsoft Windows, OS X, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation ...

'', giving freedom to shape the character's personality as well as the story.

Reception

''Black Closet'' was well received by critics. Katherine Cross of

Rock, Paper, Shotgun ''Rock Paper Shotgun'' is a British video game journalism website. It was launched in July 2007 to focus on PC games and was acquired by Gamer Network, a network of sites led by ''Eurogamer'', in May 2017. History ''Rock Paper Shotgun'' ...

said the game "punctures misogynist stereotypes around teen dramas" and that the characters "who at first blush appear to be tropes" later become more interesting. Graham Smith of the same publication said that the game was a "smart, well-written, choice-and-consequences game that deserves more attention". Leigh Alexander, writing for

Boing Boing ''Boing Boing'' is a website, first established as a zine in 1988, later becoming a group blog. Common topics and themes include technology, futurism, science fiction, gadgets, intellectual property, Disney, and left-wing politics. It twice wo ...

, said that she "kinda ug the game and called the concept "engaging" and "refreshing". John Bridgman of Indiegames.com called the concept of the game "interesting", despite saying that it "lacks polish". The game became an IGF finalist for Excellence in Narrative in 2016.

References

{{Hanako Games 2015 video games Hanako Games games Linux games MacOS games Mystery video games Ren'Py games Role-playing video games Single-player video games Strategy video games Video games developed in the United Kingdom Video games featuring female protagonists Video games set in schools Visual novels Windows games Yuri (genre) video games