An experimental educational horror game (this game was made to support teaching in the classroom but also to be playable by the general public)
Charlotte is a game based on the 19th century short story, The Yellow Wall-paper, which is a horror story but the author drew from events in her real life. My goal was to make a content heavy game with lots of educational information that would be engaging. The game is filled with paintings, photographs, archival materials, ephemera from public domain museums and archive digital collections (like the Library of Congress and the Metropolitan Museum of Art). The house in the game is a metaphor for Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s mind and each room a portion of her life and the time period that influenced her ideas for the story. She was an important suffragist and so the game allows players to explore ideas on marriage, relationships and women’s roles in the 19th century.
I have tried to present different points of view (e.g. curate) in a type of game-museum exhibition that will allow players to formulate different narratives and thoughts on the topic. I hope this can lead to discussion and learning both inside and out of the classroom.
Trailer:
Download for free or donation
https://magicspellstudios.itch.io/charlotte