''Black Closet'' is a mystery visual novel, strategy

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 develops PC games mostly involving female protagonists centered on fantasy- and anime-inspired style. Games on the site include '' Fatal Hearts'', '' C ...

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

Steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...

. 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 assets and algorithms coupled with computer-generated randomness and processing power. In ...

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. Her job is to track down students who are committing misdemeanors and scandals to maintain the school's integrity. The game also has

yuri Yuri may refer to: People and fictional characters Given name *Yuri (Slavic name), the Slavic masculine form of the given name George, including a list of people with the given name Yuri, Yury, etc. *Yuri (Japanese name), also Yūri, feminine Jap ...

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 the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

game developer for 10 years prior to the game's release. It was created in a customized fork of the Ren'Py 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 is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangibl ...

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

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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 game has spawned two series, known as the ''Bhaalspawn Saga'' and the ''Dark Alliance'', both taking place mostly ...

'' 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, and Xbox One. Th ...

'', 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'' (also rendered ''Rock, Paper, Shotgun''; short ''RPS'') is a UK-based website for reporting on video games, primarily for PC. Originally launched on 13 July 2007 as an independent site, ''Rock Paper Shotgun'' was acquir ...

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 Lieutenant-Colonel Leigh Arbuthnot Alexander (4 July 1898 – 28 April 1943) was a British Army officer and cricketer. Early life Alexander was the son of Major William Alexander and Ethel Rubina Arbuthnot and brother of Gilbert Alexander. ...

, writing for Boing Boing, said that she "kinda ug the game and called the concept "engaging" and "refreshing". John Bridgman of

Indiegames.com ''Game Developer'', known as ''Gamasutra'' until 2021, is a website founded in 1997 that focuses on aspects of video game development. It is owned and operated by Informa and acts as the online sister publication to the print magazine '' Game ...

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 School-themed video games Single-player video games Strategy video games Video games developed in the United Kingdom Video games featuring female protagonists Visual novels Windows games Yuri (genre) video games