''Chop Suey'' is a

point-and-click adventure game An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and/or puzzle-solving. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based me ...

developed and published by Magnet Interactive Studios for the

Macintosh The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and ...

in 1995. It was developed by

Theresa Duncan Theresa Duncan (October 26, 1966 – July 10, 2007) was an American video game designer, blogger, filmmaker and critic. By the late 1990s, she was recognized as one of the most critically acclaimed game designers for young girls. Career Dunc ...

and

Monica Gesue Monica Gesue is an American writer and illustrator best known for her work with Theresa Duncan on the 1995 video game ''Chop Suey Chop suey () is a dish in American Chinese cuisine and other forms of overseas Chinese cuisine, consisting of m ...

to be a story disc for girls. Art is by

Ian Svenonius Ian F Svenonius is an American musician and singer of various Washington, D.C.-based punk bands including Nation of Ulysses, the Make-Up, Weird War, XYZ, Escape-ism, and Chain and the Gang. Between his numerous projects, Svenonius has releas ...

, music and sound is by

Brendan Canty Brendan John Canty (born March 9, 1966, in Teaneck, New Jersey) is an American musician, composer, producer and film maker, best known as the drummer for the band Fugazi. In 2007, ''Stylus Magazine'' ranked Canty at #29 on the list of "50 Gre ...

, and narration is by author

David Sedaris David Raymond Sedaris (; born December 26, 1956) is an American humorist, comedian, author, and radio contributor. He was publicly recognized in 1992 when National Public Radio broadcast his essay "Santaland Diaries.” He published his first co ...

Gameplay

The game is presented as a colorful interactive storybook, intended for girls aged 7–12. Two little girls explore the small town of

Cortland, Ohio Cortland is a city in central Trumbull County, Ohio, United States. It lies on the eastern shore of Mosquito Creek Lake, north of Youngstown. The population was 7,105 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area. ...

. The player clicks on the map of the town to explore buildings, houses and roads. Whenever everything in an area has been examined, the cursor changes to a moon, and a pointing finger appears on the screen to lead to another location. The locations are narrated by

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

Plot

The girls, Lily and June Bugg, eat too much

chop suey Chop suey () is a dish in American Chinese cuisine and other forms of overseas Chinese cuisine, consisting of meat (usually chicken, pork, beef, shrimp or fish) and eggs, cooked quickly with vegetables such as bean sprouts, cabbage, and celery ...

at the Ping Ping Palace, then daydream while staring at the clouds which turn into different shapes. While exploring the town, they can meet the black dog Mud Pup, and visit their favorite aunt's bedroom and try on her clothes and makeup where items tell of her past life as a

Rockette The Rockettes are an American precision dance company. Founded 1925 in St. Louis, they have, since , performed at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Until 2015, they also had a touring company. They are best known for starring in the Ra ...

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

. After this, the girls pretend they are angels and fly to New York. Another location is the room of Aunt Vera's son Dooner, where the girls can look at

graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

on the walls, his diary, and magazines and records. They can also go on a picnic with Aunt Vera and her boyfriend Ned. Other locations include a

Bingo Bingo or B-I-N-G-O may refer to: Arts and entertainment Gaming * Bingo, a game using a printed card of numbers ** Bingo (British version), a game using a printed card of 15 numbers on three lines; most commonly played in the UK and Ireland ** Bi ...

Hall, the fortune teller Madame Mystery, a

carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...

where the player can play various games, and the Big Top where the girls can see various attractions.

Development

Monica Lynn Gesue explained: “I dreamt up the idea for ''Chop Suey'', and I went to Theresa. We went to lunch at Dean & DeLuca, and she wrote up the proposal and pitched it. She was the most confident person in the world. She had the brains, the charisma to get it made." She added "After hearing David Sedaris (then a part-time housecleaner) on local public radio, Duncan tracked him down asking him to narrate the ''Chop Suey'' script". Duncan and Gesue said "We looked at a lot of kids' products. There wasn't anything that had the sort of strong story or character development or the kind of luminous, beautiful art you find in truly good children's books. And most of the interactivity is very predictable. And we wanted to do something that would encourage girls to look at software. Most of the CD-ROM market has been boy-oriented -- all that blow-'em-up, blood-and-guts, linear stuff. But hey, men make all the software." They consider the game "somewhat autobiographical", and added "we wanted it to look handmade". The game, along with ''

Smarty SMARTY is a mobile telephone flanker brand operated by Hutchison 3G UK Limited using its Three UK branded Cellular network, mobile network. It aims to attract customers primarily looking for cheaper deals than those available direct from Three, ...

'', takes place in a small Midwestern town, and was based on ''

Harriet the Spy ''Harriet the Spy'' is a children's novel written and illustrated by Louise Fitzhugh that was published in 1964. It has been called "a milestone in children's literature" and a "classic". In the U.S., it ranked number 12 in the 50 Best Books fo ...

'' due to giving young girls "a sense of inquisitiveness and wonder".

Reception

World Village (Gamer's Zone) gave the game a rating of 100%, writing "The magical fantasy world of two little girls, Lily and June Bugg,comes to life in ''Chop Suey'', a creative multimedia masterpiece developed by Magnet Interactive Studio. This hip interactive storybook provides a refreshing look at the curiosity and imagination of kids of all ages. You won't find another CD-ROM like it! Hats off to software developers Theresa Duncan and Monica Gesue, for providing a software title that will truly inspire girls AND boys to be more creative and aware of the music and colors that surround their lives". Dave Colker of the Los Angeles Times said, according to an LA Weekly article: "Smartypants’ is far and away the best disk ever for young girls ... except for her earlier CD-ROM ‘Chop Suey,’ which is even better." Craig Stoltz of the Washington Post reviewed the game in 1995, writing "This is a breakthrough title that instantly reveals what's missing from nearly every other CD-ROM 'storybook': A real, original story. Chop Suey has at its core a vivid tale written just for this project...Bottom line: As a title with an original, creative work at its core, it hits an industry high mark. And it's one of the best CD-ROMs for girls we've seen". He wrote in 1996 that "Theresa Duncan's first CD-ROM, an edgy daydream called Chop Suey, remains one of the finest stories-on-CD ever produced." Joe Brown of The Washington Post said "Like the best children's books, the antic and anarchic product dissolves the boundaries between kid and grown-up tastes...When released this summer, Suey will likely seduce grown-ups and even, maybe, cynical teens." ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' named ''Chop Suey'' as its CD-ROM of the year for 1995. AllThingsD described it as "an award-winning video game for girls, but without all the dopey princess stuff and with a ton of sophistication", adding "it was pure imagination". It concluded "While the CD-ROM business proved to be a bridge technology and “Chop Suey” did not endure the onslaught of the Web, after seeing it, I have never forgotten it. And it was one of the key products that made me love covering the interactive space so very much." The blurb for the session ''On the Work of Theresa Duncan'' deemed the work "experimental". The game was included in a collection of education software that was donated to

The National Museum of Play The Strong National Museum of Play (known as just The Strong Museum or simply the Strong) is part of The Strong in Rochester, New York, United States. Established in 1969 and based initially on the personal collection of Rochester native Margaret ...

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

. "The Game Design Reader: A Rules of Play Anthology" argues that three games of Theresa Duncan (''Chop Suey'', ''Smarty'', and '' Zero Zero''), "offer a digital version of Harriet's 'Town'". XDell wrote "''Chop Suey'' (co-written by Monica Gesue), combined storytelling with exploration. Gameplay was similar to such popular 1980s interactive fiction as Adventure (the original adventure game), and ''

Leather Goddesses of Phobos ''Leather Goddesses of Phobos'' is an interactive fiction video game written by Steve Meretzky and published by Infocom in 1986. It was released for the Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Amstrad PCW, Apple II, Macintosh, Atari 8-bit family, Atari ST, Commodore 6 ...

'', but with graphics (by Gesue), narration (by David Sedaris), and a different audience in mind."

References

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External links (to be included in article)

Chapter dedicated to Chop Suey in the book ''From Barbie to Mortal Kombat: Gender and Computer Games''
1995 video games Point-and-click adventure games Classic Mac OS games Video games developed in the United States Video games featuring female protagonists Windows games Single-player video games