Joy is just trying to survive summer break and her dysfunctional parents by hiding out at the nearby creek…
But there’s something watching her from the woods.
Inspiration
"A child weaned on poison considers harm a comfort."
-- Gillian Flynn, Sharp Objects
In spring of 2020, I took a class about writing interactive fiction called Garden of Forking Paths. In this class we created stories in Twine, an HTML based program for creating text-based games and stories with branching choices. For my final project, I decided I wanted to create an interactive horror story exploring a trope I do not see often: the final girl joining the monster, and why she would choose to do that. I wanted to write about how real life horrors and abuse could cause a child to see a monster as a safer option. I was inspired by my time playing in the woods as a child in Colorado, as well as horror films and stories I had appreciated throughout my life.
Story
The story follows Joy, a 12-year-old girl who loathes summer break. While most middle schoolers associate summer with play and a break from homework, for her summer is a period where she'll be trapped with her dysfunctional parents for months on end. In order to avoid her mother's wrath and the creepy gaze of her neighbor, Joy spends most of her time playing in the nearby creek, only coming home to sleep. As the days drag on, she begins to suspect something may be watching her from the woods, though with what horrors and peril she is faces at home, she wonders whether the monster in the woods is really something to fear.
Gameplay
Coded in Twine, the game involves branching pathways of choices, those ranging in severity from self expression to life-and-death. The player takes control of Joy's decisions in order to try and survive summer break.