Log for 1/9-1/10
I'm Going to Rockhell is a short RPG that chronicles the "horror" of going home to one's crappy hometown for the holidays. The main character is Morgan: a grad student who hates going back to their notoriously conservative hometown, affectionally named "Rockhell." They are joined by their funny and cute wife, Misha, their quirky childhood best friend, Mat, and their adorable cat (who strangely has a human form when he fights), Moo. Can they make it through the small-town shaped dungeon filled with Karens, bigots, and being constantly misgendered by their parents?
I guess it should be obvious that the game is semi-autobiographical, and that the characters are partially based on some people I know and in real life. But I also took enough liberties that these hopefully are characters who can stand on their own, and who players, especially queer and trans ones, can relate to. Also one of your party members is an adorable cat. 'Nuff said.
I also risk alienating potential audiences by making this game have political themes, but it's worth it to write about real-life issues like discrimination against marginalized groups (and to vent a bit). I believe that interactive media such as video games can be truly helpful in capturing the experience of marginalization for both audiences with privilege to understand better, and for marginalized audiences to know they're not alone. And I also of course want to make it as intersectional as possible within its small scope.
Oh, one warning is that because the game has strong language, discussions of trauma/abuse/discrimination, and sexual references, I'd probably give it an M rating for content. Just stuff to keep in mind!
So yeah, here's to hoping I can pull this off in two weeks! D:
Here some screenshots of what I have so far:
More screenshots to come!
