Bitch Magazine has a wonderful article by Carli Velocci about Twine games, particularly the way women are using the text-only platform to express the unique body and gender fears of their experience.
Velocci writes about a horror Twine collection curated by Kaitlin Tremblay, Lights Out, Please, and her own contribution, The Slit-Mouthed Woman, a game about a violent man haunted by the ghost of a woman whom he forced to smile.
Prolific Twine artist Porpentine, who often examines suffering and silenced bodies in her works (Cyberqueen, Howling Dogs, Everything You Swallow Will Come Up Like A Stone and numerous others) is also interviewed for the article:
“You’re kind of cheating yourself in talking about vulnerability if you don’t talk about powerful feminine voices,” Porpentine says. “As a trans, feminine person, I have inhabited, for most of my life, this weird-ass pocket dimension where you get treated differently, but nobody else can really see it. That’s a lot of what horror is, just feeling like you’re crazy for having horrible stuff happen to you.”
Much has been written, including here at Offworld, about Twine giving voice to experiences of trauma and marginalization, but this article’s sharp body and gender horror angle adds an important dimension to that conversation.
The Lights Out, Please horror collection is available for free or suggested donation.