Re: Beyond the Gates

For centuries, Japanese folklore has told of various kinds of Yurei spirits roaming the realm beyond. Good natured spirits, ghost like beings and vengeful spirits – those whose desire to revenge binds their soul to the world of the living. Amongst them, Okiku, a young court maid cursed to count plates into all eternity. A girl who hides in bathroom stalls of schools, pulling anyone who calls her into the abyss. And a woman with a smile so wide it reaches from ear to ear, whose only curse was her own beauty. But those are all just stories. Folklore, passed down over generations and used as a test of courage by middle school kids. Entities that exist only beyond the world of the living... …and those who do cross the boundary, are said to never return.

With no recollection of who you are, you wake up in front of an abandoned school. The only way out – locked. In the distance, an old well from which a haunting voice echoes

...like a clock reminding you of a terrible end drawing near.

Search the abandoned hallways for a way out. Collect items and heed warnings left behind to survive and uncover the truth of your fate. But beware. You are not alone. Vengeful spirits haunt this space, and they will put you to the test. One wrong move may cost your life. And remember. Time is ticking. Signed: Hakano R██

The story and characters of this game were inspired by Japanese ghost stories. Their origins lie within a game of the Edo-period called “Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai” where people would gather around candles at night, taking turns, telling each other scary ghost stories. Leading themes in many of those stories are Buddhistic believes or souls coming back from the afterlife to exact revenge for the injustice they suffered. The increasing popularity of those stories then led to many collections of ghost stories to be published. Further popularity was gained through Maruya Ōkyo, a famous artist of that period who created many painting of yokai and yurei spirits. Nowadays they have been incorporating into Japanese pop culture in various forms such as movies, games and manga. And this game merges it into a game with an overall style (pixel art and gameplay) inspired by RPG-maker horror games released in 2012 with its rather cute elements of pixel-art in contrast to the eerie story and many possible choices that could lead to bad ends.

A top-down pixel-art survival horror game which lets players experience the eerie ghost stories of Japanese folklore for themselves. With storytelling reaching beyond that what is represented visually. Created as part of MMP1: • coded using C# and SFML • sprites made in Pixelorama