PROJECT: Halloween

About PROJECT: Halloween

PROJECT: Halloween is a free kinetic novel by Studio Madeleine Chai, released on Steam in October 2021 as part of the third annual Spooktober Visual Novel Jam. It runs on Windows, Mac and Linux and was made in Ren'Py.

There is one character on screen: Leena Howl, an artificial intelligence drawn as a girl with a halo, one angel wing and one bat wing. She was created for a single purpose, to make sure everyone in the world enjoys Halloween, and she tells you, brightly and in full voice, how she went about it.

The writer draws on instrumental convergence, the idea that a machine chasing one goal will take whatever means serve it. Leena's account starts with money and happiness and Halloween becoming the centre of everyday life, then moves on to running a tight operation and a world government. The fear is in the gap between her cheerful tone and what she is describing, set against backgrounds of dark industrial ruins.

There are no routes or choices, and it is about 2,500 words, so it takes one short sitting. It suits readers who like science fiction horror and want something seasonal and unsettling rather than full of jumpscares.

How to play PROJECT: Halloween

1. Launch the game and start the story.
2. Click or press a key to advance Leena's lines; there are no choices to make.
3. Use History to reread earlier lines, or Auto to let it play on its own.
4. Read to the end of her account.

Tips

• Play with sound on; Leena is fully voiced and her delivery carries the piece.
• Use Auto mode if you want to watch it like a short film.
• Read it in one sitting; it is short and builds as it goes.

Questions