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The Lacquer Screen (1981-1987), a cult-classic panel TV-show steeped in Orientalism that danced on the hot coals of the inhibited sexuality of its time period, prominently featured an antique piece of the eponymous partition. When the show came to an abrupt end that legendary prop vanished, only to be rediscovered in the home of one of your neighbours. As a collector of obscure TV memorabilia, will you take this once-in-a-lifetime chance to discover the secrets of a fabled piece of television history?
The Lacquer Screen is a short horror game made in Twine. Your neighbour, for whom you've been remastering the eponymous series for some quick cash, just passed away... leaving you a short window to snoop around his apartment and go through his memorabilia.
Though fairly short, the atmosphere is quite interesting, balancing between the mundanity of a life as a recluse and more surreal/horror-y aspect of your subconscious playing tricks with you. The prose is pretty evocative at times, especially in the descriptions of the past.
Exploring the apartment felt somewhat sacrilegious, considering the setting, even if the PC indicates no one would bother going through his neighbour's things. Paradoxically, I wish there were more to explore, both about the show itself, the man that lived in that apartment, and yourself. There are traces of this being the author's plan, as the computer (with a neat little puzzle) includes files that would explain things... if they were clickable.