Mousetrap

Welcome to Whimsey World!
May all your nightmares come true...

WARNING: Mousetrap is rated 18+. It contains graphic violence, gore, surrealist horror, potential body horror, waking nightmares, and death.

Mousetrap is a surrealist survival horror story. It was written by Albie for the @interact-if 2022 ranked game jam where it tied for second overall. 

The Story
You're one of the many overworked interns working at Whimsey World. When it was announced that Imogen, a category three hurricane, would soon hit Orlando, Florida, your employers asked for volunteers to remain in the parks during the storm, promising triple pay for at least 24 hours. You and your friend seized the opportunity. After all, Whimsey wouldn't ask its cast members to stay behind if it was potentially dangerous.

That's what you assumed before you were knocked unconscious. Before you woke up in a costume chained to your friend and three strangers. Before Dickey the Rat informed you and your "team" that you get $250,000 for each person you kill. Before the neurotoxins pumping through the park's air system began to loosen your grip on reality. Before nightmares and the real world bled into a horrifying, broken fantasy you can't wake up from.

If you survive the storm (and the things lurking within it), you'll win riches beyond your wildest dreams. But how far are you willing to go? How committed are you to pleasing your guests and satisfying your spectators? The Show will go on. It will always go on. But what role will you play in it?

The Cast
Alaric/Aria Wagner - your optimistic and level-headed friend from Germany working in merchandise as part of a work exchange program
Emerson Liu - a fellow intern who works as a custodian, an aspiring novelist with an insatiable thirst for truth and unending curiosity
Jovy Rivera - a full-time stagehand and gaffer for the park's stage shows, an extremely sarcastic individual who hates having to take things seriously
Max Keller - a part-time face character, part-time med student with a personality opposite those of the viallainous or chaotic characters  they portray
A. Wagner can be male or female, Emerson is female, Jovy is nonbinary, and Max can be male, female, or nonbinary

Timeline
This game is in development but there aren't currently any firm dates on when updates will be released or when the game will be completed. If you want more info on the project and how it's developing, check out the Mousetrap Tumblr blog (here).

This game was created as part of the 2022 Interact-IF ranked game jam. Developers had the month of January to make a game that fit the theme "cliffhanger." Mousetrap tied for second overall, came in first for UI design, tied for first for gameplay, and came in third for story and plot.