12 | LPM | JUMPSCARE MANOR
12 | LPM | JUMPSCARE MANOR
by: Damon L. Wakes
Progress:
- I reached an ending in around one minute and twenty seconds. Is the length of the game a spoiler in this case? I guess I’ll tag it. Anyway, I actually tried replaying this game to see if there were any alternate endings or something, but since the game remembered my progress, it wasn’t feasible to restart it as I just returned to the final screen.
Engagement with Horror Genre:
- This was camp. It’s a short comedy-horror piece making fun of a few horror tropes, namely the titular jumpscare. It’s cheap, but effective. You know it’s happening, you have a good idea how it’s going to happen, and for those 80 seconds, I still felt tense about clicking on every link that I did until it happened.
Things I Appreciated:
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Despite its brevity, I laughed multiple times while playing, so it really makes those few lines of text count. Even the front matter is funny. “It’s pronounced ‘Jump-scar-ay’” made me laugh days before I actually played this, when I would see it while scrolling through to find the next game the randomizer had picked out for me.
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I thought the presentation was clever: as I was playing, my mind was racing as to how the jumpscare would work. Would it be one of the links that I clicked on? Or was it on a timer? I felt compelled to keep clicking through, on the verge of distraction by mapping the passageways in case that somehow mattered, while still kind of feeling like I was trying to run away from my fate. It’s a pithy experience.
Miscellaneous Comments/Recommendations:
- I mean what is there to say, really? There could’ve been more jumpscares? It’s “Jumpscare Manor,” not “Jumpscares Manor.”
What I learned about IF writing/game design:
- There’s something fascinating to me about the restraint of the jumpscare. Actually getting jumpscared can be a pretty unpleasant experience, especially if you truly aren’t expecting it. This piece sets the table with its framing to create a safe enough space to actually enjoy a jumpscare, but in a way that also undercuts its intensity. It’s loud, but not excessively so. It doesn’t take up the entire screen. It’s essentially, an amuse bouche of jumpscare. (Oh my god. I suddenly, just now, had a massive bout of paranoia because, while writing this response, I had left the game open to the ending screen. The description of the game says it “contains jumpscares,” plural! What if there is a SECOND jumpscare from that “final” screen, on a longer timer?? I rushed to close that tab just in case. See, this is why jumpscares create trust issues!)
Memorable Moment:
- I realize this is a bit basic, but… getting jumpscared. That’s the reason we’re all here.