Banned Together
Banned Together is a short interactive story game, developed in a 3D mod of the open-source Bitsy game engine. Play as Ruby, a trans college student on a surreal, after-hours adventure through the campus library during Banned Books Week.
Explore the library and your own relationship with the spiritual, economic, and narrative impact of book banning and erasure on queer community — and the potential of queer relationships to transcend the weight of oppression and sustain our ongoing fight for justice.
Banned Together was originally developed as part of Just Play: A Game Jam For Justice, from December 2023 to Jan 2024.
CONTROLS
Banned Together uses a classic "dungeon crawler" game camera.
On desktop...
- Use W/S or the up/down arrows to move forward & backward
- Use A/D or the left/right arrows to turn
- Use Q/E or Shift + left/right to strafe to either side
- Press any key to progress through dialogue
- In a couple well marked places, you will also need to use the number keys for input
On mobile...
- Swipe (up, down, left, right) to move and turn
- Tap anywhere to progress through dialogue
- Numbered buttons will appeared whenever numeric input is required
To interact with objects, simply run into them!
(Note: iPad & tablets are not fully supported currently)
TIPS
Explore each room of the library carefully. Be sure you've interacted with everything! (Items with interactions tend to have an animated appearance.)
If you switch away from your game tab and then return, you may need to wait a moment for the game to become responsive again.
We recommend turning your sound up for the full experience!
TEAM
Elana Bell Bogdan (she/her) is a game designer and UI engineer with over 7 years of experience. Her passion is for crafting accessible, immersive experiences to help make the world a better place.
Nat Mesnard (they/them) is a writer and game designer who has published TTRPGs, short fiction, and poetry. They aspire to create innovative fiction that spans the intersection of lit culture and nerd life.
