Gossip Buster

Your view of the world is bleak, your pen a razor's edge. Critics say your tales are dark, a source of constant dread. Your books collect dust, your audience a mere dream. You're a self-publishing school reporter, in desperate need of a gleam.

Play as the gloomy journalist in this Noir adventure, wandering the picturesque campus, covertly assessing your surrounds to learn the habits and schedules of other students. Take damning photos to reveal the truth behind the gossip, but be careful not to be spotted or you risk altering their schedules. Think you've seen enough? Skip ahead to the next time slot to see what other students are up to.

Each student has a set schedule that repeats every week, and you only have a limited time before the gossip takes hold and ruins their life. You have one chance to rebut the gossip and write something positive to turn their life around.

Follow the story, keep track of who is around the victim, and you may have a chance to catch the attention-grabbing gossiper.

Story

As a self-appointed school journalist, your life was simple. You would show up to events, listen to what people had to say, write down their words verbatim, and sneak in your own commentary in small print. High school is miserable, and you believe the world is ending.

However, your life as school journalist takes a complicated turn as gossip and inuendo takes hold of Regalias High. Not only are you now discerning truth from rumour, but you also now find yourself embroiled in controversy after being made the scapegoat of school scuttlebutt. With accusations flying in all directions, nobody wants to talk to you, and your small critiques of society have nowhere to hide. It's time to show the crowd what investigative journalism is all about. Your task is to uncover the culprit spreading all the rumours. As the clock ticks down, you have one chance to change the course of school history.

"A lie repeated often enough becomes the truth."

Ideas are a powerful force, spreading, evolving, and taking root in people's minds like seeds being planted in soil. They can inspire and transform entire generations and reach the farthest corners of charted land. But the same can also be said of lies, whether they are harmless, thoughtless, incidental, accidental, vicious, or malicious.

This game is inspired by the Noir detective genre, but with a lighter touch as it tackles gossip instead of murder. The Wednesday Addams-like protagonist with a black-and-white camera inhabits this crime-less school bubble where gossip is the school community’s biggest concern. This stark contrast is a reminder that pain inflicted on the mind can be as hurtful as that inflicted physically.

Inspiration

Conway: Disappearance at Dahlia View - White Paper Games