Birds of Paradise is an interactive fiction horror game in which the player controls a human girl named Nara on her journey to become the illustrious Bird of Paradise and marry the King of Paradise. In order to do so, she must find the three Primaries, a trio of bird-women who must be defeated for Nara to take her title. The Primaries, Larke, Finch, and Wrenn, must all be killed for the player to get the Good Ending.
Birds of Paradise was made in Twine. Coding, story, and art were made by me, with the exception of the bloodstains, which were free to use for noncommercial products.
For this game, I focused on a horror experience about women, for women. Through this dark interactive experience, I explored how women are pitted against each other in the pursuit of “true love.” The main character’s obsessions with love from a man trap her in a killing game in a game she cannot win. The Primaries, trapped in the King’s world and knowing naught else, grow obsessed with love and beauty, which remains out of reach. Only the King of Paradise, the game-maker, can benefit from their suffering.
