MyHouse: The mysterious game inspired by ‘Casa de Folhas’ – 03/13/2024 – Illustrated

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“Last August, I lost a great childhood friend and was very shaken. When I was visiting my hometown for his wake, I got in touch with his parents, who shared some of his belongings with me. Among them was a copy of a old map saved on a floppy disk from high school.”

This is how, in March last year, the story of a small game that took over the internet began. From a post on a niche forum to a series of videos on YouTube that have millions of views.

“MyHouse.wad” is a custom map (hence the .wad in the title) from “Doom 2”, a 1994 game that was a precursor to FPS — first-person shooters. What started out as naive ended up taking on the form of so-called “creepypasta”, the horror stories that go viral on forums and social media.

Developer Veddge explains on the Doomworld forum, which has been running since 1998, that using modification tools to recreate your own home was a sensation at the time of the game. It’s like today’s teenagers doing it on “Minecraft” or “Roblox.”

But, contrary to what the post says, the map is not just a reproduction of the house where the creator’s childhood friend, Thomas, lived. That’s what it seems like in the first few minutes, but, as you move around the house, eliminate enemies and notice strange patterns, the player realizes that there is something beyond.

It turns out that “My House” is a map inspired by the book “House of Leaves”, by Mark Z. Danielewski, a cult horror classic published in 2000 in the United States. The work will be released in Brazil for the first time this Friday (15) by the publisher DarkSide.

The novel begins with the narrator describing his encounter with the writings of Zampanò, an elderly recluse found dead. This man tells the story of a family who lives in a house in which the laws of physics do not apply, where the outside and the inside have different dimensions. The more this narrator reads about the house, the more dazed and paranoid he becomes.

The game, then, starts from this premise, of a house whose geometry is impossible, to give narrative depth to a 30-year-old game that is generally associated with violence, satanic monsters and heavy metal, in good 1990s style.

The structures of the house in “My House” change as the player progresses. A door appears where there was a wall. A painting hanging in the room changes shape. A mirror becomes a window. And it is by entering and leaving suspicious places and discovering secret items that the player better understands what is happening.

Like the novel that inspired it, “My House” also seeks to experiment with formality. For example, in the game’s file folder, there are newspaper clippings, old photos and a kind of developer’s logbook.

In it, Veddge writes about the grieving process and how he came across the old floppy disks on which he and his friend saved their original maps. That’s where he finds “MyHouse.wad”.

These reports from the anonymous developer give subtle tips on how to progress through the game, which lasts no more than a few hours. When reading how this floppy disk created a life of its own and added resources that the creator did not remember adding, the player-reader realizes that it is not a simple diary.

For example, dreams reported in this text are reflected in scenes on the map, such as a mysterious airport and a brutalist building. The dreamlike setting and primitive 3D graphics also help to give it a dark feel.

All this mystery surrounding the house, the developer and the secrets of the story made the game an unexpected hit in a year marked by major productions.

In addition to “MyHouse.wad”, “Casa de Folhas” inspired several other indie games and also titles from the Remedy studio, mainly the acclaimed “Control”, from 2019. The “Alan Wake” series itself, whose sequel released last year was a success, it also has references to romance. Let more come.

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PLAY

game tip, new or old, for you to try

MyHouse.wad
(PRAÇA)

Go back two spaces.

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UPDATE

news, launches, business and what matters most

• Nintendo has reached a legal settlement in the US with Tropic Haze, developer of the Yuzu emulator that was sued for facilitating Switch piracy. The owner of the software closed its operations, stopped distributing the code and agreed to pay US$2.4 million to the Japanese company.
• The program, which raised funds through a crowdfunding campaign, allowed Nintendo Switch games to be played on PC and Android. The agreement also led to the closure of the Nintendo 3DS emulator Citra, developed by the same team.
• The Japanese company announced on Sunday (10) the release dates for the remakes “Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door” (May 23), “Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon” (June 27) and the arrival of other titles from the plumber on Nintendo Switch Online. Furthermore, he confirmed that the character’s next film will hit theaters in April 2026.
• Toys For Bob, responsible for “Skylanders” and “Crash Bandicoot 4”, will separate from Activision, now owned by Microsoft, after almost 20 years operating as a subsidiary. “This opportunity allows us to return to our roots as a small, agile studio,” he said in a statement. According to the studio, both companies support the decision.
• Xbox event held on Wednesday (6) announced “The Sinking City 2”, “Creatures of Ava” and the expansion of “Persona 3 Reload”. Also highlighted were Capcom’s “Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess” and the arrival of “Final Fantasy 14 Online” for the Microsoft console on March 21.
• The Prime Video series based on “Fallout” got a full trailer last week. It is produced by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, from “Westworld”, starring Ella Purnell, Aaron Moten and Walton Goggins, and hits streaming on April 11.
• Gamescom Latam has started selling tickets for the event, which takes place between June 26th and 30th in São Paulo. Tickets cost from R$75 (half) per day. It is the first time that Europe’s main gaming event will be held in Latin America, following a merger with BIG Festival.
• PlayStation announced that the exclusive “Ghost of Tsushima”, developed by the Sucker Punch studio, will arrive on PCs on May 16. The action game set in feudal Japan is available for pre-order on Steam and the Epic Games Store for R$249.90.
• Studio Pixel Punk, from Brazilians Tiani Pixel and Fernanda Dias, announced last week the first new game after the success of “Unsighted”, from 2021. “Abyss X Zero” has retro 3D graphics and is defined as a metroidvania with stylish combat . There is no launch day yet.

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download

games that will be launched in the next few days and promotions that are worth it

12.mar

• “Contra: Operation Galuga”: R$ 199.50 (Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series), price not available (PS4, PS5, PC)

14.mar

• “Dungeon Drafters”: price not available (Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series)

• “Star Wars: Battlefront – Classic Collection”: R$ 94.55 (PC), R$ 129.95 (Xbox One, Xbox Series), R$ 173.43 (Nintendo Switch), R$ 187.90 (PS4, PS5)

• “Highwater”: price not available (Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series)

• “Panzer Paladin”: R$ 49.90 (Nintendo Switch)

• “Flinthook”: R$80 (Nintendo Switch)

• “Mercenary Kings”: R$108 (Nintendo Switch)

18.mar

Nintendo is offering a 14-day free trial of the Nintendo Switch Online subscription service, with which you can play online and access titles from the company’s previous consoles. The offer can be redeemed until 3:59 am on March 18, including by those who have already tested the service before.