Black Closet
Black Closet is a mystery visual novel, strategy RPG and life simulation game developed and published by Hanako Games and released on September 16, 2015 for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux on the digital distribution service Steam. The game was received positively by critics, and was a finalist for the Excellence in Narrative award at the 2016 IGF.
Black Closet
- Date
- 2015
- Publisher
- Black Closet was published by Hanako Games.
- Language
- English
- Genre
- strategy video game · LGBT-themed video game · yuri game
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Black Closet is a mystery visual novel, strategy RPG and life simulation game developed and published by Hanako Games and released on September 16, 2015 for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux on the digital distribution service Steam. The game was received positively by critics, and was a finalist for the Excellence in Narrative award at the 2016 IGF.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Black Closet. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q33111325 · wikipedia · Black Closet
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Title — Black Closet • Developer — Hanako Games • Publisher — Hanako Games • Engine — Ren'Py • Released — September 16, 2015 • Genre — Visual novel, Strategy RPG, Life simulation
Gameplay
Gameplay
Black Closet combines traits of a visual novel and a strategy RPG. Players play the role of Elsa, a student in a prestigious school for girls named St. Claudine's. She must solve procedurally-generated mysteries in order to increase her leadership abilities, using a group of fellow student assistants. However, one of these students is a traitor, and Elsa must find their identity.
Plot
Plot
The main character, Elsa, is sent to an elite all-girls school, where she becomes the student council president. Her job is to track down students who are committing misdemeanors and scandals to maintain the school's integrity. The game also has yuri elements to its story, letting players romance five potential women.
Development
Development
The game was developed by Hanako Games founder Georgina Bensley, who was a full-time independent game developer for 10 years prior to the game's release. It was created in a customized fork of the Ren'Py engine. The game was initially prototyped on paper to determine the gameplay concept's feasibility. The game took roughly three years to develop. The concept for the game was inspired by the espionage work in Floor 13 as well as the developer's own experience in an Episcopalian private school, with some of the situations in the game being inspired by real-life events she had seen. The game's RPG aspects were also inspired by western RPG series such as Baldur's Gate and Dragon Age, giving freedom to shape the character's personality as well as the story.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
- United Kingdom
Named but not plotted · 1
Black Closet is associated with United Kingdom.
Country
Reception
Black Closet was well received by critics. Katherine Cross of Rock, Paper, Shotgun said the game "punctures misogynist stereotypes around teen dramas" and that the characters "who at first blush appear to be tropes" later become more interesting. Graham Smith of the same publication said that the game was a "smart, well-written, choice-and-consequences game that deserves more attention". Leigh Alexander, writing for Boing Boing, said that she "kinda [dug]" the game and called the concept "engaging" and "refreshing". John Bridgman of Indiegames.com called the concept of the game "interesting", despite saying that it "lacks polish". The game became an IGF finalist for Excellence in Narrative in 2016.
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Black Closet”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q33111325: Black Closet
General reference · Wikidata
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 18 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Collectables
20,755 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Bitty BabyTerminology
- Black & WhiteWork
- Black BeltWork
- Black BookWork
- Black DahliaWork
- Black DawnWork
- Black DesertWork
- black dollTerminology
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a copy of Black Closet?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.