What is The Case of Happy Valley Inc.?
The Case of Happy Valley Inc. is an 8-bit visual novel game about a boy named Nylon who sets out on a journey to uncover the mysteries surrounding Happy Valley Inc., a corporation that has taken over his hometown, New Eden. One day, Happy Valley Inc. showed up in town and their products took over all of the markets and stores. Afterwards, Nylon notices that everyone in town suddenly seems to be acting strange, and he decides to find out what exactly Happy Valley Inc. is hiding. You explore locations, talk to townspeople, and use what you learn to ultimately reclaim Nylon’s home. The game is story-based and has an absurd tone. In terms of visuals, the game uses bright colors and an abstract style to convey its story.
Why did you choose to make this?
My project derives from instances of consumer-driven culture and mass production, and comments on the consequences and absurdity of such things. For example, we’ve seen the rise of fast fashion and related companies, and even “crazes” over things like Stanley water tumblers.
What if we were brainwashed to become hyper-consumers and capitalist monsters? In The Case of Happy Valley Inc., we eventually discover that this is the case. We see that the town has fallen into disrepair after the arrival of Happy Valley Inc.: the park’s greenery is dead, trash and discarded items litter the locations, and the buildings are becoming filthy. The townspeople only seem to care about making money by working in Happy Valley factories and buying as many products as they can. Nylon observes these things and does what he can to restore his hometown to what it once was by getting rid of the mysterious Happy Valley Inc.
My project’s theme and narrative relate to other works, one being the game Earthbound. Earthbound is a 1994 RPG about kids with psychic and physical abilities taking down an alien force that invaded their hometown. The game’s tone is goofy and comical, with an ordinary setting different from other RPGs of the time. My project also uses a sillier tone and is about a kid reclaiming his home. Instead of taking place in some fantasy land, both games take place mainly in regular locations. Using a familiar setting but a ridiculous narrative allows the player to draw connections between the game and the real world, and view real issues of modern society in a different way.
How did you make it? How does it work?
I am creating my project in GameMaker Studio 2, with assets created via free images and photo editing software. Nylon is controlled using the WASD Keys, with the ENTER key being used to click on objects and characters to bring up textboxes. You can play through the textboxes using the Spacebar. To bring up the inventory, you can click on the bag icon in the bottom-right, and click on an item to use it.
elise chun 