marykellyreed.com // whisperland: a text-based pinterest role-playing game

whisperland

2023

Pinterest, Twine (Harlowe 3.3.5), Visual Studio Code (HTML, CSS, and Javascript)

Above: Installation view of whisperland at SVA Flatiron Gallery, June 2023.

whisperland is a text-based role-playing game based on the social media network Pinterest. It investigates the question "what if you could play Pinterest like a video game?"

There are 7 levels to play through and 3 possible endings, including one "winning" ending. Gameplay takes 10-15 minutes.

play now

Click the button above to play for yourself (game runs in your web browser and is mobile-compatible), or watch the trailer below to get a sense of the gameplay. (You can also watch this video for a peek at how the code functions, but beware, the end of the video contains a spoiler for the end of the game!)

My artist statement from the exhibition:

For whisperland, I was interested in ways that we play beyond childhood, and the notion that there are forms of play that we grow out of, such as playing with dolls. And do all forms of play imitate something in the "real world?" whisperland frames the feminized social media platform of Pinterest as a site for adolescent and adult play and dream/wish fulfillment. The mini-games encourage the player/viewer to engage with a fantasy world that stems from my collection of images on Pinterest. The name whisperland is derived from a Pinterest-specific type of meme, the whisper, which overlays aspirational images with confessional text in a distinctive sans-serif, feminized font.

In the below video, I discuss some of the concepts behind the work and my process making it. My sister and beta tester Elizabeth demos while I talk. Video by Kristin Wedner.