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It is a horror/adventure game with a heavy emphasis on puzzles and story telling. Fortunately, Ib has multiple endings, each of which I will cover later on. You play the game as the nine-year old protagonist, Ib (which sounds like 'eve' ). The game begins with the young girl arriving at an art gallery with her parents. Ib (pronouced 'Eeb' or 'Eve') is a horror adventure game by Japanese developer Kouri made in RPG Maker 2000. The game follows the story of a young girl named. (pronounced 'Eeb,' similar to 'Eve') is a freeware horror adventure game by kouri made in RPG Maker 2000. A young girl named Ib visits an art gallery with her parents. Ib focuses on a girl named Ib, whom visits an art gallery with her parents. This trip turns into a nightmare, as the gallery grows a mind of it's own. It's a horror puzzle,with a lot of puzzles and a little less horror. There are chasers in this game, so if you're not good with chasers then you probably shouldn't play.

This post is part of the Designing Horror series.

Game: Ibby Kouri

Ib is a game about a young girl who goes to an art exhibition with her parents. The exhibition is a retrospective on an artist named Guertena, whose work can best be described as a mashup of contemporary art, running the gamut of painting, sculpture, “outsider”-style modern art, and basically anything else you can think of. Ib wanders away from her parents and through the gallery, returning after she has viewed all the work in order to find that her parents have disappeared. Then she gets swallowed by the artwork.

The rest of the game is spent moving through a dreamlike world based on Guertena’s art. The game moves along via narrative events and puzzles that facilitate the narrative, mostly in the classic adventure game model of “find something and take it to a place,” although this is occasionally interrupted by moving block puzzles.

Then, at the end of the game, the narrative choices that you have made pay off in the form of a hierarchy of endings that go from “really nice” to “absolutely, incredibly sad.”

1. How Does It Work?

Ib is a horror game built in RPG Maker, which means that there are certain things afforded to the game. To begin with, it means that some general markers of contemporary indie horror games, like a first-person view and sound cues based on that, aren’t available to Ib. The effect of that, and this might a necessary simplification, is that Ib has to work a lot harder to be a scary game.

Being set in an art gallery enables Ib to be a horror game on face due to the nature of contemporary art. Walking through the post-1950s section of any major art institute in the United States is, with the right lighting and music, indistinguishable from a haunted house. Ib is designed to leverage this, with each piece of Guertena’s art from the opening of the game appearing variously as either moving, scary paintings or walking/shuffling enemies. The affordances of the RPG Maker platform are crucial to how the artwork of Ib is horrifying, particularly in the realm of motion and action. RPG Maker is not an engine that you would choose in order to make a game about aggressive action — rather, RPG Maker is better at methodical, narrative-oriented experiences. The art objects that you find scattered through the dream world of Ib are mostly static, staying in their tile space and animating at unpredictable times and intervals. In the case of the few enemies that actually move, we can see that they just sort of generally move in the cardinal directions toward the player, meandering in a semi-disinterested manner toward the player, attempting to eliminate her from this dreaming.

Why talking about the “how” of Ib‘s horror requires us to move beyond the level of the aesthetic, I really do want to stress how successful creator Kouri was in leveraging what was possible within the restrictions of RPG Maker, particularly in the design of horrific encounters. For example, in one segment of the game Ib’s companion Garry is being followed by a doll. The character moves up through a zig zagging pathway, moving right and left, and a doll constantly appears in front of you on the ground. Every time you move far enough away for it to disappear from the screen, it appears again in front of you. Each time that you see it anew, you can choose to talk with it; it will always be hurt and sad that you are abandoning it. This static placement of the sprite seems wholly disinterested in the player — there’s no obligation to interact with it. That makes it more effective when you do choose to speak with it. Kouri knows that the repeated appearance of the doll will interest us, and when we speak with it, we’re delivered the uncanny experience of it speaking directly to us, questioning why we would leave it behind us every time the screen scrolls to the right and the left.

In another scene, Garry enters a small room filled with a number of dolls, and there’s a large empty picture from in the back of the room, directly in front of the player. The door locks and a timer starts, and the player has to find a special doll. While you’re hunting for the correct doll, a large, more horrifying doll slowly creeps up and through the empty picture frame. If it comes through, the game is over.

This design move is one that I’ve seen occur a few times — off the top of my head, Deep Sleepand 5 Days a Strangerboth used it to varying success — and it seems to be a very safe method for taking a game that generally has a creepy feeling and putting it over the line into adrenaline-fueled full-body sweating. Overall, I think it is a pretty successful design strategy — taking a very deliberate experience and inserting a quick moment of non-deliberative action interrupts the player’s expectations of what is coming.

I apologize for some of that being dry (and maybe repetitive for frequent reader of this series), but I really do think that Ib is successful because it is leveraging a lot of qualities that I’ve been harping on in this series. It avoids jump scares in favor of a general creepy feeling that is delivered through repetition and the plodding, always-forward nature of the top-down JRPG aesthetic.

2. Why Is It Horror?

Many of the games in this series leverage the unknown as a way of generating fear. As I’ve gone over time and time again, the most common way of addressing the unknown is through sensory denial, and even more specifically, by limiting the visual field the player has access to. Ib avoids this by leveraging tranformation instead of appearance; things that exist in the visual field turn into something horrifying in front of you rather than simply blinking into existence at an optimal scary moment.

By choosing a contemporary art exhibition as the setting for the game, Kouri is also operating on the indeterminacy of that space. Guertena’s paintings can come to life at any moment, and it triggers a deep fear in me. Could there be anything more terrifying than Christina’s World turning and looking back at the viewer? What if The Golden Calf woke from its sleep and spoke, holding us accountable for its death?

These works operate on that uncanny level — what if they addressed up more strangely than they do now? — and Kouri takes it to the next step, literalizing that address, and affirming that there would be no love for us from our creations.

3. What Did It Do To Me?

I experienced a general discomfort during this game. I checked behind myself a few times. I thought I heard noises.

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Ib (イヴ, ibu) is a 2012 freewarepsychological horror video game published and developed by Kouri (stylized in all lowercase) for Microsoft Windows. Players control the titular character from a top-down perspective trapped in an eldritch art museum, later revealed to be titled the 'Fabricated World', where they meet the characters Garry and Mary. Together, they make the goal of escaping the gallery and returning to the real world.

Ib is the debut game of developer kouri, and was developed using RPG Maker 2000.^[1] The art and sprites were created by kouri, and the game was made in a two-dimensional style.

Upon release in 2012, Ib was a critical and commercial success, and in 2014 achieved over 2 million downloads across Japan and the United States. The game received praise from critics and audiences alike, particularly for its gameplay, plot and characters. It has since attained a cult following, and Ib has been credited with helping popularize its engine's use in developing games without role-playing elements.^[2]

Gameplay[edit]

The player moves a character through two-dimensional fields, interacting with and examining various objects. Obstacles come in the forms of blocked paths, which the player must overcome, and enemies or traps that deplete the player character's health. Once health reaches zero, the player loses. The player wins by seeing the narrative through to one of its ends. The game's English translator has said that the game is not demanding of the player's reflexes,^[3] although many enemies are fairly swift in movement.

Plot[edit]

The game takes place at some point after the year 6235, as the numbers given with the paintings are years, as confirmed by the Japanese kanji for the games' script. A young girl, Ib, is taken to fictitious artist Guertena Weiss' art museum by her mother and father. With her parents' permission, Ib wanders off on her own. She examines a painting she does not understand as the museum abruptly empties during a power outage, its doors locking before she can leave with the other guests. A series of paint splatters guide her into a different painting of the deep sea, which she physically enters. Trapped in an alien, painted world, Ib eventually discovers a purple-haired figure on the ground, where the game requires you to retrieve his rose and replenish its life. After doing so, it is revealed that the figure is Garry, a soft-spoken young man sporting tattered clothes. They join forces and as they explore, they develop a close bond, and Garry becomes protective and nurturing of Ib.

Later on, the pair come across Mary, a eccentric girl who is believed to be around Ib's age. She joins the group, and the three continue to explore. Upon inspection of a painting further in the game, the group are separated by a wall of emerging stone vines, leaving Garry by his lonesome meanwhile Ib and Mary are together as a duo. Known as the 'separation puzzle', the player can control both sides in certain areas and must work to reunite once again. It is soon revealed to Garry that the 'antagonist' of the game is Mary, who's true identity was a painting. Later 'endings' would also reveal a backstory, possibly which influences her actions.

Later in the game, the player will discover Mary's painting where they must then burn it, which effectively kills Mary. This can be encountered with or without Garry, who will either survive or die depending on the player's actions. The player will soon after come across a large painting, which is required for the player to jump through in order to escape. Depending on the player's actions, a distraction will appear each time they are about to do so (the only exception being if the player is on route to the 'Together, Forever' ending); if Ib follows suit on that distraction, she will be stuck in the Fabricated World, and this will result in the 'Ib All Alone' ending.

Soon after, the player finds their way back to the real world, where Ib will have lost all of her memory regarding her experiences in the Fabricated World. If Garry survives, she will see him at the 'Embodiment of Spirit' statue, where two scenarios can happen; depending on the player's actions, Garry will either recount no memory alike to Ib and leave, resulting in the ending 'Memory's Crannies', or he will remember their past experiences and promise for the two to meet each other once again, leading to what is considered to be the game's best ending, the 'Promise of Reunion.' If Garry does not make it back to the real world, then one of two things can happen depending on the players actions; Ib will leave with her parents, resulting in the ending 'Forgotten Portrait'. If Mary was not killed before Ib escaped, then Mary will follow her back into the real world where she will be recognized by Ib's parents as their second child, before they all leave the gallery, resulting in the 'Together, Forever' ending.

Characters[edit]

Main characters[edit]

Ib (Japanese イヴ, romaji ibu)

A young girl, believed to be roughly 9 years of age. Ib has long, straight brown hair and red eyes. One day, Ib becomes trapped in Weiss Guertena's art museum.

Kouri describes in his official blog posts that Ib is the heroine; 'Red-themed. Her family is upper-class, so her skirt goes just down to her knees.' When showing the original first design of Ib, he notes, 'the expression isn't quite right, but her clothes hardly changed.' He mentions Ib 'loves her mother. Of course, she gets along with father too.' Initially, Kouri planned to have the menu image change for every petal the player lost of the rose. So Ib would look more ragged when she got down to 3 petals, but it 'was too much of a hassle.'^[4]

Despite possible other translations for her name (such as 'Eve') her name is officially written in English by Kouri as 'Ib'. That her name was officially meant to be 'Eve' is a common misconception among fans, as Kouri has stated a clear preference for 'Ib'.

Garry (Japanese ギャリー, romaji Gyarī)

A soft-spoken young man with lavender-like colored hair, dressed in tattered clothes who becomes protective and nurturing of Ib, as they try to escape the art gallery together (depending on players' choices). As the game progresses, Garry can go to extreme measures to protect Ib, even to the point of risking his life.

While Garry is often assumed to be an adult by fans, his official age and birthday are unknown. Instead of speaking with the dialect of a middle-aged Japanese man, he speaks using feminine pronouns and dialect (such as 'onee', lit. 'big sister'), similar to lavender linguistics. (For example, using the Japanese personal pronoun of 'watashi', more commonly used by females, instead of 'boku' or 'ore', more commonly used by males.) Despite this, he also refers to himself multiple times as a 'man'; however, his use of such pronouns may associate him as a member of the LGBT community. Creator Kouri has also referred to him in blog posts and official art of Garry dressed in Japanese women's kimono as 'Garry’s someone who'd like to cross the barriers of gender';^[5] and has also mentioned regarding an official artwork of Garry as a witch, 'Making Garry a witch, naturally, doesn’t feel off in the slightest.'^[6] In the game, nothing is stated about his past or background prior to the game, other than Garry briefly mentioning near the start of the game he should have maybe worn better clothing to the art gallery.

In other blog posts as well as his art gallery, Kouri describes Garry's design as 'stylish', stating 'He’s got a stylish design' and describing him as 'Ib's support'. Kouri also mentions for Garry; 'It was hard drawing distinctive expressions since he only shows one eye.' Kouri says he likes the idea of Garry's 'coat fluttering around wherever he goes' and mentions, 'I fiddled with the ruggedness of the coat over time... He has a tank-top underneath.' He mentions 'Garry’s strange, but very easy to like.' He finishes the section on Garry with 'His personality’s very feminine, too', again relating to and confirming Garry's feminine personality.^{[4][failed verification]} A design of Garry with pink hair is shown; Kouri stating 'Garry would have been nice with pink hair, but I scrapped it because he stood out more than the protagonist and it didn’t fit the mood at all.'^[7]

The Japanese spelling of his name could be romanized as 'Gyarii', 'Gerii' or 'Garii'; however, it is officially written in English by Kouri as 'Garry'.

Mary (Japanese メアリー, Romaji 'Mearī')

Dressed in a long green dress, with long blonde hair; a mischievous, eccentric girl who initially looks and acts roughly around Ib's age; noted to have an 'innocent' personality. Later revealed to be a painting, Mary's ultimate desire, as shown by the various initial endings; is to leave the 'Fabricated World' and live as a human in the real world.

Later on, in additional 'endings' released after the initial set of endings, Mary is revealed to be Weiss Guertena's 'daughter', as a painting that he painted (a blog post on Kouri's website after the reveal also shows her happily holding out a yellow rose for 'father'.) A common misconception by fans is that Mary was his granddaughter. However, due to the years given on the paintings, Guertena's death prior to the games' start, and Ib's and Garry's own presumed ages; Mary may be mentally 'developed' as an adult (or young adult), despite also retaining the aforementioned 'innocent' personality (due to her being sheltered and apart from humans in the art gallery).

Kouri describes in his official blog posts that 'She loves cute things', 'Also playing. And delicious things.' He 'had a lot of trouble settling on a color' for her dress, at one point also considering designs featuring the colors of white and blue; navy blue; and orange and black. Personally, Kouri liked the navy design 'just as much. But it seemed too ocean-esque, so' he scrapped it. Kouri wished he could have made a few more 'discussions' between her and Garry.^{[4][failed verification]}

Other characters[edit]

Guertena Weiss (Japanese ワイズ グルテナ, romanji Waizu Gurutena)

The creator of the art gallery; noted initially by many to be a rather mysterious man. As the player progresses in the game, more small pieces of Guertena's history are revealed.

According to his Diary, Guertena believed that people can impart their spirit in the things they create; this including artwork. Guertena's goal was to immerse himself in his work in order to impart his spirit into his creations.

Later on, in additional 'endings' released after the initial set of endings, Mary is revealed to be his 'daughter', as a painting that he painted.

Ib Indie Horror Game

In his self portrait, Guertena wears a white long-sleeved shirt, and can be seen holding a paint brush in his left hand, which hints that Guertena might be left-handed. The picture that he is painting is the portrait of Mary. His face is never shown, leaving the rest of his appearance mysterious. He died prior to the game; of presumed natural causes.

Ib's Parents

Noted to be high-class, as Ib is from an upper-class family. They initially accompany Ib to the art gallery, but disappear along with everyone else when the lights first go out.

Ib's father, a young man, has dark brown hair, dark blue eyes, and pale skin. He wears a blue suit and a green tie. A polite, kind, and also sweet man like Garry; gentle in both words and appearance, he trusts Ib and seems to get along well with her, as portrayed in Kouri's old sketches. Noted to be very 'intimidated' by art. Carefree; he also seems to forget things easily. He obviously loves Ib and, to his wife's disapproval, tends to buy her a lot of stuffed bunny plush dolls, including one which he gave her on her 9th birthday prior to the game's start. He and his wife also appear portrayed together in a portrait in the Fabricated World ('Couple'). He is mentioned very infrequently, and much less so than his wife, thus, his role has little significance. Neither he nor his wife speak with the dialects older Japanese middle-aged people would use; also making it very unlikely Garry is older than them, as Garry does not, either (and, neither does Mary).

Ib's mother is a young woman, with long, well-kept dark brown hair that is tied up in a fancy and fashionable-looking ponytail, red eyes, and pale skin. She wears a red dress with sleeves, and with a red gem on her neck collar. She acts loving and caring towards her daughter, and very much overall like a 'mother', and seemingly does not want to spoil Ib much, as she disapproved of Ib's father giving Ib a lot of stuffed bunny plush dolls for her birthday or otherwise (and because Ib had many already). She lets Ib wander off on her own to explore the art gallery at the start of the game, but also expects Ib to behave. Ib shortly (as always) tells Mary at one point that her mother becomes 'angry' sometimes, during which she 'isn't nice', likely because of such disciplining of her daughter. However, she also trusts Ib to be responsible, especially where Ib's handkerchief is concerned (the handkerchief item of which also playing a significant role in the best 'good ending', among other variations, likely due in part to her telling Ib to be responsible). She warns Ib to stay away from strangers, which foreshadows later endings of the game.

In some said 'bad endings', among others, a 'Fake Mother' appears, trying to deceive Ib using the tactic of also telling Ib to stay away from strangers (in many cases, Garry is also there). If Ib chooses to go with the 'Fake Mother', the player will receive 'bad ending's of 'Ib All Alone'.

Ib Horror Game Download

If Ib escapes the Fabricated World, Ib's mother can be found looking at paintings in the art gallery, and in some versions of the endings tells Ib that it is time to leave.

Ib Horror Game Steam

Reception[edit]

Ib has gained a cult following in the horror indie game field. It has received praise for its atmosphere, music and general design, and has garnered comparisons to Yume Nikki.^[8]

By the start of 2014, Kouri mentioned on his website that Ib broke 1,150,000 downloads in Japan. There was a similar number of downloads on the English side.^[9]

Ib also received some official merchandise, such as mini 3D figurines sold at Animate shops around Japan in early 2014; a 2013 calendar sold at Comiket 83; mascot plush dolls of Ib, Garry, and Mary sold as arcade prizes around late January 2013 at Taito Station; and a tote bag and a wine glass sold at 'Guertena Shop'.^[7]

References[edit]

1. ^'Ib - vgperson's Translations'. vgperson.com. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
2. ^RPGmakerweb (15 July 2014). 'THE RISE OF THE NON-RPG RPG MAKER GAME: HORROR GAMES'. RPG Maker. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
3. ^'Ib - vgperson's Translations'. vgperson. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
4. ^ ^abc'Ib Gyararī' Ibギャラリー [Ib Gallery]. モノクロミュージアム (in Japanese). Kouri. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
5. ^Kouri (2 January 2013). '2013-Nen desu' 2013年です [It's 2013]. モノクロブログ (in Japanese). Kouri. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
6. ^Kouri (2 January 2013). 'Harōwin Gentei' ハロウィン限定 [Halloween Limited]. モノクロブログ (in Japanese). Kouri. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
7. ^ ^abKouri (14 December 2012). 'Ib Karendā Hanbai no Oshirase' Ibカレンダー販売のお知らせ [Ib Calendar Sales Notice]. モノクロブログ (in Japanese). Kouri. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
8. ^Shiloh, Scarlett (2 November 2017). 'A Look Into an Artist's Mind & RPGMaker Horror Games Through 'Ib''. Entertainment Monthly. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
9. ^Kouri (31 December 2013). '2013-Nen no Kansō' 2013年の感想 [Reaction to 2013]. モノクロブログ (in Japanese). Kouri. Retrieved 4 October 2018.

External links[edit]

• Official website(in Japanese)

Ib Indie Horror Rpg Games