FORBIDDEN

The premise
Three places have been sealed off by people with something to hide. You are Nora Hale, a photojournalist who refuses to look away. Armed with a camera and a flashlight, you must enter each forbidden location, find proof of what happened inside, and escape with your evidence.

How it plays
The world is dark, and your flashlight follows your cursor, so you explore by light and curiosity. Every click takes a photograph, and film is limited to eight frames per location. Real clues are mixed with convincing distractions, which means every shot is a decision. Once you've gathered enough evidence, a lock appears. The answer isn't handed to you: you must combine what you've photographed, whether that is a circled date, a count of crows, or scrambled file fragments.

The three locations

• The Cannery: a factory closed overnight, with a date someone circled in red.
• The Sealed House: a family estate where candles, crows, and chimes hide a code.
• The Underground Lab: the final proof, protected by a puzzle of broken fragments.

What makes it different

• One clear mechanic, taught without a tutorial.
• Resource pressure that rewards observation over guessing.
• A distinct visual identity for each location.
• A ranking at the end based on how many frames you used.

Experience
A complete story in about ten minutes, with a beginning, a rising mystery, and a payoff. Built for replay: can you finish with fewer frames?