Project introduction:
This project is a narrative web prototype built in Framer, drawing mainly on Herman Melvilles’s “Bartleby, the Scrivener,” but also a range of texts and historical events from 19th century America.
The year is 2011. Crowds are broiling in Wall Street, and Dave, a manager at Boucher & Crowe Consulting, recently got rid of a junior consultant who refused to work soon after he returned from the Kimpton Hotel Monaco Washington DC on a business trip. Home to the General Post Office and its enigmatic Dead Letter Office from 1842 to 1897, the hotel was recently purchased by Liberty Greens Trust, who enlisted B&CC to conduct an on-site review focused on downsizing and rebranding. As Dave looks through Rigby’s case notes and personal items, he discovers unsettling details about the hotel and Rigby’s strange behaviour. Between depressing interviews with hotel staff who knew well that they were facing the sack, Rigby seemed to have discovered a cabinet of old documents from the 19th century. Collected by one Mr. Bartleby, the papers and letters form a scattered archive of injustices in 19th century America
The player will step in the shoes of Dave and investigate Rigby’s desk, first interacting with six items belonging to Rigby that sketch an outline of who he is and what he learned at the hotel. The player will then interact with the seven items in Bartleby’s archive, presented visually as envelopes and documents, inspired by Sui Sin Far, Daisy Miller: A Study, the abolitionists, the Gold Rush, among other key figures and events.
Each letter opens into excerpts and contextual materials with Dave’s 21st century minded observations. After clicking around the items, the player will discover a colleague’s email to Dave detailing the aftermath of Rigby’s forced removal. We have not come very far, it seems– Bartleby’s spirit lives on, but so does his tragedy.
AI Use Disclosure:
The "Liberty Greens Trust Hospitality Asset Optimisation Initiative” document was written with the help of ChatGPT (GPT-5.3) to imitate technical jargon from the consulting industry. After providing ChatGPT with an overview of my game, I gave it a detailed prompt, then revised sections of the generated text myself.
All other text, illustrations, and materials were made by the creator of this project. No assistance from AI was enlisted.