In this episode of ArtWire, host Evgeni Pozankov interviews Eva and Andrea of Studio Lichene, the creative duo behind Death to Venice, a visually rich Twine game developed for Briefs 2024: Death.

Studio Lichene—named after the symbiotic organism “lichen”—embraces themes of mutualism over competition, which echo throughout the game. Death to Venice is a hybrid of interactive fiction and visual novel, depicting a near-future Venice in ecological and social collapse, seen through six poetic vignettes told from the perspectives of humans, animals, a plant, an AI, a glass object, and even prisoners.

The team explores death in layered ways: ecological decay, cultural loss, social isolation, and forgotten memory. Each district (sestiere) of Venice is rendered with real photographs and manipulated visuals, creating a surreal yet grounded sense of place. Eva and Andrea reflect on the creative challenges, including managing agency across non-human protagonists and creating interactivity without traditional puzzles.

They also discuss lessons learned from their previous Briefs game (Parallelepipedon) and the deeper clarity and emotional resonance they aimed for this time around.

https://www.goldextra.com/en/briefs-a-microgame-series