The Grounds of Wrath

The Grounds of Wrath is a short (roughly 15 to 30 minutes for a single playthrough) interactive story game in which players take on the role of a barista at a coffee shop in Chicago. 

The narrative is focused on the internal experience of a woman employee (The Barista) with a customer who embodies the most toxic version of a white cishet man, and the artificial privileges that follow (Chad). The player also has the option to learn more about a woman customer who happens to be Chad's co-worker (Reilly). The different ways Reilly and The Barista relate to their coworkers serve to highlight how multifaceted disparities are compounded by factors beyond gender.

The narrative is complemented by an original score, sound effects, and interactive design to heighten the emotional impact of player choices (or lack of choices) and activate their sense of righteous anger at systemic injustice.

Content warning: this game includes strong language as well as frank depictions of misogyny, racism, verbal abuse, transphobia, and financial instability.