Gingiva

Gingiva is a free surrealist RPG developed in RPG Maker XP, set in a dystopian world where the protagonist, Gingiva, a woman with a clock winding key for a head, is imprisoned and seeks to escape with a group of fellow residents. The game features exploration, turn-based combat, and multiple endings, all within a bizarre and fantastical landscape filled with disembodied mouths, human-headed dogs, and other surreal elements.

Gingiva: A Surrealist Odyssey Through Clockwork Dystopias

Introduction

In the realm of indie RPGs, few games dare to be as unabashedly strange as Gingiva (2013). Developed by the enigmatic studio myformerselves, this freeware surrealist RPG Maker title is a hallucinatory descent into a dystopian universe where clockwork women, disembodied mouths, and eldritch bureaucrats collide. A spiritual successor to Middens, Gingiva merges biting social commentary with grotesque beauty, creating an experience that is equal parts mesmerizing and unsettling. This review argues that Gingiva stands as a cult classic—a flawed yet visionary work that challenges players to confront themes of bodily autonomy, corporate oppression, and existential decay through its fragmented, dreamlike design.

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Development History & Context

Myformerselves, the one-person studio helmed by John Clowder (alias Takamoe), crafted Gingiva using RPG Maker XP—a tool often associated with amateur projects. Yet, Clowder subverted the engine’s limitations to create a game that feels deliberately anarchic. Released in 2013, Gingiva emerged during a renaissance of surreal indie RPGs like OFF and Yume Nikki, where lo-fi aesthetics and experimental storytelling reigned.

The game was initially conceived as Moments of Silence, a canceled project that evolved into Gingiva’s critique of industrialism and gender dynamics. Clowder’s background in collage art and anti-capitalist themes permeates the game, with its grotesque enemy designs and labyrinthine world map shaped like a human brain. Despite technical constraints, Gingiva pushed boundaries with its fully animated portraits and multiple endings, a rarity for freeware RPG Maker titles of its era.

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Narrative & Thematic Deep Dive

Plot & Characters
Players control Gingiva, a factory automaton whose head has been replaced with a clockwork key—a brutal metaphor for dehumanization under corporate rule. Imprisoned for inefficiency, she allies with Chatterteeth, a sentient mouth, and escapes into a world unraveling into the chaotic “Rift.” Alongside party members like Himmler (a sentient TV) and Vermillis Maximus (a philosophical worm), Gingiva battles eldritch bureaucrats and confronts the Magistrate, a tyrannical shapeshifter who embodies institutional rot.

Themes
– Body Horror & Autonomy: Gingiva’s mechanical mutilation mirrors the game’s exploration of bodily control. Women in this world are surgically altered to serve corporate machinery, while men are systematically erased. Reclaiming Gingiva’s original head becomes an act of rebellion.
– Dystopian Capitalism: The game lambasts greed and environmental ruin. NPCs lament trading forests for “store receipts and toilet paper,” while bosses like the Reptile Twins—reptilian salarymen—highlight the absurdity of corporate predation.
– Existential Surrealism: The Rift, a void consuming reality, symbolizes existential decay. Endings 1—whether bittersweet or nihilistic—force players to reckon with ambiguity, as Gingiva’s restored humanity comes at the cost of her clockwork-era memories.

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Gameplay Mechanics & Systems

Gingiva’s turn-based combat is mechanically conventional but thematically charged:
– Core Loop: Explore surreal zones, gather floating paper items (the only “currency”), and battle grotesque foes. Experience boosts health (Vim) but not damage, emphasizing survival over power fantasy.
– Wind-Up Healing: Holding the Z key lets Gingiva crank her head-key to restore Vim and Verve (mana)—a clever diegetic mechanic that reinforces her mechanized identity.
– Marriage System: Boss monsters propose to Gingiva; accepting leads to time-skips filled with domestic drudgery and grotesque offspring, while refusing triggers combat. This system critiques traditional gender roles and abusive relationships 2.

Flaws: Movement feels clunky, and the lack of shops or respawning enemies can frustrate newcomers. Yet these choices amplify the game’s oppressive atmosphere.

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World-Building, Art & Sound

Visual Design
Clowder’s collages blend Victorian etchings, pop art, and body horror. Environments—like factories adorned with teeth or forests of plastic bottles—are nightmarish yet tactile. The Rift’s psychedelic shifts, reminiscent of Middens’ void, contrast sharply with the bleak industrial zones.

Sound Design
Ethereal ambient tracks underscore the surrealism, though battles are punctuated by jarring shifts (e.g., a boss fight scored to a ragtime rendition of Maple Leaf Rag). Silence is weaponized, particularly in prison cells haunted by spectral “snake cats.”

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Reception & Legacy

Upon release, Gingiva garnered a niche following. Critics praised its ambition but noted its uneven execution (JayisGames rated it 4.5/5, calling it “gorgeous yet disorienting” 3). Its commercial impact was minimal, but its influence is evident in later surreal RPGs like Hylics.

Clowder’s subsequent projects, including Where They Cremate the Roadkill (2017), expanded the Middens universe. However, his legacy is marred by controversy—allegations of misconduct in 2018 led to his withdrawal from public life. Despite this, Gingiva endures as a cult artifact, dissected in forums and fan wikis for its dense symbolism.

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Conclusion

Gingiva is not for everyone. Its deliberate opacity, janky mechanics, and abrasive themes repel casual players. Yet for those willing to endure its horrors, it offers a searing critique of power structures and a haunting meditation on identity. Like its protagonist, the game is a paradox: a mechanical oddity that pulses with raw humanity. In the pantheon of avant-garde RPGs, Gingiva remains a flawed masterpiece—a clockwork heart still ticking, defiantly out of time.

Final Verdict: A surrealist landmark best appreciated as a work of interactive art rather than a polished game. Essential for students of indie horror, but approach with patience and a high tolerance for the bizarre.