“In 1962, the Mansfield, Ohio police department setup a hidden surveillance camera behind a two-way mirror, and secretly filmed dudes having sex with dudes in a public bathroom. The police used the film footage to imprison them for a year or more under Ohio’s sodomy laws.”
That’s one inspiration for Robert Yang’s latest game, The Tearoom. Designed as a statement on a number of topics discussed in Laud Humpreys’ ‘Tearoom Trade’, it’s a short five-60 minute long game you can go and play now.
For free to play games on Steam, we’ve got a definitive list.
It’s also inspired by the banning of his gay games on Twitch, “as if they’re the f***ing game police.” That’s why, instead of having penises, The Tearoom has guns. Massive, fleshy, flaccid and erect guns of all shapes and sizes.
Yang has also issued a full artist statement on the game, going into the process behind it, many of the inspirations, and the political messages he’s trying to put across. You might want to save that for after playing, though.
The Tearoom is currently a timed exclusive to itch.io, but can be downloaded for free (with a $5 recommended donation). There’s no actual genitals or nudity in The Tearoom, so it’s not NSFW in that way, but you may want to consider who’s around just in case.