The Empty Halls

The Empty Halls is a VHS analog horror exploration game heavily inspired by the popular online idea of liminal spaces. If you don’t know what liminal spaces are, they are transitional areas that feel “in between” – not quite here, not quite there. Common examples are places like empty office buildings, underground car parks, abandoned shopping centres or dark play areas.

Almost all of the levels and spaces in The Empty Halls are based around the online community wikis for the Backrooms. I used these different wikis for reference images and descriptions of what each level looks like and what it contains.

In The Empty Halls, you are given a custom-built VHS camera, specially designed and supplied by the mysterious higher-ups at the Backrooms Exploration Company. Your task is to step through the threshold and explore the unknown. The higher-ups want you to record and document various anomalies and levels. The specifics of what they’re looking for are given to you as missions, delivered through a custom VCR setup.

This VCR setup allows you to play back your recordings and will tell you if you’ve completed the assigned mission. If you have, a new mission will be assigned.

There is lots to explore and I am really excited to share my creation with all of you!