Leechcraft is a game drenched in blood; healing, binding, and corrupting.

Leechcraft is a narrative prototype in the form of a 15,000+ word interactive fiction game inspired by medieval medicine. In it, you become a village healer and soon-to-be vampire as a deadly plague begins to spread.

It was made using Ink and is available to play on Itch.io on PC, Mac, and mobile.

I initially began working on Leechcraft in April 2023, but I made two vastly different prototypes before working on the game as my spring thesis project in January 2024. Despite the different turns the project has taken, its core has remained the same: the tension of being a vampire doctor.

Leechcraft’s narrative is incredibly linear, but I still wanted the player to feel like their actions drove the game forward. I achieved this by giving the player the choices they wanted to make and reinforcing their worldview. For instance, if the player has been rude and skeptical, the community has never welcomed nor trusted them — but if they’ve been kind, then they’ve always felt at home in the village.

What’s next for Leechcraft?

I am working to develop Leechcraft into something more fully realized, whether that be a completed interactive fiction game or a narrative-driven game of some other sort.

Keep an eye out for updates on my social media and Itch.io page.