You spent your adolescence sleepwalking between devastating little rituals. Though your little brother pleaded, you decided to leave.
“NORCO is a confronting video game: a confident, biographical and bewildering point-and-click narrative experience that feels more like something you inhale rather than play."
Already heralded as one of the best games of 2022, Norco is a Southern Gothic point & click narrative adventure that immerses you in the sinking suburbs and verdant industrial swamps of a distorted South Louisiana.
You play as Kay, who returns home after five itinerant years after the death of her mother. On returning to Norco, Louisiana, however, she finds that her brother Blake, who she had expected to care for, has gone missing. In the time that follows, the player explores Kay's house, hometown, and her own psyche, piecing together the disparate forces, emotions and memories that shaped the final weeks of her mother’s life.
NORCO's searing, sensitive narrative has already earned comparisons to classics like ZA/UM’s Disco Elysium (2016) and Cardboard Computer’s Kentucky Route Zero (2010). Through writing that balances lyricism with razor-sharp clarity, NORCO delves into the heart of a place, revealing the ley lines of intergenerational trauma, class and grief, and how they operate on us and our relationships.
NORCO is available on Mac and PC. You can download NORCO Act One for free on the Steam Store.
About our host
Jini Maxwell
Jini Maxwell is ACMI's assistant curator, games club host, and an award-winning videogames journalist. They write about videogames and the people who make them. Follow them on Twitter.
Women & Non-Binary Gamers Club
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Community Code of Conduct
Everyone participating in an ACMI Women & Non-Binary Gamer Club event — including, but not limited to the meets, clubs and talks — is required to agree to the following code of conduct. This includes all attendees, speakers, performers, patrons, and volunteers.
ACMI Women & Non-Binary Gamer Club will enforce this code during its events and throughout the year. We expect cooperation from everyone to ensure a safe, diverse, and welcoming environment.
The condensed version
ACMI is dedicated to providing a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, or religion (or lack thereof). We do not tolerate harassment of participants in any form.
Sexist, racist, discriminatory, or harassing language and imagery is not appropriate in the ACMI Women & Non-Binary Gamer Club community, in person or online. Participants violating these rules may be sanctioned or expelled from the event and premises, as well as all future events without a refund at the discretion of ACMI.
The less condensed version
Harassment includes offensive verbal comments related to gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, religion, sexual images in public spaces, deliberate intimidation, stalking, following, harassing photography or recording, sustained disruption of talks or other events, inappropriate physical contact, and unwelcome sexual attention.
Exception: discussion or images related to sex, pornography, discriminatory language, or similar is welcome if it meets all of the following criteria:
— It is necessary to the topic of discussion and no alternative exists
— It is presented in a respectful manner
— Attendees are respectfully given ample warning and opportunity to leave beforehand.
This exception specifically does not allow use of gratuitous sexual images as attention-getting devices or unnecessary examples.
Participants asked to stop any harassing behaviour are required to comply immediately.
If a participant engages in any of the aforementioned behaviour, ACMI may take any action they deem appropriate, from warning the offender to immediately expelling the offender with no refund.
Reporting and enforcement
If you are being harassed, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, please contact an ACMI Women & Non-Binary Gamer Club team member immediately. If you can’t or don’t wish to speak in person, or prefer to talk privately or electronically, contact us via gamerclub@acmi.net.au.
All reports will be handled in the strictest confidence.
With thanks
This document was based on the work of XOXO Festival, JSConf, Geek Feminism, confcodeofconduct.com, and inspired by resources provided by Ashe Dryden.
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.