Phantasmagoria

January 3, 2026
Hours: Saturday 11am - 5pm
Location: Chicago Gamespace, 2418 W Bloomingdale Ave, Chicago, IL

As part of the ongoing multi-site exhibition The Plot Thickens: Storytelling in Gaming, Chicago Gamespace is proud to feature Phantasmagoria (1995), a landmark horror adventure game that blended full-motion-video (FMV) and prerendered environments. It was designed by Roberta Williams and developed by Sierra On-Line.

Phantasmagoria represents, in many ways, the apotheosis of Williams’s creative ambitions at Sierra. She was first captivated by the text-adventure classic Colossal Cave Adventure (1976), an experience that inspired her to create Mystery House (1980), an early horror title and the first game published by On-Line Systems, the company founded by Roberta and her husband Ken that would later become Sierra On-Line. Mystery House, key moments from her acclaimed King’s Quest series (such as the haunted-house sequence in King’s Quest IV), and the later mystery adventures The Colonel’s Bequest (1989) and The Dagger of Amon-Ra (1992) each take important steps in increasing narrative depth and atmospheric complexity, leading up to the high-water mark of Phantasmagoria.

Released in 1995 at the height of the CD-ROM era, the game combined live-action performances with environment art by Sierra art director Andy Hoyos. Players use point-and-click mouse navigation to guide novelist Adrienne Delaney as she uncovers the macabre history of her new home, a haunted mansion. Compared with earlier FMV titles such as The 7th Guest (1993), Phantasmagoria distinguished itself through its emphasis on story over puzzle complexity and its unusually high production values.

Phantasmagoria was both celebrated and controversial upon release for its adult themes and graphic depictions of violence. It remains remarkably compelling today, unsettling and atmospheric even where its acting and special effects reflect the B-movie aesthetics of its era. The version presented here is playable on an emulator and is accompanied by the game’s original box art and contents, highlighting the material culture of 1990s PC gaming and the physical media that shaped its reception.

Phantasmagoria is part of a multi-site exhibition titled The Plot Thickens: Storytelling in Gaming. Presented at venues across Michigan and Illinois, Plot Thickens explores different approaches to narrative and storytelling in games. It is organized by Chicago Gamespace and West Shore Community College and curated by Jonathan Kinkley and Eden Ünlüata-Foley.