Same storm, different boats

After decades among the hidden homeless, Dominic Van Allen dug himself a bunker beneath a public park. But his life would get even more precarious. 

A short point and click game that tells the true story of Dominic Van Allen and how he built a bunker in London’s Hampstead Heath. 

The visual novel is based on an article in The Guardian by Tom Lamont and you get to decide whether Dominic is guilty as charged. Read his story and interact with items belonging to Dominic to gain clues. 

The game highlights how we live in the same city but experience life very differently, throwing a light on the ‘invisible homeless’. 

As the storm of Covid 19 raged in 2020, I wondered where Dominic van Allen is now.  

Before the pandemic, I used to volunteer in a night shelter at a Catholic church in central London and would sometimes serve breakfast.  I have met men and women like Dominic, we have talked over meals about their lives. I was thankful for the honour of hearing their stories. They inspired this artwork. 

In memory of my friend with whom I used to volunteer, for the way she made everyone she met feel valued and dignified. 

Credits

Game designed and produced by Bokani 

Words and original story: Tom Lamont, "The invisible city: how a homeless man built a life underground" The Guardian

Music: Oak Studios, The Road and  Sohne

Images: Images sourced online, edited using Lunapic.com and Canva.com by Bokani

Game production software: Fungus, Unity 2019

*Contains explicit language