tea makes games


Tea Bähr is a game designer and media artist from Germany in her early 20s. She is known for experimental artistic levels. Most of her games are free.

The Elision Effect Don't talk about it Empteaness Brain Activitea (in)stabilitea do NOT touch a moving chair Redolence Tune In Tonight: A Performance of Noveltea by the talented, virtuous Pianist and Artist Jakob Arctoitea In Memory of Humanitea Thanatos what we left behind twisted_gravitea_ Diversitea Thirstea What is a game? - An essay Shelter Stuck in the Broom Closet Portal 2: Wake Up

The Elision Effect


The last person finds themselves in an empty office. Not knowing what made everyone abandon these liminal spaces, they look for an exit.

The Elision Effect is a short surreal puzzle game. It's a spiritual successor to (in)stabilitea.

You might be the last one in this office building. Empty halls and locked doors, but you keep trying to find ways to progress. The place seems off. Like it shouldn't exist. It smells of old coffee stains, the fluorescent lights buzzles, and corporate jazz plays on crappy speakers. You long for fresh air. An exit must be near.

Wishlist on Steam Play in the Indiepocalypse Press kit © Tea Bähr 2023

Don’t talk about it


⚠️ Content Warning (spoiler): Contains content dealing with depression and suicide

A five-minute-long interactive short story. It is about something we don't talk about. Not talking about it you are not supposed to read this. Created for the Map Labs competition Companion Piece 2.

Play here © Tea Bähr 2020

Empteaness


Shadows settle on the place that you left
Our minds are troubled by the emptiness

Daughter, Youth

An interactive short about moving out, inspired by the song Youth. Created for the Map Labs Competition TUNE in 2 days, 3rd place out of 28.

Play here © Tea Bähr 2020

Brain Activitea


4K wallpapers watch here

the world will repeat itself over the blank spaces [...]
Shards of colour paint themselves upon the void

RockPaperShotgun, Natalie Clayton

An (audio) visual experiment. Created for the Map Labs competition Eye Candy.

⚠️ Photosensitive epileptic seizures warning! A percentage of people may experience a seizure when exposed to certain visual images, including flashing lights or patterns that appear in videogames such as this, please refrain from use if susceptible. Play here © Tea Bähr 2020

(in)stabilitea


rooms collapse inwards upon themselves.
Broken, haunting, brilliant stuff.

RockPaperShotgun, Natalie Clayton

A short surreal puzzle adventure. You backtrack through a dreamy, mysterious retro-pixelated office. Created for the Map Labs competition Back on Track in 4 days, second-best rated out of 19.

⚠️ Photosensitive epileptic seizures warning! A percentage of people may experience a seizure when exposed to certain visual images, including flashing lights or patterns that appear in videogames such as this, please refrain from use if susceptible. Play here © Tea Bähr 2020-2022

do NOT touch a moving chair


If you're not careful and you noclip out of reality in the wrong areas, you'll end up in the Backrooms. So don't touch glitching objects!

The backrooms using Portal 1s empty offices. Very liminal space, much Kenopsia

Play here Watch here © Tea Bähr 2022

Redolence


this map has you truly face the reality of elevator travel in the modern age

—Weyland

Created for the Map Labs Competition ElevatorVille 2 in 2 days.

Play here © Tea Bähr 2021

Tune In Tonight


A Performance of Noveltea by the talented, virtuous Pianist and Artist Jakob Arctoitea. Created for the Map Labs Competition TUNE in 2 days (in the same timespan as Empteaness).

Play here © Tea Bähr 2020

In Memory of Humanitea


nailed the "condescending alien asshole" vibe

—YouTube Comment

A satirical exhibition about the extinct homo sapiens. Made a lot of people upset (sorry). I have since replaced my climate-anxiety-induced edgy misantrophy with class conciousness (and you should too). Created for the Map Labs competition Eye Candy.

Play here © Tea Bähr 2020

Thanatos


A short appendix to Don’t talk about it.

Made in ~16h together with Matt Hustead.

Play here © Tea Bähr 2020

what we left behind


Alone in strange architecture. A short walking simulator playing with aspect ratio. Created for the Map Labs competition CromulentVille 2.

Play here © Tea Bähr 2020

twisted_gravitea_


This level sends players on a stroll across the floors, walls, ceilings, and in-betweens of this abstract, Portal-like course.

Map Labs

Created for the Map Labs Competition Blockout in 3 days, 2nd place out of 13.

Play here © Tea Bähr 2019

Diversitea


You just moved in, get to furnishing. An interactive short about moving in. Featuring lots of cool jazz music by Thomas Brach and Nils Wogram. Created for the Map Labs Competition 1,000,000,000 Units.

Play here © Tea Bähr 2019

Thirstea


An abstract brutalist platformer with lots of blades. Created for the Map Labs competition Blade in a single day.

Play here or for Portal 2 © Tea Bähr 2019

What is a game? - An essay


An interactive essay analyzing the concept of a video game. It starts with nothing and gradually adds video game aspects until you could call it a game.

Play here © Tea Bähr 2019

Shelter


Enter a world of floating, confusing and broken dreams. An atmospheric puzzle adventure.

Play here © Tea Bähr 2016

Stuck in the Broom Closet


I can't get out

—a player
Play here © Tea Bähr 2016

Portal 2: Wake Up


Pretty good, fun to play.

—Anna Mieke, Prism Game Studios

A Portal 2 mod that puts you in the shoes of a new test subject named Suki. The mod works with the testing elements from Portal 2 and has some puzzles in new settings. It is about half an hour long and was created together with Ni, our first proper modding experience.

Play here © Tea Bähr & Nici Posse 2016

Sutsuru


A small 3D simulation of an office. You can walk around and discover hidden treats. Created together with Ni, first time we dipped our toes in 3d game development.

Play here © Tea Bähr & Nici Posse 2015