Gosplay: meet the horrible honkers of Halloween

Why a video game inspired them to be a dickhead goose

Sarah Woolley
Nov 3 · 4 min read
Images courtersy of: @AmyRobot, @royojo, and @yearldrendon

Halloween costumes are a chance to unleash a personality that we cannot usually take into our workplaces or down the shops. Some people dress sexy, get gory, or - if you’re Kim Kardashian - you spend thousands of dollars to look bored in a tribute to Legally Blonde.

And some people just want to be a goose that’s an asshole.

That’s the case for fans of this year’s indie-hit smash, Untitled Goose Game. It invites players to waddle around as a naughty goose, solving puzzles and stealing stuff from long-suffering villagers.

I took a gander at those who found a cathartic release in the game and in dressing up as as a feathery agent of chaos.

One Man and His Goose

“Everything is shit these days, right? [Untitled Goose Game] was just the right level of escape.” This is Robert Joe, a filmmaker in Korea, who dresses up every Halloween with his dog Dubu.

“I think of fun pop culturey things that my dog could be and usually ‘what’s white and relevant?’ is my thought process,” explains Robert, who let Dubu play the the lead role of the goose.

“I was ‘Asian Jon Snow’ back in 2013 and that went pretty viral. But [dressing up] is extra meaningful because my dog was set to be euthanized in a kill-shelter on Halloween 2009 before he was rescued.”

“All these characters in the game are probably terrible people, you just can’t tell because they don’t talk. So maybe the goose is justice.” — Robert

Dubu, who Robert describes as ‘presently unemployed’, had some health scares this year which makes Robert even more grateful for the time they spend together.

“He just really seems like a magical creature through which some universal beauty dips through into the world so I’m pretty thankful,” says Robert. “He does shed a lot though.”

Honk If You’re Leftie

Over in the UK, Joshua Garbles runs a fan group for the anti-fascist Whitehawk Ultras and, like many goose fans on the left, he enjoys the anarchic spirit of a thieving bird.

“I’ll be dressing up as the militant Subcomandante Goose,” says Joshua. “I got more obsessed with the idea after seeing the goose used in some leftist/anarchist memes.”

Joshua’s shirt references a Twitch stream by Scottish comedian Limmy

“Plus the game makers joking that it’s canon that the goose chased Thatcher out office, and now bullies villagers who are Marxist. That just made me think of those chaotic good/lawful evil alignment charts, except it’s the goose in every square.…. Just a lovely, horrible thing.”

The dance of freedom from an employee of Panic, publishers of the

A Trickster God

Another enthusiast for honk coutre is UX researcher Amy Rosenbaum. “The goose for me is about wild, chaotic joy,” she says. “The goose is not a named character; it’s just the goose — an original and an undeniable archetype, like an ancient trickster god.

Amy Rosenbaum in her costume. Chelsea and her ‘goose gang’ colleagues in Texas

“Whatever level of gamer you are, the community feels accessible and exclusive. It’s the best kind of secret handshake. All that matters is celebrating the goose’s benign horribleness.”

“The world can be a hard, unrelenting place to live right now, but Untitled Goose Game proves that a small team of creative people can make a delightful, rippling impact.”

Thank you to everyone who honked and hissed in my inbox to share their costumes.

Kim Kardashian found weeping

Sarah Woolley

Written by

Hello, I’m a freelance writer published in the @guardian @theipaper, @Independent and @ViceUK. I also make and host a podcast for people with sight loss.

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