Posted In: Hands on
This week, we learned about Hypertext and the ways you can use Twine to create interactive novels and games. I chose to play Depression Quest and got totally sucked up in the game.
Although it’s called a “game,” I definitely found it like an interactive novel, at least an interaction of the main character’s life. It was very interesting to read and see what was happening to the protagonist and to be able to choose the path he took.
It was like a traditional game because the player (me) was able to change what happened (unlike a traditional novel when the story is linear and unchangeable). But it was different because the choices you made caused changes for the rest of the game. In most games, if you make a wrong choice (like not jumping over a hole or something), you simply lose a life and start again. This game would change the entire rest of the story based on the decisions you made.
It was like a traditional short story because the events that happened at the beginning led to ones that happened later. In other words, it had a plot that built upon itself as the story went on. But unlike a short story, I was able to change the outcome of the protagonist. I was able to make some decisions for him which would ultimately change the ending of the story.
I found this as a very exciting way to write a story, grabbing the reader’s attention more than other mediums, and would consider using this platform to create a short story myself in the future.