Before doing this project, I was very nervous about writing fiction. I had not really written any fiction since high school and had not written a non-linear story before. Being a (former) music major, I had done a lot of creative writing in that sphere but not a lot of specific story-crafting.
I was worried that my project would be on the boring side, since I did not have any unique twist on the format of the assignment (I stuck with Twine instead of using another platform). I also don’t have a ton of experience with web dev and wouldn’t be able to make something super fancy in a timely fashion. TLDR: I didn’t have much experience both in the way the game is made and the way the story is made.
Although I have my gripes with Twine, I liked learning the program and enjoyed watching the game get built over time, despite the network being a little messy. I also learned a lot about the storytelling through the game by playtesting with other classmates, Amy, friends, and family. One of the most helpful moments for me story-wise was when I casually mentioned the project to one of my friends from Berlin and he promptly called me to discuss it (it was nice to catch up with him too). During playtesting I got some good feedback about how to make the game more interesting and how to make the exposition better. As I put in the original submission post, I wanted to “show, not tell” with the story but struggled for a bit at first to make it work. I think it turned out fairly well and I would probably stick with my style in the future. I think the style of finding things out as you play is fun, and many playtesters agreed with this.
I definitely think with some more practice (i.e. “just doing it”) that I could make some more interesting IF games, definitely better ones than this as I would be able to start with a clearer vision for the project. I also have more confidence going forward in writing stories, especially given the enthusiastic feedback I received from students in the class. The first playtest I did I was very surprised how much the playtester liked it.
