What Would Your Favourite Choice Of The Games Interactive Stories Be? Would You Have A Favourite Type?

What would your favourite choice of the games interactive stories be? Would you have a favourite type? Romance, Fantasy etc. and did any of the inspire you with the ones you are currently writing? 😁

Oh boy! This is going to be a long answer, brace yourself lol

Let me start by saying that I have a degree in English literature (in fact, I'm going to do a PhD on it), so reading, in general, is one of the core activities of my life.

As for text adventures, even if not from Choice of Games Ltd., I'd like to mention a few inspirations: my passion first came from the original Choose Your Own Adventure series, and I still remember which numbers obsessed me as a child: Mountain Survival #28, The Dragons' Den #33, and more than any other, Space Patrol #22! (The latter may have also fueled my unhealthy obsession with Star Trek TOS, actually). For those unfamiliar with this fantastic book series, the genres of the three books I mentioned are, respectively, adventure, fantasy, and sci-fi. This gives you an idea of how varied my tastes are...

Later on, I discovered interactive fictions and text adventures. Dude, it was a dream come true. I started with Adventure ('76, never finished it, of course) and Zork ('79, never finished that either… of course. How damn hard were they?!). Then Mystery Mansion ('78), Castle Adventure ('82), and too many, many others. I'm a sucker for Sorcery! from inkle, and I deeply loved Magium (RIP Chris, you won't be forgotten). For my Italian-speaking friends, I also really enjoyed the Fra Tenebra e Abisso series (although its current status is unknown).

But back to CoG-related things. I've read a lot, and I'd probably be faster telling you what I didn't like! As you may have figured out by now, I don't have any particular genre preferences as long as a story is well-written, though horror-thriller stories usually grab my attention more easily.

Important note: I've read a lot of stories and, with a few exceptions, I liked most of them. To avoid writing a too-long list, here are the published stories that really impressed me:

A Crown of Sorcery and Steel,

A Midsummer Night's Choice,

Blood for Poppies,

Blood Moon,

Broadway: 1849,

Choice of the Cat,

Choice of the Vampire,

Donor,

Doomsday on Demand (1 and 2),

Gilded Rails,

Golden Rose: Book One,

Jazz Age,

Lies Under Ice,

Life of a Mercenary,

Life of a Space Force Captain,

MetaHuman Inc.,

Noblesse Oblige,

Paradox Factor,

The Evertree Saga (all four books),

Rent-a-Vice,

Revolution Diabolique,

Siege of Treboulain,

Tally Ho,

The Daily Blackmail,

The Dragon and the Djinn,

The Fernweh Saga: Book One,

The Fog Knows Your Name,

The Gray Painter,

The Grim and I,

The Ghost and the Golem,

The Lost Heir,

The Midnight Saga: The Monster,

The Parenting Simulator,

The Play's the Thing,

The Soul Stone War (1 and 2),

The War for the West,

Tudor Intrigue,

Vampire Regent,

Vampire: The Masquerade (all of them),

Way Walkers: University (1 and 2),

Welcome to Moreytown,

Werewolves: Haven Raising,

Zombie Exodus,

Zombie Exodus: Safe Haven.

And now, onto works in progress! There aren’t that many because I barely have time to follow my own (heh…), so here, in alphabetical order, are the ones I'm following with the most interest:

Adoriel's Tears (@adoriels-tears-if),

A Father's Love (@kal-down),

Crown of Ashes and Flames (@coeluvr),

Dawn Chorus (@dawnchorus-if)

Disenchanted (@disenchantedif),

Dragon's Edged (@dragonedged-if),

Elysium (@elysiumcircusif),

Fallen Lights (@fallenlightsif),

For King and Country (@forkingandcountry-if),

From The Ashes We Rise (@kal-down),

Hubris (@hubris-the-if-game),

Kingdoms and Empires (@kingdoms-and-empires),

Return to Misty Cove (@fluorescent-if),

The Abyssal Song (@ri-writes-if),

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - An affair of the heart (@doriana-gray-games),

The Lonely Shore (@thelonelyshore-if),

The King's Hound (@the-kingshound),

The Reaper Watches Me (@thereaperwatchesme),

The Bureau (@thebureau),

The Unseelie (@theunseelieif),

Van Helsing (@vanhelsing-if),

When Life Gives You Lemons (@when-life-gives-you-lemons-if).

Okay, that was… a lot. As for direct inspirations, I don't have any direct ones, but I can say I felt like writing a post-apocalyptic story after reading Doomsday on Demand! Other than that, I guess the collection of narrative, text adventures, and interactive fiction I've read have led me to where I am now.

Damn, it took me hours to write this answer. I hope it's satisfying at least! Thanks for asking ☺

I tried checking the stats carefully like you said and I succeeded on the 5th try! and I'm really satisfied😆 really like your game, you're really talented!!! Looking forward to your next products🤩

Yay! I’m glad you made it! Can I ask which ending you got? There are seven in total ☺

Thank you so much for your kind words! I don’t have any other published games at the moment, but you can follow my works in progress here on Tumblr (check the tags #After Dark and #The In-Between on my blog), on the forum (After Dark and The In-Between threads), and generally on Patreon (with the #Hope Abides exclusive as well). You can also stay in touch via Discord if you’d like!

Do you personally play After Dark or just make characters to test the story? If you personally play it, could you share the personality of your MC and who they have as a love interest? ❤️

Yes! Thank you for asking this!

So, I do at least one complete run each update, just to make sure everything works as it should. Of course, I also test different characters, but my canon one resembles me a lot (yeah, I'm that type of player, don't judge me pls).

My MC is usually a gay guy who matches my physical description, he's smart and loves literary subjects, but I don't place much importance on his family relationships. His 'malus' trait varies a lot because my health sucks anyway, so one is as good as another lol

He's inquisitive but not at the expense of other things. On the first night, he might open the window, but when Michael advises him not to look while walking during the first day, he asks why and then follows the advice. He keeps Rain talking for as long as needed (even at the cost of his phone battery), agrees to see him right away, and comforts him whenever he can.

He's always kind and appreciative of what others do for him, never lying or pretending. If he can share something, he does it. He helps Abby when she needs it, and even though he's not the bravest of the group, he researches and reflects on what's going on, offering advice and asking for others' opinions.

...and of course, he has a relationship with Michael, because if this were a D&D game, Michael would be the Paladin, and I, as a player, am pretty predictable :P

Thanks again for asking! Can I ask what your MC is like? ☺

Starting tomorrow, it's going to be three big weeks for my patrons!

First up is The In-Between update, followed by the new Patreon-exclusive next week (which I’m dying to share more about!!), and then the After Dark update the week after that.

I'm totally exhausted but also super excited! (*꒦ິ꒳꒦ີ)♡

Thank you for the tag! That's funny and I enjoyed reading all of your answers. Let's see:

I once hugged a lemur, or rather, a lemur once jumped into my arms and let me hug it. It was insanely fluffy, and to this day it has been the most crazy cool thing that has ever happened to me!

I'm fluent in Italian, English, and French, but I can also get by in Spanish and Greek, and I know a bit of German, Ukrainian, Portuguese, Japanese, and Norwegian (Bokmål). I can also read Latin and Middle English, and a little Ancient Greek, Old English, and Old Occitan.

I'm a PhD student in English Literature now, but I used to be a classical archaeologist before my disability. The coolest thing I ever found was a totally intact mosaic floor in a Roman villa!

None of this has practical real-life applications, so thank you for giving me the opportunity to tell someone 😁

The last seven blogs who interacted with me are:

@oraucau @vendaxa @console-pokeballs-rupees @cloudyelysian @lost-in-a-forest-of-souls @aureostuff @lilbinch

I hope you don't mind the tag, but please feel free to ignore it!

~If you get this, answer w/ three random facts about yourself and send it to the last seven blogs in your notifs. anon or not, doesn’t matter, let’s get to know the person behind the blog!~

Oof, that's tough. 😄

1: I'm obsessed with true crime podcasts.

2: I speak four languages. (French, Creole, Spanish, and a bit of English.)

3: I eat everything with ketchup and once my former coworkers made me a ketchup cake. (It was a real cake, just one that looked like ketchup)

I don't really like tagging people, so don't feel obligated to participate. 💕

@adoriels-tears-if @leiatalon @enspey @morbethgames @edmunderson

How can anyone live like this? It’s a question you ask yourself often—and for good reason. In this interactive fiction, you play as a character navigating a dystopian world where gender is binary, assigned at birth, and non-negotiable, and where only heterosexual marriage is allowed.

Over the course of six decades, you’ll have to survive in a society determined to break your spirit and force you to conform—something you refuse to do. Instead, your mission is to fight for the rights of marginalized communities, as well as your own.

Notes & Mechanics:

An LGBTQIA+ themed interactive fiction written by an LGBTQIA+ author! ♥

Play as male, female, nonbinary, or anything else; intersex or not; gay, lesbian, bi, straight, aro, or ace!

Find love and take things to a super steamy level... or don't! Surround yourself with friends if you want to. Or do both—find your tribe and thrive!

In the beginning, everything is terrible. Society is hostile, oppressive, and downright terrifying. But this is where YOU step in—your goal is to change the world and strive for utopia!

Features nearly 30 different stats tracking a broad spectrum of rights, from marriage equality and healthcare access to anti-amatonormativity laws!

Over 240 planned scenes for maximum replayability (yes, it’s going to be massive!)

Seven distinct endings—can you achieve the best one? ;-)

Hope Abides is a Patreon Exclusive and launches on September 19th!