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 ☺

Roadmap: September-October Updates

So, this schedule probably sounds a little bit crazy, but I'm sure I can handle it! However, always take these dates as flexible, and if there are any hiccups I will let you know via Patreon/Discord/Tumblr as usual. ☺ Patrons support is indispensable, so if you can afford it, please consider supporting my literary projects on here. Thank you! ♥

[Image description: Next Updates. The In-Between Chapter 9: patrons only 10 September, free 24 September; Chapter 10: patrons only 10 October, free 25 October. After Dark Chapter 3 Day 5 Part 1: free 28 September; Chapter 3 Day 5 Part 2: patrons only 30 September, free 16 October; TBA: patrons only 30 October. "H.A." Prologue: patrons only 19 September.]

bro I want to say that I really enjoyed your long weekend!!! You're so good! but for god's sake I've played it three times and the ending still isn't what I thought it would be💀 so please tell me what can I do to make my MC have a good ending, I'm starting to doubt that my MC actually was originally no good ending lol

Hi! I’m really glad you enjoyed A Long Weekend!

I had written a short guide on the forum, but it didn’t attract much interest, and since it’s quite a bit of work, I didn’t finish writing the walkthroughs. Let’s see if I can help you here now!

First of all, let me ask you a few questions (sorry if they’re a bit basic, but I’m basing this on my past experiences!):

Do you check the stats while you play? Right from the start, there’s not much, but you do need to keep an eye on the "Mind" and "Energy" bars!

Do you try to balance Mind and Energy? What values do you reach toward the end of the game?

Do you meet Alex? If so, what are your choices?

Do you generally choose "passive" actions? Like, staying in bed, not going out, etc.?

Do you generally choose "jealous" actions? Like, checking the photos, calling the bff, writing a negative email, etc.?

By understanding your playstyle, I can guide you a bit better in the right direction!

Thanks for playing A Long Weekend and for reaching out to me about it ♥

Hi! The in between interactive novel is honestly amazing! I love how you added different levels of Italian also. I am bilingual and this was truly amazing to see, as primarily I use English now it was awesome to read some parts in Italian ❤️ what made you want to add Italian elements to it?

I'm really happy to hear that. I was hoping someone might appreciate this feature!

The In-Between is set in Italy, more specifically around (and inside) a famous university in Naples. I started writing this story as a novel in Italian when I was attending it, and I had really LOTS of free hours between classes. There was no crime drama in real life, though :D

When I started translating it into English, I was a bit sad to lose all those cultural references, nuances of meaning, etc.—actually impossible to translate into English. Having studied translation and cultural mediation, however, I realised that I could turn the novel into a textual adventure, thus making it possible for different translations and/or linguistic additions otherwise unfeasible in traditional fiction. Et voila, here is the end result. Well, the result in progress, actually ☺

Ehy ciao!! Ma che bello trovare autori italiani di interactive fiction qui su tumblr, mi sento l’unica italiana ad apprezzare questo genere di libri 🥲 Ho visto il reblog del tuo libro su interact-if e ho detto “wait a second… ma quella è Napoli” e sono andata subito sul tuo Tumblr a controllare se effettivamente lo fosse. Vado subito a leggere ✨

Ammetto che questo messaggio mi ha fatto ridere più del dovuto!

Nel caso fossi curiosa riguardo la genesi e le meccaniche di TIB, le ho spiegate nelle risposte ad alcune altre domande (tag #readers mail sul mio blog).

Spero che possa essere di tuo gradimento!

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!