[Enter the Story]

Hi guys. After a year of experimenting, my new game is ready for testing. It's short, simple, and entirely online, so should only take a few minutes. Can anyone help?

If so, please PM me, or email me, chris at enterthestory dot com.



tl'dr: It's basically a gamebook, but on the screen.

This is nothing like my previous games. Except that you become part of a classic novel. In the past I made five regular adventure games but I was never happy with them. Don't get me wrong, I think they have a lot to offer, and are worth buying, but I have a vision of what I want to do, and that wasn't it. But the new game is!

I am very, VERY happy with the new stuff, and wish I'd done it this way many years ago.

Of course, that is no guarantee that anyone else will like it, so I value your feedback.

BTW, this is REALLY old school. Like text adventures, but easier to play. You've probably seen "Choose Your Own Adventure" books from the 1970s-80s, but I can't use that phrase as it's a trademark. Luckily they cannot copyright the idea, and the fine folks who made those books do not have enough money to buy congressmen. Also, similar gamebooks go back to the 1940s. But none quite like this.

What is different about this game:

1. It's online: no downloads, no platform issues. It works on most browsers and most phones (though if you play on a phone you either need good eyesight or a non-tiny screen).
2. It starts instantly: no plugins, no waiting.
3. the gameplay is very, very simple: Picture, situation, choice. Picture, situation, choice. Rinse and repeat. I figure that the core reward for playing a game is seeing amazing stuff and making decisions, so I boiled my game down to that and nothing else.
4. Because it is so simple I can add content at an incredible rate: When it launches I will add a new chapter every day, and a new story every week. This is a completely new approach to adventure games. It's like a daily web comic, except you choose what happens.
5. The writing style is simple as well. I want it to be accessible to all ages. But the stories are not dumbed down. I reckon kids can handle big concepts if they're presented in a simple and interesting way.
6. It includes a guide to make your own stories. It's so easy that I hope others will add their own, and I will host them on the site (or they can use their own web sites).
7. As you make decisions you are scored on your bravery, intuition, or romance (depending on the book). You can print off certificates and compare your score with your friends.

The test version has just two stories:

1. The first is Journey To The Centre of The Earth, which is my nod to the first great interactive fiction adventure, Colossal Cave. Except this is Jules Verne's original.
2. I also have The Picture Of Dorian Gray. I always choose the odd ones. Again, this is faithful to the book, though I tell the story from the point of view of a very minor character, and start it half way through because that's where the action is.

If there are no major problems then the full version will be online in a week or two, and then more content every day until the end of the world. (Or until they take my computer away, whichever comes first.)

Pricing? It is always free to play the current story, up to the current chapter. So people who come back daily need never pay anything. Also, the first half of all other stories is free. But I hope that people will be impatient, or want their own offline copy, so will pay a small fee. If you are willing to test it then I'll send a code to unlock the other game(s) so you can see if that works.

For more about the game, click on the 'about' and 'get the full game' links. And if you like easter eggs, try clicking places or waving your mouse where you are not supposed to.

In summary, this will not be a "single story, triple A, download once" kind of game. This will be a "never ending, cheap and cheerful high speed adventure" kind of game.

Thanks for reading.

[Lovee236]

Sounds cool! keep the good work up

[Enter the Story]

Thanks. I think this should get better and better.