I’m a child of the 80s. I grew up with choose-your-own-adventure books and have been trying to capture the magic and joy they gave me ever since. Alas, to adult me, most interactive fiction feels too basic and amateur, and I just could never get into it until about a month ago.
I was reading the backlog of Nebula and Hugo nominees and found Natalia Theodoridou whose style I really liked. Turned out he’d also written interactive fiction and I devoured everything of his I could get my hands on.
My favourite, by far, has been Betwixt. It’s a choose-your-own-adventure story with immersive soundscapes that you read/play/experience on an app (same name). The premise: you find yourself in this strange world called the In-Between that responds to your thoughts and emotions. While you try to find your way out, you meet a mysterious guide (the voice) who helps you to explore your mind and face your shadow. It’s a dreamlike, magical experience that moved me to tears several times because it gets very deep and personal. The really unique thing is that you bring a lot of yourself in the story so you feel both like its hero and co-author at the same time.
I wanted to share this because it’s been a long time since I’ve used my imagination or felt so in tune with what remains of creativity I have left (most of it was schooled out of me long ago). I’ve been mostly a lurker here, learning from you all but not feeling like I had much to contribute. I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did.
by wicked_redundancy55