SNOWBOUND -- An Original Interactive Story, Pt. 1
Welcome to SNOWBOUND, a new interactive fiction story on Steemit.
How it works
I'm going to post an intro below, giving the setting for the story. You will take control of the main character.
That's right, YOU will.
At the end of the intro, there will be a text prompt that looks like this: >_
For veterans of old-school text adventures, what comes next will be obvious. Your job is to post a comment below with what you want the main character to do next. Some examples might be "drink the suspicious potion", or "engage the homicidal maniac in idle conversation". Anything goes, as long as it makes some sense in the context of the story (but don't let things like "logic" or "common sense" get in the way -- this is a creative exercise for everyone involved). Once roughly 24 hours have passed, I'll take the top-rated comment(s) (or just my favorites, if there are ties) and work them into the next iteration of the story as best as I can. However, how your actions are interpreted by the "game" might be unexpected, so don't get discouraged if you don't get the results you were hoping for. Saying you want the main character to "kill everyone with nega-magic" is all well and good, but if he doesn't know nega-magic, things might go awry (checking the main character's abilities might be a good place to start -- just a suggestion).
Unlike a typical text-adventure, there is no goal here other than to have fun and write a story together. There is a win-condition, so the "game" can theoretically be beaten -- but don't let that deter you from having fun. And, depending on how you play, that win-condition might change. So let's just enjoy the ride and not worry too much about winning. Sound good? Good. With the explanation out of the way, let's jump right in.
You don't know where you are. You don't know when you are. You don't know who you are. There seem to be an alarming number of things that you don't know. However, there is one thing you do know: it is goddamn cold.
You shiver beneath your fur-lined peacoat and run a numb hand over your forehead. Your temples are throbbing, either from the amnesia or from the onset of hypothermia. You lower your hand and take a look at it as it unconsciously clenches and relaxes. You feel certain that there is something significant about its unconscious movements, as though it is trying to remind you of a 「SPECIAL ABILITY」that you have forgotten.
The frost suddenly bites at your nose as a gust picks up over the snowdrift beside you. You shiver and make another pass around your face with the wool scarf hanging carefully around your neck as your breath leaves crystalline shimmers in the air ahead of you. The fresh snow crunches softly beneath your feet as you trudge through the barren and frozen waste. Behind you, your footprints are masked by the light and swirling powder that continues to dust the landscape. The sun hangs glistening in the west, the horizon awash in a golden flame as the threat of night creeps ever closer.
In the distance, some children build a snowman.
Walk up to the children and yell how they're doing it wrong. Immediately destroy the snowman before the children can react, laugh, and start showing them the proper technique.
As the writer, I shouldn't do this, but I'm rooting for this comment. This is great.