I’m not sure myself. I was initially imagining them being almost identical, but it would be interesting if each version, while having the same overall story, went hard in the different directions that you could take a parser vs. choice game. The parser game could have a lot more detailed scenery to examin, while the choice game could have more graphics and effects and so on, maybe other stuff too since the sky’s the limit when it comes to Twine and other web-based formats.
On another note, it would be fun if you had two games that seemed identical but actually had crucial storyline differences that you’d only notice if you played both of them.
I was thinking more of the broad concept of the mechanic being the same, but the specifics of the each (sub-?)piece being different. For example, the broad mechanic would be going up and down nested levels; in the choice version, this might be represented by something like The Ballroom but more complex; in the parser version, it might be expressed through the Lime Ergot school of interaction.
I’ve been toying with the idea of re-implementing Alias ‘The Magpie’ in Ink. It’s very conversation-heavy for a parser game and I think it might work well. It would be an open-map sort of game with the same room layout. But the original also relies heavily on inventory puzzles. I now have a working inventory system in Ink / Atrament which I’ve developed for my current WIP. There’s an inventory button at the top which reveals a modal box with the inventory. What I need is a way to select one object (perhaps a drop-down menu) so that when the player closes the modal, any additional choices pertaining to that object are displayed. Similar to selecting an object to “hold” in Gruescript. I think I can live without the ability to DROP objects, because the original game didn’t have an inventory limit and I doubt many players DROPPED things as a matter of course. Inkle’s Expelled! has inventory puzzles but no DROP. I probably won’t do the remake, but if I ever do another Magpie game it will almost certainly be made in Ink / Atrament because I love them.
I don’t think I can ever see myself releasing two versions of the same game at the same time, because that would be so much work, and time I could have devoted to something else.