I am new to interactive fiction and I have recently completed my first game. The idea came to my mind when looking for creative formats for science communication and I thought of writing an interactive short story where the player is asked to solve puzzles totally inspired by the fundamental laws of chemistry.
The genre is between fantasy and detective story. The player wears the shoes of an apprentice wizard who embarks on a mission to identify a mysterious intruder.
The main puzzles of the game are based on the chemistry of sugars and many references and easter eggs on the world of chemistry are hidden here and there.
I have actually made two games: a very short introductory “prologue” and a much more elaborate sequel.
The first game (approx. 30 min playing time) comes with a help function, while I have not implemented it yet for the sequel (approx. 5 hours playing time).
Since this is my first experience in authoring interactive fictions, I would really appreciate any help.
If anyone is interested in testing the game, please send me a private message.
(P.S. The game was originally written in Italian, so in case anyone from Italy is reading this thread, I would be very glad to receive feedback on the original language version, too)
Congratulations on your first game! Lots of people are getting ready for the Spring Thing festival, but hopefully you will get the help you are looking for.
Oh my! That sounds like an amazing idea. Real world chemistry-based science puzzles in a fantasy detective framework. Love it.
Unfortunately, as Drew Cook mentions above, Spring Thing, one of the big Interactive Fiction festivals, is coming up so many people will be sweating, crying, and even bleeding to get their submissions done in time, shining and polished.
I myself will not be entering anything in Spring Thing, but I have made other commitments. I’m attempting to play and review both PunyJam#3 and SeedComp, and I’m playtesting another large game.
I really couldn’t juggle all these and also engage with your game with full commitment.
But! You say you estimate your game (the sequel) to be around 5 hours playtime. A game that big needs a long and repeated testing period. Would it be ok if I bookmark this post to remind me to contact you in a few weeks?
I would love to test your game. It sounds awesome.
Hi Andrea, welcome! I am also busy for reasons other than Spring Thing, but if you send me a file I will probably get you a couple of transcripts, even if not the whole game. If you have hints or a walkthrough that may expedite things, although I try not to default to those…
Also… pretty much a chemistry dunce even though I could find it interesting if I had more time to delve…
Any chance you’d want to swap testing?
I may be able to rope my friend (who’s a chem professor) into playing too…I’ll send a pm