I’ve played a lot of CoG since 2014ish and have not come across a game that features themes like Diana Wynne Jones books or fairies / old English fae lore.
The closest games I can think of are A Midsummer Night’s Choice by Kreg Segall, Chronicon Apocalpytica, The Canterbury Tales.
I wanted to ask if you have any recommendations for CoG or HGs that take a more modern direction. Think »Fire & Hemlock« by DWJ but as an interactive novel.
Hello, I’m a huge Diana Wynne Jones fan and get a lot of inspiration from her in my writing! Weyrwood is a regency-era fae game which I enjoyed a lot, where the fae have very sinister overtones. You might enjoy Faerie’s Bargain as well. Both are more historical than modern.
For things with a similar feel to some of DWJ’s work in other genres, you might like An Odyssey: Echoes of War (myth), I, Cyborg (space opera), or Kidnapped! a Royal Birthday and Grand Academy of Future Villains (fantasy comedy). There is also a fae element in The Beast of Glenkildove along with a feeling of young characters facing trauma and danger which catches up with them in adulthood (this one is modern-set and engages with Irish mythology elements as well).
Is she the one who wrote Howl’s Moving Castle? Which part of her writing are you looking for? Her writing style, the themes, or the sort genre mix she used to write in?
Chronicon Apopolyptica is the best one if you want grounded and mythology-accurate fae lore. It does an excellent job of representing the Fae as something other than flitting pixies, capturing elements of their good and bad sides. I would also suggest the Harbinger’s Head. Both do well capturing the essence of the Good Neighbours.I would also suggest the Beast of Glenkildove. Fae are a background “monster” but still play a significant role.
Outside of Interactive fiction, Johnathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke does a good job of depicting the true nature of the Fae. For a more modern take which embraces the truer nature I would suggest the Dresden Files.
It is rather unfortunate but there was a exceptional WIP a while back which was very grounded in Irish fae lore. Unfortunately the author grew tired of programming it and ended it. Wish I remembered the name of it.
I don’t know that any of my games were directly inspired by Diana Wynne Jones but I really like her books. Charmed Life and the Dalemark Quartet especially made a big impression on me when I read them as a child. There’s a real sense of jeopardy and moral complexity to her stories, which is something you don’t always get from children’s/YA fiction, and also a respect for her readers’ intelligence. Charmed Life sketches out this vast world of magical intrigue with such a brilliantly light touch.
I’ve been listening to the “Eight Days of Diana Wynne Jones” podcast and revisiting a lot of her books - some of which I only read once many years ago and didn’t really gel with but love now. I think about The Time of the Ghost on a regular basis after rereading it last year.
Oh, another recommendation - Social Services of the Doomed might appeal to readers who like DWJ’s sharp eye for magical bureaucratic absurdity!
Hi. @HarrisPS recommended all what I plan to recommend. I may add A Squire’s Tale. Highly Fairie centric but I can’t give much info that part is to spoilery. @Elster
