"Mask of the Plague Doctor" -- Stop a deadly plague with medieval medicine!

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We’re proud to announce that Mask of the Plague Doctor, the latest in our popular “Choice of Games” line of multiple-choice interactive-fiction games, is now available for Steam, Android, and on iOS in the “Choice of Games” app.

It’s 30% off until April 30!

Stop a deadly plague in a medieval fantasy tale of swords and surgery!

Mask of the Plague Doctor is a 410,000-word interactive novel by Peter Parrish, where your choices control the story. It’s entirely text-based, without graphics or sound effects, and fueled by the vast, unstoppable power of your imagination.

The town of Thornback Hollow is under quarantine. Its people are unable to sleep, tormented by a disease known as the Waking Death, and the infection is spreading. The Crown has commanded you and two other plague doctors to end the plague, even if that means destroying the town.

In your quest for knowledge, will you try to ease the fear and paranoia of the citizenry, or fan the flames of political unrest? Will your fellow plague doctors become your rivals, allies, or lovers? Will you grasp the true power that watches over the town?

• Play as male, female, or non-binary; gay, straight, bisexual, or aromantic.
• Select from a range of mask designs, or opt for one of your own.
• Specialize in surgery, medical theory, or uncanny mysticism.
• Unearth a cure for the Waking Death, apply traditional medicines, or explore more experimental methods.
• Respect the local deity, or throw your support behind a banished sect.
• Work with the Crown’s appointed mayor, aid a revolt, or do your best to avoid political intrigue altogether.
• Find time for romance with one of your fellow plague doctors, or a dashing mercenary.
• Recruit others to your medical cause and perhaps leave a lasting legacy.
• Seek induction into the Fellowship of Royal Physicians, or be happy just to escape with your life.

Thornback Hollow is in peril. Can your healing hands soothe the Waking Death to slumber? Or will the town perish to fire and disease?

We hope you enjoy playing Mask of the Plague Doctor. We encourage you to tell your friends about it, and recommend the game on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and other sites. Don’t forget: our initial download rate determines our ranking on the App Store. The more times you download in the first week, the better our games will rank.

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Big ups and congrats to @PParrish. I’m very proud of this project and thrilled to see it published today.

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I bought it PParrish!! RE YOU PROUD OF ME?

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Release day is here!

Thank you to @Mary_Duffy for giving me a crash course in Choicescript back in July 2018, and for all the editorial expertise that helped shape the game. Everybody else from CoG who assisted with editorial notes or logistics - thank you to you too.

I’m also really grateful to everyone who took part in the ‘alpha’ WIP (whether you left feedback, or just had a look at the game in progress), and to the group of beta testers who unearthed a couple of significant bugs and made solid suggestions for changes.

It’s weird to be releasing Mask of the Plague Doctor during an actual, real life pandemic, but… that’s what fate has decreed. I hope it can provide a nice distraction from (or an eerie companion piece to, I guess) what’s going on outside.

Time to grab your mask and cure that plague :fox_face: :deer: :boar:

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emoji game is tight

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Congrats @PParrish – the artwork chosen for the game was a good choice as well. The harlequin is how my mind pictured it, and that is rare to do.

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I got to ask how does this have an update before the game was released when i downloaded it its update info date was 17.4

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We submit updates to Google at various stages of production. When we have, for instance, part of the copyedit complete, we’ll create an APK file and submit it. It will be approved by Google, but not released. When the copyedit is complete, I’ll submit a new APK. When the copyedit has been reviewed by the author, yet another update. But I still have to press a “publish” button, and each APK requires a new version number.

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Wow well that was something intresting to learn

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Congrats on the release! I was waiting for this game since cog announced.

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WOOHOO got it… Congratulations on the release @PParrish … It’s getting SO boring without any new releases…

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No releases?! One a week this month! 2 Hosted Games, 2 Choice of Games, and 1 Heart’s Choice! [ retreats back into hole ] :sweat_smile:

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congratulations on the release! just bought the game but haven’t started yet, but im a bit curious though as to who the ros are?

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Alice (F), Ioco (M) and Lucia (NB).

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thank you!

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This was a great game. I was very impressed. I thought the conduit path was fantastic and completely unexpected. The fact that in general the setting was low magic made every step forward and every escalation feel very meaningful. While the people around you are doubting that magic even exists, you’re diving headfirst into being the avatar of an old god. The contrast was great and every whisper from the Dweller provided so much extra flavor.

Later, when the merge finally happened, I really appreciated how much work was put into making it feel actually transformative. There were notable shifts in the writing that really stressed that a fundamental change happened, and the change in tone, as well as the reactions of the other characters, really reinforced it. To top it off, the epilogue was great, and really gave a satisfying conclusion to the journey.

All in all, very good. Thanks for a great game.

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I’m only at the beginning, but I like it so far. I don’t know why, but the town and his ambiance remind me of Bloodborn.
And Plague tale too (but it’s more logical).

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I am a fan of taking different paths in game but man that Mayor Sylvia is soooo damn hard to root for , congrats pparrish you have written my top 3 least fav character of all time and i am not criticising here at all just complementing about how hateful of a character you have created :joy:

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Lol Those are not enough to get these desperate peeps through these desperate times… :joy_cat::smiley_cat::smile_cat:

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Hey, I just wanted to check if something is a mistake- in the part where we’re brought to the library before dinner, I’m given the choice to chose between four books, but two of them are the same book, and title, but with different subtexts? Is that intentional?

I notice it only appears when I do certain things a certain way-

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