Nightmare will be a first person horror interactive fiction.
Horror is in my opinion a risky genre for an interactive novel, but something I find I would enjoy writing. The story of Nightmare is rather complex. In short terms, it revolves the idea of the player being trapped in a neverending Nightmare. The story takes the player through layers of horrific dreams and nightmares where they will encounter various monstrosities and personal reflections. Dying will result in waking yourself up. This could mean youâll miss out on finding items or valuable information that could help you in the next dream. Staying in a dream for too long however, will increase your Insanity level.
Iâm not planning on releasing chapter by chapter, and a demo is still in the works. All I really have is the introduction page which outlines the style I hope to achieve in Nightmare. There isnât any choices, being an introduction and all, but is reasonable I suppose. And it is in the Choicescript format for ease of access on my half.
(If youâre wondering why so many sentences are incomplete, it is because this dream takes place in a âshattered memoryâ.)
I only skimmed through it as I am too tired right now, but what I read has very good writing. Iâm going to read it properly either tonight or tomorrow and give you more feedback.
Iâm not really crazy about horror games/stories. Generally it seems like the main way they create âhorrorâ is by removing your sense of agency and ability to protect yourself effectively⌠which just feels like a crappier version of real life. I mean,is that really it and people just enjoy that while I donât, or am I missing something?
Not to harsh on your writing or anything but this demo seems really similar to the game Evil Within thatâs already out, although its on consoles, the monsters are practically identical. If you plan on going in a different direction thatâs cool, this could also be just a freaky coincidence. I just thought I should say something.
@MaddiMastermind There are numerous inspirations, and I used that one just for something to flesh out a writing style quickly. The story has nothing to do with Evil Within, but it does share some symbolic meanings. This is a secondary priority now anyway, and is on the scrap list
Maybe this sounds uneducated but I really canât stand the classy sort of long fancy sentences this game and a couple of others contain.
It really doesnât feel real to me and is also always phrased a little awkwardly.
I prefer games that use a more realistic or obvious writing technique, and just tell a good overall story.
I mean seriously, who actually talks like this? I feel like Iâm speaking to a Greek philosopher or something, but to be fair, a lot of games do this.
Although a lot of people like this. Your game seems pretty good, and I like the imagery. I wouldâve preferred a demo with a couple of choices but maybe thatâs just me.
This is definitely well written. The details youâve put into the environment (very necessary for horror stories) are solid. I understand that it is intentionally dreamlike given the title alone, but extended surrealism can be difficult to read over the length of an entire story. I was pleasantly reminded of the Amnesia games (the dark descent & a machine for pigs) while reading.
Stream of consciousness as a narrative device has its appeal, but I think it would be very difficult to pull off in a choose-your-own-adventure game.
