A great thread idea! Since I mentioned this one in the other thread as an example of a story that got less attention due to its unique and eclectic subject matter (and since I was definitely the creator of a couple of the nothing posts Sam mentioned getting, popping in mostly for cow-related puns), it certainly deserves a mention here as well. Winter of the Bovine! With the expertly named Foal Throttle appearing to be inert, this is the unquestioned champeen of four-legged farm animal WIPs.
I was going to link to the Oedipus story as well, but it’s already been submitted to HG so thread likes and feedback would really be spitting in the wind at this point. I still encourage everyone to support it when it comes out, though.
A lot of people here, myself included, occasionally decry the lack of originality in story ideas. Here are two established authors that are following their passion and creating something ferociously unique, and that has a lot of value. Taking ChoiceScript where it has never gone before always has the potential to bring in people who might otherwise have never considered checking out any of the company’s offerings. And I’d rather a flawed but creative story than generic pablum that mostly just checks the expected boxes any day of the week.
As far as existing works go, I will throw a shoutout to Carlos Romero’s Missing Wings. Here’s another example of a game which takes ChoiceScript to some new places. It has a narrative to tie things together, but first and foremost it is a minigame collection whose scope and breadth is unparalleled, likely in any text-based gaming format. Not all of the games hit, but those that do can be very engaging. Try the demo, see if it’s up your alley. And keep in mind a fair amount of the negative reviews were due to an early bug that rendered the game even more difficult (and it is already a toughie, no question, although he has a guide thread on the forum to provide help as needed) but which is now corrected. Though honestly I made so much money on the minigame before the horse racing I never relied on it anyhow.
And even though it is self-serving, I guess my own freshman effort qualifies as fairly undiscovered, given its earnings to date. Nuclear Powered Toaster is a post-post-post-apocalyptic sci-fi comedy where you choose between two fixed protagonists: smuggler Alexi Beaumont and superpowered government agent Fiorella Branford. You fight flunkies, stare down spaceships, harness the power of insanity and potentially thwart a terrorist attack with some unusual comrades by your side. Some dare to call it funny. Some lean more toward juvenile (they’re not entirely wrong, either). Many consider the mere existence of set protagonists a personal affront worthy of a blood feud. But it’s a story I have tried to tell in various formats (webcomics, regular novel, even a brief attempt at a RPG Maker game) for almost all of my adult life, and I’m proud to have completed it. If you happen to try it out, I’d love a good review, especially on Steam, where my self-aggrandizing review sits alone with all its friends.