23 Sep The Queen
Posted at 16:22h
in 2018 Fall Computational Approaches to Narrative, Art, ITP life, Reading, Uncategorized, Work in Porgress
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The Queen is an interactive fiction I created with Inform7. Looking at fairytales such as Snow White and Cinderella, the theme of evil stepmothers can be seen in many stories, regardless of countries of origin. In “The Queen”, instead of focusing on Snow White, the player plays the role of her evil step mother. Many of the story’s original affordances still exist in my version(the mirror, the apple, Snow White, etc..), but it’s up to you how you want to play. You may decide to kill Snow White with the poisonous apple, but that does not change the progress of the game. After all, it is about you, the queen, not Snow White.
Click here to play, or look at the full gameplay below.
Full Walkthrough & Spoiler Alert
The Queen
An Interactive Fiction by Carrie Wang
Chamber
You are sitting in a dark, spacious chamber. This is where you usually go to get away from your insensitive husband and the servants who speak ill of you behind your back. You’ve personally designed every aspect of the room and hand picked everything from lighting to wallpaper. Being here calms you down.
In front of you is a smart mirror, a work-in-progress of yours.
Behind you is a beautiful, vintage oak closet.
>examine lighting
The chamber is illuminated by colorful, custom LED lights you made as a hobby.
>examine wallpaper
The wallpaper in this room is of a triangular pattern, alternating between purple and blue, your favorite colors.
>examine mirror
The mirror contains an artificial intelligence system you created using unreliable online data. Currently it only takes one question.
>ask mirror
You know the mirror can only identify one question. You ask: “Mirror, mirror, on the wall, Who in this land is fairest of all?” The mirror answers: “You, my queen, are fair; it is true. But Snow White, beyond the mountains with the seven dwarves, is a thousand times fairer than you.”
>examine closet
This is a huge, walk-in closet. You had it custom made in a land far far away 5 years ago when your marriage started falling apart.
>enter closet
Closet Interior
You keep a secret collection of ordinary people’s clothes inside. From here you can transform into anyone you want to be. Behind the clothes, there is a hidden passageway leading north.
You can see peasant’s clothes, maid’s clothes, peddler’s clothes, sauceror’s clothes and merchant’s clothes here.
>take all
peasant’s clothes: Taken.
maid’s clothes: Taken.
peddler’s clothes: Taken.
sauceror’s clothes: Taken.
merchant’s clothes: Taken.
>wear peddler’s clothes
You put on peddler’s clothes.
>n
Secret room
After walking for an hour, you’ve reached a room you secretly built when you bought the closet. It’s a small room in the middle of the forest. Decoration is minimal. The only furniture are a bed, a small table and a chair. A door opens to the north.
An apple sits on the table.
>examine apple
It is a beautiful apple. Anyone who sees it would want it. But anyone who might eat a little piece of it would die.
>take apple
Taken.
>n
Forest
You are all alone in the great forest. You see trees of green, roses of red, sky of blue and clouds of white, the colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky. You breathe in the air of freedom. You wouldn’t mind staying in the forest for a while, but this is not a good place for long term accommodation. Despite your failed marriage and unsuccessful attempts to connect with your step children, you still long for human connection.
After wandering about for a while, you see a little cottage hidden behind some trees.
>examine trees
The trees are green, their leaves whispering to one another in the gentle wind.
>examine roses
Roses are red. You have thought about picking a few up but decided against it. They are perfect in their own environment.
>examine rainbow
Ok, to be honest, there isn’t a rainbow. You made that up to suit your pleasant mood.
>examine cottage
A small cottage in the woods. You wonder if anybody lives here.
>enter cottage
Cottage Porch
You knock on the door of the cottage.
The door opens and your step daughter, Snow White walks out, closing the door behind her.
>examine snow white
Snow White left home a few months ago to stay away from you. No matter how hard you tried, you two could not get along.
>give apple
Snow White longs for the beautiful apple, she grabs it and takes a bite. Almost immediately she falls to the ground dead. You pick up the apple to erase the evidence.
>n
Deep in the Forest
You keep walking deeper into the forest. You can feel the warm sunlight falling on the back of your neck.
>s
Cottage Porch
You knock on the door of the cottage.
No one is here to answer the door. Snow White’s lifeless body lies on the porch.
>ask mirror
You know the mirror can only identify one question. You ask: “Mirror, mirror, on the wall, Who in this land is fairest of all?” The mirror answers: You, my queen, are fairest of all.
>n
Deep in the Forest
You keep walking deeper into the forest. You can feel the warm sunlight falling on the back of your neck.
>n
Deeper in the Forest
You walk further north. Perhaps, if you keep walking, you can get out of the forest? What is outside of the forest? You realize you’ve never thought about this.
>e
Still Forest
You are further and further away from the cottage, from your forest room, your chamber and your castle. The scenery is starting to look unfamiliar. A strange feeling emerges from within your body
>ne
Close to the Edge of Forest
You are getting closer to the edge of the forest.
>e
*** In front of you is a flat, open area free of trees. A sign with the words “Parking Lot” stands at the entrance. A couple of weirdly shaped carriages with no horses are parked here. A family of four are getting out of one of the carriages, wearing clothes you have never seen before. They also seem to be confused by your presence. You are not sure what’s going to happen next, but you are excited, curious, hopeful and free. You wouldn’t trade this moment for anything else in the world. The end, but a new beginning. ***
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