Forest of Light & Dark

This is a text-based adventure game, created using the open-source application, Twine (https://twinery.org/), and programmed using Harlowe 3.3.5. At the start of the game, the player is given a choice between two paths — the easier Light Path and the harder Dark Path. The game uses links to provide action choices to the player, who can click the links to progress through the story. Making incorrect choices along the way can cause the player to lose “friends,” which serve as a lives mechanic — if the player runs out of friends and then loses once more, they fail the game. The game also includes a guessing mini-game and a mechanic to randomly place the player somewhere in the Dark Path’s maze.

The motivation behind the game was to create a simple story-driven game with two different paths — an easier path with short puzzles (the Light Path) and a harder path with a maze (the Dark Path). While much more prominent in the early days of computer gaming, text-based games have become far scarcer over the years as technology has improved and games grow ever more advanced. This game is a throwback to those older games, when much of the game world was left to the player’s imagination, with only text descriptions guiding their visions. As an adventure game, it tells a story much like a book does, but with direct interaction from the player, allowing them to become directly involved in moving the story forward.

The game can be played here.