StoryVerse – Roundup 06/2024
An Interactive Fiction Experiment
When I started StoryVerse in March this year as a celebration for my Substack anniversary, I wasn’t sure how or if this experiment would work. Three months later, we have over ten contributors who created nodes and helped transform this little experiment into something truly unique.
A living and breathing adventure story, a fun way to experience fiction interactively, using text, sound, images, and videos, where each contributor adds their choices to the path, the writer’s journey.
To highlight the additions and new nodes, I thought a periodical roundup would be good, so new readers can find out more about how it works, and those who left off at previous nodes can dive right back in. On the app, you may not see these nodes as the app currently does not show newsletter sections.
Workaround: Save the first node 〔⍺〕 in your app, or the node you are on, then you can always dive back in where you have left off.
On each node, you are presented with two choices to advance the story. If you hit a dead end, you can use the 〔go back〕link.
In essence, the StoryVerse consists of many nodes, a branching narrative, where each node is written by another author, handing over the baton to the next writer, and so the StoryVerse grows from node to node, and no one knows what will happen next.
You can use the interactive map to navigate this ever-growing maze. Thanks, David!
StoryVerse Contributors
I would like to express my deepest gratitude to all the amazing people who joined and created nodes and to all of you reading and playing the StoryVerse! And thanks to Brian, a new villain has spawned. Let’s call him Dr. Plague. Did you meet?
We now have a total of 42 nodes and 12 contributors across (almost) all creative disciplines, and the StoryVerse keeps growing. David has added yet a new twist in the latest addition (node 26). There is something off with that lighter…
Here’s to you, our StoryVerse Contributors:
〔Nodes 10 – 12〕 〔Nodes 13 – 15〕 〔Nodes 16 – 18〕 〔Nodes 19 – 21, 23, 24〕 〔Nodes 22, 25, 29〕 〔Nodes 26, 27〕 live now! 〔Nodes 28, 30, 31〕 coming soon!… and the quest continues.
… but something happened with people drinking too much coffee at the beginning (node01), and so we thought, This can’t be the end… and thus an alternate version of the StoryVerse sprang into existence.
If you find yourself in the green-tinted version, you’re a zombie. Maybe there’s a way to get back to the orange warmth somehow? This branch of the narrative is something else altogether. Will you find the brains to make it? Or have you been nodding off to Hugh Grunt?
Nadia and Kate kicked things off splendidly, hilariously even, if I may say so, and in addition, Andrei’s capital nodes went live today, linked below.
〔Nodez 01z-03z〕 〔Nodez 04z-05z〕 〔Nodez 06z-07z〕 live now! 〔Nodez 08z-09z〕 coming soon!… and the hunger grows!
I wonder if Liv Moore will make a guest appearance at some point. Who knows! I don’t think Rob Thomas is on Substack (yet).
Thinking of joining the fray of StoryVersians, StoryVersers, StoryVersts, I mean, someone who likes to experiment with fiction? DM me! We'll set up a 30-minute Zoom call, and you’ll be good to go.
Again, a massive thanks to everyone, and now, dear reader, I hope you’ll enjoy these new nodez and their writers. 🧟♂️
FAQ
What is the StoryVerse?
The StoryVerse is an ever-growing interactive story, an adventure where writers and readers decide where it goes next. A collaborative effort across Substack to grow the StoryVerse 100 words at a time.
StoryVerse is a bit like those Choose Your Own Adventure1 gamebooks you may have heard of, or played, or like these text adventures, some of which are hidden inside the StoryVerse as easter eggs, fully playable, all you have to do is find them.
What is it about?
It’s about someone getting sucked into the never-ending thrills of starting a newsletter (node 0), writing their very first post or maybe never getting around to it because… strange things happen, or, maybe they dozed off and it’s all a dream? And suddenly there’s a whole bus of characters, all wanting to play. Anything can happen. A tragedy, a comedy, or both, in space with magic or simply at a restaurant, ordering a burrito… After all, it’s your story. Your choice.
What’s the goal?
As part of this collective Writer’s Journey, the goal is ephemeral. A quest to find the Final Word, The Omega Node, which may be Node 42, or not. It’s an odyssey we embark on together, facing many Sirens’ calls, dangers, temptations, and joys, navigating the maze of the StoryVerse. It is you who will make it happen.
Who can play?
Anyone can play. Anyone who has a publication on Substack and is interested in creating a scenario (100 words) for the StoryVerse can add to it. That’s you? Excellent! Ready to write your first node?
What’s a node?
A node is a post in the TFTD StoryVerse section containing a scenario (text, image, video, audio, a mix) providing the reader two choices to continue the story from a previous node. Each node is a brief story (100 words) written for the StoryVerse at that precise junction between nodes, and players go from node to node making choices, some good, some bad, some ugly.
What if I found a node I want to add to?
That’s the beauty. You can! Send a message to the node author and have a chat, collaborate, and grow the adventure. You found a dead-end node but would love to continue in a different direction? Send me a DM. The StoryVerse needs you!
I wrote a Node! Can I write another one?
Yes. Even after you have handed off the StoryVerse baton to the next writer, you can, of course, snatch the baton back up and create more nodes later on.
How to play?
If you see your name mentioned on a node, it means the writer of that node has chosen you to continue from there. You write one scenario (100 words) that will lead forward and one that will lead to a dead-end. The next player will create two new choices on the node that leads forward.
Example: Come up with two choices for a scenario at node xx
You find yourself at a restaurant where you are the only guest, sitting at the counter, kitchen sounds can be heard, someone is whistling.
You see a plate before you. On it, a juicy burrito.
For〔 choice A 〕you may write 〔 eat burrito 〕→ Link to scenario A. You could write, e.g.:
The burrito was an alien life form and you are now host to a tribe of cannibalistic alien beans slowly eating away at you from inside. The End.
For〔 choice B 〕you write〔 call the waiter 〕→ Link to scenario B, which goes like this:
After shouting and banging on the counter for a good minute, finally, the Chef, a giant, comes out of the kitchen, a big smile on his Cyclops face. When he sees you his grin grows broader as he raises his butcher’s knife in greeting.
The person you want to continue would do so from this scene onwards, creating new scenarios (100 words) with two choices from here.
Someone might feel there is something to be told after you made the “wrong” choice and ate those bean people…
Why join?
Because it’s mad fun and you never know where the story will take you! Thrilling. Also, it’s a great way to network, collaborate and discover new writers across Substack.
Everything is connected.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choose_Your_Own_Adventure
Great to see this expanding and evolving and growing. I'm sure there would be even more by now if I hadn't taken so long to get to my nodes :P
Awesome to see the interactive map by David, too.
Thank you so much for this glorious experience. It's been fun getting lost in everyone's nodes and crafting my own. Thanks for the help!