An Interview with nervoussystems: the Allure of Interactive Fiction

When it comes to video games, do you opt for endless action or intricate storytelling? If you prefer to focus on thoughtful plotlines over throwing punches, then text-based games (also known as text adventures, or interactive fiction) might be right up your alley. Whether you’re a player of games or a creator of them, text-based games are an intriguing genre.

Interactive fiction relies predominantly on text-based storytelling rather than audio and graphics, meaning the writing does all of the heavy lifting that makes these games worthwhile. Many popular visual novels, like Capcom’s Ace Attorney series, are quite similar to text adventures--just with the addition of some graphics and point & click action that arguably make the game more enticing for most players.

So what’s the appeal of text-based games over general visual novels? I interviewed Maria, the independent creator behind nervoussystems on itch.io, to get an insider’s perspective.

An Introduction to nervoussystems

This week, Maria released their second text-based game titled House of Horrors, which you can play from your phone or computer browser here. Without providing too many spoilers, the game entails your weeklong stay at a friend’s peculiar house, and the equally peculiar entities that reside within it. Given that this isn’t the first game that they have put out, I was curious to learn more about Maria's previous experience with game creation, and what got them into it.

“Prior to this game, I made another text-based game called A Normal Survey, which was a horror game in the form of a survey,” Maria explains. This was their first step into the world of game making, and they had to figure out their own solutions to any obstacles. “It was a lot of learning on my own, looking things up, and tutorials.”

The completion of A Normal Survey as well as House of Horrors serve as excellent testimonies to their passion and self-motivation. But where did that passion come from?

“What got me into game creation is a mix of a few things,” Maria states. A big source of inspiration is their own creativity as they “often have a lot of ideas that [they] want to see become a reality.” 

Beyond creativity, Maria also encapsulates the necessary ambition for their game creation endeavors. Maria elaborates that they were motivated by “a desire to learn something new and prove to myself that I was capable of accomplishing this, and seeing that other people were successful in their own making of games. I thought if they could do it, then I could too.”

The Appeal of Interactive Fiction

Maria believes that text-based games have an appeal that other games sometimes lack. “Text-based games are, as the name suggests, solely based on text (and sometimes visuals, if it’s a visual novel game), and it’s based on reading said text and making choices that impact the outcome.” There is a lot of emphasis on reading comprehension and decision making as these components are the heart of the game.

Essentially, you’re stepping into a story that someone else has created, and being handed the freedom to make decisions within that written universe. “So I would say one of the appeals for text-based games is reading through the writing the maker has put in, and it is definitely for people that like to read a lot as opposed to the people that lean more towards visual games.” Without many audio and graphic elements, these games usually highlight “a very good plotline and interesting characters.”

Text adventures deserve praise for the freedom that they give players in choosing their own adventure, as branching gameplay can result in different in-game plotlines and endings depending on the player’s decisions. Additionally, the creators behind these games deserve even more praise for the time they put into each branching decision and outcome.

The “choose your own adventure” style of interactive fiction truly makes it a gem in comparison to kinetic games, which have just one linear narrative to follow. Maria is also partial to branching storylines, adding, “my favorite thing about my most recent game is definitely the fact that the player can choose several different outcomes and make mistakes while trying to figure out what’s happening.” (As someone who has already played House of Horrors, I have to agree--and I definitely made mistakes.)

The Creation Process

For those interested in creating their own text-based game, or for those just curious about the process, I asked Maria for some insight into the creation of House of Horrors. Here’s what they had to say, from the challenges of game making to the rewards that come with it.

“What I used to make my most recent two text-based games was Twine, which is a platform where a person can create passages that link together and ultimately make a final text-based game,” Maria reveals. 

That sounds simple enough, but like Maria previously mentioned, there were things that they had to learn on their own to bring their creative goals to fruition. “There was a bit of code involved to make the text disappear at times, and also some code to make the arrow disappear,” they explain, in reference to Twine’s “go back” arrow that returns players to the previous passage of the game.

While some might find coding to be intimidating, Maria takes a lot of interest in the new details they learn. “A new thing that I found interesting while making this game was that I could change the color of words using some text,” says Maria. “I did test out two different colors.”

Though this was an exciting revelation, Maria didn’t feel pressured to include every new feature they learned; sometimes simplicity works best. “I didn’t really like how either looked so I just kept it black and white.” Despite not utilizing this skill, they now have this knowledge to incorporate into future games.

On the topic of future games and additional features, though, Maria also points out that “Twine can implement both sounds and backgrounds,” which they haven’t yet tried, “but likely will in the future.” In which case, we should all keep an eye on nervoussystems to see how they continue to grow.

In terms of how text-based games appeal to creators, Maria has this to say:

[Image Text: “Being able to actually see the progress being made writing-wise and game-wise was really rewarding, and seeing the code removing things like the arrow, changing a word’s color, and changing the color of the background were also rewarding as that was all new to me. The most rewarding part was publishing the game after several months of work.”]

But before the reward of publication, Maria had to overcome a variety of in-game obstacles. “A challenging part of making it was the fact that the code sometimes would not work, and I had to keep trying to use different lines of code.” Not to mention after the game’s publication that some challenges persist: “After anything is made, I need to try to get people to play it.” As with other products, “it can be a lot of work advertising it.” Especially as an individual creator without a wildly successful company’s name attached to the work, it can be difficult to market games like these. Plenty of indie games become popular though, so many still find it to be worth the jump.

Advice for Future Creators

I was curious to find out whether Maria thinks that text adventures are a good entry point for those interested in game creation. When asked, Maria explained the following: “I would say it honestly depends on the individual and what their personal goals are. If a person is unsure where to start making video games or how to start, then text-based games are absolutely a good starting point as they’re easy to make as long as you have an idea in mind, and they don’t require too much coding.” So, if you’re completely directionless (but have an idea for a plot), text-based games might be a good place for you to start without becoming too overwhelmed or discouraged. 

However, if you already know that you’re partial to learning video game physics or graphics, you might want to explore other options. “Say a person wants to make a game where the player can move around or they want to make a visual novel game or something of that nature, text-based games usually aren’t the main starting point for those types of games,” Maria clarifies. “It all depends on what the person has in mind and what they want the final goal to be for their game.”

If you’re still on the fence about starting your first game, don’t doubt yourself! Maria has a hopeful message for future creators.

“I know it seems scary at first and you may think, ‘Well, who’s going to play this?’ It is worth the risk. Many people have had that same thought before, created a game, and it blew up. Basically, just because you may think there’s no audience for your game doesn’t mean there isn’t.” If you enjoy the idea that you’ve come up with, then why wouldn’t others appreciate it as well?

“There are absolutely going to be moments when you’re frustrated and don’t know how something works or how to do something. That’s okay,” Maria assures us. “It’s a learning process, and everyone has things they don’t know. There are also tons of tutorials on Google, YouTube, etc., and always feel free to ask for help.”

At the end of the day, the challenges will help you grow. That much is evident through Maria’s own experiences. “It’s simply a matter of being persistent and persevering and constantly learning,” they say. “As long as you do that, you’ll be okay!”

Final Thoughts

Interactive fiction is a captivating genre filled with rich stories and characters, uniquely highlighted by the lack of other gameplay elements. Text adventures are the perfect games for avid readers who still want some freedom in their reading adventure. The ability to choose our own fates while existing in someone else’s world is truly fascinating--and House of Horrors is just one example of a brilliant game that allows you to do so.

Thank you very much to Maria of nervoussystems, not only for taking the time to participate in this interview, but also for the amazing work they put into their text-based games. Again, you can play Maria’s new game, House of Horrors, here. I hope the mysteries of the house pull you in like they did for me, but from there, the decisions are your own…