In which I dig heavily into the ideas behind my latest creation and why I put myself out there to be judged via this year's Interactive Fiction Competition, even though I didn't expect people to get it.

I won't be addressing all specific criticisms here, but I have been paying attention and appreciate everyone who took the time to write reviews, comments and emails. It's been valuable for me to have this much attention from constructive and dedicated people. I'm going to discuss my intentions in some detail here. Most of them didn't work, but hopefully they'll be a teensy bit interesting anyway.

For the unfamiliar, Choice of Games is a platform for multiple-choice text-based games. Something like classic Choose Your Own Adventure books with added character stats. As someone coming to choice-based interactive fiction via Twine or visual novels, Choice of Games' no-frills text presentation can feel a bit stark, but there are positive sides to such a pure focus on story. Everything here rests on the writing quality and choice structure.

Felicity Banks' newly released Attack of the Clockwork Army, hosted on Choice of Games, is set in a steampunk version of colonial Australia. Which sounds pulpier than my usual tastes but I couldn't help but be curious what that would look like. I decided to go into this with my fun goggles on.