Twine is an open-source software originally developed by Chris Klimas for interactive storytelling. Though projects can be expanded through code, users need not have such background in order to begin their work, providing minimal barriers to the creative process. Those who wish to expand their knowledge have access, too, to an active community of fellow creators, with a Discord group of more than 1,500 members; a Q&A forum, a Wiki with information on software versions, story formats, and publishing; and an extensive “cookbook,” a living document that provides examples through which users can learn about each of the three major story formats (Harlowe, SugarCube, and Snowman).
This community is not exclusive to the earliest stages of the creative process; platforms such as Adventure Cow, The Interactive Fiction Database, itch.io, and philome.la provide spaces for creators to share their work and, in some cases, for people to discuss it. Like the software on which they’re developed, most games built in Twine are free or available on a pay-what-you-can basis.
In part because of its collaborative and accessible character, Twine has become the software of choice for those who may not otherwise have pursued game design–for instance, due to the prohibitive cost of other software, lack of prior coding experience, or a culture which prioritizes a limited group of voices. This has been especially true with LGBTQ and neurodiverse creators.
Twine as a Rhetorical Tool
Among the most popular Twine games is Zoë Quinn’s Depression Quest, in which a player follows a character with depression through their life and everyday decision-making, able to choose how to proceed only to the extent that the character is able. For instance, early in the game, when the fatigued protagonist is invited to a party, the player may not be able to select the option that reads, “Shake off your funk and go have a good time with your friends,” reflecting the limitations that may imposed by mental illness and the awareness thereof.
For stories like these, interactivity is a vital rhetorical tool. It provides users with a degree of involvement, even empathy, that is less common in other, more traditional mediums–something especially compelling for those whose stories are often pushed to the margins. The introduction of this ability and subsequent limitations upon it that we see in games like Depression Quest are able to communicate the protagonist’s experience more directly than may be achievable through more traditional media.
Twine As Organization
Twine allows readers to engage differently with a story than they otherwise might, but it similarly provides a freedom and flexibility to which writers who typically work in more conventional programs and genres may not be accustomed. Both when writing and tutoring, I’m constantly trying to see how the individual parts of a piece of writing come together for the benefit of the whole. Twine makes this process literal: at a glance, a creator can see how each element of their story is connected by arrows indicating possible routes.
In my own experiences as a writer, I often find myself stuck when trying to make concrete decisions about what I want to write–what event leads to the best outcome for the story, what idea best helps my argument, and so on. The mapping ability of Twine encourages writers to move beyond this rigidity. A writer doesn’t have to find a single “right” answer; rather, each potential route is validated and taken into consideration. Using Twine, a writer as indecisive as I am is able to see all of these possibilities and the connections between them at once.
These are far from the only aspects of Twine that make me love it so, but perhaps the best way to understand Twine is by getting involved yourself. You can start developing your own games online here, or check out some of the games and stories I’ve linked below.
Suggested Games:
- Beautiful Frog by Porpentine Charity Heartscape is a simulator following the life (and, should the player so choose, death) of the player’s frog.
- Birdland by Brendan Patrick Hennessy is about fourteen-year-old summer camp attendee Bridget Leaside in her process of self-discovery as her dreams of anthropomorphic birds bleed into reality.
- Carmelita Bandita by VaporwaveBabe is a Space Spaghetti Western following ship captain Carmelita Mal Bruja’s time on a desert planet.
- Depression Quest by Zoë Quinn allows players to navigate the choices of everyday life as a character with depression.
- Queers in Love at the End of the World by Anna Anthropy (game designer in residence at DePaul!) gives the player ten seconds with their partner before the world ends.
- Tiny Tarot by Chelsea Stearns provides players with guidance based on a three-card tarot spread in just 300 words.