Welcome friend! Today, I bring you cover reveal for some text-based interactive fiction. If you haven’t tried this sort of storytelling and you are curious, you are going to love this post. 🙂 Unearthed Stories is a free-to-play game for Android and iOS (iPhone/iPad) to read books with choices. Most stories are free (except Herald and Means of Egress), fantasy or sci-fi only, and heavily thematic. Although there are some cozy books, they are targeted at adult readers.
The app is free to install through the corresponding app stores:
- Android: https://bit.ly/unearthedstories
- iPhone/iPad: https://apple.co/48IcnYm
Reflections and Means of Egress will be released on April 16th (9am AEST) through the updated titled Elusive Pathways. Let’s take a look at what the reading experience for these two stories will look like:
Reflections
Dark Fantasy | Literary | Coming of Age
- Author: Livia J. Elliot
- Cover design & artwork: Livia J. Elliot
- Editor: Fernando Gamboa (Prowess Games’ Developer)
Novelette – 17.6k words.
At night, someone talks while weighed down by memories. Escaping, fleeing, running away… for no purpose, or so they say, but like an interminable sequence of repetitious steps. But is that all there is? Perhaps, you want to hear what this someone says. Perchance, only by remembering he will find a way forwards. This is a literary, philosophical coming-of-age where limited language bars emotional understanding.
Content warnings: mentions of depression and emotional abuse.
This story has two particularities:
- There are two points-of-view, which is unusual in books with choices. One PoV talks to you, but you only control the person asking questions… or so it seems.
- This story remembers. You can complete it once, and after that, it will change forever. Doesn’t matter how many times you reset, the changes will remain.
Reflections is free to read through Unearthed Stories.
Means of Egress
Philosophical Fantasy | Adventure | Dungeon-crawler | Coming of Age
- Author: Livia J. Elliot
- Cover design & maps: Livia J. Elliot
- Editor: Fernando Gamboa (Prowess Games’ Developer)
Novel – 116.5k words
A Wanderer awakens. A dungeon opens ahead. A quest to explore and survive. An almighty Dungeon Master of dungeon-twisting wrath. A path predefined by the League and the Nobleblaze lineage. A waltz of questions on the Wanderer’s mind—What do I want? What do I seek? What is my path? A chance to defy the Dungeon Master. This is a philosophical slow-burn dungeon-crawler, discussing the discovery of one’s purpose. Note: This story is presented like a continuous, non-stop single chapter due to plot reasons.
Content warnings: verbal bullying, physical violence
Particularities:
- Again, there are two points-of-view, one which you control, one which you do not. The latter may be a bit obtuse, a bit gaslighting, and utterly despicable.
- This is the most complex and highly combinatorial story in Unearthed Stories (so far!). Livia did a bit of math, it may have 182 different ways of crossing the dungeon.
Means of Egress can be read through Unearthed Stories – this is a VIP story, and needs to be purchased for $1.49 (USD), $2.19 (AUD), ÂŁ 0.99 (GBP), € 1.49 (EUR).
Thanks for joining us for the reveal! I am excited to bring you an interview with Livia in the coming months. Meantime, subscribe to her newsletter for news and bookish discussions and connect with her @liviajelliot on Twitter, Threads, and Instagram. The editor and developer of Unearthed Stories is also on the platforms as @prowessgames.
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