Sometimes all you can do is delay the inevitable. A new organization has risen from the ashes of the Supernatural Response Team, and you are its leader. Take command and decide how it evolves.
Unnatural Season Two is a 700,000 word interactive horror novel by Sam Kabell, where your choices control the story. It’s entirely text-based—without graphics or sound effects—and fueled by the vast, unstoppable power of your imagination.
Encounter Unnaturals both old and new. You’ve dealt with vampires, werewolves, and zombies before, but how will you handle new and previously unknown threats? How will you handle the awakening of once dormant Unnaturals, an ancient danger beyond anything anyone living has faced?
Reforge bonds with the surviving members of the SRT and make some new friends and allies, too. Interview and recruit up to four potential teammates: Avery Daye, a detective who specializes in missing persons related to Unnatural cases; Jennifer Maki, a former veterinarian trained to deal with animal-based Unnaturals; Cassandra Brown, a former member of the Boston Branch of the SRT—or have your actions in Season One set you up to recruit a mysterious returning companion? Import your UnNatural Season One save to find out!
As you move deeper into the Unnatural world, your journey continues to be shaped by it. Past is present as further investigation into your heritage brings new revelations to light. Evolve your power and learn more about the origins of the Azure, potentially discovering how their powers shape your own.
People look to you to protect the innocent from these intersections where the everyday and the supernatural collide.
Play as male, female or nonbinary; be straight, gay, bi or choose to focus on friendship instead.
Continue your romance with your paramour from Season One or pursue one of five new love interests.
Guide Silver Cross Incorporated to protect the innocent from foes human and Unnatural alike.
Manage your funding between four departments: research, security, technology, and training. The responsibility and consequences are yours.
Choose which cases you take on and who you bring with you—will you bring the best person for the job or will you bring someone you want to get to know better?
Utilize an updated threat level system to identify which cases your team takes on, maximizing their chances for both success and survival.
Focus on your powers, or rely on your technology. Not all cases need to end in violence; maybe you can talk your way out?
Your time for following orders is done. In Unnatural Season Two, it is time for you to lead.
Sam developed this game using ChoiceScript, a simple programming language for writing multiple-choice interactive novels like these. Writing games with ChoiceScript is easy and fun, even for authors with no programming experience. Write your own game and Hosted Games will publish it for you, giving you a share of the revenue your game produces.
When a traitor dies, touched souls will give birth to a new world, while the old one drowns in despair, disease, wrath, lust, and madness.
Hidden Sanctum is an enchanting 360,000-word interactive modern fantasy game
by Dariel Ivalyen. It’s entirely text-based—without graphics or sound effects—and fueled
by the vast, unstoppable power of your imagination. The story is set in a magical place
known as the Hidden Sanctum, where unique people—just like you—are taken to learn
the truth about the world and discover their true potential.
When your old neighbor calls you late in the evening and asks you to watch over her
daughter, you have no idea your whole life is about to be turned upside down. The girl
arrives at your door, but so does a legion of mechanical soldiers. You don’t know why,
but they seem to be after you.
Under fire, you leave your home and start running. But where can you go? Will this be
your last journey, or will it be the beginning of your new life?
Play as male, female, or nonbinary; gay, straight, bisexual, or asexual.
Romance or befriend one of six unique characters. Will you get close to one of your fellow students, or will your heart draw you to an ancient Oracle?
Influence how your friends change throughout the game. Will you be kind to them and help them with their problems, or will you push them over the edge?
Choose one of five unique soul paths and reach your true potential!
Shape your personality and views. Each choice will define who you are!
Keep a diary and decide how you feel about certain events!
Speak with ancient gods and mythical creatures, or throw some punches. Will you try to punch a mummy?
Explore the Hidden Sanctum and uncover its secrets.
Save your new home from a threat that might destroy it from within.
Are you ready to become a touched soul and protect the Hidden Sanctum from danger? Are you ready to stand against the dark forces from a different universe and fulfill an ancient prophecy? Are you willing to do whatever it takes?
Dariel developed this game using ChoiceScript, a simple programming language for writing multiple-choice interactive novels like these. Writing games with ChoiceScript is easy and fun, even for authors with no programming experience. Write your own game and Hosted Games will publish it for you, giving you a share of the revenue your game produces.
You’re a werewolf. One night, a seemingly random encounter pulls you into the city’s paranormal underbelly, populated by witches, hunters, ghosts, and ruled over by vampires.
You’re not alone. Your pack is with you. They’re your allies, friends… and perhaps more than that. The choices you make not only determine your fate, but theirs as well.
Blood Moon is a 445,000 word interactive novel by Barbara Truelove. It’s entirely text-based, without graphics or sound effects, and fueled by the vast, unstoppable power of your imagination.
Play as a man, woman, or non-binary person; gay, straight, bi, asexual, or undefined.
Date werewolves! Choose from among eight unique romanceable characters, all with a variety of scenes and special moments.
Fight vampires… or make deals with them to protect your pack.
Learn the secrets of the vampire court or avoid them at all costs.
Battle ghosts, scheme with witches, or fool hunters as you explore the city.
Challenge to become the Alpha of your pack or play your cards right to ensure someone else’s rise to power.
Unlock multiple endings and dozens of achievements.
Meaningful choices that change the world.
With teeth, claws, and the moon hanging overhead, it’s time to cut out a place for your pack in this city… or leave it to the monsters.
Let the games begin.
Barbara developed this game using ChoiceScript, a simple programming language for writing multiple-choice interactive novels like these. Writing games with ChoiceScript is easy and fun, even for authors with no programming experience. Write your own game and Hosted Games will publish it for you, giving you a share of the revenue your game produces.
Thanks to a very scientific poll conducted on our forums, we’re proud to announce that our “most underrated” games, aka the hidden gems, are on sale for 48 hours! Pick them up for discounts up to 40% off until April 20th on the platform of your choice–Android, Android Omnibus app, iOS and iOS Omnibus app, Steam, the website, and on the Amazon Android Marketplace!
Mad scientist vampires, supernatural carnivals! Can there be anything else?
Well….
As you settle into your new life working with Unit Bravo—and growing ever closer to one member in particular—life goes on. But so does the supernatural world.
A string of kidnappings takes over Wayhaven and, once more, you’re called in as it quickly becomes apparent there’s more going on than what’s on the surface.
Even worse when the kidnapper’s focus turns on you…and you’re the only one with the power to deal with them! It’s time for bids to be placed. But when the gavel drops…better make sure it’s not you who’s the next lot.
Wayhaven Chronicles: Book Three is a 1,200,000-word interactive novel by Mishka Jenkins—without graphics or sound effects—where your choices control the story. Those decisions will shape who is friend or foe, who will share in your secrets, and just how your romance with a certain vampire will grow in this latest story from The Wayhaven Chronicles!
Mishka developed this game using ChoiceScript, a simple programming language for writing multiple-choice interactive novels like these. Writing games with ChoiceScript is easy and fun, even for authors with no programming experience. Write your own game and Hosted Games will publish it for you, giving you a share of the revenue your game produces.
We’re proud to announce that Royal Affairs, the latest in our popular “Choice of Games” line of multiple-choice interactive-fiction games, is now available for Steam, Android, and on iOS in the “Choice of Games” app. It’s 38% off until April 6th!
Return to the exclusive boarding schools of Crème de la Crème—this time as a royal! Work hard, study hard, and play hard as a royal in training at the exclusive Archambault Academy. Will you rule the roost, or be a royal disaster?
Royal Affairs is a 437,000-word interactive novel by Harris Powell-Smith, set in the world of Crème de la Crème. It’s entirely text-based, without graphics or sound effects, and fueled by the vast, unstoppable power of your imagination.
As the middle child of the Queen of Westerlin, you’ve led a sheltered life in the palace, but now you must spread your wings and prepare for your royal responsibilities with a year at the exclusive Archambault Academy.
Everyone knows your name, everyone has an opinion on what you do, and everyone views you as the face of the new generation of royalty. Your every move is reported in the press, a word from you could make or break a teacher’s career–or the fate of the school itself. You’re being courted by every club and social group on campus; and there are countless students who would love to be in your orbit.
In luxurious armchairs behind ivy-covered walls, you and your fellow students debate political theory—but outside, real trouble simmers across the realm. There are activists fighting to open voting rights beyond the aristocracy, and you can use your influence to sway the government’s decision in either direction. Relations are growing increasingly uneasy with your country’s neighbors, and there are conspiracies around every corner. Why is your mother whispering behind closed doors with the Prime Minister? Have the leaders of the protests really disappeared? Which allies can you trust? There are some secrets that only your royal authority can uncover.
Will you honor centuries of royal tradition and follow the path that your mother the Queen has laid out for you? Or will you be a force of change, leading your country in a new direction as you break free of a lifetime of expectations?
Oh, and speaking of expectations—there’s also the foreign royal that your mother wants you to marry. Who is in your class. And who happens to hate you.
Play as male, female, or non-binary; gay, straight, or bisexual; monogamous or polyamorous; asexual and/or aromantic.
Find love and/or friendship with your free-spirited childhood companion, a firebrand radical, a dreamy dancer, a financier haunted by tragedy, your devoted bodyguard, or a rival foreign royal.
Cuddle and train your pet: a horse, dog, or bird of prey.
Put on a lavish play, become a sports star, or run Student Council; and represent Archambault Academy against its rival Gallatin.
Become your classmates’ confidante and help them solve their problems—or make those problems worse.
Embrace your royal responsibility and carry on your mother’s tradition—and perhaps even take your sister’s place as heir to the throne.
Forge a path to the future by supporting revolutionaries’ calls for change, or stamp out the movement with scheming and deceit.
When this tumultuous year ends, will you be Archambault Academy’s crowning glory?
We hope you enjoy playing Royal Affairs. We encourage you to tell your friends about it, and recommend the game on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and other sites. Don’t forget: our initial download rate determines our ranking on the App Store. The more times you download in the first week, the better our games will rank.
Return to the exclusive boarding schools of Crème de la Crème—this time as a royal! Work hard, study hard, and play hard as a royal in training at the exclusive Archambault Academy. Will you rule the roost, or be a royal disaster? Royal Affairs is a 400,000-word interactive novel by Harris Powell-Smith. I sat down with Harris to discuss their latest game and their worldbuilding. Royal Affairs releases this Thursday, March 30th. You can play the first three chapters today, for free.
I feel like it was two minutes ago I was interviewing you for Noblesse Oblige, your third game, and here we are publishing the fourth one! How did it happen that you ended up writing two games at once?
In summer 2021, I was just over a year into making Royal Affairs and thanks to world events it had been a slog. When my schedule cleared due to a mass layoff (ah, the game industry…) I was asked about creating a shorter game with a shorter production cycle alongside Royal Affairs, which turned into Noblesse Oblige. I built up momentum again with a new, shorter project, and it brought me the confidence to return in earnest to the much longer and more complicated Royal Affairs. As I swapped back and forth between the two (while juggling a new day job!), I could apply what I learned to each.
The whole experience really helped my burnout and meant I was in a far better position for my creativity and health. Instead of frantically and exhaustedly trudging to the end of Royal Affairs, I had the time, skills, and energy to make it the best it could be.
Royal Affairs is set a few years after Crème de la Crème with a new main character, the middle child of Queen Estell of Westerlin. Archambault Academy is the rival neighbour school to Gallatin in Crème de la Crème, and I couldn’t resist exploring what it was like from an insider’s perspective.
There are plenty of luxurious descriptions and events in Crème de la Crème – most of the characters are upper-class. But in Royal Affairs it’s pushed even higher, reflecting the protagonist’s royal station and the status of their peers as titled aristocrats. At the same time, the stakes become wider-spanning because everyone’s interested in what the young royal is up to.
It was also fabulous to bring some characters back (including the Crème de la Crème protagonist, under some circumstances) while also inventing a whole new cast of characters. Writing communal scenes with the Archambault students was so much fun because I love showing groups of friends or rivals playing off each other – while the protagonist can join in or totally change the dynamic.
Ultimately the Royal Affairs protagonist is a lot more grounded in the world around them. They have a lot of power and Royal Affairs is very much about deciding what to do with that. All while their personal life is being dissected in the papers!
What did you learn in returning to this setting?
It was important to me to keep things feeling new and different. Although they share the upper crust boarding school setting, and Archambault and Gallatin are in a similar location, the protagonists’ responsibilities and dilemmas are very different and showing that was a priority straightaway. I thought a lot about creating tension and challenge in a situation where a lot of people around the protagonist want to go out of their way to make their life easier. The pressures the protagonist are intense! Although they’re in a position to order people around, and many adults treat them with a lot of trust, with it comes the fact that changes to their reputation can have national or even international implications.
In Crème de la Crème the politics of the nation aren’t on most people’s minds, and people can get in trouble for discussing such subjects. In Noblesse Oblige, the island of Teteriuk is very isolated, far from current events of the day. Both games have hints about other things going on – but in Royal Affairs the protagonist is at the centre of it, even if their mother the Queen might want to shelter them from it.
In Royal Affairs, the Archambault students are expected to become future leaders in some way, however badly suited they might be for it. Exploring the dilemmas of leadership is a big part of Royal Affairs, as well as how to connect on a personal level with people when you’re mostly a lot more powerful than them. So I figured out a lot about the dysfunctions of Westerlind society, how the society’s able to work, and where it fractures. Looking at the same culture through a different lens was a great experience in changing things up while building on established foundations.
It can be so satisfying to fill out and spend more time in a world you’ve created. What was your favorite part about writing this one?
It was really fun to take elements I loved, like the social navigation and obsession with social niceties, and place them into a familiar but fresh situation. And expanding on what was in Crème de la Crème and Noblesse Oblige, while sowing a few seeds about other parts of the setting.
Specifically though: I loved writing about the royal family and those close to them, and the pets! Whereas the parents in Crème de la Crème have a distant role, I wanted to spend plenty of time on the Queen and the protagonist’s siblings so the protagonist can form their own opinions about them and what they’re up to, and navigate their connections accordingly. Some delightful feedback I had was from playtesters who got really invested in how their protagonist related to the royal family as people and as an institution – whether they ended up on a good, bad or complicated footing.
And the pets brought a lot of joy when writing. The protagonist and their fellow students can bring a horse, dog or bird of prey with them to Archambault. Showing those interactions and how friends and rivals treat their pets too was something fun and new to write.
Where are you taking our readers next?
I recently finished work on a multiplayer indie game called King of the Castle. In a funny coincidence it also involves royalty and voting – though it has a lot more silliness and wizards than Royal Affairs.
Currently I’m working on a new game set in the Crème de la Crème universe with a new protagonist who’s an adult. It’s set in Teran, a large republic northwest of Zaledo. I’m thrilled to explore a brand new part of the Crème de la Crème world!
We’re proud to announce that Stars Arisen, the latest in our popular “Choice of Games” line of multiple-choice interactive-fiction games, is now available for Steam, Android, and on iOS in the “Choice of Games” app.
It’s 33% off until March 22nd!
Reclaim your mother’s throne with the mighty power of the skies! Bring down lightning on your foes, climb an endless tower, and call the ghosts of ages past to your aid. But will your sorcery save the city, or tear it apart?
Stars Arisen is a one-million-word interactive epic fantasy novel by Abigail C. Trevor, author of Heroes of Myth. It’s entirely text-based, without graphics or sound effects, and fueled by the vast, unstoppable power of your imagination.
After a four-hundred-year reign over the city-state Kelestri, your mother, the immortal and all-powerful Sorceress of the Skies, was overthrown in a violent revolution. Called a tyrant and forced into exile, she was believed dead by all. Only you, her secret child and chosen heir, know the truth. Now, as the Sorceress’s life begins to fade, she has given you a task: steal back the fallen stars that granted her power and reclaim her crown.
With the last vestiges of your mother’s magic in your hands, you descend to Kelestri to find a city on the edge of change. Factions feud over its governance, riots fill the streets, and would-be sorcerers grasp at the remnants of magic in the city’s secret corners. Seeing the rising new world, do you still intend to fulfill your mother’s ancient vision? Will you restore the Sorceress’s might, shatter it for good, or claim it for yourself?
Play as male, female, or non-binary; gay, straight, bisexual, monogamous, polyamorous, asexual, and/or aromantic
Wield the power of the stars to call down storms, shape the earth, ride the wind, raise the dead – or even to become immortal!
Romance a radical orator, a savvy journalist, an outlaw mage, the heir to the rebellion, or the ghost of a master thief
Use your political acumen to pit feuding factions against each other, or guide them to peace
Uncover the stories that your mother wanted to bury: the secrets of her power, your ancestry, and the nature of magic itself
Reclaim your mother’s place as ruler of Kelestri, strengthen the revolutionary government, or seize the throne for yourself!
With the magic of fallen stars in your hands, how high will you rise?
We hope you enjoy playing Stars Arisen. We encourage you to tell your friends about it, and recommend the game on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and other sites. Don’t forget: our initial download rate determines our ranking on the App Store. The more times you download in the first week, the better our games will rank.
Reclaim your mother’s throne with the mighty power of the skies! Bring down lightning on your foes, climb an endless tower, and call the ghosts of ages past to your aid. But will your sorcery save the city, or tear it apart? Stars Arisen is a one-million-word interactive epic fantasy novel by Abigail C. Trevor, author of Heroes of Myth. I sat down with Abby to discuss her new game and her growth as Choice of Games author. Stars Arisen releases this Wednesday, March 15th. You can play the first few chapters today for free.
It’s been just under four years since your last game, Heroes of Myth, an epic in its own right. Now Stars Arisen is here and is an incredible 1 million words long. Tell me about the writing process this time.
It’s basically the same as the writing process for Heroes of Myth, except it kept going for longer.
That’s maybe a bit of an oversimplification, but my core process hasn’t changed: when I’m working on a project I write or do something related to writing every day. Some days that’s 4000 words, some days it’s 10, some days it’s making the characters in online dollmakers. And then I keep doing that until the project is done. The biggest disruption this time was that I used to almost always write in coffee shops, which stopped being an option a few months into the game for obvious global reasons. I have a hard time focusing on writing without a change to my environment. But now I spend a lot of time writing outside, weather permitting.
You obviously were interested in telling a much bigger story this time around. How did that translate to the scope of the game–I sense there are big branches to explore here and deep relationship building.
I’m not very good at estimating length in a tangible way. I knew when I was writing the initial outline that this would be a longer and more complex game than Heroes of Myth, but I had no idea what that would translate to in terms of word count. I wasn’t convinced the game would actually be over a million words until I was in the last couple of chapters.
I hope there’s deep relationship building, and not just with the love interests. (But also with the love interests.) There’s a lot of follow-through—people remember what you told them, or what you didn’t tell them. There aren’t many fixed points—you can change your mind about what you believe and what you want as you see the story develop, and characters will remember that you did that too. And in terms of branching, a lot of it is about fulfilling promises. I don’t want to imply possibilities in the beginning that you can’t really achieve by the end. That’s probably why there are seven different possible configurations for the government by the end. Maybe more than that, if you count some specifics I won’t go into just yet. And that’s before we get to the Stars.
What do you think will surprise players about this game?
In a lot of ways, this isn’t necessarily a game about being surprised. It’s more about giving you tools and seeing how you use them. There are reveals in the story that I don’t expect to be particularly surprising—to the characters, maybe, but I expect a lot of players can figure them out. That’s because I’m less interested in shocking you than in finding out what you do next.
That’s not to say there aren’t any moments I expect to be surprising. And I hope there are choices you’re surprised to end up making, ways you didn’t think your character would turn. But I hope you’re satisfied more than I hope you’re surprised.
Stars Arisen has a very specific fantasy world and magic system, both of which I think are very fun. Can you tell me a little about the powers the PC can wield?
The magic in this world comes from the Remnant Stars, five fallen stars with incredible powers. (There’s a sixth still waiting up above.) The characters believe the Remnant Stars are actual stars from specific constellations. Astute readers will note that this is not how meteorites work, but the thing about the Remnant Stars is that no one knows for certain how they actually work or what they truly are, so the characters could be wrong. Either that or it’s magic. I’d say the odds are about 50/50.
The Remnant Stars grant their wielders a variety of sorcerous abilities, from calling light and darkness, to controlling the weather, to healing wounds or even raising the dead. And they’re bound at their cores to the emotions and desires of the people who use them, more than some of those people ever realize. Some characters want them desperately. Others believe they’re too dangerous to exist. You’ll have to decide where you fall along that scale.
Also, there’s a magical city with a pulse that resounds in your bones. It’s probably fine.
How has your writing changed in the course of the last few years?
Well, more of it’s been done outside.
Trying to answer this question reminds me of one of those videos where a guy takes a picture of his face every day for ten years, and What Happens Will Shock You. But there’s no individual moment where the guy himself is shocked, he sees it all the time, it’s just his face. Writing the game was a standard part of my life every day for so long, and I was focused enough on moving forward that I haven’t spent a lot of time getting introspective about the writing itself. But I’d be interested to see how someone else would answer this question about my writing, because I think it would probably surprise me.
What are you working on next?
I took a break after finishing Stars Arisen, which I actually did a few months ago, and just started work on a new game idea very recently. It’s early enough that I don’t want to give too much of a preview because a lot could still change, so in the interest of that and of being infuriatingly vague, I will say that it currently involves some or all of the following:
Vampire: The Masquerade—Sins of the Sires is a 300,000-word interactive interactive novel set in the World of Darkness shared story universe. In this elegy of blood, everyone in Athens owes your boss a favor, making you untouchable! Who will you use, who will you help, and who will you prey on?
This is the fifth year that there has been a Nebula award for game writing, and the fourth year that Choice of Games authors have been finalists. Past Choice of Games Nebula finalists are: Phoebe Barton for The Luminous Underground, Kate Heartfield for The Road to Canterbury and The Magician’s Workshop, Natalia Theodoridou for Rent-A-Vice, and M. Darusha Wehm for The Martian Job.
Since 1965, the Nebula Awards have been given annually to the best works of science fiction and fantasy published that year, as voted on by the members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA). The 58th Annual Nebula Awards ceremony will be streamed live during the 2023 Nebula Conference, May 12-14, 2023. Stay tuned for more!
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