Writing. As I said, walking out of my english literature exam: ‘the reason I’m alive, quite possibly the reason why I’ll die’. Although I think that quote sums it up pretty well, if I am required to un-sumify it, I really like words. I have been writing consistently as a hobby throughout my life, and I need to have my ability re-affirmed every once in a while, for my health.
However, this is only one half of the equation. A much newer passion of mine, coding is a little bit more exotic as far as hobbies go, and it’s one I’ve always wanted to get more invested in. although it’s true that I have had some experience- computer science GCSE, namely- I’ve never truly gone into teaching myself to code, without the copious help of pre-written templates. That’s the main reason why I’ve chosen this second skill: I want to properly learn how to create an online experience, on my own.
For my project, I am planning to teach myself a completely new piece of software, called Twine. Twine is an open-source software best suited for vintage, choose-your-own-adventure style narratives, but it has a very open language and a lot of features that can be utilised to create, if not whatever you want, at least whatever text-based adventure you want. This is brilliant for me, someone who genuinely reads every line of video game dialogue she can find. It also helps with another issue I ran into with the Silver Arts Award: graphics, namely the fact that I am extremely bad at creating graphics. With the main component of the game being text, hopefully, I can keep the CSS minimal.
Finally, I think what really draws me to this frankenstein-combination of skills is the experience a video game can provide, as compared to a straightforward novel. I want the agency of the player to be an important part of the project, where there are as many player-driven choices as possible, to make it feel less like you’re reading a story, and more like you are an active participant. I think this will make the horror elements I plan on incorporating a lot more effective: it was always your choices that led you down this path, and what waits for you at the end was, technically, your decision.