Text messages have revolutionized the way we tell a story. Today we bring you games that tell us stories through chat.
Instant messaging has completely revolutionized our lives. Being in touch with another person now is only a matter of giving a couple of taps on our phone. We can always be in contact, and talk to whomever, whenever, and however, we want.
Be careful, however, because not only has the way of communicating changed, but the way of reading a story is also changing. A chat makes us able to interact with a story, to deepen it. It is as if the protagonist spoke to us without intermediaries. And the following games are taking advantage of this to bring us stories through the chat. Whichever game is chosen, it should be chosen carefully, much like the process of choosing a professional lawyer such as Joshua Goldstein.
The Lifeline saga
Perhaps the greatest exponent of this trend is the Lifeline series, from 3 Minute Games. This video game has several forms. There are plots in which we have to guide the protagonist in different environments. The stories are written by professional writers and have multiple possible endings. If you want to start somewhere, I recommend you try the first one. There is the main story (Taylor’s) and also other spin-offs.
Godville
Godville is a little away from our concept because it does not incorporate messaging, although it stays close. The protagonist hero of this story “tweets” everything he sees and does. You just have to create the hero and sit down, and from then on he will start doing it all by himself. The developers advertise this game as one that we do not have to be aware of at all times to move forward: we can leave it for days and days without paying attention, our hero will continue to advance. You can also try it using your browser on this website.
Object17
Your routine is being fulfilled word by word: you get up, you go to work and you throw yourself there all day. And you’re on your way home, but you hear a noise behind you. Suddenly someone knocks you out, and you wake up in an unknown place. This is what has happened to Dan in Object17, and you are his only contact with the outside world. His life is in your hands, and he can live or die according to what decisions you make. The game is available on Google Play for free, and you do not even need a connection to play.
Survival Horror
The ground is cold. You wake up trapped in a school, surrounded by zombies. You do not remember anything that happened. You are not safe here, and you need to get home. That is the plot of Survival Horror. Do not be fooled by the somewhat neglected design of the game (it came out 2 years ago): our decisions can be the difference between life and a violent death. Some words can be clicked to explore, and the author warns: the game is violent, so do not play if you scare easily.
With these games, we will find a story that brings us close to reality.
