Hello.

To me, a story is simply something which makes you feel – I’ve found the idea of story gets very tied up in rules and expectations and I hoped to challenge these constraints of conventional stories and their structures and focus on what I believe to be the core of what a story is – something which evokes a feeling (even if that feeling is merely boredom).

Within this, I was inspired by my group’s Microscope game where, at least for a portion of it, we explored human x AI relationships. This is the basis of this concept, human interaction with an AI or computer. It is so very far beyond my current capabilities (and possibly the capabilities of the software) to code a genuine AI for the player to interact with so I sought to emulate it – to try and give the feel of the infinite within the finite.

For this I was heavily inspired by a particular group of scenes in Netflix’s Bandersnatch where the player/watcher/user communicated with the character through what showed up on the computer in the scene. This fourth wall break, where the interaction was recognized within the media, really struck me and I wanted to play with perspective to try and give that same feeling.

I found myself very quickly approaching the fractal tree branching as seen in Branching Infinities when I was initially writing the game and it was very overwhelming to think about all the possibilities I had to have and the range of choices there had to be for it to feel how I wanted it to – then I remembered the discussion surrounding who a game is made for, and how, by centering yourself, creation within infinity becomes a lot easier – so I did that. All the choice options were based off things I, myself, might respond with in each instance, even the game responses are very much how I imagine myself, as an AI within that Microscope context, responding. I also got more comfortable looping together threads rather than feeling each one had to be its own completely unique branch (which is a big expectation for my very first Twine creation ever), it made everything a lot more manageable for me as I was creating.

I hope this piece will challenge the per-conceived notions we hold as to what stories have to look like, this piece is an interaction, and through navigating that I hope the player feels something, maybe even multiple things throughout the course of gameplay. I also hope the feeling of infinity is there, even within the constraints of a finite game with limited choice-agency. As a chronic rule-breaker myself that was the first thing I tried to do, to create a way the player could chose to “break” the rules even when I couldn’t quite program an actual break (this is where “x” comes in, a free-will choice to leave the game within the game). I also hope the questions brought up in the game make the player think about the nature of their choice-agency within their interactions with the game, especially with the varying, and not entirely concrete endings (this in itself was also purposeful – what do the endings mean?). Most of all, I hope it’s fun to play, I hope players enjoy the experience, I hope you feel something, whatever that may be.

- Kaylan :)