By popular demand*, ‘The Great Game’ is being rebooted, with fresh characters and an all-new story.
For those of you who aren’t sure what I’m on about, ‘The Great Game’ could be described as interactive fiction, or collaborative story-telling, or as being a bit like those old “Choose Your Own Adventure” books, except with your very own pet writer scuttling off to write up the results of whatever option you pick after each section.
‘The Great Game’ will remain entirely free of charges or paid advertising, come what may.
The Great Game’s last incarnation was set in a disturbing hotel that lay outside of reality, and was used as a dumping-ground for people — in a loose sense — who had caused problems with the structure of the multiverse. To prevent unfortunate incidents with causality, violators were dropped there, given bed and board, and left to get on with whatever they wanted to get on with. Just so long as it didn’t damage reality any further, of course. In general, I’d have characterised the story as urban fantasy, with elements of cosmic horror. Not in a Dresden Files goes up against Cthulhu way, though.
I reckon that it should be up to you to decide whether you want the new incarnation to be set in the same hotel, or to be something completely different.
What is your favourite genre/theme? (pick up to three!)
- Science fiction (44%)
- Urban fantasy (32%)
- Victorianesque/Steampunk (31%)
- Lovecraftian/Cosmic Horror (26%)
- Traditional fantasy (26%)
- Actually, Dresden Files vs Cthulhu sounds good.** (18%)
- Adventure (17%)
- Crime/Noir (14%)
- Mystery/Thriller (10%)
- Horror (9%)
- Espionage/War (7%)
- Bizarro/New Weird (7%)
- 'Road Movie'/Voyage of Discovery (4%)
- Back in the hotel, like the last chapter. (2%)
- Something else: (please specify in the comments!) (2%)
Voting Closes at: No Expiry
Loading ...Today’s photo is Crossroads by Cuba Jones.
Let me know what you’d prefer, and if you have any friends who you think might enjoy ‘The Great Game’, please do pass on the word. It makes a big difference to me. Polls will be open until Friday 27th I expect, and I’ll try to get the new incarnation up and running on the following Monday, November 30th.
Thanks.
– Tim.
* Well, by majority vote, anyway.
** Should this be the favourite option for some unhinged reason, I will try asking Jim Butcher***, but I suspect it would end up being a Dresden-esque character, rather than anything covered by copyright law.
*** Gods above!
The something else I voted for is a mixture of spirituality and occultism.. Perhaps I’m just not seeing it being as part of some of the other options
I’m really looking forwards to the next installment, I have missed it!
OK, duly noted! That would probably fit most naturally into Urban Fantasy
So my 3rd choice is the one with a chance of winning? Can’t say I am thrilled, but it is certainly a lot better than the horror alternative, against which I cast a negative vote.
There’s not that many votes in it at the moment, David. It’s still all up in the air!
You’ve named checked The Crossroads already – what category does voodoo come under already?
You could shoe-horn Voodoo into any of them *grin*, but the most natural fit is probably Urban Fantasy
Just to note that whatever wins, I’ll try to incorporate elements of other high-scoring styles, so long as they’re compatible. Urban Fantasy could get shadings of Lovecraft and Noir fairly easily, f’rinstance. Science Fiction would be harder to do organically.
Hehe well, Urban fantasy was my first choice.. and scifi can be blended in, if you look at some of the modern advances of science (like that contact lens that displays graphics I linked the other day)
Most of all, what is fun for you? I love what you’ve been doing so far, so I am sure anything you come up with, we’ll vote on and a new adventure will continue with glee.
Please deduct a point off scifi and put it on steampunk for me