The Kuolema, by Ben Jackson

Description: An abandoned vessel is found, lost and adrift in the South China sea. Its radio is silent, there's no sign of anyone on board. Your task: find out what happened, what cargo it was carrying and if it really is as empty as it seems. As the ship powers on its blind course towards Chinese waters, you find yourself in a race against time. Uncover the mystery and avert a disaster that threatens to shake the world… 

Author Statement: A (potentially divisive) CYOA present-day thriller/mystery.

Why divisive? Well… it’s all created using Google Forms. This is a very limited system not designed for interactive fiction and those limitations may end up being too frustrating for some. But for those willing to give it a try, this is an attempt to create an ambitious and complex choice-based narrative that pushes Google Forms to (and occasionally beyond) its limits.

It features a deep, compelling and lengthy story that slowly builds from part 1 to its thrilling conclusion in part 3. It’s fully illustrated - including locations, puzzles, letters, emails etc. It includes a variety of puzzles that try to use creative ways to get around the limited system. Whilst there’s no ‘save-game’ function, game progress is tied to the codes you discover – the notes you make are your save-game. A complete walkthrough is available to help ease play-through.

In the end, do the positives of the story outweigh the negatives of the system? You decide!

System: Google Forms
Entered In: Main Festival 
Tags: Full-length, very visual, CYOA, gamebook, present-day, thriller, mystery, puzzles, dark themes,
Play Online Link: https://bit.ly/The_Kuolema
 

This story was entered in the 2021 Spring Thing Festival of Interactive Fiction. More info on the festival is available at http://www.springthing.net/