A hands-on follow-along class in making a simple interactive fiction game using Twine. The class is built around a single structuring idea: a game has two parts — story and interaction. Everything else follows from that.
Participants draw a character, define a setting, build a branching passage structure in Twine, attach images, and add a stylesheet. By the end of the session, each person has a working exported .html game file. A collaborative story exchange at the end connects all the characters across games.
“A game is a story you can interact with. Break the story into characters and setting. Break the interaction into nodes and connectors.”
1. Introduction to game structure — story and interaction
2. Character exercise — draw a front-facing, chest-up character; give them a name and a job
3. Setting exercise — define location and vibe
4. Twine setup — open Twine, create passages, connect them, attach images, add styling from Stylesheet in the Story menu
5. File management — save the exported .html file in the same folder as the image files
6. Story exchange — introduce your character; assign each character something they need from another character’s game