The premise of this unique adventure game is fairly simple. You are a writer seeking to bless the world with the ultimate novel. Through this creation, you will gain fame, prestige and ideally a great deal of fortune. What is the subject of the greatest novel ever written? Well, that is up to you, the gamer and the author. Through a series of choices, similar to the old choose your own adventure style of novels, your masterpiece will quickly begin to develop.
So the basics are given to you at the beginning of A Dark and Stormy Entry, and your commands control the direction of the tale.
The game, a type of interactive fiction format, tells you what happens next and presents you with another choice based on where you have taken the story. Emily Short has developed numerous games of this nature, her best known being Galatea. A Dark and Stormy Entry, however, is less known but still a valid play for adventurers.
Admittedly, the first time you play this game, you will likely be a bit confused, if not totally overwhelmed. By the time you get into the idea of the game, your novel could already be written. The beauty of the beast is that this is one of the most easily replayed games available. Each choice you make is going to yield different and surprising results.
If you don’t like where you are going with the plot, you have the ability to tweak the outcome OR just throw it to the cutting room floor and go in an entirely different direction the next time you sit down to “write a novel.”
As far as details are concerned, the screen shots are not going to jump out and grab you. But, the detail and depth of the novel itself is a grabber. It is up to you to flesh out your characters, liven up the plot and make the read a realistic one. Your choices can direct your characters to do anything from everyday household chores to ponder on the evils of the universe while doodling on their drawing pads. While A Dark and Stormy Entry does not offer the high speed drama of a shoot-em-up or an RPG, it will still appeal to the curious, the wanna-be writers, and those nostalgic enough to recall those eighty page books we loved as kids.
