Fun game! And I’ve definitely been there—writer’s block, postured broodiness, and all.
There are a lot of impressive mechanisms at play in this Petite Mort! Well done!
spoilers
The lines about the worms dying—forevermore—made me laugh out loud.I really like being able to see my concentration wax and wane, as well as the poem I’m building—very clever mechanics.
I wrote my Petite Mort in ChoiceScript, and have discovered how effective the percentage bars can be. I love how you use that here to weigh on our choices. It’s also useful for uncovering all the endings!
Because the poem writes out onto the sheet of paper, and we get to see the final product at the end, I wish there weren’t lines that get second-guessed and replaced. It’s true that’s an authentic part of the writing process, but the second-guessing winds up giving us a less distinctive poem at the end—without the funny stuff we tried to add. If you’ll revisit this, maybe add the possibility to second-guess the second-guess and re-insert the moments of levity.
I played it pretty straight and broody the first time, so I didn’t even see your custom lines of poetry until my second play. They’re great! You kept the style and meter of Poe’s poem while writing about farts and cheery chamber doors!
Also, I’m a sucker for existential psychedelia, so the ravens ending made me want to keep playing in that story! haha