Aliens vs Humans

Artist Statement

My story in this Twine game is an interactive narrative that develops according to player decisions. It's a dynamic structure where every choice you make affects the plot and opens up new possibilities. The player's decisions affect the journey that embarks on, which is more than just a collection of events and instead represents the complexity and unpredictable nature of human decision-making in the face of an extra-terrestrial invasion. The story is defined by its narrative elements such as character, setting, and plot. Character is woven deep into my game as it revolves around the thought process of the character depending on the player playing. The setting is set in 3050 during a period of alien invasion and the world trembling on its feet. The plot revolves around making crucial decisions until a climax is reached where the player finally decides if they will take part in war or not with different endings to different choices. An aspect of Bandersnatch where there are multiple chances given if the player decides to avoid war. By trying to convince players multiple times to embark on war, I tried indicating there is a happier ending it is clear which choice is the “right” choice, and if you choose the “wrong” one, you are brought back to the beginning to restart / try again. Learning from the Wanderhome game, when designing a game, you must be careful. We can still hurt people without intending just through the game design without sensitivity to subjects. Even though there are multiple prompts to make the player choose war, I was sure to give a positive remark after every ending so that players don’t feel like a coward. Just like the question that came up in my head, “Do I play as the player or the character in Bandersnatch”, I created a game where players will ask themselves the same questions and it then becomes interesting because the 2 choices pose different decision-making. A thematic argument this piece is making is trying to align their decisions with their personal characteristics. However, sometimes players out of shame may make choices they truly don’t stand by. Interactivity plays a role here because it is because of these consequential questions players are forced to answer because of the choices they made that the thematic argument is vividly present throughout.