Parallel:
Parallel found a way to present its dual storylines in a somewhat interesting way, however I never felt like I had been given any chances to properly interact with the story at all. The juxtaposition of the male and female characters was executed well enough, however there was no real aspect of the experience that allowed the ‘player’ to do anything meaningful.
I wouldn’t say I was ever ‘hooked’, however I did play through twice in order to see whether the 2 stories changed at all if you only read through one story at a time – (I didn’t really note much difference). Overall I think more could have been done with the swapping story mechanic.
I wouldn’t really classify this as a ‘game’ or even an interactive experience. Essentially all you do is press ‘forward’ to progress through a set-in-stone story. You do the same when you read a book on a Kindle but no one calls this an ‘interactive experience’.
Depression Quest:
I think Depression Quest works much better as an interactive game than Parallel does. While the narrative was certainly still a guided experience, I did feel like I could interact with the story and its characters in a far more meaningful way.
The story is certainly ‘interactive’ as it allows the player to investigate supplementary information about their character, AND ALSO make choices as to what their character should do.
I think the game’s strength comes from its relatable content. Players can become more involved in a story if they can personally relate to it, and I feel like everyone will have experienced at least some of the situations that our ‘character’ is placed in. It was weird to find myself saying “yeah that’s something I would do” when i made certain choices. As someone who often gets tired from too much social interaction, I could definitely relate to my character.
The story is extremely well thought-out, and the narrative ‘database’ that the author has created seems to be quite expansive and detailed.
If I were to attempt to create one of these interactive games, I’d definitely have to sit down and rigorously plan the narrative ‘pathways’ that I wanted my player to be able to explore. Games like these need to involve the ‘player’ so I’d certainly try to make sure that there were enough things to ‘do’.
I think this kind of interactivity could be incorporated into some of my transmedia ideas through the creation of some sort of website puzzle platform. Perhaps one where players must navigate a maze-like system in order to uncover pieces of interesting/significant narrative information.