Clearstone was a peaceful place where a man could forage his own path in life, but that was before Mad Dog Roberts took it over. Now Clearstone is owned by the Roberts Mining Co. and the people are little more than cogs in Roberts golden machine. This traveling cowboy isn't a part of that machine, and he isn't about to leave without a fight.

Matthew Mercia had never believed in the Day of the Dead the way his mother did. He didn't get excited to wake up on November second to celebrate the lives of relatives who had passed--until he was one of those relatives. Now he can only wake up on the day of the dead, so he only has tonight to walk among the living. How did I die? Who killed me? Why? These questions may just keep Matthew from celebrating this Dia de Muertos.

Authors Note:

This story was written in four hours for Ectocomp 2019 with 4,500 words, 7 unique endings, and one epilogue. It is based on the All Souls Procession Weekend in Tuscon Arizona. No additional knowledge is needed to read the story, but if you want more information on anything look up the event! 

Edited on 12/06/19: the tense switch on the first page was fixed. Everything else was left the way it was for the contest.

Image from: http://clipart-library.com/day-of-the-dead-clipart.html

A suspense/horror story. It is about a cabin you inherited from your creepiest uncle (yeah you know the one). There are two possible endings. Good luck.

Tips:  Use the link at the end to go back to the beginning, even if you die you can continue to play. Hit "Drive to cottage" after each play through and look for the room that changed. You will face a choice in that room that will decide if you live or die, again.

Note: A special thanks to Chris113022 and Gower who play tested, and proofread this story.

Let's write a poem together,

about nature or the weather.

Alternating lines, you and me,

 writing in perfect harmony.

I will write a line, you the next,

our lais is a river of text.

Leroy and Mika are parting ways for two years. They have signed up for the Peace Corps and are going to opposite corners of the globe to make a difference in the world. Their shared loves are poetry and the environment. This lais is the perfect poem to remind them what they mean to each other; they just have to write it.

Authors Notes:

A 1,000-word story written for a contest with the theme of nature environment. The game is a craft your own poem game. A lais is a poem written with octosyllabic couplets (8 syllable lines that rhyme in pairs). You get to craft the poem that expresses these two characters' love, and you get to decide if their love is strong enough to survive two years apart.

Actual word count is 936.

A special thanks to  Ogre11 and mizal for proofreading and play-testing! Their feedback was instrumental in making this game what it is.

Merlin Ambrosius was just an electrician working in Britain. His last job was on an archeological site doing the lighting for what was believed to be the home of Merlin the Magician. He accidentally got himself sent back in time to the days of King Arthur, where Merlin Ambrosius became the sorcerer of legend. Did he serve King Arthur well as a trusted advisor? Was he a feared but well-respected as a sorcerer? Or did he get caught trying to fool the medieval prince?

Author's Note:

This game was made for the Year's End Contest - Choose Your Own Prompt II. The theme was "8) This story has an original and sensible magic system, built from the ground up. The plot is up to you."

Magic is defined as the power to influence reality by using mysterious or supernatural forces. Rather than having characters learn to shoot fire out of their hands, my magic system is based on having limited technology in the past.

There are two main branches, which focus on different types of "magic." One caution is that some of the smaller pathways are similar, differing only by the puzzle you have to solve and ways you can fail. Also, when choosing between the "Lady of the Lake" myth or the "Sword in the Stone" myth, please note that these tales both involve Excalibur, so the story remains the same until after you make the sword of legend. After that part, these two branches have a different (second) puzzle, which can lead to various endings.

An answer guide is provided for electrical puzzles. For an added challenge, do not use it. Additionally, there is a walkthrough here if you want help finding all 12 endings. Good luck!

Special thanks to Reader82 and poison_mara for proofreading and play-testing for me. Without them, this story would have a few million more errors. Reader82 fixed most of my bad grammar, and poison_mara thought of adding the guide for the electrical puzzles.

Professor Gower sits in his big, big oak desk, glasses perched precariously on his nose. He lays a fountain pen down atop his grade book and steeples his hands with something of a patient sigh.

He has warned his students:

The purpose of this thread is to have a place to talk about smallish issues of language, style, syntax, grammar, word choice, paragraph structure, or whatever. This is for microlevel issues, not big stuff like "what should I write about?" or "how do I make interesting choices?" or "is that mole bigger than yesterday?"

Bring a piece of your work-in-progress, and let's all discuss it together.

It's worth 40% of your grade, and you may not have an extension.

Alas, no one has come to his office today. This is not an issue though: Professor Gower has better things to do.

Authors Note:

Time travel story-game requested by Microblue with permission from Gower.

Special thanks to TheChef for play-testing and proofreading.

The Description was mostly written by Gower, and the rest is the author's original account of the real adventures of the English professor that travels in time to ensure the safety of literary classics. While you can read this story on its own, it's recommended that you have some familiarity with the classic authors Homer, Marie de France, and Euripides. It's also recommended that you read The Iliad, Lanval, Medea, and Beowulf before reading this story. General knowledge of those works will be accepted for this story but will do nothing for your grades on Gower's quiz to follow.

There are two possible endings. There are also four authors to meet, four literary gems to save, and four historic items to frame in Gower's office; however, there is only one epilogue.

Please enjoy as you travel to the past to meet Gower's favorite authors.

Todd, a master of dark magic in a world that forbids it, has a chance to prove that dark magic can be used for good; unless he becomes the dark lord that everyone fears. Will Todd become a hero, or is he destined to be the villain?

Notes:

More of a story with multiple outcomes than a game.

There are no right or wrong answers, although you have the option of getting yourself killed many times, and choices matter.

## unique epilogues are available. 

On the first page, there is a link to background information on the world and how it is structured. This link is for people that like to have the basic understanding and context that the main character has at the start. It is completely optional.

Applicants wanted for an exciting and challenging position as the captain of a deep space mining mission. No former space exploration experience is necessary. We are looking for candidates with common sense and natural leadership skills. Press the button below to apply!

Job Summary:

Responsible for all decisions made aboard the Endeavor mining shuttle.

Location: Outer Space

Job Type: Contract

Salary: 10% of any profits made. All losses will be deducted from base salary.

Every billionaire wants to get in on the space-race these days, and William C. Harrington is no exception. With an extraordinary budget, an abundance of passion, and an intense desire to never lose, he set his sights on colonizing the farthest star known to mankind--Icarus.

Traveling through space can be a dangerous ordeal; fortunately, the crew bound for Icarus has you to guide them. Will you gamble your life to fulfill the vision of your eccentric financier, change the mission to increase the chances of successful colonization, or explore space in humanity's first mobile colony? We are waiting on your orders, captain!

I wrote this story for my daughter, nieces, nephews, family and friends. This was an idea I had for awhile to make a bedtime story where the kids get to make the choices. The idea is that this story can be read every night, but change from night to night to keep it magical.

The imagination is a wonderful thing, and no matter if you are using magic or super powers, every kid should get to be what they want to be in their dreams. Choose your path and enjoy your adventure before you get to sleep!

The year is 2075. Eyron is the city that serves as the worlds leading technological center. It has expanded to encompass 70% of the U.S. population. Anyone who matters is in Eyron as part of the U-Cloud.

U-Cloud is the worlds first cloud computing network that includes androids and humans. A new microprocessor developed by Volpere, the largest technology company in the world, allows human minds to be linked to computer information networks, but it comes at a price. Like any machine on the U-Cloud, admins can take total control of people on the network.

The government and wealthy elite serve as admins to maintain order on the U-Cloud. They can monitor the thoughts, memories, and actions of any device on the network to ensure all rules are adhered to. All devices have no choice but to play by the rules, with a few exceptions.

Alexander Kertchen is one of those exceptions. His blue collar background means he is one of the chipped members of the working class, but Alex's job is to modify and fix broken microprocessors. When his chip needs a repair, he manages to unplug himself from the U-Cloud. What this young technician does with his new found freedom is up to you.

Nvm update thread was just not edited

In our game, the first vote we were told we can't abstain because it would make the games take too long... and so we did vote off a random person. So, I'm asking to clarify. 

This keeps coming up... can you vote for no one? We were told we had to vote, but that doesn't seem to actually be a rule... and now people are not voting

"Beware of MHD! Also, you misused that comma... proofread before you post!" Shadowdrake's voice calls out from the grave as the darkness fades from his eyes.

Oh, yes, I do indeed remember this! Thank you all for the refreshers.

Okay... I'll bite... who is Daiki? What is happening?

"Well, since it does not seem to matter which room we are in very much, I'll head to the writing workshop," Shadowdrake sighs. "Rooms only matter if we bunch up for the suicidal troll... although they are probably best just killing us off slowly, since we have no way to detect them."

Hearing his name, Shadow's ears perk up. After Blister finishes speaking, he slams a fist on the table and glares at Blister with narrowed eyes. "I don't recall accusing you of anything," Shadow hisses.

Picking up his notebook, Shadowdrake flips through the pages so quickly the words on contained within seem to dance. He stops flipping and shows the incoherent scribbles proudly. "I was the first person not to vote for you, but sowing confusion and spreading lies is the literal point of the trolls in this game!" Shadow stands up and leans over his last fried egg as it giggles. "Also, I have it on good authority that the witches in Salem have whispered your guilt to one of our own! I change my vote: Blister is who I wish to cast off first."

"Ahem," Shadowdrake clears his throat and relaxes back into his chair. "Good morning, Anthraxus, all is forgiven. I think I was asleep for most of that conversation anyway."

(Note--I did not realize that we had to vote for someone and apologize for breaking the rules there.)

Shadowdrake yawns and stretches as he stumbles out of the creative corner in the same clothes that he was wearing the day before. Mumbling to himself, he loads a plate with food and sits at the table munching on fried eggs. Eventually, he notices everyone gathered about talking and his eyes widen.

“Wait, what happened?” he asks, pulling out his notebook to sketch a few notes as he is filled in on the details of the morning. 

Scratching his head, he stretches again and sighs, “Our one revive gets harder to use the later in the game we go. It requires a majority vote… and the more that die the larger percentage of the vote the trolls control. With that in mind, I also vote to revive MiltonManThing. One might want to hear his last words before deciding; however, I doubt CYS trolls are smart enough to kill one of their own anticipating an instant revival. I think MiltonManThing is the only person we can be sure is not a troll currently.”

Shadowdrake swallows a sausage whole before continuing,  “As much as I love seeing those in Newbie central killed at random… I also don’t know if we have enough information to randomly kill Blister. I’ll vote no on killing him… this time. Killing a neutral member or civilian would be dire indeed... although Blister's self defense argument is starting to change my mind. Any compelling arguement in favor of killing him would sway me.”

“I’ve also noticed that Anthraxus hasn't appeared this morning… I fell asleep on a can of orange crush waiting for him to respond last night,” Shadow states. “Where did he go off to?” 

Oh, the trolls can bypass the locked doors thing? I feel like that leaves no way to actually stragecially find out a players alignment. This game got a lot harder for those who are of good allignment.