Inseparable

Inseparable is one of my favorite games on the site for a number of reasons. It's only right that it's a featured storygame, this is one that I'd recommend any newcomer read, and if you haven't, put it at the top of your list. It's a beautiful example, and proof that you don't need a lot of words to tell a great and memorable story.

The writing truly does make you feel all sorts of emotions, and I found myself more and more heartbroken the more I read, always excited (and afraid) to read the next page. It's not easy to keep a reader engaged at all times during a storygame, but Inseparable accomplishes it quite well.

And the obvious thing to point out for criticism would probably be the length, but I didn't find it to be a problem at all. This story still feels complete, and while I'm left wanting more, that's to be expected with something written in this style. If anything, I'm more inclined to applaud Mizal for managing to roll such great storytelling into just over 4000 words. I vaguely remember another storygame on this site years ago that had a pretty similar method of telling a tragic love story through memories, and it was also featured. This is a much better replacement, though, so I'm not complaining in the slightest.

And finally, I'd like to address how this storygame really makes you think. It's dark, it's unusual, it's frightening at times, and yet it's still beautiful. There's a lot of different ways to interpret the relationship between Mirk and Mondy, different ways you can think about this story as a whole. And again, the fact that the game manages to do all this even with a fairly low word count by the standard of featured games is impressive. Inseparable will always be an easy 8/8 in my book.

The following sums up what the core of the story is: ... warm memories of the time you had together flood your brain. You take them with you when you go.

Visiting the detailed locations in the story's setting, each location told a story of its own and you can appreciate the detail that went into crafting how each piece fit together to form the whole.

The search mechanic rewards the player by allowing them to discover even more in each location and this is a good devise to impart the little details that make such exploration worthwhile.

I do think the story would benefit by having the ability to circle back around each location, in case the player wants to revisit some of the warm and caring memories that all come together in the end.

If I had to go negative, it would be that I wanted more. More about the procedure done, more about the debt collectors and more about the special relationship between mother and son-in-law.

This might have made the story a bit larger, so I realize this suggestion may be out of the scope for its intended audience.

I can just imagine the angry puritans from the church, all gathering outside the poor men's house with torches and pitch forks, chanting, "It's Mork and Mindy, not Mirk and Mondy!"

Got to say, I was very surprised by the twist at the end. I congratulate you for giving End a run for his money in terms of edginess... Still, I found the relationship between the two men to be very sweet, and for some reason I couldn't really think badly of Mirk, even at the end. Poor little bugger. :(

Also, incredibly impressed with Mirk's stamina, since at the beginning, you have the option to just repeatedly make love to Mondy as many times as you like in a row without stopping... I guess when you love someone that much, your passion just goes on forever. (Also, very impressed with how well he was... "preserved"... Both inside and out. They must be some potent embalming oils.) ^_^

I think my favourite part what the abandoned building in the woods... By the third time I had to click on it, I was practically ripping my hair out with anticipation. I was like... "What? What's in there? What happened? This had better be fucking good!" ... And it was. I definitely didn't see that coming.

Reading through the comments has got me having second thoughts about the whole story now. I mean originally, I assumed the church and the mother turned against Mirk and Mondy's relationship because "God hates fags" and all that... But now I'm wondering what order everything happened in... I mean, after your son brings his recently embalmed lover over for Sunday dinner, even the most understanding mother is going to raise an eyebrow. :p

Any way, to sum up... Not exactly sure if it's what you intended, but this was a really sweet love story... I mean, yeah, it was incredibly fucked up, yet still, while the relationship wasn't described in a massive amount of detail, it came across very nicely just how happy the two of them were together... And I'm sure Mondy would have appreciated knowing that their love was strong enough to transcended even death itself. ^_^

amazing

Does it only have 4 endings?

not a good book

I enjoyed how you used the item mechanic in your story.

The human brain fills the gaps between the lines, and with it imaginations of the most fanciful ideas of love and devotion come to life. It's a fairly gnarly reality that the readers have to face with just the words alone, but that's not exactly a bad thing, especially when it's no different to how we view events in the real world. For the minimal words given, it tells ten times its volume in hints and passing comments.

The ending really snuck up on me. Before the morbidity of it all hit, I was fully engrossed in this love story. It was about when he was swatting at the fly on his eyelid that I slowly realized what was happening. Entertaining.

This is such a good example of how words and stories can have impact on our lives. For instance I will never have gay sex with a man's corpse now. Not even once. Not even if it's consensual. I've learned better now, thank your Mizal.

I do like the way the story doesn't really have "puzzles" but you still have to do a few things and pay attention before it will continue.