A Sort of Gothic Thanksgiving Tale
Editor’s Introduction:
When I first discovered the Inklewriter Toolkit some time ago, I was very excited by how it allowed multimedia stories to be crafted by non-programmers. Having once worked with Edward Packard (the creator of Choose Your Own Adventure books) on a small project in the early years of the internet, I knew what it was like to want to create a seamless non-linear narrative but to be artificially limited by the technology.
The Devil’s Own Instant Custard factory is the inventive setting to launch this whimsical tale of death and mayhem. (Original Artwork by Phoebe Bell.)
I was so impressed with InkleWriter and the folks at Inkle Studios, that we tested a number of content apps that they were behind, including Future Voices, a clever contest that encouraged new multimedia writers to try out the Inklewriter system, with the creators publishing the best work as a standalone app for iOS systems.
While numerous works in that piece were very impressive, only one grabbed me and forced me to read through every possible variation–and elicited uproarious laughter from me, which is very difficult, indeed.
The tale was a rollicking adventure that started with the question: “What if the Devil owned an Instant Custard factory?” And because that question forces a slew of other ADD, mind-bursting questions, the story chronicles what happens when the Devil’s old friend, Death, comes around like an old frat brother and makes the mistake of asking the Devil about his newest modern art project.
Halfway through through the first read through of the story, I knew that a lot of our readers would enjoy the story. By the final read through, I knew I had to track down the author and get her to share her work here!
The Sometimes Adventures of the Devil and Death. (Original Artwork by Phoebe Bell.)
However, this was easier said than done, for author Phoebe Bell is quite possibly an Amazonian princess who lives in an invisible castle because she’s a ghost in the web. (I personally believe she’s actually Death‘s granddaughter, ala Terry Pratchet‘s Discworld, but I have no proof–other than the fact that she wouldn’t allow this concept to be included in her official bio, which makes me believe it’s too close to the truth!) Fortunately, Inkle Studios kindly helped connect me with Ms. Bell and she generously agreed to let us reprint the story here. (And even created brand new original artwork for it.)
So, now that I’ve taken up far too much time with this introduction, we’d like to present this story to you, for the first time outside of an iOS app–which is big news for our Droid readers who’d like to watch it on mobile! (If the following embed code doesn’t work correctly on your mobile device, simply click the following link.) – JT Hanke
To read more about the Inklewriter Toolkit and Inkle Studios, check out the interview DGM did with the founders earlier this month by clicking here.
December 3, 2024
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