Hey James,

I made something weird the other day! I present to you a short story that I originally wrote in 2020 and dusted it off and prettied it up for a release on the itch.io platform: Osage Orange

This reminds me in some ways of Humanitarian Daily Ration with the drones. In this short story I call them "mechanical dullahans."

I'm offering the link to the Osage Orange game page and also attaching both the PowerPoint game but also a PDF version. I hope you like it!

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Synopsis

You’re a premed student whose studies suddenly ended with a BANG.

Something BIG happened. You suspect that all your neighbors are now deceased or had been forcefully removed somewhere beyond the horizon. You are slowly withering away, and you had better find some food soon! Beware of mechanical DULLAHANS overhead as they mean you no good.

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Background

This is an original PowerPoint pseudo-interactive fiction title by Tyler Wright. Originally handwritten in 2020, this short story has been dusted off and provided new life for the itch.io game jam:

POWERPOINT- It is secretly a powerful game engine...

How to Play:

Unlike most visual novels which present multiple choices and branching narrative, Osage Orange limits the player to one option. Your parasympathetic response has taken over as you near death, thereby eliminating your capacity to think critically. Your reptilian mind dominates now in this fight-or-flight descent into madness and untimely death.

As such, this is a single-choice interactive fiction story.

Dictionary of Terms

cicada: A large winged insect that emerges from underground in late spring and early summer (April-June) when the soil temperature reaches about 64°F (18°C),

doctrine of signatures: The doctrine of signatures is a pseudoscientific theory that suggests an object's physical appearance can be a clue to its medicinal use

Galen: A Roman and Greek physician, surgeon, and philosopher.

mastication: chewing.

mechanical dullahan: Another word for "drone." The dullahan transport online orders to recipients by air.

megafauna: Extinct species of beats that once dominated the area that our protagonist finds himself in.

Osage orange: Maclura pomifera, commonly known as the Osage orange is a small deciduous tree or large shrub, native to the south-central United States.

paw paw: Asimina triloba is North America's largest native edible fruit. These came and went, and now our protagonist must find other food.