Malachi And The Quest for Attention

Malachi And The Quest for Attention is a short story in Twine following the titular character in his quest to get people’s attention. Yearning for onlooker’s gaze on him, Malachi performs every day to the best of his ability, whether it is singing, juggling or dancing - though few pay attention to his display of skills. No matter how hard he tries, he fails to entice passers-by to stop and truly look at him.

In his desperation, Malachi turns to his friend Agnes, a fortune teller, who - unlike him - sees many people coming to her. Agnes, who believes in the mystical, shares with Malachi a way for him to grab people’s attention, if he doesn’t mind messing with people’s dream…

With the entry based on the Single Choice Jam, this is where the player’s path branch out: Malachi can stay and listen to Agnes’s proposition, call it a night, or brood by himself for a while. The different paths have an interesting take on the wish for validation for one’s work and how to deal with the failure of fulfilling this wish - whether it is letting it go of the pressure to achieve a certain level of attention or making it consume your whole self.

Quite distressing in its relatability. I liked it quite a bit!