Deep Dark Wood

I’ve visited Slovakia only briefly, and glancing up at Bratislava Castle, which I didn’t have time to visit, made me wistful for all the other wonders of Slovakia I hadn’t time to visit, dreaming of a someday to return, wandering the mountain forests between Banská Bystrica and Kosice, discovering along a river some quiet village untouched by time, watching the stars slowly seep into the sky…

As life often goes, I have never returned. Those mountain forests remain redolent in my heart’s trove of pleasant could bes. So I am thankful for the opportunity to explore those forests, guided by the creative young minds of Senica, each one eager to show me where their dreams wander. Of course, our energetic explorers aren’t satisfied with a sleepy Rick Steves holiday: “You are entering a dark place full of unpredictable twists and hostile creatures,” we are warned, so we must tread lightly, trusting in our guides.

If you start feeling tentative, no worries, David is quick to set you at ease. Immediately we’re welcomed into a warm log cabin celebrating a Christmas Eve feast, graciously invited to join the festivities. This social fleetness, a polite world where everyone is very keen to introduce themselves and assist you immediately, is as charming as it is chipper.

Should you wish a little thrill of the danger initially promised, the Baily sisters gather around you all the forest’s predators, or at least those sufficiently pettable: wolves, foxes, bears, ravenous dog doctors. If you’re now worried about being eaten, you must also worry about what’s being eaten, with poisoned coffee and cupcakes galore. Even if you avoid these comestible anxieties, you might still wake up dead, and what’s worse, hungry.

Before we break for lunch, though, Hailey and Milka take us on a Halloween scavenger hunt. A couple of clicks through and a cursed doll was biting my hand while I was drowning beneath a lake. I take it that I’m losing the hunt. When I just managed to sweat myself back to safety, our guides reassured my halfdead delirium, “Don’t worry about it :).” So, sharing their relentless optimism, I returned for another try at the trophy, only to end up stuck in a basement with my simulacrum mom forcedrinking me Coke for the rest of my days. What a frightening world our authors have conjured! Strangely, this ending awarded me Main Trophy Number One. Encouraged by this progress, I tried again, this time happening upon a penguin I mistook for a handsome boy, reminding me that I need to update my glasses prescription. In my defense, penguins look like they’re wearing tuxedos!

Desiring a bit more control over my fate, I was happy that Leontine offered me the opportunity to help craft the narrative of IXI, who makes friends with all the animals of the woods and meadows. In each of these choices, we get to decide what happens to IXI in the encounter. Some of these animals, like a surprisingly carnivorous doe, are dangerous, but most are friendly, if sometimes a little lazy. Which, when you get to spend your days relaxing with plushy bunnies, sounds entire reasonable.

Unfortunately, not all animals have happygolucky lives, and Natalie takes us through the frustrations of a frog undertaking that most froglike of tasks, budget management. We must go grocery shopping and avoid expensive trips to doctors and dentists, so that our frog is free to enjoy the finer things in life, including this adorable line about painting a selfportrait: “It turned out very pretty (because you were on it) and cute.” Even with one eye on our bank account, we must find ways to avoid the frog’s everpresent ennui and cherish adventuresome moments, like seeing a sea turtle flying around a palm tree, which would surely leave David Attenborough lost for words.

Also keen to avoid sad moments, the Unicorn sisters soften the blow of their horror story with little baubles of cheer, like this one that lightens the mood: “You decide to explore the cellar and find a monster there. You become the monster’s dinner :)” Well, always look on the bright side of death, just before you draw your terminal breath! With this attitude, our jaunt about a haunted mansion doesn’t seem so bad: “What seemed like a horror movie can now turn into a weekend party. You order pizza and prepare for an overnight, lighting a fire to dry out your wet socks.” Sure, you get chased around a bit, but it never hurts to get a little cardio, and a fun round of hide and seek sure makes the time pass quickly. Why not learn to stop worrying and love the beast? Worked for Belle, at least. “You go back to your hideout, eat the pizza while the monster finishes its own dinner and then, with stomachs full, it is much easier to make friends … You watch some films on Netflix together and become friends for the time being?” Ah, the Netflix algorithm, a modern Scheherazade.

We wait for the beast to fall asleep, then make our escape. Needing to find ourselves safely on our way home, our final guide, Mushroom, winds us back through the forest. Additional dangers await us, of course: mysterious berries, mysterious old women, mysterious dinosaurs. Our guide, solicitous of our success, gives us multiple chances to evade these threats, always emphasizing which route might turn out the better, although emphasis on might: “I didn’t know that you couldn’t swim. If you had told me before, you couldn’t swim, I might have watched out for the rivers around…”

With a little more caution, I do manage to find my way safely on my way home, edified by all the adventures I’ve been taken on. Ďakujem za všetko!

This is the second time that students from Senica in Slovakia have written an anthology of short Twine stories for inclusion into Spring Thing.

This year there are 7 games, all of which start in a dark forest.

Most have a 'time cave' structure, where, instead of state tracking or having paths converge, all choices split the game into separate paths. Some do have a little bit of converging. Most end after 2-4 choices, often evaluating how good your ending is.

I enjoyed the small jokes, like linking an ellipsis to a 'why are you still here?' message, and the funny endings like dying of boredom and low trust while hiding behind a rock.

It could be fun next year to have a little more color; maybe letting students pick some of the CSS.

Deep Dark Wood is an anthology collection of micro games created by Slovakian children in Twine. Though the authors are different, the group is the same as last SpringThing.

In the deep dark woods, seven paths will lead you for a strange journey. Beware...

Back to the City: trying to go back home, you stumble upon a party. Stay or avoid it. Explore the forest or leave it. And find your way home. Maybe even help a stranger. It's a cute micro path.

Dark Dream: in this widely branching path, many actions are available to you to see this dream unfold, most of them quite dangerous. Will you know which one to take and wake up unscathed? For you must watch out, dreams often affect reality...
I didn't expect the whiplashing end screens, but it game be a good laugh. Surprisingly intricate!

Halloween: the Hunt has begun, and you might not be the hunter this Halloween, as strange paths are offered to you, many leading you astray. Will you find a happy ending? or live the rest of your life in misery (that is, if you survive at all)?
Another widely branching story, with many endings (I counted at least 8 of them in my playthrough). Some little text issues here and there. Surprisingly dark and gruesome at time. Would have seen something like it at the EctoComp!

IXI in the Forest:branching into on sentence passages, you are IXI, an enthusiastic character exploring the forest and trying to make friends with its inhabitant. Your actions determining widely different endings.
Another cute micro branching piece.

Little Froggie: life is filled with moments, some boring, some angry, some sad... and it's all about picking the right one to continue on an interesting path. Or you might end up emptying your savings for costly medicine...
Really cute! Some endings give me chuckles!

Survive or Die: it is usually not recommended to explore an empty home by yourself, or at all, that is if you want to avoid meeting scary monsters. But the true moral of the story is that sharing a meal helps calming everyone down, and look at things more rationally.
This one threw a curveball or two to get to the end. Good job on the misdirection!

The Dark One: with this ominous title, I sort of expected an unreliable narrator, and for many of the side/wrong paths, he indeed was! Leading you astray... Trust your friends, but trust yourself too!
Nice use of branching here too, twists, and paths to good endings.


I really enjoyed what the group had done at the last SpringThing, and I was really glad to see them submitting this year again. It is really lovely to see younger generations taking a crack at IF and creating even the smallest thing. I hope we get to see submission from the group next year, and all the years after that. And I hope the singular authors will continue to make games too!