Blossom, NY

This was a fascinating game. It’s a tour of a city with building pictures and a variety of destinations to pick from, which can all be selected eventually.

I thought it was completely fictional at first, then saw real elements, but Google and Google maps simply don’t recognize Blossom, NY at all. Looking up the Ebenezer society, which features prominently in the game, led me to West Seneca. Eventually, looking at Google maps, I found Blossom.

The story is similar to many in my own life. The Ebenezer Society paralleled the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which started in upstate New York before migrating to the Midwest, and which had a history of leaving behind buildings that were eventually appropriated for other uses (including a temple, where we believe Christ visited, being used as a barn!). The pictures look like Westlake Ohio, where my ex’s grandmother lived and which had experience some decline while remaining beautiful in its own way.

It gives the feel of a real community. I can almost smell and feel the wind in such a town.

The narrative was a bit dry, but the format was an enjoyable one for the digestion of such material. Which is why I didn’t download the grad report, as the same information in static form would not thrill me as much.

Welcome to Blossom, NY! Glad you could make it! Let’s start the tour, shall we?

Blossom, NY is a cute explorative Twine piece in which you are guided through the titular town, and learn about its history through snapshots of the different buildings (real ones from the author!). I really liked the enthusiastic tone of the guide telling me about all of it, with commentaries from the author intertwined here and there. And that every page was neatly listed at the end of the game, so you wouldn’t miss a thing.

It was cool to see IF as an educational tool, and I got to learn some neat stuff about a tiny little town today.