One November several years ago, I was attending Wordplay in Toronto, and I had the opportunity to play a game on something called the Choosatron, a small handheld device with four buttons and a roll of paper tape. I played a short game on it, kept the tape, and now I've finally got around to transcribing it. Hope you enjoy it!
Press any button to start: The Choosatron Deluxe Adventure Matrix v1.0.1 by Jerry Belich - choosatron.com Choose your story below! 1. Slugfest 2. A very very VERY Scary House 3. On a Dark and Stormy Night 4. Finding Your Shadow A very very VERY Scary House a story by Anna Anthropy Sagging and bloated like a bent old man trying to hide something sinister beneath a dark cloak, this is, without a doubt, the scariest house you've ever seen. In fact, take a moment to imagine the scariest haunted house ever. There it is, growing out of the second floor. "Let's go inside!" shouts Jeanine Janeeny, your worst best friend. 1. "Well, have fun!" 2. "I-I'm not going in there." 3. Run away. 1. "You're coming with me, or I'll tell everyone what you were doing behind the bushes in Phys Ed!" Wait, what WERE you doing behind the bushes in Phys Ed?! "C'mon, this is the Boro Groves Junior Detective Agency's chance to finally solve that mystery that's been stumping us! You remember." 1. "The Case of the Missing Toe." 2. "The Case of the Vanishing Cat." 3. "The Case of the Measles." 4. "The Case of the Mysterious Bone." 4. "Yeah, what is up with that bone?" she asks, dragging you trembling toward the front door of the horrible house. "How do ya think we get in?" 1. Ring the doorbell. 2. Knock on the door. 3. Look for a key under the mat. 4. Just open the door. 3. "Good thinking!" Jeanine says. "You check under the mat." The mat says "HELLCOME." Weird. You stoop and lift it. A slimy green hand reaches out and hands you a small key. "Wow!" Jeanine says. "You were right! Let's go in." 1. Unlock the door and go in. 2. "Jeanine, wait! There's something under the mat!" 2. "Are you pulling my leg?" Jeanine bends over and lifts the mat. The slimy hand reaches out and grabs her leg! She can barely say "gasp!" before it pulls her down into a long, dark chute that was concealed under the mat. 1. Dive in after her! 2. Go inside the house. 3. Get outta here! 2. You n-nervously open the d-door and s-step inside the h-house. SLAM!! The door shuts behind you, leaving you in perfect darkness! Oh jeepers! Oh jiminy cricket! 1. Go this way! 2. No, go that other way! 3. Not that way! Turn around! 4. No no no, your other around! 2. BAM! You slam into a wall! Ouch! You rub your sore nose in the darkness. There's got to be another way to navigate. 1. Feel along the wall with your hands. 2. Listen for clues. 3. Just take off again at random. 1. You put out your hands to touch the wall. It feels warm and wet. You can feel it breathing. Aah! J-jeepers! You wish it were less dark! "Take this," says a mysterious voice, as a lit candle is placed in your hands. But t-there's n-no one around! 1. It looks like this door leads to - an art gallery? 2. There's also a creepy staircase leading to the cellar. 2. The stairs creak under you as you descend. They suddenly snap, and you plummet - landing a moment later in something springy, like a net. "Another one?" says the enormous spider. "I'll get to you after I finish wrapping this one up." 1. "You're a s-s-spider?!" 2. "Finish wrapping - Jeanine?! Is that you?" 2. "Hey," says Jeanine. "To be honest this is kind of cool, but I think this spider might eat me eventually. Well, mmph mmf mrff." The spider finishes Jeanine's cocoon. Then she turns to you! 1. "W-wait! Don't wrap me up!" 2. "A-are you going to eat me?" 1. "You're saying I should eat you now? Well, alright, all that wrapping made me pretty hungry." She bares a set of drooling fangs! Just then, something falls on the web from above. It's your candlestick. "Uh oh," the spider says as the web catches fire. 1. Rock back and forth in the web! 2. Come up with something witty to say. 2. "You're fired!" you scream as the web gives way and you fall into the darkness. Oof! You sit up, rubbing your head. Then something falls on you! "Thanks for breaking my fall!" It's Jeanine! "Where are we, though?" 1. "I don't know! It's pitch black." Suddenly something bright falls from above and lands at your feet. It's your candlestick - still lit! You grab it and hold it up to get a look at what's around you. You see: 1. Thousands of the spider's hungry children. 2. Piles of explosives and loose gunpowder. 3. The inside of a giant monster's mouth. 4. A den of murderous giant cats, temporarily asleep. 1. Nope, it's just a little black cat. "Aw, hey kitty kitty," says Jeanine. The kitten blinks all eight of its eyes at her. Then it climbs up the wall on its long, chitinous legs and disappears into a crack. THE CASE OF THE VANISHING CAT IS SOLVED! GOOD WORK, JUNIOR DETECTIVE. Follow me: @auntiepixelante <- TEAR GENTLY TO THE SIDE -> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -