FINAL GIRL explores the slasher flicks of the '70s and '80s...and all the other horror movies I feel like talking about, too. This is life on the EDGE, so beware yon spoilers!

Sep 10, 2016

Hi, hello

Hey there! How's it going? How have you been? You look great! That's a really great item of clothing you're wearing, there, it really compliments your face. I mean it!

I also mean to again say thank you thank you for all of the incredibly kind comments on my last post. I was going to say "my last–and I do mean last!–post" because it was a farewell/I'm indefinitely hiatusin' for sure post. But since I'm writing this now, I guess it wasn't the LAST last post, right? Hmm. I did say I'd poke me noggin in now and again if I have something worth pokin' me noggin in for, so I suppose it's fair to say that we might not know what the actual last post is until I'm dead. Unless maybe I can update from the great beyond...? Boy, I bet you've sure missed my deep philosophizing. Yes, I still contain multitudes, etc etc.

Anyway. What's got me dusting this place off for a moment is: it's getting to be Fall up in here! Skeletons at the grocery store and horror on the brain...scary times. Scary times, my friends! And to help get in the mood for the most wonderful time of the year (as if we're not all always in the mood for it), I wrote a little piece o' interactive horror fiction. Yeah, fiction! Yeah, interactive! That means if you wanna read it, you're gonna have to do some clicking. It's short–maybe a five-ten minute read–and there is audio on the first and last pages. I don't normally write fiction, and I certainly don't do any kind of...web design? Whatever it is I did to get the story to do what I wanted it to do...so I'm pretty satisfied with the result. That's right, I said it!

So. Give it a read if'n you want to. The link is below. I'm sure I'll make my way around these parts again before you can say...I don't know. Say whatever you want! Run your own damn life!

the bed

18 comments:

matango said...

Ha ha. That was great. Glad to see you post again, even if it's a one off.

I would thank you for something in the story, but I wouldn't want to give it away for those who haven't read it yet.

Stacie Ponder said...

Hmm! Well I will take that regardless. And thank you!

immaterial said...

Great fun, Stacy! You nailed the pace-setting element perfectly. It's nice to hear from your again.

If you're into Twine I imagine you're also familiar with Inform, the 'natural language' interactive fiction programming language? If not, it seems like something for which you might have a talent. The design system is available free at http://inform7.com/

Most people seem to rate the Lovecraftian 'Anchorhead' best of the modern homebrew text adventures, but I'm partial to a guy named Eric Eve, myself -- specifically his game Nightfall: http://ifdb.tads.org/viewgame?id=3a4kqs374jqu2li6

Stacie Ponder said...

Thanks! And thanks for the links...actually hadn't heard of Inform; I'm new to Twine and everything remotely resembling it. I've got a lot of reading to do for sure!

immaterial said...

Hey Stacie -- You're very welcome. I'm glad you find Inform interesting: I'm afraid I'm old enough to have been around in the heyday of Infocom, and to find the existence of the indie interactive fiction scene fascinating. A woman named Emily Short is one of its leading lights, having taken a particular interest in realistic conversations with non-player characters.

I see that it's now possible to play indie IF's best regarded game in a browser, so if you want to see what Inform is capable of without having to install anything you can have a look at Anchorhead here: http://pr-if.org/play/anchorhead/

Thanks again for letting us see your piece: it's great fun.

Rebekah Herzberg said...

Your blogs are the only ones I enjoy.

Mikey Sarago said...

Ooo, I loved it! The interactive aspect was pretty neat! I enjoyed the use of sound and color — weird how something that simple can be so effective. It was paced well and very atmospheric. This makes me really miss Ghostella, haha. I look forward to reading more of your stories (that you will hopefully write)!

originalslugboy said...

Ponderous in the best way possible! I'm certainly glad I didn't read this at work in my old dark building alone at night.

OH WAIT.

Stacie Ponder said...

Thanks, guys! It was definitely fun to try to manipulate atmosphere and pacing and all that given the limitations of the form (and my skill, haha).

@Mikey...funny you should mention Ghostella! At the end of October I'm launching a mini-series that will be decidedly Ghostella-esque. If you liked that (especially "Taste of Flesh, Taste of Fear") then hopefully you'll dig this too. I'll be mentioning/linking/talking about it here when the time comes. I'm super excited!

Anonymous said...

Creepy! The interactive element, minimal as it was, added more to the experience than I would have expected.

Also, hurray for the return of Final Girl! Like Jason Voorhees, she keeps coming back...

Stacie Ponder said...

Not even toxic sludge can stop me!

Don't ask how I wound up in toxic sludge, it's a long story.

originalslugboy said...

Is it a long interactive story?

Stacie Ponder said...

You'd better hope not!

Cinema & Television said...

Seriously great, Stacie! I'm glad I missed reading this post last month cause this was an awesome way to start of October.

P.S. I added Ludlow to my 31 films to watch this SHOCKtober. I haven't seen it in years but I'm really looking forward to revisiting it.

Stacie Ponder said...

Oooh, I am honored to be included in a SHOCKtober lineup, thank you so much! (I haven't seen LUDLOW in years either...I wonder if it holds up at all! :D )

Viking71 said...

That was great! I just read it, and short horror is one of my favorite forms of fiction. Continue to be awesome, and I really hope it isnt long till we see you again.

Gotta say that I'm holding hope for SHOCKtober: The Return, or The Revenge Of The Son Of SHOCKtober at some point.

Paul Hurh said...

Really great story here! Thanks for posting this! I especially enjoyed the deliberate pacing--makes for a lot more punch in each word.

I want to second Jonathan Allen's point about Inform. It's super easy to learn and allows for a lot of flexibility (though not as many people know how to navigate those old text adventures anymore).

My personal favorite of a horror-themed inform game is pretty short, relatively, "Shade" by Andrew Plotkin:

http://www.eblong.com/zarf/zweb/shade/

goblin said...

Happy Halloween, Stacie. You are missed. Halloween season just isn't quite the same without Final Girl.