Falling
Abstract
The title of the story is "Falling", where the user is the main character who is trying to get to the hospital to aid their soulmate, but they are stuck in traffic... I wanted to invoke the feeling of anxiety and stress that we all have experienced in the modern world. When we are in fight or flight mode, we see tons of potential pathways to a solution and it can be overwhelming because we can only focus on one option at a time and we can't predict the future. Therefore the first passage has a lot of links that feel like they can take you down different paths. I wanted the user to feel like every decision mattered, and that at first there were lots of options, but options become more narrow as you go down a certain path. I added CSS styling to give it clean look and palatable feel, yet only be in shades of black and white -- it may be hard to find the links until your mouse hovers over them and they change colors. When I am stressed and hurried, I always look for the quick and easy option. Therefore, I tried to make the user read the passage instead of just clicking on the first hyperlink. Also, some links take you to the same passage as other links, giving the illusion that there is more options to choose from. I added a tangential "phone call" with an automated system which again has too many options and would be frustrating if you were in a hurry. I made the writing style lighthearted and humorous because the story revolves around anxiety and being stressed in traffic. Hopefully it is fun to read and stressful (but not too stressful) to play.