Lately I have been pretty obsessed with a new browser game. No, it’s no Farmville. I’ve discovered Echo Bazaar, which is kind of a noir Victorian London RPG.
Here’s a description:
“Echo Bazaar is basically a choose-your-own-adventure narrative story that you can play on your web browser. You start in Newgate Prison, with a single focus: get out. There is a deck of six cards but you can only look at one. Deal a card and decide what to do: play or discard?
Most cards offer you a choice: it will outline an action or two with your likelihood of success based on your skills. You can choose one which will use up an action or dismiss the card and then discard it and pull another one. Your cards refresh every seven minutes so once you’ve gone through the initial six, you may find that you have to wait a few minutes for more.
Red-bordered cards have a specific effect and use up an action simply by viewing them. Generally, however, you do not use an action by viewing a card. Either way, you’ll need to use up cards and actions to find a way to get out of Newgate Prison.
As you make choices, you’ll see storylets appear. These are specific to your qualities and connections, so they will change as you progress. In this particular case, you’ll begin to see options for escape based on the choices you’ve made with your Opportunity cards. You’ll need a combination of cards and storylets to make it into Fallen London.
The game is constantly changing with tweaks and new content being added every day. As a result, it’s hard to provide a walk-through of the initial experience…and impossible to detail later gameplay as it is completely dependent on the choices you make.”
You connect to it with either Twitter or FaceBook, but it never posts to your feed without your permission. The creators are a small startup in London and they seem to be staying pretty ethical. There are some interactions you can do with your friends, but mostly the game is played on your own.
If it sounds interesting, come and play with me!
