This article was taken from the January 2015 issue of WIRED magazine. Be the first to read WIRED's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.
Failbetter Games' browser-based Fallen London has built a cult following. "It's a children's ghost story for adults," says the UK studio's chief narrative officer Alexis Kennedy, 42. Inspired by the developer's Greenwich location, this month's sequel Sunless Sea takes the game on to open water.
As a ship's captain, the player switches between exploring the "Unterzee" -- a vast underground lake --and Fallen London's multiple-choice narrative system. The latter now contains more than a million words of content; players can use the open StoryNexus engine to create their own adventures (which spawned a prequel,
The Silver Tree).
Although the two games are separate, Kennedy created subtle story connections which don't just enrich the narrative, but encourage players to explore the wider universe. The result:
Failbetter found that early access also tempted first-time explorers to Fallen London. "When you begin Sunless Sea, you're in
the port," says Kennedy. "But people want to see what's in the city, too."
Sunless Sea is out in February for PC and Mac
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
