I awake to the sound of zailing horn of in the distance. I open my eyes barely noticing something scurry off into the distance. Another sorrow-spider, or something more devious? No matter its gone now and it is time to start the day. A quick perusal thru my wardrobe. I decide to go with something refined. After all I am speaking at the university today. A gown suited for any aspiring academic. Just to be safe I bring along my bejeweled cane. Some might call it gaudy but in the dimly lit alleys of fallen London it shines like a drunken rainbow. Mind you it has been sometime since I have seen a rainbow. Or rain for that matter. Never the less. I beckon my Rattus Faber bandit-Chief to follow me. He is hobbles slowly behind me. His injury is the reason he is in my employ. Neither of us likes to bring it up though. I check my collection of bats before I leave. The abandoned steamer I now take residence in has a considerable amount of room for all my bats. A good thing to. Considering I run half of the glass's messenger trade. Cornelius flies down to me. A small scroll is attached to his leg. I unravel it and give it a quick once over. "The revolutionaries grow anxious. What is your next move?" I draw a fresh piece of parchment from my coat pocket. "Wait till after my speech today. I will personally lead the charge on the embassy." I feed the bat a cricket and send him on his way. Out trip to the university is rather uneventful. Well uneventful for fallen London. A few claymen are roughing up a man who owes money to the wrong person. I give them a nod as I pass by. Some urchins try to pickpocket me in spite. It will be some time till they realize the purse they stole from me was filled with nothing but rocks. Meanwhile I have made off with all of their daily earnings. Once I arrive at the university I am immediately ushered to the auditorium. I stand at the podium awestruck. I didn't think there would be so many people here. Staring into the crowd I see a good number of students from both major colleges. Summerset's religious and upper-class student body. Benthic?s devils, bohemian and rubbery-men. Almost every student in the Neath is staring at me. There waiting with hungry eyes. Ready to hinge on my every word. I grab my stack of papers hit them on the podium and begin. "What is the value of a soul?" It's just another day in fallen London for me. I wouldn't have it any other way.
For the past couple of months I have been absolutely enamored with a simple facebook game. The name of this game? Echo Bazaar. A choose your own adventure esq browser game set in a Victorian era London the likes of which have never been seen. A history similar to ours up until about 1868. It was this year that London was dragged underground by bats. Or so the legends go. Needless to say this changed things. Devils and slippery men became as common as anyone else. Cats gained the ability to talk and keep secrets. Death has become reversible. The soul trade is not only legal it?s a necessary part of the economy. Things have changed and life in London has never been more exciting.
The mechanics are simple enough for even the most uninitiated in the technological to grasp. Every storylet has a short paragraph explaining the situation you?re in. Then you are given a few options to pick from. Based off your skills in any of the four main stats. (Dangerous, Shadowy, Persuasive or Watchful). The most likely result will be listed next to the action. Equipment can help in any given situation. To be honest though the best course of action is just to train until the task becomes simpler. Being a social game your encouraged to invite friends. Friends can mostly just give you items that give second chances and help heal you. The best part of the multiple choice system is the freedom to make mistakes and learn from them. The storylets are written by crack team of authors so every action feels unique. The game play is as solid as any facebook game I've ever played.
My favorite part about Echo Bazaar is its level of realism. Ironic though it may be to say such a thing. Granted you don't have to worry about sleep or eating. You don't even have to worry about rent. From the get go you don't have any real pressing issues to attend to. The real problem at the beginning is that you start of a wanted fugitive without a penny to your name. The great thing here is you?re free to do whatever you want... within your limitations. From killing rats, to mocking posers, pick pocketing the elderly. The best thing about this game is the freedom to do what you want in a rich and entrancing setting. With a city of loose morals and fifty actions a day (one hundred if you?re willing to pay) you?re sure to find something to your liking.
In conclusion. I'd have to say the greatest thing about Echo Bazaar is its potential. Still in beta it has so much to offer in the near future. Just recently they added a sudo end game option. It is called "A Person of Some Importance". I am currently on the last leg of the journey on obtaining this one. Why does a Velocipede have to be so damn expensive? I've personally been playing for about three months now and I'm still sitting on the edge of my seat. With the coming months I hope they add a few options. Such as maybe allowing a player to spend all fifty actions in one sitting to make the game more accessible to players with tight schedules. I wish encouraging my friends to play Echo Bazaar had a bit more benefits. With a world of possibilities one can only point themselves in an interesting direction and hope they?re going the right way.
From London with love.
Branden Linton,
Branden Linton is an aspiring writer in the final stages of his first novel ?The beginners guide to adventuring.? Which he is sure will be a huge success. (Or cataclysmic failure) Feel free to add him on FB for Echo Bazaar help or just to have someone intellectually stimulating to talk to. He wrote this just to pass the time until his points refreshed at 8:21PM.
My Account: http://echobazaar.failbettergames.com/Profile/Branden%20Linton
The Sites main log-in: http://echobazaar.failbettergames.com/
For the past couple of months I have been absolutely enamored with a simple facebook game. The name of this game? Echo Bazaar. A choose your own adventure esq browser game set in a Victorian era London the likes of which have never been seen. A history similar to ours up until about 1868. It was this year that London was dragged underground by bats. Or so the legends go. Needless to say this changed things. Devils and slippery men became as common as anyone else. Cats gained the ability to talk and keep secrets. Death has become reversible. The soul trade is not only legal it?s a necessary part of the economy. Things have changed and life in London has never been more exciting.
The mechanics are simple enough for even the most uninitiated in the technological to grasp. Every storylet has a short paragraph explaining the situation you?re in. Then you are given a few options to pick from. Based off your skills in any of the four main stats. (Dangerous, Shadowy, Persuasive or Watchful). The most likely result will be listed next to the action. Equipment can help in any given situation. To be honest though the best course of action is just to train until the task becomes simpler. Being a social game your encouraged to invite friends. Friends can mostly just give you items that give second chances and help heal you. The best part of the multiple choice system is the freedom to make mistakes and learn from them. The storylets are written by crack team of authors so every action feels unique. The game play is as solid as any facebook game I've ever played.
My favorite part about Echo Bazaar is its level of realism. Ironic though it may be to say such a thing. Granted you don't have to worry about sleep or eating. You don't even have to worry about rent. From the get go you don't have any real pressing issues to attend to. The real problem at the beginning is that you start of a wanted fugitive without a penny to your name. The great thing here is you?re free to do whatever you want... within your limitations. From killing rats, to mocking posers, pick pocketing the elderly. The best thing about this game is the freedom to do what you want in a rich and entrancing setting. With a city of loose morals and fifty actions a day (one hundred if you?re willing to pay) you?re sure to find something to your liking.
In conclusion. I'd have to say the greatest thing about Echo Bazaar is its potential. Still in beta it has so much to offer in the near future. Just recently they added a sudo end game option. It is called "A Person of Some Importance". I am currently on the last leg of the journey on obtaining this one. Why does a Velocipede have to be so damn expensive? I've personally been playing for about three months now and I'm still sitting on the edge of my seat. With the coming months I hope they add a few options. Such as maybe allowing a player to spend all fifty actions in one sitting to make the game more accessible to players with tight schedules. I wish encouraging my friends to play Echo Bazaar had a bit more benefits. With a world of possibilities one can only point themselves in an interesting direction and hope they?re going the right way.
From London with love.
Branden Linton,
Branden Linton is an aspiring writer in the final stages of his first novel ?The beginners guide to adventuring.? Which he is sure will be a huge success. (Or cataclysmic failure) Feel free to add him on FB for Echo Bazaar help or just to have someone intellectually stimulating to talk to. He wrote this just to pass the time until his points refreshed at 8:21PM.
My Account: http://echobazaar.failbettergames.com/Profile/Branden%20Linton
The Sites main log-in: http://echobazaar.failbettergames.com/