Needle and Twine
A Tool for Interactive Storytelling
6 min readApr 18, 2023
If you want to write epic tales into novels by drafting your words, Twine is not for you. However, if you want to tell those epic stories through an interactive video game that players can follow along to enjoy multiple paths and options that lead to consequences, Twine is a perfect device for you. As perfect as any imperfect design tool can get. Twine is an open-source writing tool most used for creating interactive stories in the form of video games through the use of basic coding skills, web accessible media files, and the browser based wireframe provided by Twine. The center point of this story builder falls on being able to create visual novels or similar videogame type media that fall into the category of interactive fiction; a niche genre limited only by the user’s creativity and ability to learn basic coding, and creativity.
Twine serves well as a beginner’s option to create interactive fiction, however an experienced author may not be an experienced coder. This is what would scare potential users away, yet it can also be a point of interest for budding writers of video games. Twine allows for in depth creations of interactive fiction through the use of text, images, and other visual elements of the pages Twine provides as your backdrop. This can be a learning curve as it requires knowledge of HTML and can be compatible with JavaScript, or other devices, to give a semblance of some real production values to your narrative video games. HTML can be simple to learn, it is popular in many archives and writing websites which makes it a valuable asset for writers wanting to continue using not only Twine but other online sources for their work. In that sense, the required knowledge of coding is a benefit for their future interactions with writing software. What can be more oppressive is the change of Twine software through updates that affect how systems like javascript work on Twine. Updates are unavoidable, unfortunately that requires flexibility and constant upkeep on how the tools work during and after these changes so that any errors that appear can be addressed. This means users must continuously study coding languages to not be locked out of Twine and tools of the like. While changes can create issues, the current format that Twine uses is an amalgamation of features that users have coded by hand in the past to create more professional looking creations. Difficult to learn coding is now base kit. Yet there is also another format in use that allows for older works to be adapted into the new format and easily function. This still does not solve the issue of having to relearn certain tools or functions. The solution appears to be the community itself which keeps a large archive both on Twine FAQ and other platforms such as Discord. Twine still allows you to download the original format of their tool if users truly do not want to relearn certain aspects. Unfortunately Twine does not offer online hosting for the creations you can make. Any game you create on Twine is playable on your own network as long as it was created using that network, however creators must find their own sites to export their game to the masses. This is once again easy to accomplish due to the active community hosting archives and sites for these Twine games.
With the negative aspects of Twine let out to air, there are positives as to why this tool works great to create such a niche genre of material. Dialogue and narrative were a staple for many early games that were not simple puzzle arcade games, and Twine allows for sleek interactions if the creator takes the time to learn its mechanics. There are a few reasons that one would choose to use Twine for their narrative purpose. No other program is as easy to use, and accessible as Twine with a web browser option alongside its desktop application. While its scope of use is limited to such a niche genre, it is approachable for those intending to learn the craft with the added benefit of straightforward tools that work with you. The process begins with creating a “passage” with a title and the basic text that will be presented to the reader. This passage will automatically become a part of the grid referred to as the “story grid,” which is a visual interface where a creator can see the entire web of their project. Being a visual interface takes away much of the initial difficulty of coding.
The grid grows as your work grows and is able to be selected and dragged to organize however it is desired, a feature great for keeping a narrative organized. While this allows for a way to maintain organization, it also functions as a quick method to discover where a closed loop becomes opened, therefore creating a deadend for the narrative. The grid seems like a simple aesthetic choice, but it is deceptively Twine’s greatest shortcut when it comes to coding. To connect those passages into a cohesive interactive story, the creator must use some basic coding to turn certain keywords or desired phrases into links that connect to other passages allowing for the interactive fiction to function. While coding seems like a daunting experience cap, Twine syntax is simple and smart enough to help you along your steps, even going as far as generating the passage for you if you end up creating a link before the passage is written. Most other syntax would simply give you an error message without offering solutions, maybe a suggested command that gives you more prompt options but without information explaining the available commands. Twine also gives you plenty of options with specific explanations as to what they provide right alongside the visual interface, making sure one is never lost.
