In 2009, Chris Klimas developed an open-source software tool called Twine. Twine is a free platform which enables users to create interactive fictions or ‘Twine games’. Twine’s user-friendly interface does not require an understanding of programming languages or writing code. However, more-savvy users do have the option to add other sophisticated elements, such as images, CSS, and JavaScript.
Most Twine games are nonlinear stories that follow a similar format to early hypertext fictions. However, the notable difference of Twine is its accessibility and ease-of-use. Merritt Kopas states in Videogames for Humans, “Twine’s financial and technical accessibility are major reasons for its broad adoption, especially among economically marginalized, nontraditional game designers—i.e., people who are not white men with college-level programming training” (10). Due to its availability, the diversity of Twine gamers and game-developers has grown, introducing a wide-range of new topics and aesthetics to both the gaming and e-Lit world. This new group of game-developers and story-tellers have produced popular and celebrated works across both the gaming and academic communities. Notable works include, but are hardly limited to, With Those We Love Alive by Porpentine, Depression Quest by Zoë Quinn and Dys4ia by Anna Anthropy.
Kopas, Merritt. “Introduction.” Videogames for Humans: Twine Authors in Conversation. Eds.
Merritt Kopas. Instar Books, 2015, pp. 5-19.