I have been checking the Versu website regularly for updates on Linden Lab’s interactive fiction venture from Emily Short and Richard Evans to see whether Versu was available. The site merely said “Coming Soon” but today I see a blog post from Hamlet Au over at New World Notes announcing that it is now available, but only on the iPad, although an Android version is promised.
I must confess to being bitterly disappointed to learn that Versu is a tablet app. I hadn’t noticed this in any of the previous articles about the product, although to be fair they were few and far between. Swings and roundabouts here, I wasn’t expecting much from Dio and that turned out to be surprisingly engaging for me. However having looked forward to seeing Versu, I am totally deflated. However it still looks like an interesting product and from Linden Lab’s perspective, they now have products available on the web, Steam, iTunes App Store with applications for desktops and tablets, so the company is covering more ground than ever before.
As well as Hamlet’s post there’s also an official press release from Linden Lab detailing the product and a video on the Versu website, which I’ll embed later in this post.
Versu launches with some stories, as you’d expect. Initially you will get:
- An Introduction To Society – Designed as an introduction to Versu.
- The Unwelcome Proposal – A scene from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice where you can change the outcome.
- The House On The Cliff – An original playable ghost story from Emily Short.
They are bundled with Versu for free, another title “A Family Supper” will be available for USD$4.99. This is billed as a murder mystery by Emily Short and looks as if it’s the title that was erroneously put on the Versu website when details about the product were posted for a day or two at the start of the year.
Versu isn’t just about playing interactive fiction though, the longer term aim is to allow people to create interactive fiction via the Versu system. Rod Humble (Linden Lab CEO) is quoted in the official press release as saying: “in the future, we plan to open the platform to allow authors to publish their own work on Versu as well.”
The Versu website also touches upon this: “As a content creator, you’ll be able to create your own characters, improvise new dialogue and gestures for them, and even build entirely new stories and games for others to enjoy.” The content creation aspect isn’t available yet and there’s no timeline for when it will be, but have patience, it is only being launched today!
Linden Lab are therefore sticking to their mantra of being makers of shared creative spaces with this title, in the longer term anyway. I think there’s some mileage in this approach, although as with any user generated content space, it comes with risks as you’re never sure what people will create with your tools. However it’s a good approach and I think it’s a way forward for a lot of people, being able to create from home can be empowering. I’ll also quote Rod Humble from the press release on this matter, because he is quoted as saying something I very much agree with: “Entertainment is most gratifying when it’s driven by your own creativity”
As for Versu itself, how a story pans out will depend on interactions with other characters, some characters will respond better to having a bread roll thrown at them than others and you can replay the story and engage in different interactions.
The Versu website informs us: “Versu is an interactive storytelling platform that builds experiences around characters and social interaction. Each story sets out a premise and some possible outcomes. As a player, you get to select a character, guide their choices, watch other characters react to what you’ve chosen, and accomplish (or fail at) your chosen goals.”
I wish Linden Lab well with this venture, despite sticking pins in my voodoo dolls of the creators for making it tablet only, it’s such an interesting looking project. I’ll leave you with the Versu video.
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