the hanging heart

a fantasy short interactive fiction game made in twine for @interact-if’s game jam.

STORY

The hungering tree stands tall on the hill beyond the village.

it is a beautiful but dangerous, almost malicious thing. it rises high, trunk white as snow, leaves a mix of gold and crimson. no one dares to approach it, not anymore - too many lost their minds to its vicious pull, but none can resist casting a quick glance, admiring its vibrancy against the dead sky or even coveting the shimmering heart hanging from its lower branches.

you most of all.

in a world where people wear their glimmering hearts, sources of power and magic, in bracelets and in chains around their necks, you have none. your chest is empty like theirs, but you have no heart to call your our own. you don’t know - or don’t remember - why, which isn’t surprising; the last years are foggy for many, since the war of the angels ended and the world, shattered and hurting, started healing.

for a heartless being like you, nothing is as tempting as the hanging heart on the branches of the hungering tree.

but claiming it as your own might be even more dangerous than you thought. something watches from amidst the tree’s leaves and some villagers might know more than they let on - about you, about the tree, and about the war that ravaged the world.

you might get more than you bargained for.

CHARACTERS

the heartless.

that’s you - no family, no friends, no heart, but an undying desire to claim everything you have been denied. the hanging heart is the first step on your journey, and you must be careful for it to not be the last.

the songbird.

the thing hiding amidst the branches of the hungering tree. strange, dangerous, too interested in you as far as you are concerned. they could take the hanging heart at any moment, but they haven’t - why?

the guardian.

the thorn on your side. everyone in the village is a bit suspicious of you - comes with being the only person alive without a heart - but they? they seem to actively hate you, and you have never figured out why

WARNINGS

some violence, depictions of blood and (very light) gore, explicit language, a hint of sexually suggestive themes. 

CREDITS

writing, coding & art by wilderlingdev (except background).

fonts used are available on google fonts.

a huge shoutout to idrellegames and cerberus-writes for all twine/coding tutorials!

LINKS

dev blog

twitter

ko-fi