The Lost Artist

Something like, "Please return that cash, it belongs to Raven Management Consortium. They won't let you take it." But I could hardly hear, I don't know. [[Continue.]]

Some people we met in a seedy bar expressed interest. But there was a whole list of potential associates. Like I said, two bozos down a hill. By the time we started, we were already rolling full-speed-ahead. [[Continue.]]

[[Detective Balding.|9 The Detective]]

An± so w± fold±± quick. ± [[And the situation folded.|2 Finish]]

Out on the Lighthouse Island Business Complex she works at, in her once-a-meeting-room-but-now-a-group-of-cubicals-surrounded-by-glass, The Artist Formerly Known as Leben writes her important business documents, with no flair, no artistic drama. All the letters were formed together in boring ways, with one-inch margins, one letter following the next, all logical, without mistake, and no opportunity to change. She has been dulled into a state of complacency, along with four other equally-competent-but-also-unknowingly-imprisoned artists. Thanks to Raven Management Group (RMG) and their digital mascot, Rav'n (who monitors everything), they may never make art again. This was all true, until the day The Artist Formerly Known as Leben spilled her mate all over a new made-up-business logo. Mate powder created mountains of depth and texture on her business-related-production, it deepened and bled into depths of the image. "That's good shit." She looked down at her faded lanyard where she had printed her name and mentally erased the "Formerly Known as" part of her name. The Artist Leben gathered the remaining dry mate and prepared another drink, this time using a sturdy, heavier gourd. [[Continue.|2 The Artist]]

This is the Blue Chapter. [[Why'd you have to say it like that?|2 The Bank]]

In a stuffy business office, Detective Balding examines his receding hairline. Seems like that new shampoo isn't working. On his desk is a pile of unsolved cases. [[Its always a hair thing with this guy.|2 The Detective]]

Detective Balding pops his head out his open window and squints at the sun. "She's right," Balding says, "the sun is dim and out of focus!" [[11]]

Leben pulls up her RMG software. The raven speaks up. "Nevermore!" The raven squawks. "Nevermore!" Leben is shaken, frowning at the open window. She wasn't expecting a raven in her office! "Nevermore!" The raven goes on and on. Flapping their wings over the desk and knocking The Artist's new cup of mate over and bending her bombilla. Totally annoyed, Leben gets the meanest broom from the broom closet to shoo away the raven. The raven was shocked at this response, but bowed out gracefully, somersaulting out the window, flipping the bird with their exit. [[Wait for the software to finish booting.|11 The Artist]]

Detective Balding pops his head out his open window and squints at the sun. "She's right, the sun is dim and out of focus!" Having read and understood the missive, and excited to learn the mysteries of the case, Detective Balding gathers his things and prepares to investigate. [[Continue.|11 The Detective]]

Having read and understood the missive, and excited to learn the mysteries of this case, Detective Balding gathers his things and prepares to investigate. [[end screen]]

The software crashes. Leben is so pissed. The documentation never mentioned ravens. [[//Maybe lets look at Detective Balding.//|1 The Detective]]

And so Detective Balding faces The Arist Leben's front door on some random Tuesday, unaware of what's in store for him in this little story. [[End of prologue.|Start screen]]

The detective glances at the unsolved cases. There is also the mail he needs to open [[Open mail|3.1]] [[Grab unsolved case|3.2 ]]

A± ±±±±±± fold±±. ± [[Continue.|1 The Artist]]

On her desk is a stack of paper. Her task: write business documents using the approved fonts and margins, and stuff them in preaddressed envelopes. But the real work is in creating business logos. RMG saves money by making up a new logo every time. In lieu of any official design, she draws a... [[Winter Mountain|3.1 The Artist]] [[Cave Entrance|3.2 The Artist]] [[Traveling Turtle|3.3 The Artist]]

The bank was hardwired to go. I smelled like gun powder. K had a nail gun; she didn't believe in guns. The job was sort of spur-of-the-moment. Our bird sanctuary went into disrepair after our very-intelligent-and-not-at-all-suspicious raven escaped. We tried a few unusual ways to get our unsuspicious raven back, even time travel. For whatever reason, our raven always ended up free. We gave up on that raven. There were millions of birds, many needing rescue. And, in this moment, with this perfectly timed bank heist, we were unstoppable. Clumsy but accomplished. Like two bozos barreling down the same hill. [[Continue.|3 The Bank]]

The detective glances at the unsolved cases. There are three that catch his eye. One in an envelope, one in a manilla folder, and one in a small cardboard box [[Envelope|3.1 The Detective]] [[Manilla Folder|3.2 The Detective]] [[Small Cardboard Box|3.3 The Detective]]

One of the bank tellers smashed a hidden red button, the cops were on the way. Everything was suddenly real, as real as it would ever get. We didn't know we had a guardian angel flying above us. We'd be flying soon enough. [[Continue.|4 The Bank]]

Balding picks up an envelope but notices that his name is mispelled. [[Disassociate about name.|4.1 ]] [[Go back to the unsolved cases.|4.2]]

The mountain is covered in trees, except for the top, where someone built 'something out of wood.' Overall, it is a small design, painted in pastels, with a couple of palm trees to frame the mountain. [[She licks the envelope closed.|4 The Artist]]

Balding picks up the envelope but notices that his name is misspelled. "Damn." The Detective whimpers to himself, looking off to somewhere else. The letters of his name are floating in the center of his view. The letters continuously disassemble and reassemble into hallucinated shapes. He gets all weird about that. Better to find something else to focus on. [[Hey! What's over there?|4 The Detective]]

The files are heavy. One criminal has the same first name as Balding. [[Dissociation about name|4.1 ]] [[Find a different case to look into|4.2]]

The image depicts a cave entrance carved in rock. But to see the actual entrance, you'd have to be inside the image. You'd have to fall into the image backwards and think of someone you love. That way, you can truly find the truth of the image. [[She licks the envelope closed.|4 The Artist]]

The files are heavy. One criminal has the same first name as Balding. "Whoa." The Detective says to himself as he dives in deeper, looking at photographs and other documents. This case is a dead end. All the contacts are hippies. They're all probably 'fishing for trout' in their private trout-fishing lake. The criminal Balding wanted to capture had stolen all the angst left in an aging punk drummer. Right before the trial the drummer moved back to Ohio to start a new life. The criminal was freed. Better to find something perfectly imperfect to focus on. Balding grabs a close-by pile-of-unshucked-corn. [[It has the juice!|4 The Detective]]

The turtle is relaxing on the beach, it is double headed. [[She licks the envelope closed.|4 The Artist]]

What’s in the box? A makeshift story that has an awfully humorous ending. In it, you are walking up the stairs; outside the window is a zombie apocalypse. The protagonist of that story has lost. The last period will signify your death. A raven caws an awkward amount; you are stricken with sympathy; this is how you treat yourself? (humor added later) What an interesting box. [[Better put that back.|4 The Detective]]

Closing the envelope is the hardest part. [[She walks to the window.|5 The Artist]]

The police were outside shouting into a loudspeaker. The window above us shattered. And then it happened. That's all I know. //What else do you want to know?// [['Where was the rest of the team? Couldn't have been just the two of you.']] [['What did the police say?']] [[How was the glass shattered?]] [[Finish the story!]]

Putting that aside, Detective Balding finds an old photo album with a sealed envelope with his own name written in threatening ink. [[That's suspicious!|5 The Detective]]

The letters of Baldings name are floating in the center of his view. The letters continuously dissasemble and reassemble. Better to find something else to focus on. [[Look at your plant.|5.1]] [[Play with your gun.|5.2]]

This case is a dead end. The criminal Balding wanted to capture had stolen all the angst left in an aging punk drummer. Right before the trial the drummer moved back to Ohio to start a new life. The criminal was freed. Better to find something else to focus on. [[Look at your plant.|5.1]] [[Play with your gun.|5.2]]

The artist opens the window. [[She crumbles the envelope and throws it out the window.|6 The Artist]]

Detective Balding deduces the letter is by an antagonist from a different story prologue. [[I cannot suspend my disbelief!|6.1 The Detective]] [[Not a big deal.|6.2 The Detective]]

The detective's plant looks bored and self-conscious. [[6.1 ]] [[6.2 ]]

Balding using his gun as a drum stick and bangs it against his table, making some music. [[6.1 ]] [[6.2 ]]

The envelope flies through the wind, Leben watches it catch a gust of rainy wind and speed off into the distance. Leben turns around, leaving the window open despite the rain. The window is a hassle to close. Secretly, a raven pops in. [[She rushes to her desk, unaware of the raven.|8.2 The Artist]]

[[7.1 ]] [[7.2]]

The detective rips the letter into small word clusters, rearranging the words, looking for any secret message. [[The words don't appear to have anything else to say.|7 The Detective]]

[[7.1 ]] [[7.2]]

Balding is exhausted from these old investigations. [[Yawn exhaustively.|7 The Detective]]

It flys through the wind.

"Caw!" Someone shouts from outside. Detective Balding glances out the window. "Caw!" "Caw!" A familiar sound, it's Balding's ol' buddy, The Raven! "What are you doing here?" Balding opens the window for ol' buddy. Apparently, there's an artist wishing to employ Balding for a case, and wants to pay in cash. "Cash?" Balding asks. "Caw." The raven responds. (Off screen, The Raven and Leben reconciled their differences, and came to a professional agreement.) [[Get the caw!|8 The Detective]]

[[Open the best smelling envelope|8.1]] [[Open the best tasting envelope|8.2 ]]

The detective examines the envelope, it's raven-black with a //smokey// scent. For some reason, there is 'a vaguely shaped image' instead of a business logo. [[Continue.|9 The Detective]]

The detective sniffs the mail, most smell like dirty paper. He stops at a raven colored envelope. It smells different, it smells like //licorice//. [[9]]

The artist remembers she forgot to pack a lunch. Meanwhile, the raven is scooting around the room, scoping out the scienario, prepared announcing itself. [[The artist cracks her knuckles and grabs her pen.|9 The Artist]]

The detective bites into each envelope individually. Most taste like dirty paper, except for one that he savors and eventually open. That one tastes like //coffee and milk//. [[9]]

The raven scoots around the room, scoping out the scenario before announcing itself. [[The artist cracks her knuckles and grabs her pen.|9 The Artist]]

Balding always loves cracking open a new case. The letter reads as follows: Dear Detective Balding, Today the Sun is dim and out of focus. I believe this is caused by the highest crime. This will be your highest priority crime to solve. My inspiration to make art has been stolen and replaced by an ungodly urge to maintain burecratic efficency. I repeat: The Sun is dim and out of focus; do you understand? You are tasked to find my inspiration. I believe your answer can be found within my apartment. Attached is my work schedule for this week. Plan to show up while I'm at work, because I don't want to see you. I work at a lighthouse by the way. My commute is a full hour, can't even stop for breakfast. That's all I have to say for now. All right, The Artist Leben [[Attached file|9.1]] [[10]]

The artist begins to write her latest business document. This one, she thinks, will be really good shit. It will really hook the audience, lead to action, accomplishment, and get Rav'n off her back. All she needs to do now is follow protocol, separate 'the artist' from 'the formerly known artist.' One works, while the other plots. [[Jot it out.|10 The Artist]]

Balding always loves cracking open a new case. The letter reads as follows: (text-style:"subscript")[Dear Detective Balding, Look, let’s just skip the informalities: You[[*]] are tasked to find my inspiration. I believe the answer can be found within my apartment. //Today, 'the Sun is dim' and 'out of focus' have 'both skipped town.' I believe they did so because of some bribery. My inspiration to make art has// reallocated //and was replaced by an ungodly urge to maintain bureaucratic efficiency.// For reference, I work at the Lighthouse Island Business Complex for Raven Management Group (RMG). I write documents. I make logos. And my commute is a full hour. Plan to show up sometime this week. You've already been told about the cash reward by that raven character. That's all I have to say for now. All right, The Artist Leben] [[Attached file|9.1 The Detective]] [[Continue.|10 The Detective]]

Vauge schedueling information * Monday ≠ good. * Tuesday is my happy day, ≠ good. * You are welcomed on Wednesday. * Every ≠ day is terrible. [[9|9]]

Vague availability information. by The Artist Leben * Monday ≠ good. * You are welcomed on Tuesday. * Wednesday is game day, ≠ good. * Every day is terrible ≠. [[(Clap for the poet.)|9 The Detective]]

//Is there anything else you want to know?// [['Where was the rest of the team? Couldn't have been just the two of you.']] [['What did the police say?']] [[How was the glass shattered?]] [[Just finish the story!|Finish the story!]]

Twine game by Alejandro Ruiz del Sol Story & characters by Alejandro Ruiz del Sol & Martina Oyhenard Special thanks: Kimberly Mendoza Pacheco, Isaías Rogel, and Susan Yim [[Start screen]]

We jumped quickly, unknowingly. ± [[The moment had folded.|1 Finish]]

It had been shattered before. Like a world changing moment. [[Continue.]]

The player is first introduced the Leben, who is attempting to make art but can only write business documents. Leben is shocked, worried, and determined to stop making business documents. She is writing documents, manicly, sending them by mail to anyone that crosses her mind, including the FBI. Then, the player is introduced to Detective Balding in his office. Detective Balding recieves one of Leben's letters and reads it. By the end of meeting Balding, the player leaves the office and the player takes control of Balding at the enterence to Leben's house. "Out on her Lighthouse Island, The Artist Leben writes her important business documents, with no flair, no artistic explorations." "In a stuffy business office, Detective Balding examines his receding hairline. On his desk is a pile of unsolved cases." 7/2 A few months after starting this story, I played the first Alan Wake 2 DLC which includes an IF story. That story has inspired me a bit to expand on my game, and with keeping the shape of having one singular ending, no matter what the player chooses. 8/11 Alternative reality encounter. A fake out. Both characters work together at a bird sanctuary that they co-own. All of this is understood by the bank. They have a meeting with their loan officer, explaining why they are behind on payments. Their so-intelligent raven escaped the enclosure and had flown away. Leben witnessed it. The raven flipped the bird with their exit. The raven nose dives out the window, a surprising diversion in its corse, even to the raven. The raven appeared as if it lost something, as if something crossed its path. [[Back to start|Start screen]]

//The Lost Artist: Prologue// [[Start|1 The Bank]] [[Credits]]

I think both stories need to be heavily edited. Leben's story: Out on her Lighthouse Island, The Artist Leben writes her important business documents, with no flair, no artistic explorations. She nibbles on the end of her index finger. On her desk is a noterized form. Her task is to fold this form into thirds and place it in a preadressed envelope. In lieu of a stamp, she draws either a mountain, wolf, or turtle. The mountain is covered in trees except for the top, where someone built a hotel. The wolf leans against a hollow tree. The turtle is relaxing on the beach, it has two heads. She licks the envelope closed. The glue tastes like how a pinetree smells. She walks towards the window and opens it. She either flicks the missive or tosses it out the window. The missive flys through the wind and Leben turns around, leaving the window open for whomever might be interested in hanging out. And it just so happens, a white raven slowly creeps in, perhaps interested in chilling with Leben? The artist either slowly walks back to her table, sadly thinking about her lunch (overcooked chicken) or she runs over to her desk happily thinking about making matche tea in the afternoon. Mean while, the raven is scooting around the room, scoping out the scienario before announcing itself. The artist begins to write her latest missive. This one, she thinks, will be really good shit. It will really hook the audience, lead to action, accomplishment, and get her out of this shitty job. But she will need to add metaphors... Leben pulls out her Knowledge Base software, how does one define metaphor? What metaphor is allowed to describe an unknowable condition? The raven speaks up. "Nevermore!" The raven squaks. "Nevermore!" Leben is shook! She wasn't expecting all this! "Nevermore!" The raven goes on and on. Flapping their wings over the desk and knocking The Artist's mate over and bending her bombilla. Totally annoyed, Leben gets her meanest broom to shoo away the raven. The raven was shocked at this response, but bowed out gracefully, somersaulting out the window, flipping the bird with their exit. Leben gets back to work, but quickly realizes that the keyword search for 'metaphor' does not provide any results. There is no definition. Leben is so pissed. Maybe lets give her a break and look at Detective Balding. Balding's story: In a stuffy business office, Detective Balding examines his receding hairline. On his desk is a pile of unsolved cases. The detective glances at the unsolved cases. There are three that interest him. They are in a box, a envolope, and an folder, respectivly. Choose one. Balding picks out the envelope and notices his first name is mispelled. He gets all weird about that, and starts hallucinating a bit of a makeshift story that has an awfully humorous ending. In it, his new name is Bolo, as in, the tie, B.O.L.O, and cake in Portugese. While at his job (he can chose between a tie factory, a survalence company, or a cake factory), he is a manager and everyone makes fun of him because of his coincential name. Questions like, "Did you change your name when after you were hired?" and "". He works till he builds a cache of money big enough he can move away and change his name. Balding either picks up an envelope or glances at the unsolved cases. He either notices that his name is mispelled, or looks at more unsolved cases. Either way, he is afraid of losing his job because of how incomfortable he is around the boss. Either the letters of Balding's name float in the center of his vision, no matter where he looks, or he obsesses over the case with that criminal who stole all the inspiration from a punk drummer, or what is a punk-ass drummer? The last case he failed to solve, the stolen whistle, had the answer right in front of his face the whole time, but he just neglected to inspect all the objects in the crime scene and so the whistle bandit got away. v1 In a stuffy business office, Detective Balding examines his receding hairline. On his desk is a pile of unsolved cases. The detective glances at the unsolved cases. There is also the mail he needs to open Balding either picks up an envelope or glances at the unsolved cases. He either notices that his name is mispelled, or looks at more unsolved cases. Either way, he is afraid of losing his job because of how incomfortable he is around the boss. Either the letters of Balding's name float in the center of his vision, no matter where he looks, or he obsesses over the case with that criminal who stole all the inspiration from a punk drummer, or what is a punk-ass drummer? The last case he failed to solve, the stolen whistle, had the answer right in front of his face the whole time, but he just neglected to inspect all the objects in the crime scene and so the whistle bandit got away. Either the detective's focuses on the plant that looks bored, dry, and self-conscious; or Balding plays with his gun using it to drum on his table. Either way, he begins to hallucinate about the possibility of his birthday party next week. He vividly sees a scenario where the FBI Director wheels out a birthday cake for him and everyone claps. And then Balding goes to cut the cake but accidentally misses and instead cuts some highly classified evidence. Either the detective goes to the bathroom and sculps his facial hair into a mustache, or v1 Early build. 4/21/24. I'll be adding CSS soon. What should my color palate be? The Artist needs to have her story further developed. I want to add more humor, maybe the writing part of her story can be more funny? The detective end of the story is feeling pretty bare. I want to add more humor, but not sure what to add. What are some funny story beats that can happen in an office? Since both characters are in an offfice... I imagine Leben as "dramatic funny" and Balding as "clumsy funny" if that makes sense. The supernatural elements needs to be more clear... Balding is in the supernatural department of the FBI afterall...

This is when we load in level 1.

The artist tosses the envelope. [[Watch it.|7 The Arist]]

The artist flicks the envelope. [[Watch it.|7 The Arist]]

In a stuffy business office, Detective Balding examines his receding hairline. On his desk is a pile of unsolved cases. [[2 ]]