The Beheading Game
The Beheading Game is a text adventure based on “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.”
I designed and wrote the game using Twine. It is about 12,000 words, has multiple branching paths and two endings.
The game was designed for a class assignment that required us to take an existing fable and put our own original spin on it. It was a great lesson in balancing the essence of a pre-existing story with the story that I wanted to tell.
My Own Special Stank
I first read the medieval tale of Gawain in 2020. I was excited for David Lowrey’s upcoming film version, and wanted to familiarize myself with the story. When, years later, the opportunity came to put my own stank on Gawain’s quest, I couldn’t resist.
Obviously, this sort of immediately backed me into a corner. I needed to keep things fresh, while capturing the essence of the original, while also avoiding copying the way the film retold it.
I love the movie, and wanted to capture its tone, ambiance, and ambiguous ending. The biggest departure the film takes from the poem is in its willingness to see Gawain die. I loved this, and wanted to play with the idea. The death of a protagonist has always fascinated me. I also decided that where I could put my own stank on it most, was in the middle.
In the original poem, Gawain departs to find the Green Knight a few days before Christmas. The poem glosses over most of his journey, simply stating that there were adventures. For me, the adventures on the journey to the Green Knight were the most interesting. I put most of my effort into fleshing out what these adventures would look like.
A big part of the assignment was to add an additional mechanic for the player to keep track of. This mechanic was supposed to be simple, something like health, or attack power. I thought it would be interesting to explore “fear” as my mechanic. Gawain’s story is all about facing fear, not necessarily defeating it, but being willing to accept our limitations.
So, I leaned into this and tried to create situations that were tense and a little spooky. I wanted the player to really try and immerse themselves in the environment and attempt to feel what Gawain may be feeling.
I don’t know if I absolutely nailed this task. At times it felt like the fear mechanic was simply there to fulfill requirements. However, I did have a lot of fun shaping the world and creating encounters for Gawain.
Lessons Learned
The biggest takeaway from The Beheading game was the importance of pre-production. As a writer, I like to dive into the meat of the storytelling. However, when crafting branching narratives, you can get lost in the sauce incredibly quickly.
Mapping out every path and beat beforehand allowed me to be very specific about the story I wanted to tell. It also allowed me to realize my limitations and to cut what wasn’t working.
At one point in the game, the player has to choose to either sacrifice their own flesh, or the flesh of a child. I asked the friends and family who play-tested for me what they chose. My dad was the only one who chose to sacrifice the child. so I also learned that my dad is a psycho.
