Welcome to the London Game
Written and designed by:
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Betsy Aldrich
Brielle Amick
Luke Anderson
Cheyenne Burns
Benjamin Burr
Geremy Carnes
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Hannah Marie Chisnell
Caitlin Dollins
Jackson Ederer
Julia Fotiadis
Ethan Mathias
Marqueveosha Patton
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Kai Ross
Caroline Smith
Jessica Spivey
Andrea Stanford
Lana Kay Tutterow
Castle Wagoner-Smith
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You can experience [[fire]], [[theatre]], or [[poverty]]. You are transported back to the events of the Great Fire of London. You are tasked with reporting both the acts of heroism and blatant persecution of those caught within the deadly situation. You hope to make a solid case that most Londoners were in fact concerned with the assistance and wellbeing of others, yet will this truly be the case?
[[FIRE -> Fire]]You wake up as a playwright in London; the year is 1705. You find a script on your bedside table that must be your current project. You notice editing marks to cut out a particular scene that makes a joke about the noble class. You prepare a new script that leaves out that scene because they may find it offensive. After getting ready, you run out of the house into the bustling streets of London. At the corner, you see one man in a fine suit and another donning a worn coat. You need to ask someone for directions to the Dorset Garden Theatre.
[[Approach the upper-class man]]
[[Approach the lower class man]]Oh dear, an unfortunate event has occurred. You have been rudely fired from your job at the butcher’s shop! Your boss was unsatisfied with your work, and found another person to replace you. What in God’s name will you do now?
[[Pickpocket]]
[[New Job]]You introduce yourself to the man and ask for directions. He instructs you on where to go, and you bid each other a good day. You arrive at the theatre with a few minutes to spare. With this extra time, you wonder if you should go backstage or take some time to talk to some audience members who arrived early.
[[Go backstage]]
[[Talk to the audience]]You walk backstage, and actors greet you with loud, raucous shouts. You see all your actors milling around, many of them practicing their scenes loudly or getting their makeup and hair done for the show. As soon as you enter, the actors turn to you and begin asking you questions and telling you how excited you are for the show. One actor lavishly praises your work, proclaiming you have written one of the most perfect scripts he has ever had the pleasure of performing. The attention overwhelms you, but you try to gather your thoughts about the controversial scene before answering.
[[Dismiss your doubts and tell the actors nothing]]
[[Tell the actors you’re cutting the scene]]You talk with the few audience members and inform them of the scene with the offensive joke. They find the scene amusing and tell you that you should perform the original version of the play.
[[Go backstage]] You attempt to introduce yourself and ask for directions to the theatre, but the nobleman turns his nose up at you, choosing to ignore you. The other man at the corner has already left, so you go down another block and find another man. He informs you that you need to head back the way you started. Taking the time to track down someone else for directions has caused you to arrive at the theatre late.
[[Go backstage]]You respond to the actors, telling them the show will go well and to perform it exactly the way they practiced. The scene will probably be funny, right? Besides, they know the script better than you; you have not even been here for a full day. They respond in kind, and they continue preparing for the production with enthusiasm.
[[The actors perform the play with the controversial scene]]Your words shock the actors who, at first, cannot believe their ears. You try to explain your position, but they implore you to keep the scene. Quickly, their resolve turns into shouting, and at one point, you fear one of them might physically attack you. You still believe cutting the scene is the best decision, but you also want to keep the peace and protect yourself during your brief time here.
[[Get angry with the actors]]
[[Tell them you understand their worries]]
[[Give in]]You feel anticipatory nerves waiting for the controversial scene, but it passes with incident, and the crowd laughs. You continue watching your play, now happier and relaxed.
[[The play ends with loud applause]]You firmly tell them that you are the writer, and your decision is final. You and the actors continue arguing back and forth until the play is almost about to begin. Finally, they tell you, with the utmost reluctance, they will not perform the scene.
[[The play begins]] While you understand how the actors feel, you feel this is the best decision to ensure critical approval and keep the play running. The actors know how rarely plays last in the theatre, and they would all like this one to be a hit, so they finally agree with you. Looking dejected, they nod solemnly and go back to preparing for the production in a more subdued manner.
[[The actors perform the revised version of the script]] The scene will probably be funny, right? Besides, they know the script better than you; you have not even been here for a full day. The actors thank you insistently, telling you you made the best artistic decision, and keep preparing for the stage with joy.
[[The actors perform the play with the controversial scene]] As the audience keeps applauding and chanting, a known critic comes to confront you about the play. Without a formal greeting, the critic expresses his disdain for the play, telling you he is going to publish a terrible review.
[[Spit in his face]]
[[Promise to remove the scene]]The play goes as smoothly as you could have hoped, and the actors perform your revised version of the script, though the crowd did not react as favorably as you expected.
[[The play ends in silence]]The beginning of the play goes smoothly, but the actors roguely decide to perform the cut scene anyway. However, the crowd laughs loudly, and you relax slightly. Maybe everything will still be okay.
[[The play ends with loud applause]]No one in the crowd seems to react positively, and a few people in the audience are clearly asleep. A known critic comes to you and greets you with a large smile on their face and happy spirits. He tells you that he has already prepared a glowing review of the play that he will release to the public. After the reaction from the audience, the critic’s response makes you extremely relieved. You express your gratitude to the critic and walk away feeling proud and happy with the result of your play.
[[You go home]]In the confusion from the audience’s applause mixed with the critic’s response, you are flustered beyond comparison. In a fit of rage, you grab the critic by the arm and spit in his face. The angered critic sets his belongings down. He then grabs you by the arms and tries to throw you to the ground. You two tussle for a while, and both of you end up bruised and battered.
[[You go home after a fight]]Seeing how upset the critic is, you give in to his critique and promise to take the scene out of the play for the next showing. The critic accepts your response and says he will come back to see the play for the next showing, assuming it will be to his pleasure.
[[You go home]]You leave the theatre and arrive home safe and sound, ready to put on the play the way that the critics will enjoy.
[[Go to sleep]]After your long and difficult day being a playwright in London, you settle into bed and close your eyes, not knowing where you will wake up in the morning.
[[Start]] You leave the theatre and arrive at home later in the night with torn clothes and bruises all over your face and body.
[[Go to sleep]] It is midday in London, and you can feel your stomach start to grumble. The groans only grow louder as you make your way towards the bakery. By the time you finally reach the bakery, it’s flooded with people; just your luck. The lone baker is completely overwhelmed and working fast. In between taking orders he is frantically pulling things out of the oven. With one errant flick of his wooden pallet, a burning log from the oven is flipped out onto the floor. It’s your turn up at the counter and as you start to ask for a few loaves of bread you see orange flashes wisp over the baker's shoulder; the wall behind him is quickly filling with flames. Despite his best wishes to put out the fire, you decide to pull him out of the bakery.
[[Pull him out -> Pull him out]]The baker screams at you to stop pulling him out and his bakery collapses from the fire and it starts to rapidly spread to the buildings next to it due to them being so close together. People start scrambling to get buckets and begin filling them with water to douse the fire. The baker scolds you instead of thanking you and a group of angry townspeople gather around you. One of the people I spoke to in the shop turns on you and tells the crowd that you are a French Catholic and the crowd apprehends you with accusations that you started the fire in order to express your displeasure with the English faith. You can renounce your faith so that you will not get persecuted. Do you decide to renounce your Catholic faith or do you decide to proclaim you are a devout Catholic ?
[[Renounce -> Renounce]]
[[Proclaim -> Proclaim]]You tell the mob that you are French, but you are not a Catholic, so they decide to let you go. You return home to see a group of men standing outside your home as the fire approaches. They have heard the rumors that you are the Frenchman who “started” the fire at the bakery and they tell you that they are going to pull down your house because you are not important, and that they need to prevent the spread of the fire. As they tell your this, you remember that you have valuables locked up in a box in the house. Before they tear down your house, you have to make a decision. Do you help them tear your house down to win favor with them by preventing the fire from spreading or Do you attempt to go save your valuables?
[[Tear down the house -> Tear down the house]]
[[Save the Valuables -> Save the Valuables]] You stick true to your beliefs and exclaim that you are indeed a Catholic. The guard immediately grabs your arm and the crowd starts to yell obscenities at you while he leads you away from the scene as the fire rages on. The policeman leads you to the Tower of London and throws you into one of the prison cells. A guard drags you out of my cell and into a hall and brings you before Lord Chief Justice Kelynge as he decides to interrogate me himself. He tells you that he is short on men for putting out the fire and he tells you that if you participate, it will be considered in your trial, but fighting the fire will be dangerous. He tells you that your other option is to wait out the fire in your prison cell and go to your trial date to fight for your innocence. Do you choose to go help his men fight the fire or do you choose to await your trial in your prison cell?
[[Help the man -> Help the man]]
[[Wait for trial -> Wait for trial]]You helped the group pull down your house to stop the fire and also helped them put out sections of the fire in other places around this area of the city with buckets of water. They celebrate you as a hero of the community for helping do your part to put out the fire despite the fact that you're French and despite the accusations against you. The townspeople vouch for you when the guards appear to arrest you. The people of the community then help you build a new place to live.
[[Well Done -> Well Done]]Before your house is pulled down, you go back to retrieve all the valuables you can without having the house pulled down on top of you. You start digging through some of the rubble in your house to get to where the valuables are, but then you see a man holding a box of money that you keep and pieces of your wife’s expensive jewelry from France. You need that money to survive, especially since you will need a new place to live and you need to protect your wife’s expensive belongings. You need to make a decision on what to do. Do you yell for help and accuse the man of theft, do nothing and just get out so your house isn’t pulled down on top of you, or fight the man yourself and try to get your items back?
[[Yell -> Yell]]
[[Do nothing -> Do nothing]]
[[Fight -> Fight]]You size the man up, and quickly realize that you don’t stand a chance against him. “Thief!” You yell as you point towards him. People look at where you are pointing while the man quickly realizes that he has been caught. People from the street begin to run towards him, and in a panic he drops my valuables and sprints as fast as he can in the other direction. As you walk over to pick up your things, you see him turn a corner, with young men in pursuit. You can hear the townspeople shouting further down the streets, and continue to get the rest of your valuables, grateful that you can count on your city to help protect you.
[[ Well Done]] The man turns around and knows he’s been caught. The room he is standing in is totally engulfed in flames. You yell and tell him to drop it, but the roar of the fire is so loud your words die out not far from where they began. The building is so close to collapsing that you have to run back out into the streets. Only a fool would’ve gone back in to save his treasure at this point. As the building finally crashes to the ground you see the man running in the other direction, protected by the pile of burning rubble in front of you with the box full of my treasure in hand. You have no choice but to let him get away with your treasure as your path is blocked.
[[Death -> Death]]You quickly size the man up; he’s much bigger than you but seems to be in bad condition. His appearance suggests that he’s been around the fires all day as his skin and clothes have a thick layer of black ash. The fire had taken to his lungs as well, he coughed and appeared to struggle for breath at times. You know that you normally would have no chance against him, but you have the element of surprise on your side. You rush towards him and attack him, wrapping your arms hard around his torso as you bury your shoulder in his gut. You both fall to the ground, and as he gasps for air, he drops the stolen belongings. You reach to recover your things off of the ground, but then the thief gets up and takes out a knife he had hidden in his coat and stabs you in the chest. He pulls the knife out of you and takes your things and you watch as he runs off while you bleed out.
[[ Death -> Death]]The guards escort you to the portion of the fire that you will be helping to put out. You look around and see a building that is spitting flames up into the air with smoke pouring out of the windows. You're running to put out the fire when you see a little girl run into the burning house. There are so many people crowded around with chaos exploding around you and you're not sure anyone saw her go in. You scan the area, but you don’t see anyone around to go after her, so you ponder whether or not you should run after her. Do you go in after her, or do you just mind your business and wait for someone else to help her?
[[Save the girl -> Save the girl]]
[[Mind your buisness -> Mind your buisness]] You decide to await your trial in your prison cell. You decide that you will take your chances as you know that you are innocent and that the jury will find out the truth. What you do not know is that Lord Chief Justice Kelynge is under pressure to nail a culprit and since you are one of the prisoners he has collected, are a Catholic, and refused to help put the fire out, he sets his sights on you. Your trial day comes and you are inexplicably found guilty of setting the fire and you are set to be hanged at the gallows for your crimes, even though you did not commit them. The last thing you see is the crowd cheering and laughing as you hang from the noose.
[[Death -> Death]] Once you have made it inside of the building you quickly find the little girl. Smoke is filling the room, and you put your sleeve over your mouth to help you breathe better and look around for the little girl. You rush over to where you spot her standing, and you scoop her up in my arms and try to get us as low from the smoke as possible. You can hear her whimpering about something, but you're not sure you have the time for to listen to her. Will you take just a moment to listen to what the girl is saying, or will you hurry to get her out of this burning building?
[[Listen to what she says -> Listen to what she says]]
[[Get her out -> Get her out]]You think that someone else will go in after her, someone more qualified to handle this kind of situation. You see someone frantically looking through the crowd. You ask him if he’s looking for his daughter, he says yes, and as you're about to tell him the building she went into, it collapses. You look at him with fear in your eyes while he realizes what happened to his daughter. The man screams threats of violence at you, and the guards realize what has happened and you are taken back to my prison cell to await your trial. The day of your trial comes and the first man to speak as a witness against you is the man whose daughter died. His testimony is all the magistrate needs to send you to the gallows. You reflect on what you could’ve done differently as the noose swings in front of you.
[[Death -> Death]] You duck your head close to her face so you can make out the words that she is saying. She whispers something to you about a special toy that she cannot leave behind. You glance around the room and spot it sitting underneath a little table. No sooner do you swipe it and make your escape than the entire building falls down behind us. That was a close one. Her father runs over to you as soon as you make it out of the building, and with his gratitude he will help you prove your innocence.
[[ Well Done]] You decide that you do not want to make any rash decisions and that you can worry about what she was saying later. Once you get the little girl to safety, she hugs her dad and starts to cry and mentions a toy still in the house. Her dad starts to run towards the burning building, but you stop him and tell him that she can get a new toy. He tells you that the toy was the last thing her mother gave her before dying and that it is very special to the both of them. He says he is going back into the house with or without your help and starts to run to the doors of the building. You have to decide between either going in with him or telling him that you will look for it alone and risk your life instead of him risking his. Do you choose to go help the girl’s father look for her toy as a team or do you decide to go look for it alone?
[[Help find the toy -> Help find the toy]]
[[Find the toy alone -> Find the toy alone]] You run after him and on the way, he thanks you and you both enter the burning building. You find your way back to where you found the girl and you both decide to split up to make the search easier. You look around but cannot find it and you suddenly hear him yell that he has found it, so you run in and as you get to him he falls over. You pick him up with the toy and carry him safely out of the burning building before it collapses, saving the dad and the little girl’s toy. He wakes up and thanks me as he gives his daughter her toy, and she hugs him and they both cry. She then hugs you and thanks you for going in with her dad and saving him. He tells the guard that you saved him and his daughter and he tells me that you are now free.
[[ Well Done]] After searching the house, you are relieved to have finally found the little girl’s toy in the dining room. However as you get ready to leave the burning building, the ceiling collapses on you. You are still alive but you are trapped inside the house, you begin to cough as you can no longer breathe due to the smoke entering your lungs. You try to scream for help but nobody can hear you. You suffocate to death trapped inside the house.
[[Death -> Death]]Oh no traveler! You have gone and died!
Thats alright though! You can always try again... or jump to another time..
[[fire]]
[[theatre]]
[[poverty]]
[[Start]] Congragulations Traveler! You have completed your mission!
Would you like to try again? Or...
Try your luck in another place?
[[fire]]
[[theatre]]
[[Begin]]
[[Start]] Strapped for cash, you find yourself wandering in the busy street market... When an opportunity presents itself. You see a rich gentleman, walking and observing what the vendors have to offer. He’s got pockets full of cash, you just know it, as you notice the expensive watch on his wrist. Casually, you walk up behind him and bump into him. “Sorry, Sir!” you exclaim, and as you walk away you feel a twisted sense of pride. You’ve successfully pickpocketed this man, for his cash and jewelry. You’ll do anything to survive!
[[Spend Money In City]]
[[Spend Money In Country]]Through this struggle you’ve been facing, searching for money, a light at the end of the tunnel begins to show itself. You’ve been offered a position at the coffee house! Mopping floors isn’t exactly your dream profession, but it will help provide food, clothing, and shelter. Will you take it?
[[Turn Down Job]]
[[Mop Coffee House]]Uh-oh. You decide to spend your money in the city, but the shop owner has already heard from a young, wealthy woman a description of the person who had pickpocketed her. You are caught and ultimately hung for your crime.
[[Start]]With this money, you decide to run away to the country where you know that you’ll be less likely to get caught. You believe that life here will be much more simple than in the city, it is a new start! What do you do with the money?
[[Spend It On Food]]
[[Buy a Cow]]You unfortunately have turned down the job offered to you. You wish for an easier way to obtain money, and working for it is not in your cards. Due to you having no money, you start to get hungry and consider the option you had before.
[[Pickpocket]] You accept the job offered to you by the coffee house. The job entails you to mop the floors, wash the dishes, and do other duties that the coffee house requires of you. You are eventually given your pay, and so now you are presented with a dilemma:
[[Save Your Money]]
[[Spend Your Money]]The money is only enough to buy a few days worth of food, and you are unable to find work elsewhere to make any more money. There is no way to pickpocket in the country, and you are too weak and hungry to return to the city. You end up starving to death.
[[Start]] You've made it to the country! You meet a farmer who is selling some cattle. Without a second thought, you buy a cow knowing that it will be a good investment. However, what will you do with the cow?
[[Collect Milk From the Cow to Be Sold]]
[[Butcher the Cow For Food]]You have decided to sell milk from the cow and save money in order to live a good life. This path is full of many rewards. You soon meet the person of your dreams after moving to the country and made selling milk into a lucrative business. Kudos to you! You live happily ever after!
[[Start]] You have decided to butcher the cow for food. After a week you are out of food and left with no money. You haven’t eaten in weeks and have begun to drink water directly from the lake, you have an idea of how to gain money to buy food:
[[Pickpocket]]
[[New Job]] Congratulations! You have decided to save your money. You work and work until over time, you have gathered enough profit to be able to quit your job. You realize the city life is not for you, so you pack your things and move to the country
[[Spend Money In Country]]You have decided to spend your money. You buy useless items that you do not need. You have not planned out how to budget enough to get by, and have therefore resulted in less and less spent each day until you run out. This leads you to no money for food where you end up starving and almost dying. You don't want to starve and realize your only option is
[[Pickpocket]] You are sent back in time to live life as a person of the lower class following a loss of employment. You hope to find that a majority of people within your situation chose both morally correct and culturally acceptable methods in order to keep themselves and their families afloat. However, will you find that an individual will always do what is necessary to survive?
[[Begin]]