A Midsummer Night’s Choice

A Midsummer Night’s Choice is an interactive fiction game where players assume the role of a noble fleeing an arranged marriage into an enchanted forest, navigating a whimsical Shakespearean comedy filled with mistaken identities, fairy outlaws, romance options, and encounters with supernatural beings, all influenced by their decisions.

A Midsummer Night’s Choice: Review

1. Introduction

In the ever-evolving landscape of interactive fiction, few games manage to marry literary ambition with playful accessibility as seamlessly as A Midsummer Night’s Choice. Released in 2016 by Choice of Games LLC, this 190,000-word interactive fantasy novel stands as a bold pastiche of Shakespearean comedies, masterfully weaving tropes from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, As You Like It, and The Winter’s Tale into a player-driven narrative. As a scion fleeing an arranged marriage into an enchanted forest, you navigate cross-dressing disguises, fairy outlaws on armored baby bunnies, and mystical romance—all through the elegant simplicity of text-based choices. This review posits that A Midsummer Night’s Choice succeeds not merely as an homage but as a revitalization of interactive fiction, demonstrating how constrained mechanics can fuel boundless creativity while inviting both literary scholars and casual players into its whimsical embrace.

2. Development History & Context

A Midsummer Night’s Choice emerged from the ethos of Choice of Games LLC, a studio founded in 2009 that championed accessibility in interactive fiction. Utilizing the proprietary ChoiceScript engine—designed to democratize game creation for non-programmers—the project was helmed by Kreg Segall, an Associate Professor of English at Regis College with two decades of live role-playing design experience. Segall’s academic background in Renaissance literature directly informed the game’s Shakespearean DNA.

The 2016 release occurred during a resurgence of text-based games on Steam and mobile platforms, where Choice of Games carved a niche with “multiple-choice interactive novels.” The studio’s model—offering free trials with paid unlocks—allowed Midsummer to reach broad audiences across Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, and even browsers. Technologically, ChoiceScript’s simplicity enabled Segall to focus on narrative density without graphical constraints, though this also meant the game relied entirely on player imagination—a bold stance in an increasingly visual industry. The development team, including artist Nilah Magruder and 24 beta testers, refined Segall’s sprawling vision, ensuring the game’s complex state-tracking and branching narrative remained cohesive.

3. Narrative & Thematic Deep Dive

The narrative unfolds as a “comedy most lamentable and excellent,” thrusting you into the shoes of the Duke of Upper Fogsworth’s rebellious child. After escaping an arranged marriage to Prenzie, the court fool, you flee cross-dressed into an enchanted forest, setting in motion a cascade of mistaken identities, supernatural encounters, and romantic entanglements. Key plot beats include:
– Mistaken Identities: Your doppelganger and encounters with the enigmatic Maroon Knight create comedic misunderstandings echoing As You Like It.
– Fairy Antics: Spenser’s The Faerie Queene inspires fairy “outlaws” who wield walnut-shell helmets and ride armored bunnies, blending whimsy with menace.
– Play-within-a-Game: In a meta-theatrical twist, you perform in a scripted play, blurring the line between player and performer.

Thematic richness lies in its exploration of parental authority versus personal autonomy (“the parent with their own idea about the child’s love life”), the folly of rigid social hierarchies, and Shakespeare’s maxim that “the course of true love never did run smooth.” Segall’s dialogue crackles with iambic pentameter and period-appropriate humor—”excellent” and “lamentable” become recurring refrains—while romance options (gay, straight, bi) and roleplaying paths (jester, diplomat, poet) ensure thematic inclusivity. Critically, the narrative avoids mere parody; instead, it uses Shakespearean tropes as a lens for modern themes of identity and love, with the “inexplicable bear” symbolizing the chaos of uncontrolled passion.

4. Gameplay Mechanics & Systems

Midsummer’s gameplay is a masterclass in minimalist design. All interaction occurs through point-and-select text choices, with no graphics or sound, forcing players to visualize the world—a design choice that mirrors Shakespeare’s reliance on imagination. Core systems include:
– RPG-Style State Tracking: Hidden attributes (e.g., Nobility, Charm, Agility) influence success rates. Attempting daring feats only succeeds if your prior choices aligned with those skills, creating meaningful replayability.
– Branching Narratives: With dozens of endings, choices shape relationships (e.g., romancing Morgan or the Faerie Queene), career paths (courtier or fairy court defector), and tone (noble deeds vs. slapstick).
– Achievement System: Steam’s “Bear it Tamely” and “The Arbor of Healing” rewards encourage exploration, though some players noted stat-grinding for optimal outcomes.

While ChoiceScript’s simplicity streamlined development, it also limited innovation—pacing is turn-based, and UI is utilitarian. Yet this purity aligns with the game’s literary goals, prioritizing prose over action. As Segall quipped, “game output is purely textual,” turning constraint into creative strength.

5. World-Building, Art & Sound

The enchanted forest serves as a character itself, blending Shakespeare’s rustic settings with fantastical elements. Segall evokes the “untamed forest” through vivid descriptors: “dappled sunlight,” “moss-covered stones,” and the “rustle of walnut helmets.” The absence of traditional art forces players to co-create the world, a choice that heightens immersion for literate audiences. Sound design is equally minimal—relying on textual cues like “the thunderous roar of pursuing guards” or “the delicate chime of fairy bells.”

Nilah Magruder’s chapter-heading illustrations (e.g., a bear chase, a fairy steed) provide rare visual anchors, but the game’s true artistry lies in its linguistic tapestry. Shakespearean flourishes (“prithee,” “forsooth”) coexist with modern snark, and Segall’s descriptions of fairy battles (“tiny knights jousting on bunnies”) are both absurd and poetic. The result is a world that feels both timeless and refreshingly original, where absence of visuals amplifies the power of language.

6. Reception & Legacy

Upon release, Midsummer was lauded for its writing and inclusivity. TouchArcade awarded it 80/100, praising its “absurd tone” and “satisfying” plot, while players on Steam and IFDB rated it highly (86/100 on Steambase). Positive reviews highlighted Segall’s humor (“laughing through a good section”) and LGBTQ+ representation, though some critics like MathBrush felt it “missed too many good opportunities” from Shakespeare, lamenting the absence of Bottom-esque buffoonery. Commercially, it thrived in Choice of Games’ ecosystem, with cross-platform sales and a free trial model boosting its reach.

Legacy-wise, Midsummer expanded interactive fiction’s audience, proving literary games could be commercially viable. It influenced subsequent Choice of Games titles (e.g., Choice of the Deathless) and inspired developers to blend literary references with player agency. Academically, it serves as a case study in adapting canonical texts for digital media, while its free-to-play model became a template for narrative games on mobile. As Segall noted, Shakespeare “did it all the time”—and so too did Midsummer, creating a new chapter in interactive storytelling.

7. Conclusion

A Midsummer Night’s Choice is a triumph of form and function, demonstrating that text-based games can be as rich and resonant as their graphically intensive counterparts. Its Shakespearean pastiche is lovingly crafted, its systems elegantly simple, and its world vividly imagined—proving that imagination, not pixels, drives the best narratives. While some may desire deeper integration of Shakespearean tropes, the game’s strength lies in its accessibility and replayability, offering a portal to both the Bard’s world and the limitless potential of interactive fiction. In an era dominated by AAA spectacles, A Midsummer Night’s Choice stands as a testament to the enduring power of words, choices, and the “vast, unstoppable power of your imagination.” It is not merely a game but a celebration of interactive storytelling—a delightful frolic in the forest of narrative possibilities.