Mike Rossmassler, Sean Bouchard and I worked all last semester on a prototype which allows users to explore a 4 dimensional story-space and edit together a narrative from the events.
We now have a digital version of our prototype available online! Here's the site:
http://undefinedbehavior.com/cache/index.php
We're constantly revising it... I'll post here whenever anything significant changes.
Now that I'm putting this up for grabs, there are a few things I'd like to mention about it.
First, this is a strange prototype in that the "game" is almost secondary. We're most interested in discovering ways to make this form of storytelling/finding accessible and engaging, and therefore ANY ideas are welcome, even if they change the method of interaction completely.
Second, the CacheBook is a stepping stone to another project, a more fluid form which would allow you to use a roaming camera and time controls to discover a story. Sean and I are interested, however, in whether or not there's some way for this form of story (discrete bits of narrative arranged as a block of space and time) to stand on it's own.
Third, there's the issue of our first Cachebook story, "Control". Mike Rossmassler and I deliberately wrote this story as a puzzle and a mystery. Even though you have access to all events on the ship, the story is built in such a way that it will take several playthroughs to understand the nuances of everything that's happening. More importantly, a lot of essential information is hidden in "empty" spaces... you will find essential information about the characters and setting in areas where no action is taking place.
What we're looking for right now is feedback and suggestions of all kinds... thoughtful, brutal, honest, flippant, whatever you can muster. But above and beyond that, we're looking for you to try this game out and enjoy it.