An internship with Night Vale Community Radio is an incredibly rewarding, absolutely unforgettable experience… if you manage not to get killed, that is. The intern death toll has become the stuff of legends and one of the best recurring jokes on Welcome to Night Vale, yet people just keep signing up! And now, here’s your chance.
Game designer, writer, and podcaster Astrid Dalmady has created Investigative Journalism, a Twine game that casts you as a Night Vale intern on a portentous assignment: The News has gone missing, and it’s your job to track it down.
While it’s a fan-made game, Investigative Journalism possesses many of the hallmarks of Night Vale: Clever wording (I find the puns about The News especially amusing, writing for the Internet and all), a tour through Night Vale’s eeriest locations (including the Public Library—actually, on second thought, better not—and the Dog Park), and cameos from Old Woman Josie and the angels (who are definitely not angels) giving you clues along the way. There’s even a break for the weather!
The Night Vale voice shines through well in the different memorial slides depending on which awful fate befell poor Intern You. Because you will get dragged into the underground city beneath Lane 5 at the Desert Flower Bowling Alley and Arcade Fun Complex, or get offed by The News itself if you don’t take the proper measures.
Unlike other choose-your-own-adventure games, in which you have to start at the very beginning after taking the wrong path, Investigative Journalism is much more forgiving; you usually only backtrack a step or two. The game could use with a few more twists and turns, and more chances to get lost in Night Vale—the fandom is proof that people would be more than happy spending all their time there. That said, it still makes for a really entertaining fifteen minutes filled with sly commentary on The News and the chase after a good story.
I keep hearing about Night Vale but I have no idea where to find it or where to start.
Someone give a nerd a hand, please?
@1 You can find Welcome to Night Vale on iTunes, or pretty much any podcast app–you can find some direct links on their homepage. As for where to start, that’s a bit trickier. There are almost 80 episodes (roughly 20-30 minutes each). The first 20-ish of those are mostly world-building, and have less obvious continuity than the later episodes, but still lay some important ground work for the series. If you just want to get a feel for the show, I’d say start with either Episode 10, “Feral Dogs” or Episode 15, “Street Cleaning Day”. They also have a new book, but I’d strongly advise not starting there; I’d imagine the numerous allusions they make to the podcast episodes would be tedious and confusing for newcomers.
To the friends and family of intern [name], our deepest condolences, yada yada, etc. He/she will be missed. Anyway …
#1 @LaBelleGigi – I started at the beginning last year (I hate starting anything in the middle), but in this case those are pretty good places to start. At the very latest I’d suggest Episode 25, “One Year Later”, or the two part Episode 19, “The Sandstorm”. Both of those introduce some important elements of the story. There are some episodes I’d say could be skipped, but that’s strictly a matter of opinion. I’ll just say that if you find one you don’t like, keep listening. Those are generally few and far between.
The first episode is surprisingly shaky, so I would say go back to that after listening to the second one.
Also there is a novel, which I did not like but which might work better if you don’t know anything about the world yet.
@@.-@ katenepveu
Interestingly, I had suggested above not reading the book if you’re not already familiar with the world; I mostly like the parts of the book that pertain to the actual plot, but perhaps I am just annoyed by the numerous haphazard worldbuilding bits because I’m already familiar with those elements through the show.
Anyway, I agree that newcomers should skip the pilot, or at least commit to listening to a few additional episodes before deciding whether to continue; like most vaguely experimental shows, they take a few tries to get their footing.