An browser-based interactive fiction experience built with Twine 2 and the SugarCube 2 story format. Gaming the Great Plague explores the 1665-1666 Great Plague of London. Players navigate through the story by making choices that shape the narrative.
Jessica Otis, Stephanie Grimm, Alexandra Miller, Nathan Sleeter
Either
- Navigate to the live version of this game via https://1665plague.rrchnm.org
- Download or clone this repository, then open
GamingtheGreatPlague.htmlin any modern web browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge). No installation, server, or internet connection is required — the game is entirely self-contained in a single HTML file.
$socio — The most impactful variable in the entire game. Determines economics (0d to 17,600d/month income), household composition (0 to 12 servants), flee options (beggars can't flee at all; nobles pay 10,000d), available jobs (plague work forced on lower classes), starting reputation (0–10), and narrative events. Every system checks social class.
$location / $parish — Controls when plague arrives (May vs July 1665 — a 2-month difference) and how likely infection is each month via historically-accurate parish-specific rates. Two players in different parishes can face 1-in-23 vs 1-in-335 infection odds in the same month.
$age / $agenum — The age-16 threshold divides dependent children from autonomous adults. Gates marriage, pregnancy, communion, military service, and church office. Children and elderly have the most distinctive experiences (dependent narratives vs. monthly death risk).
$gender — Gates military service (female must disguise), plague work roles (female: searcher/nurse; male: corpsebearer/warder), pregnancy (female only), church office (male only), and impressment protection (female immune).
$religion — Non-Church of England members (< 1% of characters) face a persistent 48d/month fine and -1 reputation drain. Quakers additionally can't volunteer for the Navy. Catholics get unique devotional events. Church office requires Church of England membership.
$relationship — Shapes initial household (single: parents + siblings; married: spouse + children). Only married women can become pregnant during gameplay. Servant living arrangements depend on it (single servants live with master).
$origin — Almost entirely cosmetic. Affects NPC name pools (5x cultural boosts for Irish, Scottish, Dutch, French names) and flee destination text. The one mechanical effect: foreign-born characters (Dutch Republic, France, elsewhere) can escape naval impressment. Players from "English countryside" (~80% of characters) get the baseline experience with no special mechanics.