Byron, Keats, and Shelley, all members of the English Romantic movement of the 19th century, were mostly renowned for their lyrics and poetry. This form of encouraged construction begins with the source writers that Dejobaan Games extracted. It’s possible that Elegy’s strengths may not rely on encouraging fiction, but instead, on encouraging essaying and more personal forms of expression. A central question then emerges - is Elegy effective at generating raw fiction? Its goal to spark creation through a set of loose parameters for wide varieties of writers to take up keyboard (a pen hardly is helpful here) and write fiction.

With little guidance, Elegy exercises player-led creativity. This then begins to flow into the game’s few mechanics, which involve gently walking across sci-fi landscapes and interacting with specific node points. Players then write fiction based on either sample prompts or free form writing, all tied to interactive nodes based on a haunting science fiction landscape in the background. Pitched as “a game for writing fiction,” Elegy transports the player to a strange, far off star system, giving them the choice of three planets inspired by classical literary writers.

Dejobaan Games’ Kickstarted title Elegy for a Dead World finally released late December, much to the delight of literary gamers and possibly English teachers in search of a new creative writing exercise activity in their class.

Kings of a dead world