Second Person Feline
September 24, 2012 11:38 AM Subscribe
"You are a cat.
You don’t know your name, or where you are, or how you got there. You are sitting on a pile of clothes that smell familiar, and the room around you is quiet and dark." So begins A Stray In The Woods, an online collaborate comic/illustrated interactive fiction about being an amnesic cat. Take control of the story by suggesting things for the cat to do. [via mefi projects]
Cats usually tell me what to do and it is anatomically unpossible.
posted by srboisvert at 11:51 AM on September 24, 2012
posted by srboisvert at 11:51 AM on September 24, 2012
Given the history of the comic/interactive fiction crossover medium, it is extremely tempting to suggest “quickly retrieve paws from pile of laundry” as an action.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 11:52 AM on September 24, 2012 [5 favorites]
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 11:52 AM on September 24, 2012 [5 favorites]
Adorable.
posted by Rock Steady at 11:59 AM on September 24, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Rock Steady at 11:59 AM on September 24, 2012 [1 favorite]
The decision-making process here ("Gravity test no. 8!" mostly) is very familiar to this cat owner.
posted by carsonb at 12:02 PM on September 24, 2012
posted by carsonb at 12:02 PM on September 24, 2012
Fantastic. The art is really lovely.
posted by somanyamys at 12:02 PM on September 24, 2012
posted by somanyamys at 12:02 PM on September 24, 2012
TAKE ELVISH SWORD OF GREAT ANTIQUITY
posted by roger ackroyd at 12:03 PM on September 24, 2012
posted by roger ackroyd at 12:03 PM on September 24, 2012
Is there a towel involved? There should be a towel.
posted by HuronBob at 12:03 PM on September 24, 2012
posted by HuronBob at 12:03 PM on September 24, 2012
What do you do next?
Dang it. I wish I could contribute, but all I know about cats is their disdain for anything non-cat. Which, admittedly, wouldn't make for a compelling story.
posted by CancerMan at 12:05 PM on September 24, 2012
Dang it. I wish I could contribute, but all I know about cats is their disdain for anything non-cat. Which, admittedly, wouldn't make for a compelling story.
posted by CancerMan at 12:05 PM on September 24, 2012
A cheerful little bird is sitting here singing.
posted by Apocryphon at 12:06 PM on September 24, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Apocryphon at 12:06 PM on September 24, 2012 [1 favorite]
"I can't remember the sound that you found for me."
posted by Johnny Assay at 12:08 PM on September 24, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by Johnny Assay at 12:08 PM on September 24, 2012 [2 favorites]
They also disdain other cats typically.
This is fantastic, however, regardless.
I can't wait to see what comes up next!
posted by Imperfect at 12:09 PM on September 24, 2012
This is fantastic, however, regardless.
I can't wait to see what comes up next!
posted by Imperfect at 12:09 PM on September 24, 2012
I can't find a link to buy it online, but the Canadian poet Sherwin Tija released a Pick-A-Plot (choose your own adventure) book called 'You Are A Cat!' and it's pretty funny.
posted by sixswitch at 12:36 PM on September 24, 2012
posted by sixswitch at 12:36 PM on September 24, 2012
YOU FIND A LARGE CARDBOARD BOX WHICH IS OPEN AT THE TOP
>GET IN BOX
THERE IS A GRUE IN THE BOX
>EAT GRUE
THE GRUE HAS BEEN EATEN
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 12:50 PM on September 24, 2012 [9 favorites]
>GET IN BOX
THERE IS A GRUE IN THE BOX
>EAT GRUE
THE GRUE HAS BEEN EATEN
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 12:50 PM on September 24, 2012 [9 favorites]
Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish: "Given the history of the comic/interactive fiction crossover medium, it is extremely tempting to suggest “quickly retrieve paws from pile of laundry” as an action"
Let's just hope it doesn't come upon a lonely stump with an arrow sticking out of it.
posted by ArgentCorvid at 12:55 PM on September 24, 2012
Let's just hope it doesn't come upon a lonely stump with an arrow sticking out of it.
posted by ArgentCorvid at 12:55 PM on September 24, 2012
Seeing the pictures makes a big difference here. My first thought on reading the description above was "Wait, 'amnesiac'?" -- because "You don’t know your name, or where you are, or how you got there" seemed like just a fair summary of the feline condition. Cats pretty much live in the moment, and few if any cats know their names.
Looking at the pictures, though, I see that the cat actually seems surprised at this state of affairs, and that the "pile of clothes that smell familiar" is not, as I had assumed, a laundry heap large enough for a cat to use as bedding, but rather a single outfit lying on the floor of a dining room, looking distinctly out of place. The implication, then, is that you are a person who has been transformed into a cat, which puts the rest of the text into a new light: it's stopping just short of saying "You don't even know why you're a cat".
posted by baf at 12:56 PM on September 24, 2012 [6 favorites]
Looking at the pictures, though, I see that the cat actually seems surprised at this state of affairs, and that the "pile of clothes that smell familiar" is not, as I had assumed, a laundry heap large enough for a cat to use as bedding, but rather a single outfit lying on the floor of a dining room, looking distinctly out of place. The implication, then, is that you are a person who has been transformed into a cat, which puts the rest of the text into a new light: it's stopping just short of saying "You don't even know why you're a cat".
posted by baf at 12:56 PM on September 24, 2012 [6 favorites]
I suggest the cat jump in my lap and make purring noises while letting me pet it.
posted by Egg Shen at 1:01 PM on September 24, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by Egg Shen at 1:01 PM on September 24, 2012 [3 favorites]
Artw:
> sleep
> sleep more
> GROOM.
posted by Greg_Ace at 1:07 PM on September 24, 2012 [2 favorites]
> sleep
> sleep more
> GROOM.
posted by Greg_Ace at 1:07 PM on September 24, 2012 [2 favorites]
This is really gorgeous. I look forward to following it as it develops!
posted by harujion at 1:13 PM on September 24, 2012
posted by harujion at 1:13 PM on September 24, 2012
Neat! Someone I follow on deviantArt has been doing a comment-driven comic in the style of a survival horror adventure game: Alone.
posted by rivenwanderer at 1:15 PM on September 24, 2012
posted by rivenwanderer at 1:15 PM on September 24, 2012
Stunning artwork!
posted by NorthernAutumn at 1:16 PM on September 24, 2012
posted by NorthernAutumn at 1:16 PM on September 24, 2012
My cats know their names. How else would they know which noises to studiously ignore?
posted by Kitty Stardust at 1:27 PM on September 24, 2012
posted by Kitty Stardust at 1:27 PM on September 24, 2012
It's both cool and slightly disappointing to see that graphic choose-your-own adventure stories are already a thing.
I thought of the idea of a graphic CYOA earlier this year and briefly thought I'd come up with something new. But shoot, there's nothing new under the sun.
posted by Sleeper at 1:32 PM on September 24, 2012
I thought of the idea of a graphic CYOA earlier this year and briefly thought I'd come up with something new. But shoot, there's nothing new under the sun.
posted by Sleeper at 1:32 PM on September 24, 2012
rick
rick
rick if you don't submit suggestions im just gonna sit here all day
posted by delfin at 1:32 PM on September 24, 2012 [12 favorites]
rick
rick if you don't submit suggestions im just gonna sit here all day
posted by delfin at 1:32 PM on September 24, 2012 [12 favorites]
I thought of the idea of a graphic CYOA earlier this year and briefly thought I'd come up with something new.
Wasn't that Tom Hanks' pitch in BIG?
posted by carsonb at 1:36 PM on September 24, 2012 [1 favorite]
Wasn't that Tom Hanks' pitch in BIG?
posted by carsonb at 1:36 PM on September 24, 2012 [1 favorite]
Really a beautiful comic, and I can't wait to see what happens next. In fact, I'm going to make a suggestion now.
posted by happyroach at 8:57 PM on September 24, 2012
posted by happyroach at 8:57 PM on September 24, 2012
This is fantastic. I love the mix of beautiful art and text-adventure storyline. I missed this on Projects and am really glad I got to see it now!
posted by jessypie at 11:45 AM on September 25, 2012
posted by jessypie at 11:45 AM on September 25, 2012
Wasn't that Tom Hanks' pitch in BIG?
Ha! Another movie everyone else has seen but me.
posted by Sleeper at 9:15 PM on September 25, 2012
Ha! Another movie everyone else has seen but me.
posted by Sleeper at 9:15 PM on September 25, 2012
This is precious. Also, no one has made the cat cry yet.
posted by Gable Oak at 4:39 AM on September 26, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Gable Oak at 4:39 AM on September 26, 2012 [1 favorite]
There is a cheezburger nearby.
> GET CH
You has teh cheezburger.
> EAT CH
Nom nom nom nom.
posted by ostranenie at 8:03 PM on September 26, 2012
> GET CH
You has teh cheezburger.
> EAT CH
Nom nom nom nom.
posted by ostranenie at 8:03 PM on September 26, 2012
« Older Ben Krasnow builds neat things. | Leaving Moscow Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
/leaves off suggesting SPRAY and VOMIT as wys of determining cat gender and last meal.
posted by Artw at 11:49 AM on September 24, 2012 [1 favorite]