Side Quest

Side Quest is a text based video game that I started developing in mid 2023. I had just been laid off and was struggling mentally because I associated so much of my self-worth with work, productivity, and achievements. During this period I was able to recognize how important life is outside of work and how as humans, we often forget to just happily exist. 

Summary: The Player stumbles across a quiet village and quickly learns it’s been plagued by an unearthly disease. After meeting some of the locals, the Player traces the source of the disease to a nearby forest where they meet Otium, a seemingly innocent and young boy who just wants to play. After a brief encounter, the player learns that Otium is the God of Play and Leisure and he is the one responsible for cursing the village with the disease. His reason: there once was a time where the children of the village would come out into the forest and play. They would sing, dance, and laugh and it made him strong, but as the children grew up they forgot about him. Now all they do is work.

The Player is given a choice: Side with Otium, destroy all of the humans who wronged him and be rewarded with immense power, or protect the people of the village–the player’s home, and defeat the Child God.