Example for freeform play. (long)

[Jack Spencer Jr]

This will require a little set-up. Stay with me here.

First of all, I'm no angel. I don't think that's any secret.... I had originally talked frankly about the nature of the excerp below, but I decded not to waste space with that. The adult nature of the rest of the conversation below is neither here nor there for our purposes and those elements are shown in the quote below. Suffice to say that I did get permission from persons involved to share this with you and I did change the names to protect the innocent and to provide an homage to the surfer music act of all time. This is a fantasy of sorts about a princess kidnapped by an evil prince with dark powers etc, etc, etc. This portion resembles a good old-fashioned dungeon crawl in an honest-to-Phil dungeon.

This is freeforming at its purest so look at how it flows, how the narrative is built and how snags and inconsistencies are glossed over or repaired to keep things flowing. Keep in mind these are just regular folks. Not gamers or actors. They didn't read any book of rules to do this. The basically learned by doing. The typos are all theirs. For at least one of them English is a second language. Maybe we can gain some understanding about freeforming from this. Such is my intention

Dean says: Suddenly, I cry out in frustration. "This is not working!" I kick ou ass and spit on you. You hear me storm of, my footfalls loud on the stone floor. After a few moments, while you are wondering what had happened, you bond unlock. You fall to the floor. As you pick yourself up, dazed, you notice that the door to this room is slightly ajar.

Jan says: graping the torn dress of the floor i hold it against my body and peer out the door

Dean says: The corridor is dark and silent as a tomb.

Jan says: rubbing my ass now - that kick was nasty and wipe the spittle of my face - smurking "what an animal" - peering out, trying hard to see

Dean says: You see nothing in the dark. Somewhere, distant, something screams.

Jan says: moving silently along the wall - hearing screaming

Jan says: eyes darting in all directions

Dean says: You hear water dripping, a steady rhythm

Jan says: listening at the screaming - is that animal or human darts thu my mind and then drip, drip, drip - i hear water

Jan says: going towards it, along the wall keeping flat against it

Dean says: You find water dripping from the ceiling, forming a small puddle on the floor.

Jan says: dip my finger into it

Jan says: and smell it and taste it

Jan says: aside note>did i piss you off, earlier?

Dean says: It is clean water

Dean says: side note> what do you mean?

Jan says: when you left and kicked my ass

Dean says: You shall see.

Jan says: Oh Dean - don't do that - i'm asking you are you happy with the progress so far

Dean says: I am. Continue. This is getting interesting.

Jan says: ok - straighting my bitch princess shoulders and notice it's clean water and look up and wonder if a stream and an opening could be around here

Dean says: The corridor meets at a T up ahead.

Jan says: sneeking forward - watching and listening - feet leaving tracks behind me, stepped into the water

Jan says: wondering with side to take - looking left and then to the right, peering into the corridors

Jan says: which  even

Dean says: You reach the intersection when you hear a noise behind you.

Jan says: freeze and push into the wall, eyes intense and towards the noise

Dean says: All is silent again, except for the dripping which seems like a tidal wave.

Jan says: looking again left and then right - which one to take is hard decision, decide on the left one since it looks less dark and endless and step forward, into it and again creep along the wall with my torn garment clutched before me

Jan says: still hearing the dripping

Dean says: you creep along and you hear something splash into the puddle behind you.

Jan says: stop deathstill and listen - heart in my mouth

Dean says: You hear a low growl, like a tiger's come from behind

Jan says: shreak from my mouth and i start running

Dean says: A roar now and the heavy breathing of something pursuing you.

Jan says: i run like i have never run before, my heart is pumping and i hear myself breathing heavy - adrinilin flowing

Dean says: Ahead the corridor is blocked by an iron gate.

Jan says: hear the roar and run even faster and in the darkness ahead is the gate ......

Jan says: death silence now - i hear my heart bumping - up against the gate now - melting into it - eyes wide and staring

Dean says: To one side you notice a small door in the wall.

Jan says: stick my foot out to test if it's open

Dean says: The door creeks and moves slightly.

Jan says: i scrabble low and shove myself through it, pushing and pulling my body through the opening

Jan says: shoving the door open with my head

Dean says: The ceiling inside the door is low. You have to crawl on your hands and knees.                                  

Jan says: i start coughing - and waving at the dustclouds, i am raising

Jan says: gave a shove to the door behind me and slammed it shut and heard a lock snap in

Jan says: sign of relief and i am crawling forward

Dean says: You crawl through the tunnel, which is angled up steeply. Behind you, you hear frustrated roaring. A paw nearly as wide as the tunnel forces its way in. The cawls snag the hem of your dress.

Dean says: Bursting open the wooden door.

Jan says: f y cheater

Dean says: (not my fault you closed the door just as I was typing that)  

Jan says: i drop the dress from my hands and leave it to the paw and scabble forward now, naked

Dean says: The paws drags the dress out and you hear it being torn to pieces.

Dean says: Up ahead you see bright light.

Jan says: the tearing sound just goes through me - chills down my back and ah .. there is a light - peering at it - what can it be - eyes not adjusted to the bright glare

Dean says: You crawl up and find yourself blinking into sunlight.