a strange voyage
This is one of my favorite new Twitter bots: @str_voyage, by @joebaxterwebb. It tells the story of a sea-going community, and what they encounter.
What impresses me the most here is the effectiveness of the storytelling. Entries seldom feel robot: the repetition that is there feels like the rhythms of the voyage rather than the tick of the machine. Characters emerge as if from a fog and recede again: elders telling stories, children playing pretend. Strange sailors, deserted towns, lost islands. The cry of a sea-bird.
I think that one reason why it works is the sheer variety of different things to talk about: each message is unique among its neighbors. It also uses cycles and events to give a sense of time, as sunset is followed by the stars emerging, or a storm engulfs the ship. Though the most important aspect may be the framing: a voyage brings a narrative along with it, and even brief entries can be evocative and in-character.
The bot feels like Earthsea, like The Quiet Year, like one of
Marshall Miller’s Dungeon World starters: community, poetic vignettes, and the sea.