🎮 Year 9 · Games Design · Lesson 3

Twinery — Your Companion Guide

Play The Chattenator first — then follow the lesson!

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Slide 1 of 10
🎮 Slide 1Play The Chattenator first!
🐺
🎮 Play first!

The Chattenator — Text Adventure

🎮 Before the lesson — play this game! This is exactly the type of game you'll build in Twinery today. Read the story and click your choice. Watch the right panel — it shows you the Python code running as you play! 🐍
🐺 The Chattenator — Text Adventure v1.0
Live Python Code
Loading game…
💭 After playing — think about this How many endings are there? What choice leads to winning? This branching structure is exactly what Twinery passages do!
✅ Check
  • I played The Chattenator at least once
  • I found at least one way to WIN
  • I watched the code panel on the right and noticed it change
Page 1 of 10Slide 1
📽 Slide 2What is Twinery?
👀
Watch your teacher on the boardYou'll see a demo of Twinery. Read this page to help it make sense.
🎮
What is it?

Twinery — The Big Picture

🎮 Twinery in one sentence Twinery is a free tool that lets you build text-based adventure games — games where the player reads a story and chooses what happens next. No complex coding needed!
👀
What you'll see on the boardA grid of linked boxes called passages. Each passage is one "room" or moment in your story. Arrows connect them — those are your player's choices.
🏆 Today's goal (KO) All of you: Use Twinery to create a text-based adventure game.
Most of you: Transfer your plan from last lesson into a working game.
Some of you: Test a partner's game and give specific, constructive feedback.
✅ Check you understand
  • I know Twinery is used to make text adventure games
  • I understand a "passage" is one scene or room in my game
  • I know that arrows in Twinery = choices the player can make
Page 2 of 10Slide 2
📽 Slide 3Brainstorm your idea
🟦
Do this in LessonUpType your ideas into the LessonUp activity on the board.
💡
Brainstorm

Come Up With Your Game Idea

💡 The task Think of as many ideas as you can for a text-based adventure game. What's the setting? Who is the player? What choices will they face?
⚠️
Keep it simple!

Your game only needs 5–8 passages for now. Don't plan a 50-room epic — start small, get it working, then add more if you have time.

🎯 Stuck for ideas? Click a scenario below!Pick one and use it as your starting point.
👻
Haunted School
Locked in school after dark. Strange things are happening...
🚀
Space Escape
Your spacecraft is failing. Can you fix it and survive?
🌲
Lost in the Forest
A walk goes wrong. Which path takes you home?
💎
Museum Heist
Thief or guard — tonight's the night everything changes.
🧟
Zombie Apocalypse
Mansfield's gone quiet — too quiet. Find survivors.
✍️
My Own Idea
I've got my own story — click for planning tips.
👻 Haunted School — Starter PassagesStart: Locked in school. Lights flicker. Something upstairs...

Choice 1 → Go upstairs
Choice 2 → Head to the caretaker's office

Endings: Escape through a window / It was just the caretaker's cat / Trapped forever
🚀 Space Escape — Starter PassagesStart: Alarm blaring. Oxygen at 40%. Fix the ship — fast.

Choice 1 → Head to the engine room
Choice 2 → Send a distress signal first

Endings: Fix it alone / Get rescued / Run out of oxygen
🌲 Lost in the Forest — Starter PassagesStart: Phone dead. Getting dark. Two paths ahead.

Choice 1 → Follow the sound of water
Choice 2 → Climb a tree to look around

Endings: Find a road / Find a stranger's cabin / Get more lost
💎 Museum Heist — Starter PassagesStart: Museum closes. You're inside — thief or guard?

Choice 1 → Check the CCTV
Choice 2 → Head straight to the vault

Endings: Successful heist / Caught red-handed / Unexpected discovery
🧟 Zombie Apocalypse — Starter PassagesStart: Mansfield is silent. Movement near the retail park...

Choice 1 → Check it out — survivors?
Choice 2 → Barricade the doors

Endings: Find a safe group / Rescue someone / Make a terrible mistake
✍️ Planning Your Own Idea1. Where? What's the setting?
2. Who? Who is the player?
3. What's the problem? What danger or mystery must they solve?

Once you've got those three, your first passage almost writes itself!
✅ Check before moving on
  • I have an idea (setting + problem)
  • I've typed some ideas into LessonUp
  • I've kept it simple — 5 to 8 passages max
Page 3 of 10Slide 3
📽 Slide 4Demo — Watch the Teacher
👀
Watch your teacher on the boardUse this page to follow along and remember the steps.
📺
Demo

Three Things to Learn

👀 Watch for these three thingsYour teacher will show each one. Use the notes below to remember them.
① Naming your passages
What to do
Double-click a passage box to open it. The top field is its name — this is what you type in [[ ]] to link to it.E.g. name it "The Corridor" or "Forest Path"
Why it matters
The name must exactly match your link — including capitals and spaces.[[Door 1]] links to "Door 1" only — not "door 1" or "Door1"
② Linking passages with [[double brackets]]
The syntax
Type a passage name inside double square brackets to create a clickable link.[ ] keys — double up: [[like this]]
Example
You are stuck at a door.
[[Door 1]]
[[Door 2]]
// Each [[link]] = a clickable choice
③ Testing your game
How to test
Click the Build menu → Test. Opens your game in a new tab so you can play it.
What to check
Do all links work? Does every path reach an ending?Broken links show as red arrows — hover to see the problem.
✅ I've understood the demo
  • I know how to name a passage
  • I know the link syntax — [[passage name]]
  • I know how to test using Build → Test
Page 4 of 10Slide 4
📽 Slide 5Open Twinery
🎮
Open Twinery nowThe link is on the board in LessonUp.
🚀
Get started

Setting Up Twinery

📋 Step-by-step1. Click the Twinery link in LessonUp.
2. Click "+ New" to create a new story.
3. Give your story a name.
4. Double-click the first passage ("Untitled Passage") to open it.
💡
Your first passage = the start

The passage with the rocket icon 🚀 is where your game begins. Write your opening scene here!

📝 Example openingThe corridors are dark. The last bus left an hour ago and somehow — you're still here.

[[Try the main exit]]
[[Head to the caretaker's office]]
✅ Check
  • Twinery is open in a new tab
  • I've created a new story and named it
  • I've opened my first (starting) passage
Page 5 of 10Slide 5
📽 Slide 6Build Your Game!
🎮
Work in TwineryUse this page if you get stuck.
🔨
Build time

Create Your Text Adventure

✅ The order that worksStep 1: Write your opening passage + first 2 choices
Step 2: Twinery auto-creates linked passages — double-click each to write content
Step 3: Each passage = another choice OR an ending
Step 4: Test as you go — Build → Test
📖 Quick Reference — Twinery Syntax
Link to passage
[[Passage Name]]Creates a clickable link. Name must match exactly.
Custom link text
[[Go left|Left Path]]Player sees "Go left" but it links to "Left Path"
Bold text
**bold text**Wrap in double asterisks
New paragraph
Press Enter twiceOne Enter = line break. Two = paragraph gap.
⚠️ Common mistakes❌ Wrong capitals: [[door 1]] won't link to "Door 1"
❌ Extra spaces: [[Door 1 ]] breaks the link
❌ No ending: Every path needs a dead end passage
❌ Too complex: 5 passages that work beats 20 that don't
💡 Stuck writing? Try these starters
✅ Building checklist
  • My opening passage is written with at least 2 choices
  • I've written content in at least 3 passages
  • At least one path leads to an ending
  • I've tested — Build → Test — and it works
  • No broken red arrows on the map
Page 6 of 10Slide 6
📽 Slide 7Fixing Problems
🔧
Back in TwineryUse this if something isn't working.
🔧
Troubleshoot

When Things Go Wrong

🐛 Common Problems and Fixes
🔴 Red arrow
Problem: Broken link — name doesn't match
Fix: Check spelling, capitals and spaces match exactly
🔗 Link not clickable
Problem: Single brackets [like this] instead of [[double]]
Fix: Edit the passage and add the missing bracket
📄 Empty passage
Problem: Auto-created passage has no content
Fix: Double-click it on the map and write something
🏁 No ending
Problem: Path goes on forever
Fix: Add a final passage with no links — just a sentence ending the story
💡
Top tipIf really stuck, add a simple "You chose poorly. Game over." passage. A complete game beats a broken one!
✅ Fixed
  • No red arrows on my map
  • All paths lead somewhere
  • I can play start to finish in test mode
Page 7 of 10Slide 7
📽 Slide 8Game Testing
🟦
Feedback goes in LessonUpPlay your partner's game in Twinery, then write feedback into LessonUp.
🕹️
Peer Feedback

Test a Partner's Game

📋 How this works1. Your partner loads their game into test mode.
2. Play their game — try all paths, find all endings.
3. Write feedback into LessonUp using the structure below.
⚠️ What makes feedback useful?"It was good" tells them nothing. Be specific — say exactly what you noticed and why.
💡 Sentence starters for LessonUp
✅ Feedback checklist
  • I played my partner's game and tried multiple paths
  • I wrote a specific positive point
  • I wrote an improvement with a suggestion on how to fix it
  • I entered my feedback into LessonUp
Page 8 of 10Slide 8
📽 Slide 9Publish & Submit
🟦
Submit via TeamsFollow these steps carefully.
📤
Submit

Publish Your Game to a File

📤 Step-by-step — Publishing
Step 1
In Twinery, go back to the story map (click ← Back top left)
Step 2
Click the Build menu
Step 3
Select "Publish to File" — downloads your game as an HTML file
Step 4
Find it in your Downloads folder and upload to Teams
💡
What does the file look like?An .html file anyone can open in a browser and play — no Twinery needed!
⚠️ Don't forget!Test your game one last time before publishing — check all links work and every path reaches an ending.
✅ Submission checklist
  • Final test done — all links work
  • Clicked Build → Publish to File
  • Found the .html file in Downloads
  • Uploaded to the Teams assignment
Page 9 of 10Slide 9
⚡ Slide 10Finished early? Challenge time!
🎉
Game submitted! Now push yourself further.
⚡
⚡ Extension

Level Up Your Game

🏆 Extension Challenges — choose any
🌿 Add a branch
A third choice from your start with at least 2 new passages.
😱 3 endings
Good, bad, and one surprising unexpected ending.
✍️ Better writing
Go back and add sounds, smells, feelings — make the player feel there.
🔄 Loop back
A wrong choice sends the player back to try again.
🎨 Custom links
[[Run fast|Forest Path]] — dramatic choice text that links to a passage name.Makes choices feel more exciting!
⚡ Extension checklist
  • I added at least one new branch or passage
  • My game has 3 or more distinct endings
  • I improved my writing in at least 2 passages
  • I re-published and re-uploaded my improved version
Page 10 of 10Slide 10
Y9 Computing — Garibaldi School  |  Games Design · Lesson 3 — Twinery & The Chattenator