curious, are we?

What is improvitale?

Improvitale is an open ended au that does not follow one linear story. Heavily inspired by Portal, “The Backrooms” creepypasta and Corpse Party, all instances and arcs take place within a detached set of rooms that constantly move and change forms. This is referred to as "the Testing Chambers”, “the maze”, or “sandbox mode”, among a few others.

Like the creepypasta, the maze can only be accessed by no-clipping out of reality. Once you’re in, the only way out is to find a separate exit hidden within one of the rooms.

Similarly, the SAVE system has been tampered with so that, upon dying, you will automatically be teleported back to the beginning. And given the nature of the maze, the path to where you had previously walked will be completely changed.

What are “The Testing Chambers”?

The testing chambers are an amalgamation of landscapes, hallways, rooms, and even in-game-themed assets that appear as extremely unsettling yet nostalgic. Aside from plants, there is no sign of life. Most of them can be characterized by odd or dim lighting, uncanny imagery such as decrepit bedrooms or abandoned shops, and objects that seemingly defy the normal laws of physics and reality.

As the name implies, it is used for just that: testing. Once you enter, you are now a “beta runner” or “beta tester” until you find an exit.

How can more than one story exist at once?

Since improvitale takes place within a transitional plane of existence, reality is stuck between two or more uncertain points in time, and becomes extremely subjective to each viewer/reader. This way, each individual interpretation and sub-story become a new reality and are allowed to exist together.

So, what is the original “canon”?

There isn’t one. However, there are a lot of aspects that remain consistent. This mainly concerns the developer himself, and the general nature of the chamber’s existence. All of such information is being documented on his personal blog, @improvitale

Some things to note:

Although the chances of no-clipping into this place are extremely slim, you cannot die permanently so long as you’re in the maze. You are essentially trapped for eternity unless you can find the exit.

The testing chambers exist in a transitional liminal plane, making portals and other fast travel attempts/shortcuts extremely difficult. Doing so could land you in a completely different time, position, or even a different version of the maze entirely, thus losing your progress and items in your inventory.

Is there someone controlling the Testing Chambers?

Yes, the chambers are controlled by a single developer. He will be documented in a later masterpost.

Am I alone in the Testing Chambers?

Far from it. The code that makes up the walls of the maze are unencrypted. This makes it easy for viruses and other malware to infest and multiply within it. These viruses take the forms of parasite entities that you might encounter as you travel, each having pretty horrific forms of catching its prey. You may recognize some from the real world, but others can be viewer created, or even mutations of existing malware.

So… I've fallen into the maze. Now what?

Seems like you struck some bad luck. Fortunately, the developer of these chambers has added a few cheats to help the runners along. The two main ones are various “training videos” scattered about the maze, and “The Compendium”. The first training video is always located at the start of the maze, while The Compendium has a low spawn rate and frequently disappears to another location if it is not already in your inventory.

What is “The Compendium”?

The Compendium is a “bestiary” of sorts, which documents all known malware that have appeared within the maze. It details extensive knowledge about the creature’s stats, appearance, and ways to fight or escape, should you ever encounter it.

The Compendium itself is more of an e-book, with a touch screen search bar and keyboard on the first page. If a name is entered, it will display a page number that corresponds with that entry. If you try to flip through the book without searching first or flip to a page unrelated to the search, all pages will appear blank.

Due to it being electronic, The Compendium is consistently updated by the developer remotely as new entries are needed.