#teahousegame

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Teahouse of the Gods is a 250,000-word interactive novel by Naca Rat. It's entirely text-based, without graphics or sound effects, and fueled by the vast, unstoppable power of your imagination.

After one night at "The Teahouse" on Mount Qingcheng in Sichuan, China, you wake with the ability to perceive and manipulate spiritual energy, known as qi. Now, you can see gods and monsters that ordinary people can't, and you can unlock extraordinary powers.

On the path of the body, you can run faster, jump higher, and punch harder. On the path of the mind, you can create glamours and illusions that change people's perceptions of reality. And on the path of the environment, you can reach out to the world around you, from blades of grass, to the smallest teacup, to Mount Qingcheng itself.

Under the guidance of gods and animal spirits, you can perceive a sickness slowly poisoning the mountain and its inhabitants. When an ancient enemy returns to the mountain with vengeance in mind, will you be ready to join the fight? The mysteries of Mount Qingcheng are beckoning you.

Play as male, female, or nonbinary; gay, straight, bi, asexual, or poly. Explore a mountain village in China that's as timeless as myth, yet as modern as a trending hashtag on TikTok. Discover the secrets of your past life. Do they still have the power to shape your destiny? Rekindle an ancient romance, explore the possibilities with a long-lost friend, or charm a local mogul/memelord. Specialize in the body, mind, or environment path as you learn to control spiritual energy, or develop your skills in all three. Befriend a Romanian expat, a musical prodigy, a panda spirit, and a busy mother. Help a local resort owner plan a summer festival. (You're here to learn the hospitality industry, remember?) Eat. Eat vegetarian, kosher, halal, or try everything: gourmet delicacies, spicy local fare, street food, and dishes from around the world…and beyond.

What is it? An interactive fiction game where you run a Teahouse on a mountain in China that is definitely not infested with gods, spirits, or other supernatural beings.

Why should I play it? - You like 2nd-person, 4th-wall-breaking, multi-lingual fantasy-adventures (look ma! 5 hyphens!) - All your friends are weirdos, and you don’t mind getting roped into their eon-old inter-dimensional drama - You want to make friends with weirdos, including a TikTok-famous fox god, a billionaire twitter memelord, and the End of the Universe - You enjoy Chinese fantasy, Terry Pratchett, and/or internet humor - Quarantine has made you yearn to relive the awkwardness of reintegrating into society from the relative comfort of your gaming device

Where do I play it? Here

Thank you, anon! I'm excited to see my story out in the world~

If you’re describing the visual art specifically, I do want to credit the artist whom my publisher worked with—this cover art is by Weiwei (@peevishpants), who did an excellent job representing the setting + characters + architecture I'd imagined for Teahouse of the Gods.

[Spoilers Below]

In brief: you can pursue A’Li romantically. It will not end well. Here’s a snippet from a May 2022 response to this question about the game’s “romances.”

Unpleasant past experiences have given [A’Li] reservations about any romantic relationship. The healthiest in-game relationship with him can be interpreted as non-romantic—A'Li is the reason I would call my characters "Relationship Options" rather than "Romance Options."

My interactive-fiction game Teahouse of the Gods is set in a fictional Mount Qingcheng. Pictured is the real-life Qingcheng, on which there are no magical pandas.* The mountain is a part of Chengdu in Sichuan Province, China, which is home to a fascinating blend of polarities: internationalism and local quirks, history and modernity, the mundane and the magical.

For a real example of this duality, consider the Wu-Hou Shrine (武侯寺), which honors people from China’s Three Kingdoms Period (220-280AD). These historical figures are the “deities” of the Shrine, which depicts them as enshrined statues inside the temple. They’re also massive, person-sized chibi anime figurines in the touristy areas around the temple. No, really:

*That the author has met. Magical pandas of Qingcheng, here’s your call-to action! Please say hello when I’m in town.

From left to right: Zhang Fei, Liu Bei, and Xiang Yu.

Ancient China is cool and all—I can see why Western fantasy media often focuses on the period—but what about my enormous chibi figurines? The world around us is a fascinating combination of the past and present, the sensible and the absurd, of great and terrible beauty. I wanted to see the complexity of modern China represented in fiction, especially because this world isn’t just fantasy but also a real people, place, and culture.

Bonus photos of Qingcheng below the cut. All photos here are mine.

The start of the Fish Spirit Arc features:

Summer fun on Mount Qingcheng! Eat your heart out, then burn those calories by hiking until you can’t bend your knees! Soak your feet in fancy massage tubs! Go on boat tours! Relax while you still can ohonhonhon~

Previously, you met gods and monsters. The Fish Spirit arc will be all about the humans of Qingcheng. In the chapter, you’ll start to see the local families' ~drama~