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Twine for Mac

By Twine Free Editors' Rating

Key Details of Twine

  • Create your own interactive stories
  • Last updated on 08/14/20
  • There have been 2 updates within the past 6 months
  • The current version has 0 flags on VirusTotal badge_icon

Editors' Review

Download.com Staff Apr 25, 2014

As an open-source tool for creating interactive stories that can be graphically organized and rearranged, Twine for Mac enables you to write fiction in a wiki-like style but with better interactivity, so that your readers can have different ways of finishing your story. It's an interesting app worth checking out.

Pros

No programming skills required: While getting used to Twine for Mac takes a while, everything about the UI is intuitive and easy to grasp. Besides, on the official Twine Web site you can find many help files and interact with other users to share ideas.

Universally compatible HTML format: Any Web browser can read your Twine stories. If you want to publish online, there are many free Web sites to use; almost all blogging platforms can render your work properly.

Infinite opportunities for creativity: Aside from images, you can incorporate CSS stylesheets, Javascripts, jQuery, and various fonts. You can even provide a story map that makes it easier for readers with a low endurance to track the progress of the narrative.

Prompts for dead links and other errors: If you write passages that are linked to nonexistent passages or if your passages have the same names, you will get an alert.

Cons

Browser dependency: Your Twine creations cannot be played without a Web browser.

Still no escaping from codes: You need to have an idea of how codes work if you want to create exciting presentations. You need these codes to insert images and format texts in your stories. No WYSIWYG interface here.

No HTML5 version yet: This is not necessarily a disadvantage for most Twine users, but HTML5 support would make this application future-proof.

Bottom Line

While Twine for Mac can be referred to as a game development tool, it's important to bear in mind that it doesn't infuse AI in your creations. You cannot produce games comparable to typical arcade or shooting games with it. Instead you can create quiz, logic, or puzzle games, or interactive stories. If this is what you want to do, this app is a good download.

Full Specifications

What's new in version 2.3.9

General

Release August 14, 2020
Date Added August 14, 2020
Version 2.3.9

Operating Systems

Operating Systems Macintosh
Additional Requirements
  • macOS Catalina
  • macOS Mojave
  • macOS High Sierra
  • macOS Sierra
  • OS X El Capitan
  • OS X Yosemite
  • OS X Mavericks
  • OS X Mountain Lion
  • OS X Lion

Popularity

Total Downloads 1,721
Downloads Last Week 4
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Developer's Description

Twine lets you organize your story graphically with a map that you can re-arrange as you work. Links automatically appear on the map as you add them to your passages, and passages with broken links are apparent at a glance. As you write, focus on your text with a fullscreen editing mode like Dark Room. Rapidly switch between a published version of your story and the editable one as you work.
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