Message in a Melody

Message in a Melody is a 150,000-word interactive science fiction novel in which your choices shape the story. You play as a member of the Raqullan regime, which has come to Earth to force humans into submission or exterminate them. After discovering music, a practice absent from Raqullan society, you wonder whether it could help save humanity.

Your character and choices

Play as male or female, with no need to choose a sexual orientation; you can play as straight, gay, bi or aromantic. Develop expertise in science, oration, weapons or a musical instrument, and build relationships in a way similar to humans. You can find a partner, companion or lover.

Your choices can lead you to help a friend research weapons, cure a disease, bring animals from your home planet to Earth or become a musical prodigy. You can perform music for a human audience as the first of your kind to do so, gain enough power to join the Raqullan High Council, or give it all up to become a starving artist.

Music and discovery

As you explore music, you decide whether it is art, a tool or a weapon, and whether it can bridge the divide between Raqullans and humans after first contact. Discover songs, which serve as achievements, and see whether you can find the entire playlist. The story is entirely text-based, with no graphics; some scenes have links to the songs that inspire them.