It seems odd that in today’s era of high definition graphics that a text-based adventure game could capture the imagination so easily. But that’s exactly what is happening on Twitter.

Created by developer Terence Eden, essentially as a teaser for Timothy Jarvis's novel The Wanderer, the game is short and to the point. To start you visit the Twitter account @wnd_go, and make your choice. Run or hide? Stay hidden or fight?

Each choice leads you to another Twitter account, where you are presented with either your next choice or your demise at the hand of the mysterious creatures. It’s never really explained who they are and what they want, but that doesn’t matter; there’s enough references to sharp fangs and searing pain to know they aren’t friendly.

There are just 23 steps in the story, so you’ll quickly work your way through them. But, despite the constraints of Twitter’s character count and the lack of graphics, it’s compelling and utterly creepy.

I died three choices in the first time I played, but found myself hitting the back button to make another choice, which was only mildly more successful. Proof that sometimes imagination can be more powerful than polygons.

Terence explains how the game was made on his blog, which details the process, what tools he used and demystifies some of the creepier elements, such as how some of the accounts and tweets were created as long ago as 2008. Was this all a grand plan in the works for over half a decade? Maybe not, but it makes for fascinating reading.

The game itself is fun, but the really interesting thing is the impact it has made and the excitement it sparked across the web. The era of Choose-Your-Own-Tweet adventures has begun.