Midnight Signal: Small Impossible Things

About Midnight Signal: Small Impossible Things

Midnight Signal: Small Impossible Things is an illustrated interactive story set in the Marchbank Empire, an old variety theatre in the middle of a run of a play called "Seven Doors". Its four actors no longer agree on how the play goes: each of them remembers a different script, and the building has started to keep every version at once. You are the new night watch, doing rounds from midnight with a torch and a ring of keys. Each night one small impossible thing waits for you: seawater and a live starfish in the orchestra pit, a full moon on a backcloth painted with a crescent, a row of seats still warm at three in the morning, a message chalked on the inside of the iron safety curtain. Each belongs to one actor's remembered play, and understanding it means saying whose. Between you and every answer stands Lucan Fell, a retired conjuror of eighty who lives in dressing room nine by an arrangement nobody can find the papers for, and who claims every miracle in the building as his own work. Each night he does a trick while he talks, and waits for your answer. Answer while his hands are still moving and you see how it is done; let the trick finish and something gently impossible happens in it. Nothing is ever lost to time. Five endings, one of them hidden behind two things you hold side by side. A new twist each night and a daily challenge keep it fresh. You can go back to an earlier choice, every line is announced to screen readers, and the text goes up to Largest.

How to play

Press Go on or tap the text to continue, and tap a choice (or press 1 to 5) to answer. Z or the Back button returns to your last choice.
Each night your rounds find one impossible thing. Then you knock on dressing room nine, where Fell is doing a trick while he talks.
A bar shows how long the trick has left. Answer while his hands are moving and you see the method; wait, and the trick finishes with a small impossibility of its own. Neither is wrong.
Fell values different things in different moods. Listen to how he speaks, and he will remember how you answered.
Then say whose remembered play tonight's wonder belongs to. Things you find go on the clue board (E, or the Clues button), where two can be held side by side.
Change the text size with T or the Text button. The trick bar can be switched off in Settings. Your story saves as you go, and Restart begins a new week with a new twist.

Controls

Tap the text, or press Enter, Space or Ⓐ — go on
Tap a choice, or press 1 to 5 — answer
Z, Backspace or Ⓑ — go back to the last choice
E or Ⓨ — clue board; L or Ⓧ — the rounds so far; T — text size
P, Escape or Start — pause

Frequently asked questions

How long is a story?

About twenty to thirty minutes for a week of rounds. There are five endings, one of them hidden, and Fell changes with how you have watched his tricks.

What happens if I do not answer before the trick ends?

The trick finishes, and something small and impossible happens in it. Answering in time shows you how it is done instead. Neither is a failure. You can switch the bar off in Settings.

How do I become Fell's friend?

He is vain, kind and lonely, and he wants different things in different moods: to be believed, to be seen through, or to be asked about the past. His lines hint at it.

Can I take a choice back?

Yes. Press Z or the Back button to return to your last choice with everything as it was, as often as you like.

Can I play with a keyboard or a screen reader?

Yes. Every line, choice and clue is announced, every button works with the keyboard or a controller, the text goes up to Largest, and reduced motion shows each line at once.

Does it save?

Yes, in this browser: the week you are on, the endings you have seen and your settings. Nothing is uploaded.