<<if $order eq 3>>\nYou spend a good minute trying to collect enough willpower to pretend to cough. It's all part of the plan. Saying the first word is not an option. But if you can cough casually enough, maybe they will start a conversation.\n\nToday is not your lucky day. First you feel relieved when you hear the girl saying "hello" before you had started your pantomime. But you inmediately realize that it's her who is talking. Not one of the guys. The stranger instead.\n\nNow you're supposed to answer. What are you going to say? What to do now? The two bastards, they had to keep looking at the floor. They couldn't speak first, no, they had to make her do the first move.\n\nThis is a bad idea. This has been a bad idea the whole time.\n\nMaybe you can still pull the "just passing by" trick. No, that would be too riculous. It's too late for that.\n\n* Reply [[hello]]\n* [[Panic|PanicTalkingRight]] and run away without answering.\n<<else>>\nYou spend a good minute trying to collect enough willpower to pretend to cough. It's all part of the plan. Saying the first word is not an option. But if you can cough casually enough, maybe they will start a conversation.\n\nToday is not your lucky day. First you feel relieved when you hear the girl saying "hello" before you had started your pantomime. But you inmediately realize that it's her who is talking. Not one of the guys. The stranger instead. This can only go wrong.\n\nNow you're supposed to answer. What are you going to say? What to do now? The two bastards, they had to keep looking at the floor. They couldn't speak first, no, they had to make her do the first move.\n\nThis is a bad idea. This has been a bad idea the whole time.\n\nMaybe you can still pull the "just passing by" trick. It's worth trying it.\n\n* Reply [[hello]]\n* [[Panic|PanicTalkingWrong]] and run away without answering.\n<<endif>>

The girl suddenly notices your shadow and starts to raise her eyes, trying to figure out who is projecting it. You instantly know that the stress of having to talk to her first would kill you, so you take the right decision and walk away, as casually as you can.\n\nAs you walk away, you can spy behind you how one of the kids does some funny face and exagerated gestures, trying to parody the way you walk.\n\nYou knew it. Your instincts were correct. You knew that they would mock you.\n\nWhat you didn't know is that the girl fancies you.\n\nYou will learn that little detail one decade later. Dining with your old schoolmates in some expensive restaurant. Some of them already married, some still in university. She will casually comment that she had a crush on you in school. "Nevermind, we were kids. It's not important anymore. What would you have done if I had told you?".\n\nYOU LOSE.

You decide to let it go. Today is not the day. You're too excited, too nervous, with all those smells and noise. You can't think clearly. You would have made a mistake, you are sure now.\n\nYou will not be so sure tonight, when going to sleep. In the comfort of your bed, you will realize that you will never be brave enough to take the step. That you will spend the rest of your student life alone, with no friends.\n\nIt was, indeed, the day.\n\nYOU LOSE.

<<silently>><<overwrite>><<endsilently>>About to make the first step, a football ball flies next to your head. It doesn't hit you for less than one meter. You're lucky.\n\nIt's definitely a signal. You have avoided public shame. You will not be the laughing stock of the school, at least not today. This gives you confidence.\n\nTomorrow will be the day.\n\nYOU WIN.

The dread.\n\nThey hate you. You think that they hate you. Their cruel grin. Their mean comments behind your back.\n\nBut you don't want to be alone, forever. Momma wants you to make friends. Even if it's only one. Deep inside, you want it too.\n\nBut you are scared of them. Of the "people". Not actually them. What you are afraid of, is making a mistake. Saying something you shouldn't have said. Not smiling when you have to, or doing it when you don't have to. What you are really afraid of, is the possibility of them not liking you. And you have always been too afraid to try.\n\nToday is the day. \n\nA normal day in school. The kids are grouping during the recess. Today, you will approach them. And talk to them. Today you will make one friend.\n\n* Exit to the [[schoolyard]]

try { \nmacros['generate'] = { \n handler: function(place,macroName,params,parser) {\n var order = Math.floor(Math.random()*5)+1;\n if (localStorage.order)\n order = localStorage.order;\n localStorage.order = order;\n return eval(Wikifier.parse("$order = " + order));\n }\n};\nmacros['overwrite'] = { \n handler: function(place,macroName,params,parser) {\n var order; \n do { order = Math.floor(Math.random()*5)+1; }\n while (localStorage.order == order);\n localStorage.order = order;\n return eval(Wikifier.parse("$order = " + order));\n }\n};\n} catch(e) { \n throwError(place,"Macro error: "+e.message); \n}

A name! You need a good name for the band now. You start trying to think of something.\n\n"Sit here if you want", says John.\n\n"So, are you?", asks Alice. What does she want? "Are you Eliza's brother?".\n\nWhat, Eli? You have to talk about your sister now? And the name of the band? While you're about to panic at any moment due to the overwhelming awkwardness of the situation? What do these extroverts want?\n\nYou try to say something. With an otherworldly effort, you muster "Y-y-yes, my sister's Eli".\n\nThat has been more than your body can manage. The world around you turns into a whirlwind of colours and shapes and sounds as you fall. You don't know what happens next. It's just a black emptyness.\n\nYou wake up in your teacher's office, some moments later. Your mother is on the way, you learn. The principal phoned her. The coming days are going to be the pinnacle of shame for you. The whole school will be talking for a long time about the silent kid who passed out for no reason. You will never dare talking with anyone else again.\n\nYou will wonder what were you thinking of. How did you dare going so far.\n\nThe good news is that you are still alive. The bad news is that you will never have the guts to try a similar experiment once more. The rest of your life will be spent in complete loneliness, trapped by your fears.\n\nYOU LOSE.

Shy Kid

You can't. You just can't sit down with them and think about rock band names. You've come a long way so far. You feel proud of yourself. But this is going to be too much for your nerves.\n\nYou don't know where it comes from, but suddenly a misterious energy appears inside your heart, giving you the strength to say "I'm sorry, I don't know. I will think about it". So many words after each other coming from your mouth, this must be a world record.\n\nYou smile and you walk away.\n\nThe coming days, these guys will try to talk with you. All three of them. They will be irritatingly nice. You will become more and more reclusive. Avoiding them in class. Shouting at them to leave you alone.\n\nEventually, you will succeed. They will learn the lesson. They will pretend to ignore you, exactly as you wish.\n\nOne morning you will wake up with the coolest rock band name ever stuck in your head. You will not tell anyone.\n\nYOU LOSE.

<<if $order neq 2>>\nAcross the schoolyard there's a small group of three kids sitting in a corner, in silence. They're looking at the floor. They must be meditating about something. Something important, something interesting.\n\nThe right type of people.\n\nAnd they go to your class. Two of them. But not the third. She is a girl from another class. You can't remember having seen her before.\n\nThat's a change in plans. You were not supposed to break from your egg by talking to a complete stranger. The deadly shadow of a doubt makes its appearance in your soul. This has the potential to turn into a complete disaster.\n\nYou approach them, and stand a couple of meters away. They haven't seen you.\n\nYou are still on time to back up. They are unaware of your presence, lost in their thoughts. You could just walk away. You can pretend that you were really going to somewhere else, just passing across them by accident, because they just happened to be in your path. No one would notice.\n\n* Start [[talking]] to them\n* [[Panic|ClassmatesPanicWrong]] and continue walking\n<<else>>\nAcross the schoolyard there's a small group of three kids sitting in a corner, in silence. They're looking at the floor. They must be meditating about something. Something important, something interesting.\n\nThe right type of people.\n\nAnd they go to your class. Two of them. But not the third. She is a girl from another class. You can't remember having seen her before.\n\nThat's a change in plans. You were not supposed to break from your egg by talking to a complete stranger. The deadly shadow of a doubt makes its appearance in your soul. This has the potential to turn into a complete disaster.\n\nYou approach them, and stand a couple of meters away. A butterfly passes in front of your eyes, just that second.\n\nYou are still on time to back up. They are unaware of your presence, lost in their thoughts. You could just walk away. You can pretend that you were really going to somewhere else, just passing across them by accident, because they just happened to be in your path. No one would notice.\n\n* Start [[talking]] to them\n* [[Panic|ClassmatesPanicRight]] and continue walking\n<<endif>>

[[About (spoilers)|about]]

Quick like a ninja, you turn left and continue walking. All these years of avoiding people have made you a superb actor. No one will ever think that you were about to talk with those kids. Your honour is safe.\n\nOr is it? She definitely saw you. She knows. She even said a word to you. Your mask is now broken. Your little secret will spread, soon, and the whole school will know.\n\nYou idiot, you stayed too long there. You should have moved sooner.\n\nThis will traumatize you forever.\n\nYOU LOSE.

<<silently>><<overwrite>><<endsilently>>One of the two guys raises his sight and notices you. When this happens, you're already turning to your left and proceeding to continue walking.\n\nAs you walk away, you can spy behind you how the kid does some funny face and exagerated gestures, trying to parody the way you walk.\n\nYou knew it. Your instincts were correct. By taking the right decision at the right moment, you have avoided something that would have scarred you for life. You avoided fate. You feel like a ninja.\n\nFrom now on, you will call yourself shinobi.\n\nNo one will ever know that fact.\n\nYOU WIN.

<<if $order eq 5>>\nYou go blind. Suddenly, you can't see anything. You are going to pass out any monent now. You can't talk. You can't breathe.\n\nThe girl turns to the guys, "His sister is my sister's best friend". WHAT? "She's cool." WHAT? You can't believe what is happening here.\n\n"Hi, I'm John", says the kid who was silent the whole time. "I've seen you in class. This is Tim, and she is Alice".\n\nThis is the end. They are being nice to you. They shouldn't be! They are supposed to be monsters! They are supposed to laugh at you behind your back! You can't take so much stress any more.\n\n"Do you want to join us?", says Tim. "We're going to make a rock band. We will be awesome. But we need a name. Do you know any cool name for a band?".\n\nExtroverts! That's what they are. They fooled you. With their silence, looking at the floor. And they turned out to be goddamn extroverts. It was a trap all along.\n\nYou feel that there's no sense in going on. That's not what you were looking for. You regret having come so far. The only viable option is fleeing. If you stay here one more second, you will die of awkwardness. It's a life or death choice at this point.\n\n* [[Come up with a name|NameBand]]\n* [[Panic|PanicSocializeRight]] and run away\n<<else>>\nYou go blind. Suddenly, you can't see anything. You are going to pass out any monent now. You can't talk. You can't breathe. They are imaginary symptoms, but they still feel real.\n\nThe girl turns to the guys, "His sister is my sister's best friend". WHAT? "She's cool." WHAT? You can't believe what is happening here.\n\n"Hi, I'm John", says the kid who was silent the whole time. "I've seen you in class. This is Tim, and she is Alice".\n\nThis is the end. They are being nice to you. But they are supposed to be monsters! They are supposed to laugh at you behind your back! You can't take so much stress any more.\n\n"Do you want to join us?", says Tim. "We're going to make a rock band. We will be awesome. But we need a name. Do you know any cool name for a band?".\n\nExtroverts! That's what they are. They fooled you. With their silence, looking at the floor. And they turned out to be goddamn extroverts. It was a trap all along.\n\nYou feel that there's no sense in going on. That's not what you were looking for. You regret having come so far. The only viable option is fleeing. If you stay here one more second, you will die of awkwardness. It's a life or death choice at this point.\n\n* [[Come up with a name|NameBand]]\n* [[Panic|PanicSocializeWrong]] and run away\n<<endif>>

<<silently>><<generate>><<endsilently>><<if $order neq 1>>\nThe spring breeze gently caresses the bushes. A thousand different smells linger in the air, all city's flowers blossoming at the same time. The buzz of unseen bumblebees.\n\nYou feel a bit dizzy, your senses starting to get overwhelmed.\n\nKids are running around, playing some sort of chasing game. Others are playing football in the court, as loud as they can. A group of girls is rehearsing the choreography of their favourite pop band. The bullies are sitting in a corner, scouting the schoolyard with their sight, looking for their next victim. Noise, noise everywhere.\n\nYou should pospone. Today is not the day. Maybe tomorrow is. Maybe when the air stops smelling funny, in a couple of weeks. Maybe you are allergic to something, and you still don't know it. And you would be sneezing in front of someone, who would not talk to you ever again.\n\nYes, it's better to wait for the right moment.\n\n* Be strong, approach your [[classmates]]\n* [[Panic|PanicInSchoolyardWrong]]\n<<else>>\nThe spring breeze gently caresses the bushes. A thousand different smells linger in the air, all city's flowers blossoming at the same time. The buzz of unseen bumblebees.\n\nYou feel a bit dizzy, your senses starting to get overwhelmed.\n\nKids are running around, playing some sort of chasing game. Others are playing football in the court, as loud as they can. A group of girls is rehearsing the choreography of their favourite pop band. The bullies are sitting in a corner, scouting the schoolyard with their sight, looking for their next victim. Noise, noise everywhere.\n\nYou should pospone. Today is not the day. Maybe tomorrow is. Maybe when the air stops smelling funny, in a couple of weeks. Maybe you are allergic to something, and you still don't know it. And you would be sneezing in front of someone, who would not talk to you ever again.\n\nYes, it's better to wait for the right moment. Or, maybe, the right moment will never come. Maybe you'll stay forever alone.\n\n* Be strong, approach your [[classmates]]\n* [[Panic|PanicInSchoolyardRight]]\n<<endif>>

Let's be polite. You've come a great length today. Let's not overdo it. The next time, you will be able to stay longer than a single minute.\n\n"Th-th-thank you for the conversation. Bye". Without waiting for a response, you turn around and walk away. You have enough self control not to run through the schoolyard.\n\nThey don't even know how to react. You don't know it now, but you made them think that you're creepy. From now on, they will be the ones avoiding you.\n\nYou have condemned yourself to a life of solitude. Congratulations.\n\nYOU LOSE.

<<silently>><<overwrite>><<endsilently>>"No", you decide to reply, "I think you're talking about someone else. Sorry".\n\nThis was too much stress for you. You regret telling a lie, but at this point you can't think of anything better. You awkwardly turn away and go. This was a bad idea from the start.\n\nThe girl will approach you tomorrow. She will ask you why did you tell her that. She will have found out that indeed you are Eli's brother. You will be unable to talk at all.\n\nShe will come back to you again and again, trying to make you speak. Without having asked her to, helping you to break across the impenetrable wall that separates you from the rest of humanity. It will be painful. You will feel on the verge of dying many times. It will change you. But it will change you for the better.\n\nSome day, thanks to that lie, to the fact that you lied, you will become a "normal" person, able to function in society.\n\nYour lifes will split some day. Different universities, in different cities. She will meet the love of her life and marry him. You will graduate and have a successful job. Although you will not have the chance to meet again, she will always be your best friend, in your heart. You owe her your life.\n\nYOU WIN.

This is a game created during the Berlin Mini Game Jam of October 2012. The topic was "Panic".\n\nIt's the story of a sociophobic kid who's on the verge of collapsing due to panic when he decides to start socializing with his schoolmates.\n\nThe story develops through five stages. On each stage, you have the option to panic, or to continue. The goal of the game is to find the right moment to panic. Too soon or too late, and the game is lost. There is only one good ending on each game. \n\nThe text on each stage changes slightly depending on which ending it is linked to, the good or the bad one. If you pay attention to the text, you will find when is the right moment to panic. It's not a blind guess. It's pattern recognition.\n\nBut when you find the good ending, it moves to another location. If you replay the game, you will find that you should panic at a different time. The good ending stays in its new location until you find it.\n\nGood luck.

<<silently>>\n<<set $total = 5>>\n<<set $order = Math.floor(Math.random() * $total) + 1>>\n<<endsilently>>\n<<display "introduction">>

<<silently>><<overwrite>><<endsilently>>Suddenly, a bright light shines inside your head. That is it! Not the "passing by" trick, not that. It's time to pull the True Master's technic. The "asthma attack". Of course! It's spring. There's pollen flying all over the place. You can just pretend to be allergic to it!\n\nYou summon your best acting skills and start coughing as if a demon just possessed you. You have never been more convincing. You should receive an oscar for this performance. A true masterpiece of acting.\n\nThe three kids don't fall for it, though. One of them just says "You're pathetic", stands up and walks away. The other two follow him, without saying anything. You see their disgust in their faces.\n\nThat night, the girl's mom calls your house. She asks your mother if you are ok, her daughter is worried.\n\nLong story short, you will start dating this girl soon, and some years later you will marry and have children and live happy ever after.\n\nYOU WIN.

<<silently>><<overwrite>><<endsilently>>Just a stupid name. Anything goes, as soon as it lets you leave the scene unharmed. You just say the first thing that comes to your head.\n\n"The dancing crows".\n\nOh, wow, that is incredibly retarded. Crows don't dance. If no one were looking at you this moment, you would chuckle.\n\nBut the job is done. You don't have to stay here any more. You are free to leave now.\n\nThe three kids look at each other while you're walking away. Silent. You don't care if they like it or not.\n\nThat's the beginning of a nice friendship. They start talking with you. You never reply back, not more than one or two words at a time. But it's a beginning.\n\nNot many years later, they form a band. They become successful and famous. They tour around the country. You don't follow them in that adventure. Your life takes a different path. Fortunately, yours is also a happy life. Thanks to the day you took a first step and talked with the future rockstars.\n\nOne day, many years later, you receive an envelope. It contains a letter expressing gratitude, and an autographed CD dedicated to you. \n\nIt's the latest album from the very famous band "The dancing crows".\n\nYOU WIN.

by Christiaan Janssen\nBerlin Mini Jam Oct'12

<<if $order eq 4>>\n"Hey", goes one of the kids, "how are you doing?". He sits in front of you in class. On his birthday he invited the whole class to the party. You didn't go. What is he trying to do?\n\n"Uh", quick, come up with an answer! "I... I am fine."\n\nYes, you did it! You had a conversation! With someone! He asked a question, and you answered it. Maybe this is really the day when you can break free. The start of a new live.\n\n"You are Eliza's brother, aren't you?", goes the girl. An unexpected turn of events. Does she know Eli? Is she one of her friends? But this girl is your age, not an old fuck like your sister. How come does she know her?\n\nOne of the guys hasn't said anything yet. You are sure that he's stuying you.\n\nEverything is going too fast. You realize now, you should have approached just one of them. Three at the same time is more than you can take. You start blushing. Your head is spinning. Your breakfast wants out, the shortest way it can find.\n\n * [[Keep the conversation|socialize]]\n * [[Panic|PanicHelloRight]]\n<<else>>\n"Hey", goes one of the kids, "how are you doing?". He sits in front of you in class. On his birthday he invited the whole class to the party. You didn't go. What is he trying to do?\n\n"Uh", quick, come up with an answer! "I... I am fine."\n\nYes, you did it! You had a conversation! With someone! He asked a question, and you answered it. Maybe this is really the day when you can break free. The start of a new live.\n\n"You are Eliza's brother, aren't you?", goes the girl. An unexpected turn of events.\n\nOne of the guys hasn't said anything yet. You are sure that he's stuying you.\n\nEverything is going too fast. You realize now, you should have approached just one of them. Three at the same time is more than you can take. You start blushing. Your head is spinning. Your breakfast wants out, the shortest way it can find.\n\n * [[Keep the conversation|socialize]]\n * [[Panic|PanicHelloWrong]]\n<<endif>>