Steam Shortage

Twelve minutes to stop a dirigible meltdown. A lifetime of invention on the line. And someone you never expected behind the counter.

The Machine Age has blanketed London in soot and steam, but you’ve been exiled to the lonely countryside with only correspondence from a mysterious supporter as your companion. Finally, your collaboration has born fruit and your triumphant return is guaranteed, until a critical malfunction risks your greatest invention yet. If the orichalcum core destabilizes, you lose not only your life’s work, but your last chance at redemption with the Royal Society.

Now grounded in Fleet Street with no water, no time, and no social grace, your only hope lies in the bustling chaos of a coffeehouse... and the green-eyed waiter who seems oddly familiar.

Steam Shortage is a short narrative game about mechanical crisis, scientific pride, and the emotional pressure that builds when professional stakes collide with personal ones. Featuring:

• 🚂 Victorian steampunk setting with richly textured prose

• ⏱️ Time-sensitive decisions and branching narrative paths

• 💘 Slow-burn queer romance or professional partnership routes

• 🧠 A mix of science, myth, and social satire

• 🛠️ Multiple endings shaped by your choices, decorum, and daring

Will you save your ship, your reputation, and maybe something even more fragile?