In my narrative class at NYU, I also learned about ChoiceScript, which is a simple little engine for making choose-your-own-adventure games. Not content with a simple narrative, I chose to create "Regent", a sprawling simulation of a fictitious medieval realm.

Regent is slightly incomplete. You will find some aspects of it less rewarding than others. But it's still pretty impressive for a project of a few weeks. I learned from someone who works for ChoiceScript that they don't really want 'wheel and spoke' games like this, but instead linear narratives - still, it shows that you can use a system to produce something it's not designed for.