Writing Interactive Fiction
1. Those that choose to play
Interactive Fiction
did so specifically for the STORY.
did so specifically for the STORY.
Make that Story worth reading. Seriously.
Do you honestly think the people who deliberately choose to play an Interactive Fiction --a Story game-- such as a Visual Novel don't know what they're getting into?
Point Blank: They're in it for the STORY, and they want one worth reading.
I'm not kidding here. Even those that play the cheesiest of Dating Sims want a solid romantic Story -- preferably one for each date-able character. If these Players didn't want to read a Story, they would have chosen something else instead.
The cold hard truth is; Players that prefer Game (activities) over Story (reading) generally won't select Interactive Fiction.
However, if there's a good Story in that game (the one that isn't Interactive Fiction,) it's still appreciated. Examples: Spec-Ops: The Line, The Walking Dead, Assassin's Creed...
However, if there's a good Story in that game (the one that isn't Interactive Fiction,) it's still appreciated. Examples: Spec-Ops: The Line, The Walking Dead, Assassin's Creed...
The other cold hard truth is; Players that enjoy Interactive Fiction are generally Readers of published novels.
In case you still don't get it; the story-telling skill displayed in the average novel is Your Direct Competition. If you don't know what you're doing and you get it wrong, your Readers will KNOW simply from having read tons of novels that got it right.
In case you still don't get it; the story-telling skill displayed in the average novel is Your Direct Competition. If you don't know what you're doing and you get it wrong, your Readers will KNOW simply from having read tons of novels that got it right.
If that isn't enough pressure for you, writing multi-ending stories is actually harder than writing a story with only one ending.
This is because Each Ending must flow logically from the options available to give the reader the feeling of a solid conclusion, no matter how quick The End happens.
This is because Each Ending must flow logically from the options available to give the reader the feeling of a solid conclusion, no matter how quick The End happens.
So how do you do this?
PLOTTING.
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Outline the entire story; characters, situations, stats, and flags... Then list all the endings possible. Once you know all the possible Ends, trim the outline down to only the events that will lead to the Endings you actually want. Do this BEFORE you begin writing. It saves on time wasted on work you may have to cut.
Don't disappoint your Readers. Give them a story that will catch them off guard and make them thrilled they played your game.
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