What kind of novel were you planning on writing/coding?I ask because my advice would vary.
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Detailed character customization is such a pleasure to see in COG games chef’s kiss. 
They make the stories that much more enjoyable, and the more detail that gets included, the more I want to insert myself in it.
Even more, they allow me, a Reader of Color, to feel fully immersed and invested in the story. I get adding certain customization features would cause difficulties in plots (i.e. space/historical fiction/etc.) but it’s the little things that count if you’re able to implement that. Representation matters because not every reader looks/thinks/believes the same way.
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@Book_Devourer Hm! Well let me see if I can try to explain it well enough
The novel I would like to make is something comparable to shadow society, wayhaven, or the Archangel job- though truthfully, it’s likely to be a little slower in pace.
It’s set in an more water based apocalypse, if that explains a little more! I want it to be a story that revolves around a specific goal but you’re able to achieve it in different ways, and I also want a lot of it to be based on character relationships and getting to know the characters that are around you- as well as the world ofc! I hope that answers your question?
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@Rock_Em_Sock_Em I can agree as a man of color myself- it really does add a lot to a story!
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If it will be free, ignore this reply.
Don’t make the “try now” too short, because you’re planning on making it a slower pace.I find that with some novels like the one your planning, the demos are too short leading to me losing interest and not buying the full version.
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@Book_Devourer I see! Thank you- that’s wonderful advice!
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Let us know when you start work on it.
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I adore the ending the most out of these games- when all your major choices come together and you have to deal with the biggest problem of the whole story, and then you get to see how the path you took impacted your outcome. I also adore character interaction in COG games, and the different paths you can take with the same characters. Wayhaven Chronicles and Fallen Hero: Rebirth both do this to great effect, and I love how it lets you replay the same game again and again. So basically, games with great climaxes/endings and good character interactions.
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A large part of my enjoyment of stories depend on how much I enjoy the protagonist’s character.
Unfortunately, the types of protagonist that I enjoy the most are kind of rare. They’re more commonly supporting characters than protagonists. And when they are protagonists, it’s often in genres I’m not interested in.
This is less of a problem in CoGs (the modern ones, at least) than most forms of fiction. These days, you’re usually given enough options to define the MC to whatever you like. Granted, it does need to be games that walk the tightrope between blank slate protagonists and defined protagonists, giving you enough room for customization and yet is still refined enough to react your ‘personality’ choices/don’t conflate personality with skills, and there’s no such thing as a game that does it perfectly. But so far, it’s been best in slot as far as narrative games go.
(That doesn’t mean I dislike games with defined protags—if anything, it’s the true blank slate games that I don’t vibe with very well.)
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I will go with a simple reply. A good story is all I need in CYOA game. Everything else is just flavor.
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I am slightly pickier than previous one, I need writing I can enjoy (=decent enough grammar and language) in addition to good story.
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Hello, me again.This only applies to romance.
With what I said before about not having too short a demo, another good idea would be to have no romance in the demo, but tease it.Make the reader feel they have to complete the romance, like they have to find out what happens.That will help more people buy it.
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The concept is kinda hazy – not because it’s hard to understand, but rather because it’s a non-strict thing – , but the goal is to have a stats-system that makes the game interesting. Interesting can be defined as:
- non-braindead decision moments
- fair consequence of a decision
- empowering power fantasy
- flavor text being coherent with balance
Additionally, paired with good user-experience (UX), a stat system shouldn’t be anti-interesting:
- getting in the way of your play session
- exorbitant amount of micromanagement
Extra size of rambling
To take the example of three games I mentioned previously: Mecha Ace, The Great Tournament, and Tin Star.
When talking about Mecha Ace, I never missed an opportunity to mention my favorite scene: I focused my skill on ranged weapon with a bit of piloting, so my mech is built for that. In one of the battle, I was given the opportunity to take a position in the formation which I took the frontline. My plan was to cause massive damage to opposing formation before they’re able to wreck ours, so at the start, I’d charge in with my squad. The game mentioned the pros and cons, including the time it’d take to assist my main force if they’re overwhelmed. Guess what? Our forces got overwhelmed. Being left alone, I pick the option to assist them, but the game mentioned that my mech is not the best at moving and my piloting is too low. Wham bam, we take a massive hit and there’s nothing I could do: too far to continue the deep strike, too far to return to the frontline. Power fantasy got fulfilled, but the consequence is brutally fair. At that time, I also realized: I have the long-range build. Why would I go that aggressive?
In the opposite, there’s no particular moment I’d cherish in TGT and Tin Star like what I have in Mecha Ace. Sure, you can be a sharp marksman, a trained swordsman, a cunning gunslinger, mad bomber, etc etc., but the game overall is lackluster on the power-fantasy side. I only find [demolition] stats in Tin Star only meaningful on 2 encounters from the entire game (the railway defense and caravan escort, IIRC?), and the only thing memorable on being an archer in TGT I can think of is spotting an enemy spy on a night patrol (and shot them) and winning a range tournament (which is basically a combat-roll event).
Edit: Huh, this comment is supposed to be on reply for this one. But apparently the system forgot I tagged it since it’s a draft?
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Hmm this might not be a popular opinion but what i like in a cog game is the sheer amount of posibilities presented to you ,like you can make your mc be good or bad , harmless as a sheep , a cruel wolf or a wolf on sheep’s clothing , evil , neutral , hero or antihero and the possible endings that each path might lead to. So yeah what i like in a choices of games… is a lot of choices 
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What an interesting topic! For me at least, the best part of a game are the characters. My current favorite games are Keeper of the Sun and Moon and Creme de la Creme because the characters feel so alive and real, they all have their motivations and react to you based on how your character has behaved so far.
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Immersing in a completely new world or dimension of it.
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Hi, me again.
I particularly like games where you have a range of things to do, but if you do one too soon, you end up dying.(Or some other bad thing.)
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I miss being a god, having all that power is intoxicating.
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I see- do you mean having a specific order in a game? Like, having to do certain actions in a specific order to complete a task?
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Not necessarily.I meant that you can do it in any order, but often, if you are too low-levelled(or not enough of a stat)you will die.
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