I think adding some seeming plot holes and/or self-contradicting worldbuilding could also help. (And there are days when I want to do just that, although I don’t really write medieval fantasy. I like my cyborgs way too much for that.)
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I’d add, inspired by AMR thread:
- Have two factions at war with each other, both somewhat terrible, both personally making MC’s day worse. Let people argue. Don’t check the thread anymore because it’s nothing but arguing for 5k pages.
Another inspired by other thread:
- Make that medieval fantasy but also do something wild like same-sex marriage in an otherwise low fantasy universe or forcing people to marry one of the ROs (because for some reason people love politicking medieval fantasy until this part).
Actually, any arranged marriage will do the trick but bonus points if it’s same-sex. Enjoy.
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Crap, I just updated mine with a confusing date format. 
That’s good advice, though, I’ll have to keep it in mind for the future.
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I definitely think that the first post’s presentation is the key. I’ve seen WIPs with only prologues that never get updated, but because of the way the author formatted the first post with an awesome summary, clearly noted ROs, interesting visuals, etc., they’ve received feedback that extends the topic’s life… which then gets them more feedback long after the author has dropped the project. That’s not even getting into the like system (which is also feedback!) – there have been WIP first posts that added the demos after (and some not at all), and they’ve received a lot of likes just based on the potential of that first post alone.
I’m going to push back against this a little. When my WIP was still open (which reminds me, I need to reopen it and change my own first post so it’s better, ha ha 
), I received wonderful feedback – but I think the topic would be considered low traffic compared to other posts, and I’m not sure the feedback I gave others had an affect on that. So I would reiterate to “give feedback without expecting any back”.
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Personally, from what I’ve read. Length, character interactions, character personality, and ROs are the prime things a writer should focus on if they want to build a decent following IMHO. There are quite a few stories that have cheesy plots that are very incoherent at times, and aren’t well written. Though the author has a sizable following because people love the interactions between their characters and ROs. Whereas I’ve read stories that are very well written. Though there are no ROs and the plot is the main focus. But those authors works are rarely mentioned.
I would also assume, many people who do pick up and read an IF game, are people who may enjoy RPGs. And romance choices are usually a big thing in that genre of gaming. Just my 2 cents.
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Seconding this; I’ve seen some WIPs that contain some dire prose gain traction seemingly cause they have a strong, one-sentence story pitch and the available content focuses on the characters you can romance.
Most WIP pages don’t have a “Characters” tab, they have a “Love Interests” or “ROs” tab and this isn’t just a quirk of the community-your WIP just becomes that much more popular when the focus is on the romance. That, and the aforementioned strong and easy-to-digest pitch are the common threads between popular WIPs as far as I can tell, given adherence to certain things that would typically turn off most readers: genderlocked MC, unpopular genre etc.
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Wow quartz. This s#@!t is gold rules 4 real!
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From the beginning it is necessary to have something to comment on, some put only the first chapter, and it is rare that this is enough to hold attention. Social networks like tumblr help, and posting the game here and on Dashion with frequent updates helps people like me who look the WIP a lot to see them. Another thing that I think is extremely necessary is to do, and I apologize for the verbiage now, a decent fucking menu, it can be difficult to do for some, but it’s minimal to organize yourself throughout the game, not knowing how to do it right speaks volumes bad of your planning for the whole plan.
Another thing that some people need to think too is to know what are you doing. Look some examples:
Wayhaven: A game about a group of vampires and romance, this is what is about. Do you need many skill stats? No, but personalite stats is good. Make it easier to have a realeationship with everyone. Focus your choices on that.
Infinity saga: You are part of the army, the dragon bitches, fight battles. Skill stats are important, but not more than the reason of the the fuck are you fighting, so put a load of worldbuilding.
Zombie Exodus: Survive in a zombie apocalypse, with a character created by you. So put a lot of status for the mc to be an expert and look like someone real, your characters are people who lost their home too (unbelievable I know), make them react to it and to your choices on this new world.
All of them what are the pros and cons of your genre and their story, focus what people want from what you want to give, and you will be fine with anything.
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I would just like to thank this thread for generating some solid ideas on how to create a little more interest in a WIP. I have learned so much already during the review process that I wish I could go back and start that over again. I was; however, comforted by excellent in depth comments about world building and overall design. Something I feel like I put a lot of work into. World building takes time…and so, I hope, readers are willing to take the time to read a little about it. For me, I found it difficult to balance the interests of readers who like the “reading” aspect of a COG game with those who would prefer more interactive stat play. Whether or not you are earning dialogue or more Strength, that is the real heart of a COG, to me at least…your ability as a reader to shape the story, to change your stars. It’s so romantic…anyhow, I will leave a favorite Mitch Hedberg joke:
“You can’t please everyone all the time…and all those people were at my show last night.”
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