It is still interactive fiction though, yes?
You are literally interacting with the story…
Is what still interactive fiction? A fantasy Vikings in Wonderland game? Sure, why not?
Yes, it is . If you can influence the “main person”, it is interactive.
It’s all interactive fiction! that is my point
Yeah, that’s one of the dangers of sharing creative works publicly. Personally, I think this forum is way less bad about it than many other places. Not nearly the amount of trolling and hate, and people complaining about missing updates as I have seen some places.
But, to be fair, I haven’t been able to read any of the new WIPs for over a month (I have 20+ open tabs in my browser of WIPs I need to read, and that doesn’t count any updates, just new ones… 
), so there might have been some new changes I haven’t noticed.
I don’t think I often see people complaining about the existence of a family or old friends. Actually, a lot of people seems to like that. But if they are forced to feel a certain way about said family/friends, that’s where people get thrown out of the story, because we all like different things in NPCs, and the adorable little sister or quirky best friend, might feel really annoying to some readers.
Most WIPs, as well as most published games, have a somewhat set background. It’s hard to make a compelling narrative without one.
(And I get you about the anxiety, I also have a small panic attack every time I post an opinion here. It’s very good that you ‘verbalise’ it, that can really help. Imagine a hug emoji here.)
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This tread feels like one huge ignoratio elenchi (straw man). Where are all those people demanding only blank slates, scolding authors who give their character friends and family? You talk like it is a massive issue that drive people away in numbers. If it is, than it demands to be corrected and working upon. But I’ve never seen a single comment like that.
I don’t think that there’s non - just that there are very little of them and it isn’t really a problem.
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Exactly… It’s more of the same, is it not? that is my entire poiint! Don’t get me wrong, I am loving those games but JFC let people experiment without the first comments being “no I don’t feel this or that” etc…
And if someone tries something different people will flock there and tell them how to write their character.
Basically what Gower said:
When people talk about ‘blank slate’ especially in context of Choice Games, what they mean is:
‘I want to be able to have this character do things within the restrictions of the story’
An example:
Your character wants to steal something from a mansion. There is a masquerade going. Readers might want the option to NOT dress up and go that way, but instead break and enter while people are distracted.
If you go and say ‘no the MC would never do that’ and drag them onto the ball, that won’t do. What people like to see is the author letting them burgle the building and YET have some things happen that are important and were planned for the ball. (Like, the rival-RO slipping out of the party for a breath of fresh air or even turning out to be after the macguffin themself, instead of the mc bumping into them at the party)
Like, some events will surely be missed out due to different plays, but people like having the liberty. And it shows some good imagination on the author’s end to be able to logically have things happen on different paths.
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that is my entire point though… there’s room for both and even thrice! But apparently not?
Take a new WIP for example, people won’t even give it a chance . I’m not looking to argue, just frustrated
In the absence of specifics or concrete examples of what you are talking about, I’m not sure we can avoid a circular discussion at this point. I’m not aware of a new WiP where “people won’t even give it a chance.”
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The concept of “Interactive” is the core issue here –
The concept can be applied and implemented many different ways to facilitate a successful game.
A structured and non-agency focused protagonist is very viable, if the interaction is built in elsewhere into the game.
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No I won’t mention any one, that’s not what I am trying to say. How can you say that people do not give games a shot? They (we) do, and then it’s all wrong.
Could you please name an example?
Like, there are games out there that don’t give a lot of possibilities to ‘adjust’ the MC to one’s liking, but I can’t thing of any recent ones, left alone any where people would have called vividly for a ‘blank slate’.
I appreciate the engagement but Interactive is literally that… Interacting with the STORY. I think i’m going crazy
excuse me?
I think it is time for everyone to take a step back and take a breath.
I enabled slow-mode for the rest of the day so that we all can do this.
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Familiarity sells. People are much more likely to buy what they know they like instead of something new which they have no proof that they will like. It is the same with time. People are much more to invest time into what they know they like instead something strange an unfamiliar to them.
Which means that if you try to sell a niche - anything (and text-based if is already niche) you will turn your audience off by premise alone.
And that is fine. As long as you are writing in somewhat english and not baby-murderer simulator Hosted Games is willing to sell it, which means that you will have a platform, just not an audience. And sadly nobody is owned an audience, which can suck, I know, because I like a lot of weird stuff, which just doesn´t sell, but that is just how it is. (That being said, choicescript would not be the right engine for the weird stuff I like.)
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It feels like your message is getting a bit lost in all the “they are to blame” stuff, so let’s reframe it in a more positive way 
In a perfect world, what would you like to see?
- More WIPs/published games?
- Different genres/styles?
- Greater popularity for certain game types/designs?
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Not saying people have to like or dislike it! I think that was pretty clear, just wishing for more understanding instead of telling someone they are doing it wrong. And “they” in this instance is me and everyone else who read these.
Anyway, we’re running in circles. I said what I wanted to say.
Oh and I would vote different genres/styles all day. 
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Reading through the thread, I think one thing is clear, and that’s that we all have different ideas of what is being talked about.
I would suggest that before we continue this conversation, we come to an understanding on the following:
- What do we mean by “blank slate”?
- What definitions of “interactive fiction” are we all writing under?
- What are the intentions of this thread?
I’ll start.
- To me, a “blank slate” refers to a character with no explicit background, no defined features, and no specified morals. With that definition, I would argue most MCs are not blank slates–but there are people on this forum who want defined MCs to take on more characteristics of them.
- I consider “interactive fiction” to be a piece of storytelling that the player can control the events of. RPGs, COG games, open world games, those old Nancy Drew computer games, etc. are stories I consider interactive fiction. Anything that requires player involvement to result in a specific outcome.
- I believe the intentions of this thread should be to discuss the medium and how we can expand it within the realm of Choicescript, taking advantage of the opportunities that gives us. Not everyone can be 1,000,000+ words of scripting and options, but creating and encouraging stories that give us the opportunity to control the narrative (regardless of protagonist) is something we can all learn to do here.
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(A little bit off-topic, I think.)
I usually stay off of these topics and for a very good reason.
Maybe OP @mireo exaggerated a little bit. I have not seen people droning off en mass because they can’t choose x, y and z. But let’s not pretend these kinds of comments doesn’t exist or that they are rare. Just start any opinion thread and will see it pop up every now and then: “I cannot play this game because I can’t play as x, y and z.” And sometimes it’s said in an accusatory or passive-aggressive way.
Now hear me out, I’m not saying it viciously. Readers have their reason and are entitled to their opinion, time and money. I’m not passing judgement, just laying facts on the table. For a writer, it can be disheartening to put your work out there and be turned down by what you see as a minor thing.
There’s no solution because there’s no real problem here. Writers are not entitled to an audience as @DreamingGames said. Readers are not entitled to have every request attended. If a title doesn’t do it for you, shake it off and move on.
Sure, but if it’s the only gallery in miles and miles you might as well try to sell it there first. Interactive fiction is already a niche market. I think the parse games have a wider audience if only for being around longer (as a digital medium). Multiple-choice text-only interactive fiction if even nichier. CoG is already established in this market. They can reach the consumer base much better than a budding author with a tumblr account can on their own.
For readers:
From a guy who’s been through some real shit in life, I have no need to play exactly as myself to enjoy any game. If the main character is a white straight dude or a black lesbian woman, neither will turn me off. Personally, in my opinion (just to be sure), I don’t think this mindset is helpful. Also, if an author doesn’t feel comfortable including a certain option for whatever reason (religious, political, personal, etc) I don’t think they should feel bad about it. Sometimes it’s not just about switching pronouns. You definitely don’t have to agree with it, but if the author is not belligerent, bigot or offensive, just shake it off.
For writers:
There’s an underlying assumption you’re creating a commercial product and the community will give feedback about what they want and expect from the game. This is good! It’s hard, but you need to grow thick skin. Don’t feel disheartened, but be willing to consider the requests. Also, from my professional experience (I’m not a writer btw), the best thing to do is to know your client and manage expectations. You already know what the CoG audience expects, customization options, especially on gender identity and sexual orientation, some alternatives to solve problems in-game, romance options (fantasy is also a popular genre), and preferable control over personality traits. That’s mostly it. You can still have a linear game and be successful, you don’t need to fundamentally change your game to be successful. Take a look at @Brian_Rushton’s great post, some great games mentioned are very linear. If you’re planning on doing something different just state it up-front in your WIP post. You’ll still get some requests for things you said you don’t plan on doing, and might even receive snarky remarks for it, deal with it graciously, and move on.
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