Mechanics idea - Extensive Choices

Second post.

So, an idea i had a while back was when i saw there is a randomize code. Now i understand the concept of how to use it but what if it worked as not just a direct way or randomizing, but a way of adding replayability?

Now i know this would require a lot more wrotong, but what if you had a bank of possible responses and you had the game randomly give 3 possibilities?

Like… you wrote a story for 9 hallways in a dungeon, but you only tell the character about 3- which would be randomly chosen, giving each playthrough a more… roguelike feel?

There is a possibility im misinterperating the capabilities of the randomize function but i just hoped for the possibility.

Entirely possible, but probably a lot more effort than it’s worth.

One thing to remember is that a comparison to hallways in a dungeon is bad because players should have agency. Picking dungeons in a hallways is the same as the game picking for you.

7 Likes

This is a personal opinion but randomizing really drives me nuts. I prefer having the course of the game dictated by my choices not by some random number generator.

4 Likes

I wrote a short game for a contest once. It was a surreal circus where the next room you entered was entirely random; you could even leave and go back in if you hated the room pick.

It drove people nuts.

5 Likes

I’ve considered the idea before. Like, presenting a randomization between two possible chapters for each chapter moving forward, but without randomization playing the chapters in and of themselves. It would certainly add more playability… but it would also double (and this is only with two possible random choices) the amount of work required. I believe it’s certainly possible to create a game in which events that occur are chosen randomly, while results for choices are not, but the structure would be unique and not play in quite the same manner as typical choice games. Not saying that’s bad: it would just require a very solid mind for balancing a game with random elements. Which, from a little experience, can be tricky.