Roleplay basics question

Game Development Writing and Content
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Honestly this is one of the hardest things to do when writing Interactive Fiction.

For me, it shows mostly in the character creation steps, where it’s very varying whether the writers manage to weave it into the story or just have it feel weird and awkward. Some have everything in one spot, making it a massive, immersion-breaking chunk which is over and done with fast, others pace it, sometimes through the entire book, where, when it shows up later, it can really throw you off because at that point at least I have left character creation behind me.

I can’t say that I know of a game that has done it perfectly for me (certainly not my own), it has always been a swing between broken flow and no customization.

For me, I focused on trying to drag in people and get the story started before the first customization choices, and then pacing them out and trying to integrate them one by one in little chunks. Never having enough at one time to make people lose interest (as I am wont to do), but still giving people the opportunity to be their own person.

In other words, a story might ask me my name but then it tells me that I AM a pirate aboard a ship. I can choose my name, but I certainly didn’t get consulted about my preferences for job occupation, so it’s a bit disconcerting.

That’s generally not an issue for me, often the big things like that is advertised on the book. You buy it because you want to be a pirate, but whether you’re a peg-legged, bearded Scotsman or a raven haired spanish beauty might be up to you, the story remains much the same.

tldr: Immersion is hard, but when you pull it off, interactive fiction beats pretty much everything else.

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84

I bow to your knowledge Malin. Thank you for a very well thought out answer. :slight_smile:

This thread has grown beyond my initial questions and now I will mostly lurk and read.

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86

That’s Tally Ho — Cakes and Ale is the new game that isn’t out yet. :slight_smile:

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88

Fabled Lands CYOA series of books.

http://flapp.sourceforge.net/

How do people feel about these types of books where there is no real story, just short quests and short stories that become part of your character’s adventuring career? Not that much focus on role-playing, but more roll-playing and character improvement. In short, more game than book.

I saw a couple of posts about this, mentioning the Kickstarter and nostalgia. But are there other similar examples or is this too gamey and open world for the Choice of Games crowd?

89

Uh. I don’t think any of the published games I’ve read have followed that structure to a T, but the closest might be Unnatural? Hmm. I dunno.

It’s possible to write something like that, anything’s possible to be honest, but the question comes down to ‘do I want to make this?’ and anything else in mind.

90

I will look it up. My plan was to first get the hang of ChoiceScript, since I have a programming background it shouldn’t be too hard, by doing a gamey game. Since I come from the TTRPG side of things with many years of experience as a GM it will be easier to come up with plots and quests than good writing in a second language. So once I have the technical stuff down, I can start experimenting with a better narrative. I think it is better to keep the scope small and try a few different approaches before starting my magnus opus that will take forever to finish. :slight_smile:

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91

A tip(s), if you want to get a quick reference to how CS games commonly constructed, you can code-dive existing games or WIPs around this forum.

Summary

Here’s a thread that discusses the How-To of code diving, although the info is a bit everywhere depending on which game you’re code diving. But feel free to ask something in there.

How To See Other Games' Code (current info posted in OP and Post 146 on 6/18/19)

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92

I agree that it’s difficult to integrate the two different aspects (story and customization).

To that end, I was pleasantly surprised when reading Aaron Reed’s doctoral dissertation this weekend to see him outline the four different mechanics of IF games (which he calls “storygames” here):

thefourmechanicsofIF

If we stipulate that CS doesn’t really do #3 (story dumps) and rarely does #2 (puzzle solving), then this really does a great job of delineating that, yes, there ARE two completely different mechanics at play for most CS games, especially the house style mandated by all official CofG games.

Can they be integrated well in a seamless way that doesn’t ruin mimesis (the “flow” or “suspension of disbelief”)? Yes. But I’ve rarely seen it happen, and it seems extraordinarily difficult to do.

That is exactly why I skipped doing it in my first CS story (albeit there are lots of invisible stats being set up and used behind the scenes).

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93

I agree with this 100000% :heart:

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Is this really an escapable dilemma? If there’s no consultation, it’s not IF, but infinite choice is unwriteable. The game writer always has to “consult sometimes, dictate sometimes” (and as The Stanley Parable highlights, most games pretend there’s a lot more of the former while trying to cover over the reality of the latter).

It would be possible to have an IF story that tried not to consult the reader at all on the question of who you are, focusing only on what you do–you choose only the MC’s actions, not their identity. But that’s a blurry distinction.

When I’m playing the Witcher games, and I’m choosing whether Geralt of Rivia is a brusque murder hobo who haggles hard on every contract and steals from the huts of the poor, or a good-hearted friend to the oppressed who frequently works for free, am I only choosing his actions or his identity? And if the writer suddenly dictates that because of Geralt’s underlying personality/history/identity, he behaves in a way that is inconsistent with the actions I’ve been choosing, is that not going to break my immersion?

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95

That could depend on the consequences of that inconsistency. Having a companion or bystander comment on this when the PC acts against type can cast events in a different light. “You’re not so cold-hearted after all, huh?” or “Guess everyone has their breaking point.”

Having someone comment on it in another chapter can also pay off. “You can do anything you want to the witnesses, just don’t leave them alive.” or “I want to trust you on this, and I will if you’re going to give your word”.

Lastly, you can craft a few reminders of their past actions into the background. How a cake practically bleeds red frosting, or find a solitary white rose amid a sea of red tulips. The player may not consciously correlate the two but unconsciously…

The above does require tracking player actions to some extent and that can be annoying. It would be up to the writer to figure out if that is worth attempting and when.

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96

How will you manage this aspect of your game. Will you limit the choices to choices that character would make, or will give some sort of reward if the player stays true to the character’s established personality, or will you mostly focus on the narrative being based on the specific character so the story will read more like a novel with very personalized content, since you basically have only one background, personality and set of circumstances to take into account?

Occasionally I’ll use selectable if to limit the player’s options, but mostly it will be more like some of the Bioware games, where you have a host of different possible character options rather than 1 but each is very strongly defined.

I am working on ways to narratively and mechanically incentivize players to play to their character’s natures, yes.