When you play or read interactive fiction what elements make the story feel more engaging for you? Do you prefer strong character development, meaningful choices that change the story, world building, or something else? I am curious what aspects other readers and players value the most in choice based games.
Wait, I have to present it in a scientific way:
All this in the right proportions of course. Golden mean must be.
Now for the details
Summary
Storyline. I should add the genre 
Not every will interest me (I wouldn’t read sports or westerns even if you paid me). When it comes to plot, I often look for something unusual, I want the author to surprise me in some way. Game descriptions like “you are chosen mage to defeat…” “you return to your hometown (usually a family member dies)…” don’t grab my attention anymore. I’ve seen plenty of those. I enjoy mixed genres or when it is not what it seems in the first chapters (game seems modern fantasy, but is not). I like it when MC has an interesting role. A profession. And I want them to be quite important and competent. I’m not a big fan of stories that start with “you’re nobody and live an ordinary life when…” although they may catch my attention sometimes. Depends on what role we are drawn into.
World building is also important to me and I love it when an author puts some effort in showing it so that it feels “alive”, “colorful”. Easy to imagine thanks to the descriptions (that’s why I appreciate Anathema writing so much).
Meaningful choices. There may be fewer of them but let them have a real impact on the story + I don’t need thousands of tiny irrelevant choices like whether I prefer coffee or tea. It’s not that I’m not completely against them, they’re nice, help build MC persona, but I want them in moderation.
Relationships. Not only romantic ones. From family relationships to various professional relationships, friendships, friends with benefits, enemies, ex-enemies. I really appreciate when an author gives a lot of freedom without trying to lock MC into a specific relationships (I prefer it when MC have set relationships in past, but it depends on us what we do with them in present). I like it when relationships allow me to see a character in a new light’ they turn out to be a bit different person than they seem at first glance. When relationships aren’t always about drama (although drama and secrets are also fun. Just the right amount and well-written). I don’t like it when one side is too passive. For example, MC is trying to win NPC’s attention, and it’s all about us chasing them until they love us.
Malin Ryden gets A+ for Relationships… A+ for everything else too.
MC being MC means I want to feel like I’m playing the main character. Believe it or not, this isn’t always the case with some new interactive games. The best MC is one that combines established elements ( can be the past, some personality traits etc.) with a lot of opportunities for the player to shape MC.
Sorry if it’s a bit chaotic. It’s 1 a.m. and my English barely works.
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