Types of Story Branching?

[anoko]

Hi,

What are the different methods of branching a romantic visual novel / otome game?
I haven't played many VNs, so I am not entirely sure.

The ones I do know of are as follows:
> Player chooses a character route; the story focuses on that character.
> Throughout the whole game, the player has the opportunity to romance any of the characters at any time.

I am 91% sure this is not all...

Additionally, out of the methods I have presented and what you or others may come up with, what is your favorite?

I apologize if I posted in the wrong section.

[Googaboga]

Let's see off the top of my head I can think of a few more ways to do it;

-At the start of the game you can romance anyone but eventually it splits off into an individual character path depending on the choices made
-At the start of the game you can only get on one route, but instead of simply choosing the route directly there is some roundabout way that puts the player on a character route (I used this method in a game)
-You can romance a few of the romantic leads all throughout the game, but not all of them. Some become unromanceable depending on choices made
-Some branching method is used and then there is a possible romance route that happens automatically along side the normal events and how it plays out depends on choices made (this is good if you want a romance with choices while still focusing mainly on other things)
-Using elements of more than one branching method in combination
-Using one method for some characters and another method for other characters

People are very creative and I'm sure they've come up with unique ways to go about this. But this is all I can think of right now.

As for what style is my favorite, I don't have a favorite :'D. Different methods work with different types of games. So, depending on how it's done, I can really like any method.

[SundownKid]

There is one type of branching where you have a single story arc and optional side stories if you want to romance someone or do something extra. Then these side stories can jump back into the main story. They can also have modifying effects on the story based on variables, but the story doesn't necessarily branch completely.

[anoko]

Wow... That was more than I thought!
Thank you for answering!

[OokamiKasumi]

What are the different methods of branching a romantic visual novel / otome game?

There are many, many variations for VN storyline plotting, but these are some (extremely) basic breakdowns of the most common forms. Feel free to use or abuse as you like.

This is a basic "Point Of View" storyline. Technically it's One story merely told from opposite points of view. This one isn't seen very often, but there are a few games that do this.

This is your basic "One (Romantic Interest) at a Time" storyline. This is most commonly seen in Pay to Play romance games.

This is the general form of a basic --no, seriously this is Basic!-- "Dating Frenzy" storyline where one plays with more than one Romantic Interest. A point system decides how much a chosen Love Interest likes the main character.

And just for comparison, this is the common "Choose Your Own Adventure" type storyline used for simple Adventures and/or Mystery stories.

For those interested, the diagrams were created in FreePlane, a free mind-mapping program. It's what I use to plot out all my games.

[anoko]

Oh, my... Thank you very much, Ookami!

I appreciate your thorough answer.

[OokamiKasumi]

Oh, my... Thank you very much, Ookami!
-- I appreciate your thorough answer.

Glad I could help.
-- I um...tend to be a bit on the thorough side when I answer writing questions. I like to avoid misunderstandings. (Though, it might just be my OCD kicking in.)