Too many options

[Gear]

Before I ask this question, I want you to think from the perspective of a VN player, not a VN creator.

At what point does a VN have too many choices? Similarly, at what point does it have too few? Can a VN realistically ask for your opinion far too often? Can a VN ask so infrequently that it basically becomes a Kinetic Novel with a few options?

Discuss.

[HigurashiKira]

If your flow chart looks something like this:

Then you have too many choices. Otherwise, I don't think a few decisions here and there are bad.

[Blue Lemma]

I think your story has too many options when they become meaningless or don't really affect the story much. For instance, you have a choice and it just ends up in the same place after a few sentences with no other effects. Options just for options are annoying, too. If the choices are actually going to branch the story, though, or give new scenes, I think all is forgiven

[polkapink]

I don't mind having a lot of choices. As a player I think it's fun. But, I would like my choices to matter and be relevant to the story. I want my choices to come up later in the story and I could go "Oh crap... I chose the wrong thing! I just got those people killed! " So, if there are little choices, I might be a little bit bummed but if my choices are better integrated in the story then I don't mind. If I have a choices that seem pointless however (like choosing what I eat for breakfast, unless it really is important) than I think the creator is just trying to throw in a lot of menus for no reason and that would turn me off.

[SusanTheCat]

I like every having a choice every 3-5 minutes of reading. (I also have a short attention span.)

Susan

[Crocosquirrel]

It's certainly possible to have too many choices. In my mind, a far worse circumstance comes when you have dozens or hundreds of clicks between branches. In one case, which shall remain unnamed, I spent more than an hour watching skip-mode before the very first branch appeared, and yet longer before the second. I shut the program down before the third- A walkthrough indicated that there were 10-15 such.

There were eight 'paths' and then a couple of additional endings after you got all those. I'm all about the replay value, but there's a limit. The game could have done with a few extraneous choices, just to break things up a little.

[ludeshka]

I think there's too many choices if I realise that they're having no effect on the storyline.
On the other hand, I'm seriously bored if I read what feels like 10 minutes without getting a choice.
Games that start slow and go on with no choices on sight are games I don't finish.
I love reading books, but if I'm playing visual novels, I consider I'm playing a game, and I want to do things XD

[DaFool]

If it feels like Interactive Fiction, then it's too many options. (I'm not into IF... I'm into VNs, which have their narratives centered around predetermined characters (even if it's in first person)). I also love kinetic novels, so hours of reading is no problem for me.

[Marcelo_Orlando]

I agree with what has been said above, too many choices and choices that don't affect the story are pointless. As a player I like to play games where it feels like I have some degree of control in what is happening. Having to only read and watch what unfolds is just like watching a movie or reading a book. The chance" to do, or do not", is the key here people. As it was said, if you're making a story, possibly horror. Then the option to save people should be included and it should also have consequences later in the story. I think that every option should have a purpose; as I always say, why ask me a question if my answer doesn't matter to you.

Now speaking as a player and a creator, as far as replay value is concerned. Having a choice every 30 seconds and about 13 different endings is unnecessary. For me, if I like a game, it's mostly because of the story. I'll play a game more than once even if the story doesn't change at all just because I like the story. Even with movies I'll watch the same one again and again if I like the story that is being told. Now I know I'm probably going off on a tangent here and I apologize, but let me just say that no amount of choices or endings, or even flashy art can take the place of a well rounded story.

[papillon]

As an RPG player, I'm actually completely happy to have a zillion choices for role-playing purposes. RPGs often have every single line of dialog the player delivers be a choice - and most of those choices aren't story-branching, they're about choosing what kind of character you're portraying.

This won't work if the character is supposed to be fixed, of course. But the opportunity to choose between being a snarky bitch and being a cooing goody-goody while still saying basically the same thing is sufficient reward in itself for some players. And it's possible to make these sorts of dialog choices build up tiny amounts of personality stats over time which WILL affect the story.

If you set this kind of expectation, though, be prepared to follow through on it. Once players expect your game to let them make choices for every line of dialog they are going to be REALLY ANNOYED any time that they feel like choice isn't available.

[Rewritten Ennui]

If a menu pops up right after the previous menu and it turns out that none of the choices really mean anything story-wise or gameplay-wise, then there's an obvious problem right there.

I like every having a choice every 3-5 minutes of reading. (I also have a short attention span.)

Susan

A menu every 3 minutes or so of reading will ensure that the reader is actually paying attention, so I find that to be a good ratio. If 10 minutes goes by and there's not a menu in sight, then I feel like I have no voice whatsoever with the events. Of course, the majority of the choices should have an effect on the story or have good bits of dialogue to give the game replay value.

[Greeny]

Too many options? BLASPHEMY!

I want you to think from the perspective of a VN player, not a VN creator.

Oh, wait, nevermind.

[Camille]

I've played dozens of different VNs and I must say that I've honestly never encountered one where I felt there were too many choices. I am okay with ones with choices every five minutes (usually they help shape the heroine's personality, or sometimes small decisions end up having big ramifications) and ones with only one choice per hour or so, though most otome games I've played tend to only have about 20 total choices per route and each route takes me about 4-8 hours to complete, depending on the game. So you do the math.

I like getting immersed in a story, so it doesn't matter to me either way. The fact that the creator put the choice in there means that it's affecting something one way or another, right? So as a VN player, I don't really care. As a VN creator, I prefer putting in more choices, though they make things harder to write/program because I want the choices to matter. XD;

[RemnantDream]

I've actually been considering this. With me, I liked games to fit into reality. In real life, if you make a dozen different choices, you will not end up in the same place the next day. One game I'm working on, every choice you make affects the outcome in a significant manner, some less so than others.

As a VN player? If the choices are absolutely pointless and are there only for the purpose of being there, then yes. But any other time, I would love a ton of choices. I like variety :3

[LSDY]

If it wasn't so difficult to make I'd take a VN with every single speech of MC being a choice with different outcome with all my limbs, claws and teeth.