Making Good Choices
Posted: Thu Nov 02, 2017 4:46 pm
Choices are generally a big part in many VNs.
I like to categorize these choices into the following categories. Love Route Choices, Response Choices, and Plot Choices.
Love Route Choices: This choice involves choosing who to hang out with or who's story the player wants to see. I.E. choosing a waifu. Usually these choices are made obvious. For example, Billy goes to school and has class, class has ended and he has free time. He can call up and hang out with either Mandy, Erwin, etc...
Response Choices: Billy is talking with Mandy. Mandy says something (A question or statement.) Then a few buttons with possible responses pops up, the player picks one then Billy responds based on the choice. Usually these choices only affect the current scene or add or subtract friendship points. Usually the choice made in these scenes have no bearing on the plot. (Mandy will probably not mention the conversation they had later on.)
Plot Choices: These choices are the type I'm having the most difficulty writing. These choices affect the story in one way or another. For example: the Ace Attorney series is an example of a VN without plot choices. The story will always go down a set path, the only branch is when the player gets a game over. Conversely the Zero Escape series is an example of a VN with plot choices. In 999, the plot choices are made when the player chooses the doors he or she wants to go through. This affects the puzzles you find, the characters you interact with, and the ending.
I have a hard time visualizing plot choices and that is what I want to improve on. What I think makes a good plot choice is by balancing between the obvious and the obscure.
An obvious plot choice is when the player knows exactly what the choice will do now and the effects it will have in the future. I think most plot choices have obvious immediate results. Like in 999, choosing a door has the immediate effect of going through that door. I want to focus on the indirect effects. For example, in 999, Santa will offer the player a bookmark depicting a four-leaf clover. If the player accepts, can give the bookmark to Clover later on, cheering her up. The fact that someone hands you a bookmark depicting a clove is odd but since the player can choose to accept or refuse it means that it must be important.
An obscure plot choice is when the player has no idea why this choice matters, but the fact it's so obscure means it matters. A non-VN example being in King's Quest 5, you need to buy a pie near the beginning, then use it to defeat a yeti. (Essentially if the player says 'How was I supposed to know that?') Another example I just thought up, Billy goes to a store, he can buy a drink, a donut, or a magazine. Later on, if Billy has the donut, he saves another character's life. The player has no reason to suspect the donut has any bearing on the plot, but it does.
I mentioned that good plot choices involve balancing between the obvious and obscure. (Of course there are exceptions). Basically what I think I'm saying is this. If the player knows that a choice will cause a branch in the story and what that choice will do later on, then that is a bad plot choice.
Plot choices can overlap with the love route and response choices. Choosing who to hang out with could affect the main plot in small or big ways.
And sometimes the responses the player can choose in previous scenes may affect future events too. For example, Billy is hanging off a cliff and Mandy is there. He's begging her to help him. Whether or not she does is affected by how Billy treated Mandy earlier. If he treated her poorly she may not help him, but if he was nice to her she may help him.
So I've been rambling about choices and plot choices and writing like I know what I'm talking about. I am still a beginner in writing stories. (I majored in programming not writing.)
I would love to have your feedback. Did I waste your time? Did I provide good examples? Do you have better examples? What do you think makes good choices in a VN? And how do I write choices that make sense, but aren't super obvious. My biggest fear is that most people will meta-game. I want players to make choices based on what they think is best, not because it advances the plot.
My current project is a slice of life game, mixed with mystery. The plot is this: Boy goes to college, he makes friends, crimes happen (mostly murder), the boy is ultimately trying to stop the end of the world, no one can be trusted.
I like to categorize these choices into the following categories. Love Route Choices, Response Choices, and Plot Choices.
Love Route Choices: This choice involves choosing who to hang out with or who's story the player wants to see. I.E. choosing a waifu. Usually these choices are made obvious. For example, Billy goes to school and has class, class has ended and he has free time. He can call up and hang out with either Mandy, Erwin, etc...
Response Choices: Billy is talking with Mandy. Mandy says something (A question or statement.) Then a few buttons with possible responses pops up, the player picks one then Billy responds based on the choice. Usually these choices only affect the current scene or add or subtract friendship points. Usually the choice made in these scenes have no bearing on the plot. (Mandy will probably not mention the conversation they had later on.)
Plot Choices: These choices are the type I'm having the most difficulty writing. These choices affect the story in one way or another. For example: the Ace Attorney series is an example of a VN without plot choices. The story will always go down a set path, the only branch is when the player gets a game over. Conversely the Zero Escape series is an example of a VN with plot choices. In 999, the plot choices are made when the player chooses the doors he or she wants to go through. This affects the puzzles you find, the characters you interact with, and the ending.
I have a hard time visualizing plot choices and that is what I want to improve on. What I think makes a good plot choice is by balancing between the obvious and the obscure.
An obvious plot choice is when the player knows exactly what the choice will do now and the effects it will have in the future. I think most plot choices have obvious immediate results. Like in 999, choosing a door has the immediate effect of going through that door. I want to focus on the indirect effects. For example, in 999, Santa will offer the player a bookmark depicting a four-leaf clover. If the player accepts, can give the bookmark to Clover later on, cheering her up. The fact that someone hands you a bookmark depicting a clove is odd but since the player can choose to accept or refuse it means that it must be important.
An obscure plot choice is when the player has no idea why this choice matters, but the fact it's so obscure means it matters. A non-VN example being in King's Quest 5, you need to buy a pie near the beginning, then use it to defeat a yeti. (Essentially if the player says 'How was I supposed to know that?') Another example I just thought up, Billy goes to a store, he can buy a drink, a donut, or a magazine. Later on, if Billy has the donut, he saves another character's life. The player has no reason to suspect the donut has any bearing on the plot, but it does.
I mentioned that good plot choices involve balancing between the obvious and obscure. (Of course there are exceptions). Basically what I think I'm saying is this. If the player knows that a choice will cause a branch in the story and what that choice will do later on, then that is a bad plot choice.
Plot choices can overlap with the love route and response choices. Choosing who to hang out with could affect the main plot in small or big ways.
And sometimes the responses the player can choose in previous scenes may affect future events too. For example, Billy is hanging off a cliff and Mandy is there. He's begging her to help him. Whether or not she does is affected by how Billy treated Mandy earlier. If he treated her poorly she may not help him, but if he was nice to her she may help him.
So I've been rambling about choices and plot choices and writing like I know what I'm talking about. I am still a beginner in writing stories. (I majored in programming not writing.)
I would love to have your feedback. Did I waste your time? Did I provide good examples? Do you have better examples? What do you think makes good choices in a VN? And how do I write choices that make sense, but aren't super obvious. My biggest fear is that most people will meta-game. I want players to make choices based on what they think is best, not because it advances the plot.
My current project is a slice of life game, mixed with mystery. The plot is this: Boy goes to college, he makes friends, crimes happen (mostly murder), the boy is ultimately trying to stop the end of the world, no one can be trusted.