The mystery of Story Games

[PennyThompson]

I… said that? I’ve said in the past that three scenes make a story, but I doubt I said that.

Oops sorry, @Jorunn said it, not you! I'm tired and should not be awake right now

Thus you have to put enough effort into writing not one, but three stories. All the background, emotion, dialogue, etc.

 

[Z_TheWriter]

Maybe, but it feels like too simple an answer. I'm a guy who likes complicated answers...

Oh I definitely know that feeling. But though often misused, sometimes Occam's Razor actually does apply.

Oops sorry, @Jorunn said it, not you! I'm tired and should not be awake right now

Go to drunk Penny, you're sleep... Err, well I'm not quite awake yet

 

[Katie_Mae]

if I were to try making a story game, my inclination would be to attempt something different, not a traditional choose-your-own-adventure "does he approach the redhead or the brunette" story. Create some sort of mystery or memory or uncertain narrative where each branch illuminates a different aspect of the story.

After I initially gave up on my story game, I did have a think about what would make a good story game. The idea I cam up with at the time was an Agatha Christie whodunnit meets smut.

Something like having a gathering (eg valentines party) at a big old house, there being some sex-based mystery and having to collect clues to work it out, and there being lots of sex. I didn't really have a clear idea before I decided I was too lazy to write that too.

What would you work out? That's where I got stuck. I had a few ideas. Who hooked up with whom? Perhaps a really hot guy that all the women had claimed to have fucked, but you have to listen to their stories about having sex with him, pick up clues along the way, then work out who really had sex with him? And if you're right you get to fuck him at the end? Or, maybe, you had sex with some amazing guy the night before but now you've forgotten who it was, and have to work it out.

 

[AlinaX]

Have a murder mystery, 10 Little OnlyFans, where someone gets murdered every day until there’s only you left…

Everyone who’s anyone knows about Shady Lady’s private island, supposedly paid for by her OnlyFans income. My own income from there barely pays my rent, but two weeks of being streamed live by Shady Lady is sure to bring in a tonne of followers. I wonder who else will be there…

 

[AwkwardlySet]

I love this discussion!
A lot of interesting thoughts here. But they are mostly from the author's perspective, and that has always been much less of a mystery.

I'm not sure we have the readers figured out completely, though...

 

[Z_TheWriter]

I love this discussion!
A lot of interesting thoughts here. But they are mostly from the author's perspective, and that has always been much less of a mystery.

I'm not sure we have the readers figured out completely, though...

I still feel like the reader motivation is quite simple. They aren't finding what they're looking for in the Story Games section.

1) There aren't many, so any reader will struggle to find one with content which matches their specific tastes.
2) They aren't here for that in the first place, because Literotica is known for 'plain' stories, not games.
3) If they want games, there are many places out there with much broader content that is more advanced. There's an entire damn game engine written in Python for people to make visual novels in. And there are decades of translated Japanese visual novels.

 

[Bamagan]

So what is the thing that makes a story game or interactive text a distinct medium?

One thing that I've considered, but not yet put a meaningful amount of effort into, is making a story game where the reading experience is different depending on which 'character' one chooses to 'play' in the story... or perhaps more accurately, they choose a general personality for the main character.

For example, some people are attentive to details (of scenery or props) that other people would consider quite minor. So if the reader chooses that character, they might get an extra sentence or two per paragraph of descriptions, or the vocabulary will be more precise. Perhaps said character is simultaneously almost blind to emotional cues; such text would be removed*. Conversely, one might choose to experience the story through a highly empathic character whose perspective includes lots of additional clues as to what the other characters seem to be thinking and feeling. Dialogue would alter to reflect the sensibilities and sensitivity of the character's attributes.

In essence, doing the above could allow one to write a traditional, single-narrative story that might read very differently because of the variations in narrators. I'd probably want to add at least a few nodes, since the possible outcomes of a social interaction could wind up hugely divergent just by virtue of 'playing through' with an introvert versus an extrovert. But that wouldn't necessarily affect an ending, just the route to get there.

It's still something that would benefit from a collaborative effort between writers who focus on different aspects of scene-building and dialogue selection, though. My own writing style is possibly not diverse enough to capture too many different sensorial experiences and make them seem truly unique.

*Reference The Stranger, Albert Camus.

 

[Husky_Embrace]

I'd love to write one but I just can't settle on a plot idea since I can't figure out who is playing it. Should I write one for a woman to play or for a man to play? What would be the game's objective, to get laid? To shag your way up the corporate ladder? To rescue and shag a princess (or get rescued and shag the rescuer)? Something more generic like an Indiana Jones jungle hunt, but then how to work in the sex?

If you're unsure about writing one for a man or a woman, or what the objective should be, how about letting it be up to the reader?

Fir example, you can have the same story, but told from either man or a woman. Things change because of it, giving alternative stories for the same plot.

As an idea for the plot, how about a person who tries to not have sex? A man on his Bachelor Party getting married soon, and many choices steer him towards sex and an epilogue where his marriage is horrible or falls apart. Only be abstaining you'll fuck the bride and have a happy ending. You can write about a religious woman instead, who tries to hold her virtue despite the temptations (like being new to student life).

After I initially gave up on my story game, I did have a think about what would make a good story game. The idea I cam up with at the time was an Agatha Christie whodunnit meets smut.

Something like having a gathering (eg valentines party) at a big old house, there being some sex-based mystery and having to collect clues to work it out, and there being lots of sex. I didn't really have a clear idea before I decided I was too lazy to write that too.

What would you work out? That's where I got stuck. I had a few ideas. Who hooked up with whom? Perhaps a really hot guy that all the women had claimed to have fucked, but you have to listen to their stories about having sex with him, pick up clues along the way, then work out who really had sex with him? And if you're right you get to fuck him at the end? Or, maybe, you had sex with some amazing guy the night before but now you've forgotten who it was, and have to work it out.

I'm reminded of the movie Clue. The choices make sense if you got the clues in the interactions or tracks left behind by the "killer." You can have flashbacks of the sex with a mystery man. To make it easier you can reuse many pieces of the story, only keeping track of the choices for the ending.

I'm writing a "who dunnit" story myself, where people at a sex addiction clinic are literally bumping each other off by having sex. Each night a woman is taken by one of the men, and the women try to figure out who it is and have sex at his quarters to remove him and be "safe" again. It is difficult enough to have a single story line for me, so condensing it to similar stories where you can reuse story parts would save a lot of effort.

Otherwise I think you're writing several stories, while people might only have patience for one and a half.

 

[Z_TheWriter]

So what is the thing that makes a story game or interactive text a distinct medium?

Honestly, I kinda feel like it isn't. It's just a type of video game. There's nothing wrong with that, but the scope of gaming has always encompassed text based stories. Zork comes to mind.

To me the interesting thing about text based games isn't separating them from other games, but how much you can push in the direction of those other games within the limitations of 'simply' text, and whether there are specific things that couldn't work in a more 'advanced' context or in a non-digital medium.

I've always liked the idea of a villain being able to break the boundaries of a story for instance. In a physical book, you can turn the page to get away from something scary. In many video games, you can reload your game from an earlier point. In physical chose your own adventure books, you can go back to an earlier section and make another choice.

But in a digital chose your own adventure: What if you try to go back to an earlier section - not because it's a game mechanic, but because you just want to see another choice - and the evil wizard is waiting there for you? You can't simply use the medium to escape him, because he has magical powers which will allow him to pursue. In a context with sufficient control given to the author, you could even end up dying and starting over, only to find your nemesis waiting in the first paragraph.

 

[Erozetta]

I have one I've been working on. It's a single story with alternate endings and different paths to get to the endings.

There's the happy ending, the sad ending, the tragic ending, the healthy ending, and a neutral ending.

I already wrote the story through the tragic ending, it's just a matter of going back and writing the branching sequences that get to the other endings.

The happy ending leads to no sex in the story. It's a closed door romance with an age gap. The sad ending leads to a lot of sex, but it's mostly about appeasing a desire to feel wanted rather than enjoying it. The tragic ending had a lot of kinky sex with a slight switch dynamic. The healthy ending has kinky sex, but only a bit. And the neutral ending has only a couple of sex scenes.

My problem with finishing it is the tragic ending path ended up around 64k words. By the time I'm done writing all of it, I expect I'll have around 240k words with dozens of paths to choose and places where those paths crisscross each other.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

I have one I've been working on. It's a single story with alternate endings and different paths to get to the endings.

There's the happy ending, the sad ending, the tragic ending, the healthy ending, and a neutral ending.

I already wrote the story through the tragic ending, it's just a matter of going back and writing the branching sequences that get to the other endings.

The happy ending leads to no sex in the story. It's a closed door romance with an age gap. The sad ending leads to a lot of sex, but it's mostly about appeasing a desire to feel wanted rather than enjoying it. The tragic ending had a lot of kinky sex with a slight switch dynamic. The healthy ending has kinky sex, but only a bit. And the neutral ending has only a couple of sex scenes.

My problem with finishing it is the tragic ending path ended up around 64k words. By the time I'm done writing all of it, I expect I'll have around 240k words with dozens of paths to choose and places where those paths crisscross each other.

Not sure how well such a long story game will go with readership. Based on what we've seen so far, it might be counterproductive to make it that long.

Also, you'll exhaust yourself writing it, and it might not lead to the engagement you expect. I'd consider publishing it as a regular story with the just one ending you've already written.

 

[Erozetta]

Not sure how well such a long story game will go with readership. Based on what we've seen so far, it might be counterproductive to make it that long.

Also, you'll exhaust yourself writing it, and it might not lead to the engagement you expect. I'd consider publishing it as a regular story with the just one ending you've already written.

Already did publish it here. It was sitting in erotic horror with a 4.8something until I deleted my account. now it's up for sale on Smashwords.

The expectation on engagement is basically nil at any length, lol.

It's a thing I want to do, mostly because I want my husband to turn it into a visual novel at some point. The story game would just be to set the paths for the novel.

 

[SimonDoom]

Maybe, but it feels like too simple an answer. I'm a guy who likes complicated answers...

That explains much! That is a wonderful example of self-awareness. Kudos to you.

I'm the opposite. I prefer it simple. Occam's Razor for me, baby, all the way. I have no patience for extraneous complications, conspiracy theories, the imputation of malice or design over incompetence, Bigfoot, chemtrails, fairies in the garden, or any of it. Without evidence, we know nothing, and we should admit we know nothing. Our closely held narratives count for nothing.

And I say this even though I know from personal experience that once in a while it's zebras, not horses.

As to the question about story games, my thought is, why would that be appealing in an erotic story? I understand the appeal in the context of an adventure game/story, but not if one wants to get one's rocks off. It sounds tedious and unnecessary, and an impediment to one's object: satisfaction. Do I choose the French tickler, or the dragon cock? Thank you, no.

Keep it simple.

 

[crookedletter]

So what is the thing that makes a story game or interactive text a distinct medium?

I think this is the essential question. From both a writer's and a reader's (at least this reader's) perspective.

I like video games, and I occasionally even like video game stories -- though that's becoming rarer these days as I get old and crotchety. But the ones I find most interesting are the ones that feel like they can only be done through the video game medium.

The Last of Us is well and good, it has a compelling story and fun gameplay, but you're essentially just taking mandatory breaks from your gaming to slowly watch a movie.

A game like Gone Home comes to mind, where the story is out there in the world, and it's the player's job to explore and dig into it and reveal it as you go. You pick up clues and little fragments of story and you piece them together as you play. The way the story is told can really only be told through the medium of video game.

So I would approach the subject of these story games the same way. What manner of storytelling can best -- and, better, only -- be executed in this way? As a reader I would find it disappointing if it's just three versions of the same story. That, to me, isn't utilizing the uniqueness of the medium.

Better, I think, to try to craft a story -- one story -- where the experience changes in subtle but interesting ways depending on the order in which the reader chooses to read it, or that gains nuance and complexity in different ways depending on what the reader chooses to skip.

As for how to execute that, I have no idea. Sounds hard.

 

[crookedletter]

Having said all that, it might also be fun to craft a Choose Your Own Adventure: Stroker or Slow Burn.

To explore our heroes' growing emotional conflict, turn to page 12. For Cindy to take her top off, turn to page 32.

To skip the foreplay and go directly to the money shot, turn to page 57.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

As to the question about story games, my thought is, why would that be appealing in an erotic story? I understand the appeal in the context of an adventure game/story, but not if one wants to get one's rocks off. It sounds tedious and unnecessary, and an impediment to one's object: satisfaction. Do I choose the French tickler, or the dragon cock? Thank you, no.

Well I think it's just with the overwhelming amount of readers who self-insert into the main character's shoes (readenis) one would think that an actual interactive experience is only the next natural step.

 

[ColtonWrites]

As to the question about story games, my thought is, why would that be appealing in an erotic story? I understand the appeal in the context of an adventure game/story, but not if one wants to get one's rocks off.

I would imagine youd set the choices in the build up to the sex scenes, and then "reward" the reader for their choices with the erotic stuff, rather than having choices during the sex itself.

Kind of making me want to tackle one.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

As to the question about story games, my thought is, why would that be appealing in an erotic story? I understand the appeal in the context of an adventure game/story, but not if one wants to get one's rocks off. It sounds tedious and unnecessary, and an impediment to one's object: satisfaction. Do I choose the French tickler, or the dragon cock? Thank you, no.

Keep it simple.

Playing a game is about role-playing, about competing, about straining your brain muscles. But most of all, it's about choices. And that's where (good) story games enter. If done right, they give the reader an opportunity to choose their path in a story and impact the ending in a meaningful way.

At the moment, Literotica doesn't allow more complicated and fulfilling story games, so I'd say making them easy reads with well-thought-out, but relatively short, choice paths is the way to go.

In some ways, they are exactly what a good number of readers want - a way for the story to follow their kinks/fantasies. And we've seen in the comments how many readers want that. That's why their low popularity here on Lit seems perplexing to me.

 

[SamanthaBehgs]

I guess, speaking purely as a consumer, I've never considered them because when I want a story, I want a story. Take me to church, author, I'll worship at the shrine of your lies. When I want a game, there's a ton of options from super-modded Skyrim to Dungeon Boyfriend to Ladykiller in a Bind to Memoirs of a Battle-Brothel. The space in between, for a CYOO story, just doesn't really appeal.

Is Dungeon Boyfriend different from Boyfriend Dungeon? If so, I desperately need to know more. If not - I love your taste in games - dating my sword is just freaking amazing.

 

[YmaOHyd]

Is Dungeon Boyfriend different from Boyfriend Dungeon? If so, I desperately need to know more. If not - I love your taste in games - dating my sword is just freaking amazing.

Same game, just misremembered the title, unfortunately.

 

[SamanthaBehgs]

I love this discussion!
A lot of interesting thoughts here. But they are mostly from the author's perspective, and that has always been much less of a mystery.

I'm not sure we have the readers figured out completely, though...

As a reader: I tried to find one I liked. There weren't any that suited my style, just like I skip over the vast majority of stories even if they are in a category that I generally enjoy reading. I don't down vote them, they might not be bad stories overall, they just aren't my cup of tea.

With so few story games, I'm not surprised I don't find something I want to play. And I check back every now and again to see if something new comes up. But I haven't found it yet (and I'm even a collect 'em all 100% kinda gal in my gaming).

Same game, just misremembered the title, unfortunately.

Nah, that sounds fortunate to me - here's another plot bunny. D&D where you go to different dungeons to find different boyfriends until you end up with the one you want. Story game - once I decide to start writing them.

if I were to try making a story game, my inclination would be to attempt something different, not a traditional choose-your-own-adventure "does he approach the redhead or the brunette" story. Create some sort of mystery or memory or uncertain narrative where each branch illuminates a different aspect of the story. Different perspectives on the same sequence of events, for example. Blind monks describing an elephant.

It's not that the story would branch into diverging paths, but that each branch would return back into the trunk and make it feel more full and complete. Let the reader/player unveil each section in whichever order they choose, and maybe their order choice could create a different sense of revealing from someone else's experience.

that's a story game that I would want to try playing. I don't know if I have the plotting chops to write it, though

I would read the heck out of this and disagree strongly with your self assessment of your plotting chops.

 

[YmaOHyd]

Nah, that sounds fortunate to me - here's another plot bunny. D&D where you go to different dungeons to find different boyfriends until you end up with the one you want. Story game - once I decide to start writing them.

I was thinking something like -- "she's a small-town girl in a big-city world. He's a dungeon. Can these two crazy kids make it work?" I feel like I'd need to read/watch a lot of very silly anime to get it right though: Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town. As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I'll Use My Appraise Skill to Rise in the World. Maybe Do You Love Your Mother and her Two-Hit Multi-Target Attacks?. Imagine that at the top of the T/I toplist.

 

[Z_TheWriter]

Just pointing out this is a thing if y'all need inspiration. Not a game though.

 

[SamanthaBehgs]

I was thinking something like -- "she's a small-town girl in a big-city world. He's a dungeon. Can these two crazy kids make it work?" I feel like I'd need to read/watch a lot of very silly anime to get it right though: Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town. As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I'll Use My Appraise Skill to Rise in the World. Maybe Do You Love Your Mother and her Two-Hit Multi-Target Attacks?. Imagine that at the top of the T/I toplist.

I can't decide this if I love this or am giggling. I think it's a bit of both.

 

[YmaOHyd]

View attachment 2580930
Just pointing out this is a thing if y'all need inspiration. Not a game though.

The Japanese are so much better at this than anyone else it's crazy.