Choices and branches
Learning paths through this topic
Find which lies told to different factions can come out
Telling one faction one thing and its rival another is a classic strategy move, and the story then needs a scandal that is possible, not random. Here is a ledger that records what each side was told and names exactly the contradictions that can reach each other.
Let shaken troops hesitate or refuse orders, but never refuse to run
Low morale should make an order feel risky, but a unit that refuses every order is a bug, not a story. Here is a three-way answer, obey, hesitate or refuse, that depends on the order and the situation, and keeps the way out of a lost fight always open.
Judge a ruler's promises fairly when the election comes
Promising a school by year three is a choice with a bill that comes due. Here is how to keep a ledger of promises that tells kept from broken from still open, looks at the right day, and does not blame the player for a deadline that has not passed yet.
Warn before the choice that makes the best ending impossible
A player can miss a key item or piece of knowledge in scene three and only find out at the very end that the good ending was gone for hours. Here is how to find those points of no return, so you can add a warning, a second chance or a save.
Score good and bad deeds so small acts cannot be farmed
If every helpful nod gives a point, a player can turn into a saint by helping with trivial chores a hundred times. Here is a score that rewards real decisions, shrinks repeated tiny ones, and turns into a label only after a safe middle zone.
Check that the clues really point to one culprit and never to a wrong one
A mystery fails if two suspects fit all the clues, or if a clue is true of everyone but the real culprit. This entry checks both, finds the smallest sets of clues that still solve the case, and shows which clues the player cannot miss.
Offer a gentler path after repeated defeats, once, and keep the record honest
A player who loses the same battle again and again needs a way forward, but a prompt that nags on every loss, or quietly changes the game, feels cheap. Here is a small rule that offers help at the right moment, only once, and is honest about it in the ending.
Keep old saves working after you rename or remove scenes
You fix a typo in a scene name, or cut a scene, and every save made before the update points at nothing. This entry shows how to carry old saves forward step by step, where to send a player whose scene is gone, and what to refuse.
Stop one unit from being sent on two missions at once
A strategy story can open several choices in the same turn: scout the pass, escort the convoy, guard the gate. If two of them want the same soldier, one of them quietly lies. Here is how to reserve people per choice and offer a stand-in when one is already taken.
Warn when a pick of optional missions makes the final mission impossible
When players may only play a few of many side missions, some combinations quietly leave them without what the last mission demands. Here is how to find every such trap ahead of time, and how to tell the player before the pick that cannot be undone.
Catch scenes nobody can reach and links with a typo
After many edits a story collects scenes no choice leads to, and links that point at a name spelled slightly wrong. The player meets a blank screen or never sees hours of your writing. Here is how to find both and what to suggest as the fix.
Let the world remember a past choice without nagging
Players love it when a character mentions what they did hours ago, and hate it when every character does so in every scene. Here is how to pick the single best reference for the moment and how long to leave it alone afterwards.