VN A question about preferences in story routes.

[BeauCaddel]

Which do all prefer in a good Ren'Py game:
Branching story routes with multiple (over 4) characters with a slightly more simple story arcs leading to over 4 different endings
Or fewer characters arcs with greater detail, and only 2 different ultimate endings?

 

[voronkov]

Мое личное предпочтение это выбор который будет вести к разным маршрутам. Как уже где то писал, минус такого варианта для игры это то что игрок не уведет всего контента, плюс это то что в одной игре можно будет воплотить несколько вариантов одного рассказа.

My personal preference is the choice that will lead to different routes. As I already wrote somewhere, the minus of such an option for the game is that the player will not take away all the content, plus it is that in one game it will be possible to embody several versions of one story.

 

[Glib_Gentleman]

Which do all prefer in a good Ren'Py game:
Branching story routes with multiple (over 4) characters with a slightly more simple story arcs leading to over 4 different endings
Or fewer characters arcs with greater detail, and only 2 different ultimate endings?

The simple answer is to include as many routes, character arcs, and endings that you can do WELL and that your game calls for.

If you only have 2 character arcs and 2 endings, but they are both super well done, I'm going to like that a lot more that 4-5 arcs and endings that you only put token effort into.

One thing I love to see, but is incredibly hard to do well, is to have multiple character arcs and story branches that FEEL complete by themselves, but layer into each other as a greater whole, where players are really rewarded by going through the game multiple times by getting a deeper understanding of the characters and the story ... but if they don't, they don't feel like they had an incomplete experience by just playing through one character route and ending.

I forget the name of the game, but I played through one years ago that took a Rashomon approach of every route having an unreliable narrator. Only you didn't realize that was the case unless you played multiple routes. It was neat because you could piece together what REALLY happened only by comparing all the routes, because you never played the "true" events.

TLDR;
As many as can be done well, but Quality > Quantity.

 

[BeauCaddel]

The simple answer is to include as many routes, character arcs, and endings that you can do WELL and that your game calls for.

If you only have 2 character arcs and 2 endings, but they are both super well done, I'm going to like that a lot more that 4-5 arcs and endings that you only put token effort into.

One thing I love to see, but is incredibly hard to do well, is to have multiple character arcs and story branches that FEEL complete by themselves, but layer into each other as a greater whole, where players are really rewarded by going through the game multiple times by getting a deeper understanding of the characters and the story ... but if they don't, they don't feel like they had an incomplete experience by just playing through one character route and ending.

I forget the name of the game, but I played through one years ago that took a Rashomon approach of every route having an unreliable narrator. Only you didn't realize that was the case unless you played multiple routes. It was neat because you could piece together what REALLY happened only by comparing all the routes, because you never played the "true" events.

TLDR;
As many as can be done well, but Quality > Quantity.

Thanks for the super detailed response!