Player choice implementation

[Queen Rat]

I’ve been thinking about how much player choice to implement in the game I’m developing, and also on how to present it to the player. From the games I’ve played, choice was implemented in a number of ways, the following are just some general examples:

1) No choice, like kinetic novels where you just click through the dialog and scenes. Also some games with proper gameplay, where interaction is created through combat and/or puzzles, but the story follows a linear path.

2) The illusion of choice, where the game asks you for some input, but your choices does not really matter. This creates interactivity, but I usually feel a bit cheated if the game was presented as having impactful decisions.

3) Short-term choices that affect things like outfits, how the sex scenes develop, include/exclude certain fetishes, but does not really impact on the story in a meaningful way.

4) Choices that affect the ending, but besides minor changes to the dialog, not really the path the player follows through the game.

5) Decisions send the game down branching pathways. I get the idea this is what most players want, but it can easily spiral out of control, is hard to implement properly, requires careful planning and a lot of extra work.

6) Sandbox games can be a combination of the above, but in addition the player has some freedom in the order of interactions. I also think this is hard to implement properly, especially if the various tasks/relationships are interlinked.

This is my first stab at a game, so I’m hesitant tackling the sandbox or full branching genres, but I would like to include some meaningful choices. What’s your opinion of the fourth option: decisions that affect the ending of the game, but not really how the player gets there? You might not get the feeling that your choices are impactful while progressing, but there will be different payoffs in the end.

Also, what would be the preferred way to communicate the impact of a decision to the player? A warning that the next decision is important (like DoD), or keeping the player in the dark (like Melody)? If you prefer hints, should the game tell you explicitly how the upcoming decision affects the ending? For example, “you can’t end up in a relationship with Girl A anymore”?

Any comments and suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[StarFayek]

I feel like it should be a mix between 4 and 5 where not all choices are path divergent as it will complicate a lot of things and fans might soon feel excluded from some parts of the game due to different paths but some meaningful choices would affect the story and the ending. It depends on the direction that the dev wants to take and the story they want to tell. 3 should be added to the game in general as otherwise all choices would give the player high anxiety (If the player is there to enjoy the story that is). 2 is never a good option as it is basically 1 but puts extra effort to keep players engaged so avoid it at best. I don't play a lot of sandbox so I can't say much about 6.

Now communicating choices can be done a lot of ways. A hint system or choices outright telling the player it has major consequences, having the MC monologue, changes(visual or emotional) in the characters(MC or LIs) or environment etc. There's a lot of ways to do it and it all depends on the dev and their creativity. For example if the MC is a man-whore then some LIs will be locked out or if the LIs find the MC cheating then both LIs leave the MC(if it's not a harem game) etc. I don't really have a preference as all options are preferable to me but if I had to choose I would say MC monologue as it quickly gives you how the MC thinks and the how the choices might effect according to the MC.

If this is your first time making a game then all the best and good luck. People here are very judgmental but don't let it discourage you.
I hope I was able to answer your questions.

 

[MissFortune]

1) No choice, like kinetic novels where you just click through the dialog and scenes. Also some games with proper gameplay, where interaction is created through combat and/or puzzles, but the story follows a linear path.

The is largely dependent on the story being presented. If it's a straight story that really has nothing else to it, then this is your best option.

2) The illusion of choice, where the game asks you for some input, but your choices does not really matter. This creates interactivity, but I usually feel a bit cheated if the game was presented as having impactful decisions.

Regardless of whether you have a ton of meaningful choices or not, you should include a few of these. They don't need a ton of weight to them, even if it only affects dialogue. But yeah, try to limit these. Several throughout a VN should be fine. Depending on context, more could be fine. (e.g. a game of truth or dare.)

3) Short-term choices that affect things like outfits, how the sex scenes develop, include/exclude certain fetishes, but does not really impact on the story in a meaningful way.

Again, a few of these should be included - sans the fetish stuff. Fetish content should be offered as an option. Or better, asked at the beginning of a project. "NTR is available in ____, would you like to keep it on? Yes/No.". Careful with doing this kind of stuff. Especially with clothes. As you'll be rendering some scenes twice with different clothes, which can quietly pile up on your update/release times.

5) Decisions send the game down branching pathways. I get the idea this is what most players want, but it can easily spiral out of control, is hard to implement properly, requires careful planning and a lot of extra work.

As you mentioned, doing this can get out of control fast. Scope creep, as most would call it. There's nothing wrong with branching pathways. But set yourself to a certain amount of paths that you know you can write and stick with that. Don't add two on the fly because it sounds good at the time. Just don't. You'll thank yourself later. As for the bold:

I say this in the nicest possible way toward players, but fuck what they want. It's your story, your vision, and you're the one putting the work in to make that vision a reality. Not them, not their sanity, nor their time. It's you. Heed the advice of those financially supporting or those who are taking the time to write something well-worded, but do you and nothing but you. There's no point otherwise.

6) Sandbox games can be a combination of the above, but in addition the player has some freedom in the order of interactions. I also think this is hard to implement properly, especially if the various tasks/relationships are interlinked.

If this is your first attempt at a VN, I'd strongly recommend against going sandbox. There's a lot more code to keep track of, more variables to fuck up (and thus piss players off when they have to start over because of it.), and they just generally take much longer to make. Mostly due to resources than anything else, but the point remains the same. You'll find many on here that have been in development for years but have moved the needle very little in regard to content. Especially when it's just solo devs chipping away at it.

Then there's the bad reputation they have in this space. While that's mostly because of how terrible most of them are made (e.g. too grindy, too little content for the said grind, buggy as fuck, etc.), it isn't easy getting passed the stigma they've created for that format of games. I'm not going to stop you, but just be ready for all the "too bad it's a sandbox", and "Looks good, but I don't play sandboxs".

What’s your opinion of the fourth option: decisions that affect the ending of the game, but not really how the player gets there? You might not get the feeling that your choices are impactful while progressing, but there will be different payoffs in the end.

Just speaking from my personal opinion here: look at the way your average movie plays out. I'm not talking about Inception or Predestination, just your average action movie. Taken, for example. Character Introduction > Plot Introduction > Conflict Introduction > Peak of Climax or a "Twist", depending on the type of movie > Ending. In this case, that said "peak of climax" (lol) should be the players choices/actions/etc. coming to fruition, thus allowing the ending to flesh out and see the aftermath of their choices.

Also, what would be the preferred way to communicate the impact of a decision to the player? A warning that the next decision is important (like DoD), or keeping the player in the dark (like Melody)? If you prefer hints, should the game tell you explicitly how the upcoming decision affects the ending? For example, “you can’t end up in a relationship with Girl A anymore”?

If it's controversial, like NTR for example, then perhaps a tooltip or something of that sort may be worth adding next to the specific choice. Same goes for your other examples.

But just like everything above, all of this is your choice. We can all give you advice, but it's your story and you're the one putting the work in at the end of the day, so only you are going to know what'll work best in the end. If all else fails? Go with your gut. Because it's usually right. Good luck with your VN, btw.

 

[anne O'nymous]

I’ve been thinking about how much player choice to implement in the game I’m developing, and also on how to present it to the player.

Well, it totally depend of the story you've to tell.

2) The illusion of choice, where the game asks you for some input, but your choices does not really matter. This creates interactivity, but I usually feel a bit cheated if the game was presented as having impactful decisions.

What are you talking about here ? Because this correspond to two different situation.

Firstly there's what is called "narrative choices", where you just choose what you'll reply in the discussion. It's meaningless in regard of the story, but it help to self insert yourself into MC's shoes.
Those choices are important, and they sometimes aren't as meaningless as they seem. When the game is well done, they'll branch you on the right path, or send you in a dead end. Therefore, while it seem that nothing change at first, there's some combinations that will present you a significant choice, while the others will keep you out of it.
Let's say that you are having a date with the girl. If you always choose the choice where the MC show some interest, at the end she'll kiss you, opening the gate to a possible romance. And at the opposite if you only pick the choices showing how bored, or boring, the MC is, the girl will just end the date hoping to never see you again. When the game is wrote correctly, the kiss will be conditioned to "at least X answer showing that the MC is interested".

Secondly there's the choices that just don't matter. Like the "nice reply"/"harsh reply" that will give you a point, or not, but the points will never really matters. Whatever if you were always nice, or always harsh, the final result will always be the same.
It's by example what happened in Dating My Daughter first chapter, where you had a visual showing you how much points you had, but the said points were never used in the game. It was just a way to tell you how right, or how wrong, you were in regard of the story as seen by its author. Many games are, alas, working that way.

3) Short-term choices that affect things like outfits, how the sex scenes develop, include/exclude certain fetishes, but does not really impact on the story in a meaningful way.

Those choices also can be interesting since, here again, they help to self insert yourself into the story. But they shouldn't be one time situation.
The choice of an outfit should have an impact ; some kind of "oh, so he prefer a lady-like outfit", well, I'll try to wear that more often. Same for the fetishes, if you decide to not see it, the game should remember that and automatically hide it in the future.

4) Choices that affect the ending, but besides minor changes to the dialog, not really the path the player follows through the game.

They are probably the lamest choices, because they tend to keep the player in the dark.
I don't remember the name, but there's a game when you can only have the "good ending" if you offered flowers during the first date. The girls is as happy whatever you offer her, so you've no way to know that you did something wrong. It's only by looking into the game code that you can discover why you're kept out of the good ending.
That you don't know that flowers is the good choice, it can pass, but then the girl should react differently depending of the gift. It's a hint to the player, a way to show that she appreciated the flowers way more than whatever else he can have chose.

5) Decisions send the game down branching pathways. I get the idea this is what most players want, but it can easily spiral out of control, is hard to implement properly, requires careful planning and a lot of extra work.

It's effectively the best approach, but yes it need that you know perfectly your story and take a good care of what you're doing. This said, not all choices have to be that significant.

6) Sandbox games can be a combination of the above, but in addition the player has some freedom in the order of interactions. I also think this is hard to implement properly, especially if the various tasks/relationships are interlinked.

It's the most difficult approach, and the easiest to mess up. Plus, if you don't do it correctly, it will have the opposite effect, making your game looks either empty or way too confusing.

Also, what would be the preferred way to communicate the impact of a decision to the player? A warning that the next decision is important (like DoD), or keeping the player in the dark (like Melody)?

Neither of those. The player should know that a decision is important by the dialogs that lead to it.

girl "Listen, I really love you, but you know that I have trust issues."
MC "Yes I know it."
girl "I know that you fool around with other girls, and..."
MC "I..."
girl "Shh ! Let me finish please."
MC "I listen."
girl "I don't ask you to be faithful, and... well I think that I'm ready to give a try to an open relationship. But I want you to promise that you'll never lie to me."
girl "You can be with whatever girl you want, but you've to be honest with me. Do not pretend to have extra works while you'll be in fact fucking a side chick, or things like that."
Then, the choice that will appear is obviously significant. Will the MC promise it, will he lie, or will he refuse to make this promise ? It's up to the player, but it's obvious that there will be consequences.

Any comments and suggestions would be appreciated.

All this being said, a good game is a mix of all this.

There should be narrative choices, to help the player feel in control of the discussion. There should be choices that will affect the ending. And there should be significant choices that change the story. But what is important isn't the significance of the choices, it's their impact on what the player will see.

If the girl ask the MC what he want for breakfast, then she should consider that it's his preferred breakfast and try to make it as often as possible.
If one time the player have the possibility to give a harsh answer, then the girl should be offended. And she should also remember this. If at one time the MC say "I've always be nice with you", she should talk about this time where he was harsh. It don't have to impact the story itself, it don't have to impact the ending. But it have to impact this dialog, because it's the truth, there's one time where he wasn't as nice as that.

The significance of a choice shouldn't be see only in regard of the story. It also have an impact on the characters, and this should also be took in count.
If you offer flowers every time you've a date with the girl, at one time she should say how much she like this small attention. And if one time you come to the date without flower, she should notice it and react to it. It don't need to be a rude reaction, she can simply say, "oh, no flowers today", then pass to something else, but she can't act as if nothing have changed.
In regard of the story, this choice is insignificant. She'll not love you more, or less, because of this, and the ending will not change just for that. But in regard of the character it have some importance, and you should show to the player that it was took in count.

 

[79flavors]

To echo what Misfortune said... fuck what the players want. Write the story you want to tell.

A couple of things I'll point out though... choices will escalate the complexity quickly. Choices sound like the "must have" feature of a VN - but the complexity they add can often be disproportionate for you as the developer. As a new dev, it'll sneak up on you and beat you mercilessly.

Let's say you have a choice on day 2 to go visit your new aunt or not. Nice simple choice... leads to two separate scenes which you have to write and render. No problem there, beyond a little extra work which is par for the task. But now, for the rest of the story, there's a chance you have never met your aunt and you need to factor that in with every conversation and future choice.

Alternatively, you have a character pick between a red bikini or a blue bikini. Adds absolutely no impact (probably) to the story or the game as a whole. Except... now every single render for the remainder of that part of the story needs to be rendered twice. Once for the red outfit, one for the blue. Take that a stage further, pick between a red top/blue top and jeans or a skirt. Now you've got to do FOUR renders per image for each combination of choices (assuming CG rendering rather than layer images).

But that 2x2 choices = 4 consequences is an appropriate warning for your story too. Ignore clothing, but have something where you only get to kiss the girl if you've taken her on a date... now you've got to code for stories where you've never dated, where the date went wrong, where the date went well and/or where there was a kiss or not. Hence my comment that the complexity can escalate quickly.

The other thing to consider is that some players will want to play in such a way that they do the opposite of the story's goals. The MC not only doesn't get the girl, but doesn't get any girl. You've got to write all those scenes and render all those images for parts of the story that 98% of your players will never see... IF you implement choices for the sake of choices.

From a programming perspective, anything that affects the ending should probably be a number (I dunno, love > 25 AND lust > 15 for one ending, etc.). Anything that is a short term decision should probably be a boolean (Yes/No, True/False). Though I've criticized stats based VNs before (because it tends to lock players out of content unless they player absolutely how the dev wanted them to).

Now the really difficult one... well written stories have deferred outcomes for choices. Your player makes a choice on day 1 and the outcome of that choices isn't obvious until day 4 and again on day 9. It's INCREDIBLY hard to do right.

All of which is intended to frighten you off from leaning too heavily into choices. It's your first game... keep things simple. Either full on kinetic novel or (mostly) simple (short term) choices that are pretty much forgotten when a new day dawns.

 

[Queen Rat]

Thanks all for the insightful replies, this really gives me a lot to consider. I get now that choices don't have to be meaningful to serve a purpose, I'll keep the scope manageable and try to incorporate the impact of choice in small things like dialog, rather than full branching storylines that require a lot of additional renders.

My story and characters are well fleshed out at this point, and I've made a conscious decision not to include things I don't enjoy myself (incest), or have a steep and long learning curve (animations). I have a little bit of experience with creative writing (not English), so I'm familiar with the basics of storytelling, but there are aspects of game design that I'm learning as I go along (like how to handle choice & creating functional renders in Daz3D!)

In any case, this is a hobby so it is slow going, but I'm having a lot of fun and hopefully I can share something in a couple of years!

 

[The Rogue Trader]

OK, I started to write this in the morning, then I ran out of time and had to stop and start working, and now I return and most of what I was writing has already been said by people much more authoritative than me.
I guess the dev writing my life as a VN messed up with the choices?
Anyway, I'll try to be brief:

5) Decisions send the game down branching pathways. I get the idea this is what most players want, but it can easily spiral out of control, is hard to implement properly, requires careful planning and a lot of extra work.

Not necessarily, if you plan first how many routes you need and don't wander away from your plan. It's not really that different from how you plan a novel, you just have to write 2-3 times what you'd normally write to tell your story (and the biggest problem that I encountered with that is that my chances to stumble on a writing block increase proportionally).
Anyway, 3-4 routes sounds like a good compromise between player freedom and developer sanity.

Now, I've no completed games of mine to stand on and preach, but my system is dividing the story into discrete, self-contained scenes/events and then assigning every scene to one or more (preferably more) routes. Each scene has prerequisites, that are earned by choices during dialogues. [I see 79flavours mentioned this already.]
For example, each time the MC chooses to stay at the office to work overtime, or bring work at home, etc. he gains a point in "Workaholic". As his "Workaholic" stat rises, he'll end up having more and more scenes of him noticing that something is wrong with the Company's accounting. And spending time with his secretary, opening the chance of romancing her, but only if the player chooses so... [As 79flavours already said, choices tend to escalate quickly if not kept in check].
These look like narrative choices (I call them, a bit optimistically, "Roleplay" choices) at first, but as you play the game, they add up and advance routes.

About signalling, it's up to taste. I personally don't like when the dialogue breaks the fourth wall to inform me of the mechanical implications of my choice.
"Ask Molly for a date." [+1 Love]
It puts me in a "metagaming" mindset instead of playing the story for the story.
I think we all agree that ideally, choices should be intuitive and self-explaining. Also, I think we all agree that very often it's just not possible.
So when you have choices that affect the story in an unpredictable way (as Old school Japanese VN loved to do), for example, if you have to decide to buy Cologne or buy After Shave and if you buy After Shave you get kidnapped by aliens, well, maybe even I would appreciate some icon to mark the route they belong to.

Anyway, know that you can't win.
No choices? Players will bitch about kinetic novel.
Only cosmetic/narrative choices? Players will bitch that their choices do not matter.
Important choices that branch the story significantly? Players will bitch that only a fraction of the game interests them, so you're updating too slowly/your game is too short.
Sandbox? Players will bitch about sandbox.
So, decide the story that you want to tell* and see what system you feel is more appropriate for that (and for the time and effort that you want to put into it).

*This is something that, quite surprisingly to me, several AVN developers neglect to do.