This talk about WIAB influence on SG makes me remember the fan proposals for a direct sequel to Fallout: New Vegas. It always came to a big problem. Which ending would be canon? Which game state the characters and the world would be in? Fans got around it by pushing hard into the future, even 100 years after the game, just to create distance and not invalidate any play through. This solved the problem, but it opened another a whole can of worms.
Since WIAB is still in development and is planned to be quite long, I don't expect to see much of it in SG. Any link will be so shrouded in mystery and insinuations that it could be considered eldritch lore. Just to not anchor into reality a canon play though of WIAB.
Maybe other games in this universe will not suffer this same fate if they are set way behind or way ahead, but only Ocean knows. Only they have the complete picture.
Yes, it's hard to say without seeing the whole picture. Maybe I'm talking nonsense, but hypothetically, it seems possible to allow a player to "shape the past", perhaps through the MC's memories or dialogue with other characters about the past.
For example:
Nami: “Guess who I saw today!", she shows me a photo on her smartphone. "This is William Zane, one of the biggest sponsors of our college, he held a press conference there today, this year they are going to increase the funding of our sports teams, as well as organize several annual contests between rival colleges here in ZPR."
MC: "Wait, I think I remember him from somewhere." Nami takes back her smartphone, examines the photo carefully, her smile slowly fading away.
MC: "The day... It was their funeral, right?", she nods.
Nami: "I remember how he came up to us, said something to Noji, then hugged us both.", she frowns harder.
MC: "Yeah, it was weird. How did he ever know about us? Noji never told me about him."
Nami shrugs. "She didn't tell me either."
... And here comes the choice:
MC: "There was that woman with him. Tall brunette, green eyes, pale skin, straight posture, a snake bracelet on her wrist."
Nami: "How can you even remember, especially details like this?"
... or
MC: "And I remember that petite Asian girl next to him. She could barely hide her tears."
Nami: "Now that you've said it, I remember her too."
I mean, a player could have made many different decisions in WIAB, but I think most of them are local in the context of the larger story involving WIAB and SG together. And my guess is there are only a few decisions, the outcome of which can affect the SG story, so why not to let the player input this outcomes manually. Those who have never played WIAB will randomly choose according to their liking, others can choose according to their WIAB playthrough. Although this will add a new dimension to the branching, not only the present, but also the past.
