https://blu-oyster-transmission.neocities.org/

Been chewing on this for a few days after watching someone hit it in a thread here. You map out a branch, you're two choices deep, and you can already tell it's going to fork into five or six endings that maybe three people will ever see. Do you write it anyway because the reader chose it, or quietly braid it back into the main line and hope nobody notices?

Asking because I hit this constantly with a nonfiction/IF hybrid thing I've been building. My instinct is always to over-branch early and then spend way more time than I'd like collapsing branches back down in editing. Which feels backwards, honestly. Feels like the pruning should happen before the writing, not after.

Curious if people have an actual rule for this or if it's just a gut thing that gets better with reps. Twenty-some projects in and mine still isn't reliable.

I made a game. Six voices argue in your head while a narrator who lies on purpose leads you down through seven psychological gates. Solo-made, AI powered. Inspired by Disco Elysium that ruined every other RPG for me.

It's ~15–20 min, adult themes (18+), mobile browser — no install needed.

If that sounds like your kind of weird, DM me or comment and I'll send you a link + a short feedback form. Honest reactions only, no politeness required.

-"Notoriety in defeat was a greater punishment than death itself for a Roman; the crushing weight of imperial shame and the fearful realisations it brought"

"If it had all been for nothing, the foundation of their world would pull apart, forcing them to confront their choices, their profession, their honour, and their very selves"

"All of which were a far scarier prospect than any physical battle..."-

I'm writing a Roman Empire Historical Visual Novel with noire handrawn art; you make choices, affect the plot, interact and will eventually have multiple branching characters and stories that interweave. First chapter is Free as a demo on itch.
Are there any other classical setting interactive fiction games? Its one of my favourite settings.

Hey everyone, I just put out a demo for a game I've been working on called Starting XI.

The pitch is you're a young professional footballer coming up through South African football, and you're trying to get a seat on Bafana Bafana's World Cup squad. But making the squad is only step one. A place in the team doesn't guarantee a place on the pitch. cos at the end of the day every match, every choice, every relationship you build or burn either earns you a spot in the Starting XI or costs you one.

Under the hood it's written in Ink, running through Unity with a custom C# controller layer handling the systems side. This is my first time shipping something built this way, so I'd genuinely appreciate feedback like bugs, pacing, anything that felt off.

Right now it's Windows only and I'm working on figuring out other platforms down the line.

Demo: thiso-the-dev.itch.io/starting-xi

Would love to hear what people think.

been chewing on this one. the fantasy usually sells you the cool competent criminal who has a plan for everything, but the moments that actually stick with me are when the plan falls apart and you're just improvising, lying to someone's face and hoping they buy it.

so im curious where other people land. when you read or play this stuff, do you want to feel in control the whole time, or do you want the floor giving out under you a little? and whats a scene that really nailed whichever one you like?

CONTEXT:

¿What Is This VN?
"Si tu estas loca, yo x2"(If you're crazy, I'm twice as crazy.) are a Indie VN Based On Terminal Text make in five days and programming in Rust(Below is an example of Rust code.). It features multiple timelines where your decisions affect your destiny in the game for better or worse. Obviously, the story/VN is pure fiction.

This VN contains dark humor and tense scenes, and that is why its age rating falls between a strict +16 and +17–18.

Genres: Dark Comedy, Slice-Of-Life, Survival

How to download and run it on your computer:

1. Open the Mediafire attachment in this thread and download the compressed file (.zip).
2. Unzip the .zip file. You should end up with a folder named: si_tu_estas_loca_yo_x2_final

3. Go to your terminal. Find this folder.

4. Run `cargo run` to execute the VN, or if you want to check that everything is in order without running it, use `cargo check`.

// Rust code example:
fn main() {
println!("Enjoy It!");
}

i'm writing a crime story where choices stick, no reload. this is the decision my testers fight about the most, so i want some outside heads on it.

your crew got sold to the cops, and it turns out it was your own childhood brother. the thing is, he didn't do it on purpose. his mother was proud of him and talked too much, it traveled through the neighborhood and reached the wrong ears. careless, not cold.

now his fate is yours and there is no taking it back. the code says you put a traitor down, and it keeps the crew tight. you can cast him out for good instead. or forgive him and carry what that costs you while everyone watches to see if you have gone soft.

your own brother, who never meant it. what do you actually do?

So we had an amazing writer help out with our team and brainstorm a story, and I would love thoughts on it !

I am building a crime story where every real choice sticks. No save scumming, no clean retry. If you burn a friendship or spare the wrong person, that is your run now. As a player, does that kind of permanence pull you in, or does it stress you out enough to avoid the game? Genuinely torn on how far to push it.

I just launched an ARG I’m quite proud of, but in order to maintain momentum and cross the finish line, I made a decision to simplify the media type I would build my assets in for phase one.

I launched with simple audio logs, public ciphers and transliteration keys, several websites, and plenty of Are.na social media artifacts. But it’s unbalanced…80% text, 20% audiovisual. This enabled me to scaffold the infrastructure and deliver the full narrative for my first player cohort (going well so far!), and also punt the decision on richer media types.

The theory is that if the narrative experience is well enjoyed, I will commit to phase two where I will transpose and evolve written narrative into voice acted personal journals and simple scripted videos.

And if THAT goes well, I can naturally roll into immersive IRL experiences with plant actors in real environments.

I have loads of experience doing production and installations of this kind, so that isn’t the question. I can definitely deploy.

Rather, I’m worried I will rob my first cohort of a rich experience by only giving them with a primarily written/read experience and not honoring them with more immersive media.

And if I don’t do that \^\^\^, will I actually be collecting any truly meaningful feedback from the first cohort of it is but a smidgeon of the total vision I … envision?

So the question:

Good strategy for testing and creative energy pacing?

Bad strategy. Just do the full thing as envisioned or bust?

Thanks for your thoughts.

I am writing a mafia story where the real choices stick, no undo and no save scumming. The thing I keep fighting is branch count. Too few and the choices feel fake. Too many and it stops reading like a written story and starts feeling like a spreadsheet. For those who write IF, where do you draw the line? Do you fake breadth with reactive text and callbacks, or do you actually split the path? What has worked without blowing up your word count?

Hi! Help me test out an idea

Game: RITUAL

You're sitting in a lab, researching all kinds of occult stuff, performing rituals, writing reports.

If you have 5 minutes to spare, please play it and fill out this form

I'd really appreciate it!

I really liked how in Counterfeit Monkey Alex was his own person.

Any other games where you share a brain/body with the narrator? (bonus points if they use use we/us)

other examples: Slay The Princess, Disco Elysium

Don’t let it catch you.

Play it for free here:
https://prehisnt.itch.io/never-alone

We’re a small team building a platform that turns original fiction into fully voiced, interactive experiences, and we’d love to invite a small group of authors and readers to help us shape it. 

Illusionary Labs uses branching narratives, professional voice acting, and cinematic sound design to create stories that respond to the reader’s decisions while preserving the characters, tone, and world that make each original story unique. 

Instead of following a single path, readers can make choices, explore different outcomes, speak with characters, and experience the story from inside its world. 

We’re looking for a small group of authors to join us as development partners.

As a development partner, you’ll:

• See your stories brought to life with professional voice acting and sound design

• Reach readers interested in immersive, interactive fiction

• Learn how readers explore your world and respond to important moments

• Collaborate directly with our development team throughout production

• Stay involved in how your characters and world are represented

We also have a few remaining beta spots for readers who want to experience the platform before its wider release.

Author applications: https://form.typeform.com/to/foOwCCrz
Beta access: https://illusionarylabs.com/join/playtest-beta

We’re happy to answer any questions in the comments.