Workshop # 2 - Choose Your Own Adventure

Task # 2 – weeks 3 to 4.

You must write the content for a Choose Your Own adventure story. The focus is on the content and the way the story is crafted, not the technical aspects to run the game. We will put the pages together using Dreamweaver, but the visual content is nowhere near as important as the words on the page.

You must weave your story convincingly to draw the player/reader in.

You may use combat, but use it wisely and easily. For example, in room 2 you could put the player in front of a massive dragon. You write something like, if you want to attack the dragon click here, or if you want to run away in fear, click here.

In context being able to kill a dragon on the second page is unlikely. Save it for room 10 for example. The path to room 10 went through room 5 where you told the player they had found a magical sword. So by room 10 you know they have the sword if you designed your room layout correctly.

Also have another room 10 (maybe room 11 which the text is exactly the same) which never went through room 5 so the player doesn’t have the sword, and if they attack are slaughtered immediately.

The examples above are just ideas, so please make up your own story, but you can use similar devices to draw the player through your game.

1. Create a flowchart using simple boxes and text to map out your choices as the player progresses through your game/story.

2. Write a description for each room with an exit description to each new room.

3. Write to suit the reader and theme (ie young fantasy reader, or seasoned RPG diehard)

4. It can be any theme you want (scifi, romance, horror, action, suspense, comedy, tragedy).

5. Keep the room count down to about 10 rooms.

6. Make it fun to read.

7. We will then enable it in Dreamweaver next week.