Episode 22: Branching Storylines (or how not to make a time travel game in three days)

Summary: Paragraph 1 It is Christmas Eve. You are yourself and you are in your house. Please choose from the following options: a) spend tonight and tomorrow enjoying food and laughter with loved ones. If you chose this option, go to paragraph 2. b) download and listen to the second Game Engine Podcast posted in three days! Yes, were that good to you. Please go to paragraph 3. c) if you dont understand how this game works, please close your web browser and have a little lie down. Youre obviously overwhelmed by an excess of the holiday spirit(s). Paragraph 2 You get drunk and wake up in a strange bed. The television is on, but you cant understand the language that emits from its speakers. Do you: a) whimper, rock back and forth and call your Mummy. Go to paragraph 4. b) run naked and screaming into the snow. Go to paragraph 5; or c) Go back in time and assassinate Hitler, hoping that this will change the course of history just enough that youll be less inclined to booze it up, but not so much that you no longer exist. Go to bed. Paragraph 3 Heres the point - we all love the idea of interactive stories where the players actions have an impact on the way the narrative plays out. One of the great strengths of games is that they theoretically allow the player to do what they want, not necessarily following the pre-determined arc laid down by an author or director. So why do we find that games are, more often that not, almost as linear and directed as a movie? Its because branching narratives are hard. Last weekend, Paul and Saul took part in Ludum Dare, the glorious quarterly international game jam. And what did we decide to work on? Why only a a competitive-multiplayer time travel game based on Romeo and Juliet. We didnt properly finish it, but we did learn a lot about planning and implementing branching narratives in games. Now you can listen to the two of us babble with Andrew about the experience, along with other non-linear narrative games. Here are some links to things mentioned in the episaode Our unfinished game/toy. You cant play multiplayer, some aspects of the timeline are broken and the user feedback is rubbish, but you can still play with the timeline of old Wills play, and see what happens if Romeo and Paris both survive (for example): http://www.pdyxs.org/whenfor/bin/index.html The trailer for Indie Game: The Movie, which awesomely made it into the Sundance Film Festival next year: http://www.indiegamethemovie.com/ A proper explanation of the Fighting Fantasy: Creature of Havok emergent gameplay thing that I (Saul) ramble about in the episode. Its pretty great: http://plover.net/~bonds/creatureofhavoc.html Thankyou to all of our listeners. Have an awesome Chistmas (or other holiday of your choice), and we may even have one more for you before New Years (or at least soon after)! Paragraph 4 There there, itll be okay. Paragraph 5 Its a bit cold. Get in by the fire, you. Ill make some hot chocolate.