Quote:
Originally Posted by ahi
Hmmmm... the problem with this sort of thing is that once you've done one of those actions, you ought not to be returned to the same page again. Not so?
In an eBook that is static, how would you deal with that?
Unless your source file does actually specify some logic, and your "compiled" eBook whose size (unlike that of paper books) ultimately can be thousands of pages for all it matters, would contain a lot of duplicate numbered paragraphs with only their linked destinations differing in order to accommodate portions of the book that mix "scenes" that are always the same (an empty hall) versus ones that may change (a room with Rachel, wherein interaction will lastingly alter things therein).
That wasn't totally clear... but do you understand what I mean?
- Ahi
|
There are definite problems, one of which is how exactly do you make it so that the choices are logical and not overwhelming to the reader. From my own experience with the books there was always the possibility of 'death' depending on the next choice. The 2nd person narrative along with the making of choices gives the CYOA/M style a potency that doesn't exist in other, more traditional forms. You, the reader, 'playing' the character can die within the fiction...and you have to start again, or at least from your last choice.
So the fiction itslef becomes a game, you have to find the right path, follow the right clues, and ask the right questions to find the murderer, survive the book. Of course this would need careful planning, and there would have to be multiple routes through to the end, each logical enough to sustain.
Whatever problems inherent, the actual challenge more than makes up for it. I think I'll see if I can apply this methodology retroactively to one of my short stories that I have on hold and see what happens.
