Gamebooks Dos and Don'ts

Gamebooks combine storytelling with interactivity, allowing the reader to make choices that affect the outcome of the story. Choices (and, quite often, combat) are critical elements of gamebooks, and they play a significant role in making the experience enjoyable for readers. Here are some dos and don'ts of making choices and combat in gamebooks be fun.

Dos:

1. Choices should matter: Some choices mighy serve to provide personal flavor and style, but otherwise choices should actually affect the story.

2. Signal the consequences! Players musy understand their choices. They should have some idea of where the choice might lead. And once they face the consequences, they should feel that it's because of their choice and not because The Author Decided To Say So.

3. Combat should enrich the story: Combat is an integral part of many gamebooks, but it needs to serve a purpose. It can advance the plot, or make the player feel heroic, or add a sense of real danger to the game.

4. Combat should be fun: Enough said.

5. Paths should be rewarding: Readers should want to explore different paths. Different paths should let them explore the world, the story, the lore, various characters, and sub-plots.

6. Make satisfying endings: Not all endings have to be good, but they must be satisfying. Bad endings can serve to make the good endings more meaningful and rewarding, so they do serve a purpose; but they should make the readers feel engaged rather than enraged.

Don'ts:

1. Don't do the opposite of the Dos section.

2. Don't make combat too easy.

3. Don't make combat too difficult.

4. Don't add combat as a space-filler.

5. Don't make only One True Path.

6. Don't covet they neighbor's house.

7. Don't drag readers along multiple passages if they're headed toward a bad ending. Get it over with quickly.

In conclusion, making choices and combat in gamebooks be fun is all about finding the right balance. Meaningful choices, engaging combat, consequences, and multiple paths can all contribute to a fun and enjoyable gamebook experience.

I have made more than one of these mistakes in my own gamebooks, and I'll probably make new mistakes in the future. So if you've got any tips of your own, please let me know in the comments!