Amount of game mode data shown to readers

[insertnamehere]

Hello, writers of Game Mode stories. I've been thinking about flags and tracking numbers (among other variables) that are used to trigger future events.

Some stories that use these prefer to hide them as much as possible. I suppose this is in order to allow for 'easter eggs' and other secret or special-feeling content. It's always nice, as a reader, to feel as though you've stumbled upon an unusual event as a result of your unique combination of choices. This is especially nice when consequences occur many chapters down the line, and you didn't realise the game was actually paying such close attention. It's a means of immersion: tailoring the story to the reader without letting them know what makes the characters and world tick, just like real life.

On the other hand, there is merit in allowing the reader to know what flags they've triggered and what progress they've made toward certain achievements. I don't imagine many readers are obsessively replaying stories to get all the endings, but it can be frustrating if the outcomes you're reaching don't match up with the decisions you've made. In that regard, it can be useful to know what's going on under the hood, so to speak. In very large and apparently complex Game Mode stories, sometimes one can feel lost in the world, having travelled down a niche rabbit hole and almost just wandering through the options. Having an explicit recording of your progress can sort of ground you in reality.

I'm especially curious regarding the visual novel-like stories (which I've never published on here), where the reader makes progress toward affection levels with characters. I am not certain whether it affects immersion by essentially reducing a seemingly real person down to a number. Let's face it - most readers will be trying to have sex with their favourite character, so perhaps it's easier to let them know whether they're going down the right track instead of potentially misleading them. Conversely, seeing that they're not at 'max' affection at the end or something could cheapen the result, because they know they're missing out on something better.

Anyway, I'd like to hear the thoughts of others. What variables do you like to show the reader?

 

[Almax]

For me, (I have some characters' impressions of you crop up as visible percentages!), it's more of a visual reminder of what your dude thinks people think of her, and they all started at 50%. So, like, if somebody was acting all nice but secretly hated you, it wouldn't show as a low percentage. Eventually, when you can date people and stuff, dating somebody automatically sets their percentage to 100% (and I'm trying to be careful that there's no way to get 100% otherwise). So, basically, it's a display of where on a scale from 0-100 of how you reckon you get on with people, where 100 can only mean "yeah we be actively in love yo".

Other than that, the percentages are used for plenty of dialogue and text changes, but in only VERY rare cases is used to limit access to chapters. Normally when it does too, it's pretty broad strokes, like ">50" or ">65", to basically mean that overall the person likes you more than they dislike you and that they quite like you because you've put in effort respectively. Once dating and stuff exists here (which won't be for a while, I'm playin' the long con, you can't have all the stuff poppin' off right away), more chapters will probably be limited, but only realistically. Like, going up to the shy character's room and being like "sex" won't be an option they just go along with unless you're dating, and there'll be options to get whoever you're dating to give specific help and spend special time with that you otherwise wouldn't. That'll make the players feel cool and like their choices matter, and then also keep the character fresh, since if it's just "you are DATING now" and no more development past that it'll get boring p quick.

So, that's what the scales mean for me! I think my whole sorta ideas going into Game Mode stories aren't the usual ones, but I hope it was at least a bit useful or interesting. I have a lot of fun with the character that hates you in canon's Impression when you're first meeting her, too. But also, most of the stuff I want to do with these variables is gonna come way later on in the story, because I've got big huge plans, so maybe this wasn't actually that important to say yet. Still, have a good rest of your day!

 

[MidbossMan]

I can see the benefits of sharing a lot or sharing a little. Me personally, I am the type who tries to restrict it to just things I would consider either stats or things people would want a reminder of as they progress through the story. As an example, with Goodbye Girls, I typically only show people about 8 stats at the furthest point in the story (affinities, the vice and strength they chose at the beginning, and who they've suspected as the enemy) with a few additional depending on whether they're in a mission (remaining gadgets) or free time (free time remaining).

However, there's 78 various tags I've gathered during my test play session! Because I've designed these tags how they're convenient for me, you get things like "Tschau's Brain = check" mixed in with "Drunk with Au Revoir = 1000" and "Discrete EMP = 0". I figured the presentation would be pretty messy if people saw all of it.

As a consolation, though, I have a dossier in that game for each major character that will fill up as you do stuff and serves as a reminder of all of the interactions you've had with people, written in what I hope is a flavorful way. I try to point people back to those dossiers as they go through, to further their sense of accomplishment. Admittedly, I haven't received a lot of feedback on the dossiers, so I can't tell exactly how much people use them other than by views. It can be a fun way to tell which girls people look back at the most.

One can contrast to Golden Witch which almost only uses one stat (Pink Trigger Power) and other tags you get are either purchased items or even jokes. It's deliberately kept pretty simple and you'll see almost all the tags, partially because I expect the main tag anyone's going to be looking at is the Pink Trigger Power right at the top.

 

[gene.sis]

I prefer most things being hidden most of the time.
Otherwise, it might be too predictable. And having too many variables visible might be confusing for the reader as well.

For me, (I have some characters' impressions of you crop up as visible percentages!), it's more of a visual reminder of what your dude thinks people think of her, and they all started at 50%. So, like, if somebody was acting all nice but secretly hated you, it wouldn't show as a low percentage. Eventually, when you can date people and stuff, dating somebody automatically sets their percentage to 100% (and I'm trying to be careful that there's no way to get 100% otherwise). So, basically, it's a display of where on a scale from 0-100 of how you reckon you get on with people, where 100 can only mean "yeah we be actively in love yo".

Very nice

If you want to add a value x to the variable "Progress" but make sure that it won't be higher than 90, you can do
Progress + x
Progress + 10
Progress - 10

If the variable "Progress" could be changed after switching to 100 but should still show 100, you could also introduce an invisible variable "Progress*" at the same time you create the visible variable "Progress" and switch the visibilities of both variables as soon as the reader reaches 100.

 

[Almax]

Oh, clever bugger! Thanks bunches, that's tons better than the ideas I was scheming!

 

[Sune's Kiss]

My gut says if the data is useful to the reader then show it, if it's more about the story then hide it.

For instance, if you need a thousand dollars to get into Coinpilfer University to begin your warrior training, a cash data point in the Game tab helps the reader see their progress. In real life you can check your wallet for cash (or even check your bank balance with online banking on your phone) pretty much whenever you want, so having that number constantly available has merit.

I have mixed feelings about the dating sim style Affinity meter. I think it might be more immersive to use conditional formatting to paint that picture in the story. So if your protagonist goes to a party and one of their love interests is already there they'll have a happy greeting with high Affinity, a casual greeting if they have an average/middle-ground Affinity, and barely registering the protagonists presence (or perhaps an outright hostile greeting) with low Affinity. I think the reader reading about a love interest being flirty with their protagonist would be more entertaining than "Your Affinity with Sharon is now 80%" and there being nothing in the text to bolster or legitimise that value.

 

[Almax]

Oh yeah, I love doing that sort of stuff! Hidden text/changing text that only appears based on your Game Mode scores is the best, and I super agree that stuff shouldn't be visible if your character doesn't know it.

Also, it was a super duper cool that you used a money example from my story, I've got a big ol' smile on now. It was a small thing, but it was a very very nice surprise, so thank you bunches!

 

[insertnamehere]

My gut says if the data is useful to the reader then show it, if it's more about the story then hide it.

(etc.)

This is a good point. Maybe it's ultimately better to express information the reader might want, but keep it as part of the story itself, unless it's something real and tangible that the protagonist is constantly aware of (Money, Orgasms, etc.). Your thoughts will inform my future writing.

Also, it was a super duper cool that you used a money example from my story, I've got a big ol' smile on now. It was a small thing, but it was a very very nice surprise, so thank you bunches!

At this point, it's impossible to talk about Game Mode stories without bringing up Becoming a Warrior! I don't exaggerate when I say it's currently the golden standard in Game Mode writing.

 

[Sune's Kiss]

I think it's a good thing that authors can see feedback from their readers here and in the Comments section of their stories. A like is a simple "click" but if someone takes the time to say "Hey, I think it's hot how this characters behaves like this..." then you know that they've invested in your story.

I'd almost rather someone write and say "Hey, I don't think Gemma acted believably in that chapter, I think she would have..." At least that way you have a new chapter branch you can try, or a new approach to story writing that you might have overlooked.

 

[Almax]

You're way way WAY too nice, man! That was so super awesome and nice to read, even if I'm not sure how true it is. That's just made me really happy now. I'm gonna be coming back to read it again and again for weeks. Thanks so so much, everyone here's been so kind and supportive and great about the story, and it's extra cool because I really wasn't sure if I was doing the right idea by starting it. I hope I can keep that standard up for you with all the stuff I've got planned!

 

[Sune's Kiss]

I must confess, I've played a couple of game mode stories where no game data at all is visible during the session. You start to think "Is this a game or are they just pulling my leg?"

 

[gene.sis]

I must confess, I've played a couple of game mode stories where no game data at all is visible during the session. You start to think "Is this a game or are they just pulling my leg?"

Well, the problem is that some stories actually don't use game mode variables.

I guess the reason is that story owners might think that being able to choose different paths already means game mode.
Or they just check every option to not miss out on something.