Help with creating an in story mini-game.

porneia

porneia

Really Experienced
I would love to create an in story (or maybe stand alone) mini-game where the reader has a random chance of winning or losing, instead of just picking "you win the game" or "you lose the game" branch. Nor, I am looking to simply leave the next chapters unlabeled with a "???". What I want is a true game, or something close to it. Obviously, this would have to use Conditions, but without a random number generator I am at a bit of loss. Such games as strip poker, a dart or pool game at a pub, a board game in the bedroom, or even rock-paper-scissors, all rely on some sort of random number generation.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

One line of possibility would be some sort of wager game, where the reader has a set number of chips. Maybe there would be a few special abilities (and/or limitations) they would choose at the beginning of the game that would effect their wagers. I haven't thought this fully out. It might not work and it might not be truly random.

Any suggestions would be greatly welcomed.
 
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You could create pseudo-random numbers.
E.g.
At the beginning of the story, you create a progress variable RN and set it to 50.
Then you offer some meaningless choices like "How many peanuts do you pick?"
"One" would add 3 to RN
"Two" would subtract 5 from RN
"Three" would add 10 to RN
You can do that for a few chapters. (For the chapters after the first, you also could offer chapters depending on the current value while the other choices are invisible.)

Then you can use the RN to only allow accessing the chapter of the random number (conditions: RN>15 RN<25)

It's probably even better if you use more variables and alternate between them, maybe changing some of them when you check others.


In terms of a random number generator, this isn't random at all but it might create the illusion of it.
 
gene.sis said:
You could create pseudo-random numbers . . . At the beginning of the story, you create a progress variable . . . Then you offer some meaningless choices
Click to expand...
I could call it "shuffling" or "you cut the deck" and list several different branches with different hidden additions to the variable that would come back together to resolve that hand.

Thank you, that is a great idea!
 
porneia said:
I could call it "shuffling" or "you cut the deck" and list several different branches with different hidden additions to the variable that would come back together to resolve that hand.
Click to expand...
Yes, though I would always use an "older" number for creating a result. So the shuffling 3 rounds ago might influence the current result while the current shuffling would influence the second next result.
 
gene.sis said:
Yes, though I would always use an "older" number for creating a result. So the shuffling 3 rounds ago might influence the current result while the current shuffling would influence the second next result.
Click to expand...
Forgive me, but I'm not following your point. I do admit it has been a few months since I used Conditions.
 
In my Grim's Dungeon story I just asked my readers to use a d6 or use a d6 online die roller. If they actually wanted to play the game they had the option to do so. If they just wanted to read the story they could just choose the results. It's putting all the onus and control in the reader's hands but I was cool with that.
 
porneia said:
Forgive me, but I'm not following your point. I do admit it has been a few months since I used Conditions.
Click to expand...
Let's say we have 3 variables A, B, and C...
Chapter 1: ask a question -> determine A and B
Chapter 2: ask a question -> determine C and modify B
Chapter 3: let the reader shuffle -> modify C
Chapter 4: show result based on A
Chapter 5: let the reader shuffle -> modify A
Chapter 6: show result based on B
Chapter 7: let the reader shuffle -> modify B
Chapter 8: show result based on C
Chapter 9: let the reader shuffle -> modify C
Chapter 10: show result based on A

The result for Chapter 10 is already determined in Chapter 5
The last shuffling won't affect the result, so if the reader goes back a chapter and tries again, they will still get the same result.


grimbous said:
In my Grim's Dungeon story I just asked my readers to use a d6 or use a d6 online die roller. If they actually wanted to play the game they had the option to do so. If they just wanted to read the story they could just choose the results. It's putting all the onus and control in the reader's hands but I was cool with that.
Click to expand...
That's also a nice approach.
You could also modify this slightly if you don't want to allow the reader to directly choose the result.
So you could ask for a D6 roll and offer answer chapters from 1 to 6, though each number would represent another value like
1 = 4
2= 6
3 = 1
4 = 2
5 = 5
6 = 3
(for each dice roll chapter, the pairings should be different)
 
In The Invitation, I added a section with a wheel of fortune where the reader has to pick a colour which hides a prize.

Of course, this only works once.
 
1) If I have questions about how conditions work, where should I post them? (Or who should I send them too?)

2) I thought there was a sticky thread about how conditions worked? Forgive me, don't I couldn't find it.
I do know about these . . . Conditional Branches Showcase: Examples & Source Codes.
But are they out of date?
 
1. I think it would be best to open a new forum thread. That way, others who have the same or a similar question could find their answer easily.

2. The Conditional Branches showcase isn't out of date, though there aren't many additions yet. Would be nice to see some interesting examples. Maybe there could also be some examples based on questions.
I can't remember a sticky thread on the forum but there is a paragraph about Conditions in the CHYOA Guide §7 Conditions. Besides that, feel free to ask :)
 
Forgive me for asking this question every 6 months or so, but is there any future plans to add a random number generator to conditions?

I have a D&D module like adventure scripted that I would love write.
 
gene.sis said:
You could create pseudo-random numbers.
E.g.
At the beginning of the story, you create a progress variable RN and set it to 50.
Then you offer some meaningless choices like "How many peanuts do you pick?"
"One" would add 3 to RN
"Two" would subtract 5 from RN
"Three" would add 10 to RN
You can do that for a few chapters. (For the chapters after the first, you also could offer chapters depending on the current value while the other choices are invisible.)

Then you can use the RN to only allow accessing the chapter of the random number (conditions: RN>15 RN<25)

It's probably even better if you use more variables and alternate between them, maybe changing some of them when you check others.


In terms of a random number generator, this isn't random at all but it might create the illusion of it.
Click to expand...

Somewhat in line with this idea, you could pre-roll an array of the randomness and link it to a seemingly innocuous question.

Say your game requires the player to "roll" a six-sided die five times, you could roll a d6 fifteen times, then later in your story assign the first five rolls if they had waffles for breakfast the day before, the second lot of five rolls if they had eggs and bacon, the third set of five rolls if they had assorted fruits...

The randomness is only as random as the number of choices that you provide for the reader, but it will reflect actual rolls.
 
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