I don't think I have a preference. As long as it's an enjoyable read, I'm happy with it. Fortunately, as long as you keep putting chapters out,
you're almost guaranteed to improve, (even if it doesn't always feel like it.)
So far, everything I've personally written is downright linear. I hope to break that streak once I get good at writing. I think I need to get better at planning and revealing character motivations. Once I can reliably write a linear story as well as I currently can write a chapter, I think I'll be in good shape to start worrying about branching those stories. (And, crucially, designing them to *be* branched.)
Obviously, I like the
concept of interactive fiction-- that's why I'm here, instead of some other fiction site, after all. But so far, I've yet to see it used especially well. The dominant paradigm seems to be, first chapter is "which body do you want to inhabit/which author do you trust to construct a fantasy," chapter 2 is "commit to a kink path," and if you're really lucky, the chapter titles are written such that you can tell what you're choosing before you click on it. Other times, it's like an actual choose-your-own adventure from the olden days, giving you a sort of open-world experience and then punishing your hubris, the main difference being that the elusive Good End you're trying to hunt for is the satisfying smut scene you came here to read in the first place.
The strong suits of CHYOA are its inclusive nature, its tendency to attract amateur writers, its systems that reward the kind of update schedules that make amateur writers improve, and the smorgasbord of wish-fulfillment genres on tap. After experimenting with somewhat "deeper" storytelling (deep in terms of theme and concept, as well as structure,) I've seen lower views but higher likes. I consider that a fair trade-off.
I will say that, in the distant future, if I do one day try to make a DeepWide story, I would like to pattern the character introductions off of the video game Hunie Pop-- introducing characters two at a time in scenes where their personalities collide in some sort of public confrontation that gives you an inkling of what their personalities are like-- and then proceed with something I haven't really seen implemented yet, which is a "get the girl" phase that focuses more on "chemistry" than the purely transactional
"perform kind acts on the NPC until sex comes out" used by many dating sims.
(I'm not judging that model of gameplay. I get that it's easy to implement, intuitive to play, and preserves ludo-narrative consonance (up to a point, anyway.) I just want to try something that gives the player space to play around and express themselves, and instead of the love interests being like "beep boop, you passed or failed," have them react
emotionally, either throwing sparks or heating up, until some sort of basis for a relationship (deliberately (but non-deceptively) cultivating your image, a display of physical skill, knowing how to make them laugh, the begrudging respect of a rival, being on the same wavelength, "opposites attract," etc. ) emerges from the noise.)
All that shit's a tall order when you're still just getting the hang of basic story structure and dialogue, like me, though.
