Let's Talk : Branching

Ah, branching— not only can it enhance replayability but it can also deepen the impact of player choices. For example, in Chapter 2, some of you may miss a scene based on past choices. (Hint: one of those scenes is tied to your character’s Vice.) It's even possible to miss out on a scene based on how your character feels about a certain character. (Looking at you Cam-mancers.)

In theory, as an IF player, I love branching. In practice, as an IF author—what the hell was I thinking? 😮‍💨Someone, please tell me why I thought having three separate branches for one scene—each with further variations depending on the RO—was a good idea.

I usually write scenes in the order players will encounter them, but this particular scene was so vivid in my mind that I had to get it down, even though I’m not sure if it’ll end up in the middle or at the end of the chapter.

Chapter 2 is outlined in depth, though I still need a few filler scenes here and there. (Fellow anime and manga fans, you know exactly what I mean.) I’m trying to make as much progress as possible before my classes start again—without burning myself out. One scene I'm shelving for a future chapter because MC just isn't where they need to be emotionally.

The recent Winter storm left me without electricity for about a week so that slowed things down immensely. But during that time, I figured out the ending of Chapter 2! 🥳 It weaves in a few things from Chapter 1 and should set up Chapter 3 nicely—no comment on whether that means another cliffhanger.

Chapter 2 is chugging along, it's looking to be a bit of a happier chapter. (Who here knows the saying 'calm before the storm'?) I'm having fun writing Isaac x MC interactions after deciding that Jade is Isaac's ex. (Thx, Kat! 🩷) I need to make a relationship map for the characters.

Here’s a sneak peek at something I've been working on. This was going to take place in Ch. 2 but I'm going to push this specific choice to Ch. 1, and hopefully fix my coding for the codex.