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Branching

Daryl Holland

Created on September 25, 2025

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Transcript

Have you played a branching story before?

YES

NO

I'M NOT SURE

When you were playing, there would have been times when you were given more than one option but could not choose them all. The options you chose together formed the story for you, which could be different for someone else. There would have been things in the game that were not part of your story. (Click to continue)

During a branching story, you will be presented with more than one option to choose but you cannot choose them all. You are choosing what happens in the story you see. This also means you are choosing what does not happen in the story. (Click to continue)

Branching stories can be drawn as flowcharts, although games often will not show a flowchart. Hiding the flowchart structure can make the gameworld feel like it is alive and responding to you personally rather than a preprogrammed formula. Hiding the flowchart can also hide how the branches will sometimes meet, when different choices did not have different outcomes. Answering “no” or “I don’t know” to our question led to the same outcome because both needed the same information. If we only included “yes” and “no”, then everyone who wasn’t sure would have felt unsatisfied and unheard. Even when the outcome is the same, different choices can make a story feel responsive and personal.

Branching stories can be drawn as flowcharts, although games often will not show a flowchart. Hiding the flowchart structure can make the gameworld feel like it is alive and responding to you personally rather than a preprogrammed formula. Hiding the flowchart can also hide how the branches will sometimes meet, when different choices did not have different outcomes. Answering “no” or “I don’t know” to our question led to the same outcome because both needed the same information. If we only included “yes” and “no”, then everyone who wasn’t sure would have felt unsatisfied and unheard. Even when the outcome is the same, different choices can make a story feel responsive and personal.