Choice-based narrative template
One scene, two choices, and a next scene that is actually different. The Walking Dead (Telltale Games, 2012) made the later merge the famous complaint. Life Is Strange (Dontnod Entertainment, 2015) only earns a rewind if the second try is also ugly. If both buttons print the same line, you wrote a pause. Story to game is the choice becoming a scene. The AI visual novel maker is the route around it.
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What makes a choice-based narrative
Choice-based narrative: a story that branches on the choices you make.
The games that set the standard are Life Is Strange (Dontnod Entertainment, 2015), The Walking Dead (Telltale Games, 2012) and Detroit: Become Human (Quantic Dream, 2018).
What the template starts with
The choice-based narrative template starts with one scene with two choices that lead to different endings. That is the smallest version of the loop that defines the genre: read, choose, live with the consequence.
What to change first
Write the two follow-ups before you write the button labels. If you cannot tell the follow-ups apart with the labels covered, the choice is furniture.
2D or 3D
The choice-based narrative template starts in 2D.
Related templates
Start from this template in the Flockbay app
Describe your version in one sentence. The AI writes a brief from the template, and nothing is built until you approve it. Free for Windows and Mac.