Non-linear story writing Thread

Hi guys! Currently, I'm writing storylines for a roguelike video game. It's not going to be a linear story with a definite start and end. Only the start will always be the same, but how the story progresses and ends depends on players performance and choices.

Is there anyone who wrote non-linear narratives? How did you approach it?
Could you share examples of the good non-linear video game storylines?

Thank you!

A good start is to create a "tree" outline of your story with all the major plot points, including points that may change depending on the player's actions. There's a wide range of software you can do this in, from simple spreadsheet creators to dedicated story outline software. Draw.io is an easy and free way to draw this out.

It's really cool idea! I wanna see a result

Just write a linear story and then pick it apart in retroperspective and change elements that could be interchangeable.

In theater there is the concept of Chekhov's gun, meaning that if a gun is introduced it has to be used in the next act or one act afte that, but in reality the writing is not approched by the introduction of the gun but by its use. The use comes first, then afterwats the token gets placed so the viewer thinks he follows a plot when the plot went from B back to A and not the other way around.

Hi, unfortunately, I did not write such genres of narratives. But I have a few examples on this Artscolumbia.org website. I really hope that they will help you.

Supporting and reinforcing player choices is an important part of producing interactive narratives-- that may sound trite, but many authors don't seem to grasp this concept. Don't make the mistake of thinking all or even most players will be far more interested in what you have to say than in making their own contributions to their own gameplay experience.

When a player is offered a choice, consider that their decision of which option to embrace was made for a nontrivial reason. In other words, a player decision is an indication by the player of the sort of game they wish to play. Support them by using their choice to move the narrative further in whatever direction seems to interest them.

The more varieties of players and playstyles you can support with these techniques, the better your game will be.

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Sorry for the late reply, but I’d also suggest checking out Twine for non-linear story-telling.