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Guides

How to Write an Interactive Story

Build a roleplay scenario around a playable conflict, a clear world and characters with different motives. Leave room for player choices instead of scripting every ending.

1. Begin with a situation that needs a decision

A roleplay scenario is a reusable setup, not a transcript of a finished novel. Define where the players are, what has just changed and why they must act. Give the title, cover, category and summary a consistent promise. A concise public summary should reveal the premise without solving the mystery. Use original material or assets you have permission to publish; an evocative cover should not misrepresent a licensed franchise.

2. Separate world facts, secrets and role knowledge

Write the setting’s important rules before adding decorative history. Explain what is possible, what is forbidden and what would break the premise. Keep public story information separate from hidden settings and individual role descriptions. A secret known to one character should not be treated as common knowledge in your writing. Hidden scenario settings serve the fiction; never put passwords, personal information or other real secrets into them.

3. Give every role a reason to enter the scene

For each role, define an identity, an objective, a relationship and a useful piece of knowledge. Write roles that a person can understand as well as roles that AI can perform. Distinct motives create interaction: one wants access, another wants secrecy, and another wants evidence. Do not force every role to agree with the protagonist. Leave more than one plausible response to the opening situation, without promising a prebuilt branching engine.

Original premise example: The archive will close at dawn. A visitor needs a missing letter, the keeper must protect a sealed room, and an apprentice suspects the catalogue was altered. Players can negotiate, investigate or question each other; the premise does not decide who they must trust.

4. Test a room, revise the scenario

Save your draft and test the opening with different player choices. A scenario defines the reusable world; a room is one group’s playthrough of it. Check whether newcomers know their role, whether clues are understandable and whether a quiet character has a reason to speak. Revise unclear setup rather than scripting every reply. Before public submission, review the cover, descriptions and applicable publishing requirements in the current app.

These guides cover the core workflow. Check the current app interface for availability, permissions and prices.

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