Sequentiality

November 7, 2020

I’ve been jumping through hoops trying to handle the sequentiality of the encounter system. Now, most text-based systems use a form of direct causality in which the choice that the player makes determines the node to which the player is taken. This requires, as I have pointed out many times before, a tree structure. The player explores the tree through multiple playings. Once the player has navigated most of the tree, the text adventure loses its appeal. 

The alternative I have been pursuing for many years is a directed graph with changing global variables. That proved to be too difficult.

My original design for the encounter system used a random system in which an oversupply of encounters was partially selected by algorithm in what was nevertheless a path producing a cogent story. This, I felt, would permit multiple replayings of the story world, with player learning more about the storyworld with each playing. 

Of late, however, my cogitations on the problem of sequentiality have led me to a contrary idea, to wit: Screw replayability! Why in the world must Le Morte D’Arthur be replayable? Why can’t it just be a once-through experience, just like any story?

You wonder, how can a storyworld be interactive if it follows a predetermined path? The answer, once again, comes from theology. In Catholic theology, you go through life without any obvious consequences of your actions. Only after you die do you directly interact with the deity of your religion. All of your good works and bad works are assessed and an overall judgement is made as to whether you burn in hell or pluck your harp in heaven. In other words, there’s a single global variable that accompanies you through life: the net good or bad you do. As you go through life, you make decisions that push that number up or down. When you die, the value of that number decides your fate.

Le Morte D’Arthur will use a similar architecture, except that the global variable is not your virtue but the respect that the community has for you. You will face many different decisions; the choices you make will determine your net global “kingliness”. Then comes the big test: Mordred declares a revolt, and the sub-kings decide whose side to take. You fight a final battle and the loyalty of your sub-kings will determine the size of the two opposing armies. That is what leads to either success or failure. 

There WILL be a small amount of branching in the system, mostly as a consequence to the various battles that you fight. But those branches will always return to the main sequence of the story. They’re not the point of the storyworld.