Forums » The Lounge » Read Thread

So what do you guys think of troll decisions in storygames? I'm not talking dead end choices that happen on the very next page.

What about seemingly small decisions that have weird or disastrous consequences? Long long paths that lead to ruin?

Trick variables? Items that kill the character when used?

 

The answer to this question is so obvious to me, that I can't even believe you're asking it.

I adore this.
Ignore any contrary opinions and go write something.

Meant to ask this as a discussion question.

It has been brought to my attention that I seemed like I was asking it because I am a bitch with no backbone in writing his stories.

While yes, I may be a bitch BUT, ignore that and please discuss ladies, gents and others.

This kind of thing is great, as long as it's not completely random and has some kind of in world logic; even if it has to be discovered on another path.

In fact this might be diverging from the topic somewhat, but I love it when games have a meta element that can only be figured out through multiple playthroughs. The character's knowledge is limited to their current path, but the player learns from they're experiences and amasses the pieces to put it all together over time. Even if the "puzzle" is just how not to die.

Aside from all that, nothing wrong with the realism of certain things coming back to bite you some time after a decision, even that seemed small at the time. Go read up on the Titanic or the Donner Party for a good lesson in that.

In fact this might be diverging from the topic somewhat, but I love it when games have a meta element that can only be figured out through multiple playthroughs. The character's knowledge is limited to their current path, but the player learns from they're experiences and amasses the pieces to put it all together over time. Even if the "puzzle" is just how not to die.

 

I'm liking this type of thing too, only recently since the first thing I ever really found that did this was 6SB and probably Skybreak! kind of.  

And yeah, there's alot of real life things, like those mentioned...and the german mercenaries that decided to party on christmas and Washington was just like...."lol morons"

 

Biggest troll I did was in Necromancer for the hellbound path, but there IS at least one way to still get out of it with a “good ending” even when you’re set out on it.

Contrary to what some have believed, the “Group Hug” ending in Repression was NOT a troll choice. (Not sure why people would believe that it was really given the over all content of the story)

Troll choices aren’t too new though so you’d definitely be following a time honored tradition.

There’s been examples in CYOA style books from the 80s with them. Some of the more infamous examples which I mentioned in the FF Thread in the Reading Room is House of Hell. 

Putting on a ring at one point in the game will result in an automatic death if you encounter a vampire later on even though it initially makes you believe that it’s going to help you against it. The game in general also has a lot of places where you believe you’re making progress and what you’ve actually done is gotten yourself into a no win situation no matter what your following choices are.

Of course that's just one example of trolling in the FF books, there were many other examples. So as I said, trolling readers is a time honored tradition.

Biggest troll I did was in Necromancer for the hellbound path, but there IS at least one way to still get out of it with a “good ending” even when you’re set out on it.

Lol never found the good way out, mostly had explored the non-troll path after falling for it the first time.  May have to go back and play around a bit.  Never really got the impression the Group Hug was a troll choice so much as...well, fitting the rest of the story.  

And wow, I figured troll choices existed but didn't know it was such a time honored thing.

Necromancer's hell path will always have a special place in my undead heart. 

Yep, I even mentioned that in the FF thread in the Reading Room.

Nice. Has anyone who read those books mentioned it before?

Nope, as far as I know nobody recognized the reference. Though it is a bit obscure.

Would be cool if someone did.
Probably someday.

I don't think I'd describe any of the examples you listed as "troll" choices. If they were in a story I wrote, they would simply be part of the story and the world.

Fair 'nuff

Your worlds were just created by Troll gods of course :)

In the story game, I've been currently working on I give a lot of troll choices because it's supposed to be very hard. But whenever I give a troll option I always leave a way to escape but I make it a lot longer and harder.