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Hi, I want to ask for some advice. I'm really close to finishing my first episodic adventure story game. "Guide to surviving the apocalypse." It's long, it has action, it has emotion and character evolution. But I feel like I'm missing something, I feel like I need more tension that flows and escalates. I can't have someone test it right now but I am simply asking for some writing advice. I will not publish my game until it is perfect.

Does anybody have any tips on creating tension, or can someone link me to an article. I'd really appreciate it, as I want my first story to flourish and give off a good first impression.

p.s I know people will say that it's never a good idea to split up a story into parts, but what I am doing is making one story game with a menu selection which will be updated as new episodes come out. It's really long.

I feel I should let you know that unless you have the "Allow Sneak Preview" checkbox in your story properties unchecked, people who know how can still play your storygame before it is published.

General hint:
- Don't make an episodic game. People prefer one long game over several smaller ones. A series is okay, but it sounds like you're taking one story and cutting it into pieces, which messes with continuity.

For tension:
- It's all in the details. Give hints something can, or is about to happen, but don't just make it happen. There's a large difference between entering a home, seeing a puddle of blood, and getting attacked later into the house, versus entering the home, seeing the pool of blood, and being attacked right away.
- Draw the player's attention away from said interaction. Have them see the pool of blood, then later on, in the middle of an unrelated confrontation when they least expect it, have the zombie that caused it show up.
- Don't always make the hint mean something. Simply drawing attention to the fact that something might happen is usually enough to put someone on edge. You necessarily have to have it lead to something.
- Setup up a proper atmosphere to facilitate the tension

That's all for hints from me.

The reason I have this episodic instead of a story is not to chop up the story into little bits. It's because each episode is about something different. Each has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Which makes you want to know what happends in the next one when it comes out. The idea of the episodes is to really emphasize the descisions you made in the previous. I see with most story games that a descisions I made really impacts the story, but I forget about them much later in the game. But in this you are always reminded of your choices and effect things much later on in the game. I know that it's hard to get what I mean through words, but I assure you I'm doing this for a reason and not just for extra reviews. It also allows player feedback so next episodes can be better.

 

Except thats impossible, because you cant carry over choices between games. Your only option is to ask the player what they chose before, which just reinforces this should be one big story.

Well actually I give them a 3 digit code that they enter in at the start of the next episode which corresponds to the ending they got and carries on their choices in the new one. e.g BBA

Just so you know that this is still on ONE story game. I just update the title page on it so you can play new episodes when they come out.

Never make an episodic story. If you want to make sequels think "Can this be a stand alone story" and if the answer is yes, then it probably should be. As for tension, use the five senses. Have people die. Have uncertainty. Have your character wait. Have your character remember moments from his past. The more emotionally attached you are to a character, the more you'll be worried for him/her, resulting in tension.

Thing is, this doesn't work as a stand alone story in my mind. It's almost like a tv show in my head. Each episode is about something new. Look, I've planned all this out months ago on giant Bristol boards. I'm not running into this blind, I know exactly what I am doing. As for your tip: I think that is one of the key elements that I was missing in this story. Thing is, when I started writing this 6 months ago I wasn't even aware of this site at that time, I made my story one of those cliché "Main character can't remember anything" plot. So I guess I'll have to work around that. But thankyou for the advice.

Tension. More tension.