Designing a Coherent Adventure
An interesting adventure does not depend on the number of scenes, but on the coherence between the goal, decisions, and consequences.
Start with objectives
Section titled “Start with objectives”Define what the participant should learn, discover, practice, or experience.
Plan decisions
Section titled “Plan decisions”Choices must lead to understandable consequences. If all branches end up doing exactly the same thing, the participant may perceive that decisions don’t matter.
Control complexity
Section titled “Control complexity”- Use brief narratives to introduce context.
- Alternate information, decisions, and consequences.
- Reserve branches for situations that add value.
- Merge paths when this simplifies the graph.
- Avoid dead-end loops and inaccessible endings.
Design for the audience
Section titled “Design for the audience”Adapt vocabulary, difficulty, and duration to the participants. Professional simulations may require detailed consequences; introductory adventures usually benefit from simple structures.
Test all relevant paths before sharing the result.