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'''Choose your own adventure''' (often abbreviated to '''CYOA'''; sometimes called '''choice-based''' IF) refers to a style of [[interactive fiction]] where the game is assembled from a set of story nodes and related choices. A typical [[turn]] in a CYOA consists of a [[textdump]] describing the current situation of the game, followed by a short list of explicit options to choose from. The [[player]] then chooses one, and the story continues with a new section of the story and new options. This mode of play, moving from one story node to another, continues until an [[ending]] of some sort is reached.  
'''Choice-based''' IF (also called '''choose your own adventure''' or '''CYOA''') refers to a style of [[interactive fiction]] where the game is assembled from a set of story nodes and related choices or hyperlinks. A typical [[turn]] in CYOA will consist of a passage of text describing the current situation of the game. In some works, this is followed by a short list of explicit options to choose from; in other works, hyperlinks are scattered throughout the text. When the [[player]] selects a choice or a hyperlink, the story continues with a new section of the story, which offers new options or hyperlinks. This mode of play, moving from one story node to another, continues until an [[ending]] of some sort is reached. Authoring tools for choice-based IF include [[Twine]], [[Squiffy]], [[Undum]], [[ChoiceScript]], and [[ink]], among others. More authoring systems are listed at [[Authoring systems for choice-based IF]].


A notable subtype of choice-based IF is hypertext IF, in which the player clicks hyperlinks to navigate through the story. These hyperlinks may be scattered throughout the text, rather than being presented as a list of options. [[Twine]] is a platform commonly used for authoring hypertext IF.
==Terminology==
The appellation "choose your own adventure" or "CYOA" was once the more common term for this type of interactive fiction. It is still sometimes used interchangeably with "choice", but can be regarded as mildly derisive as the simple, stateless branching narrative trees of the ''[[CYOA series|Choose Your Own Adventure]]'' [[gamebook]]s (see [[#Origins|Origins]], below) do not represent the depth and complexity of many games authored with modern choice IF systems. In 2019, [[ChooseCo]], the rightsholders of the original CYOA series, issued takedown notices to authors on [[itch.io]] who had marked their own games as "choose your own adventure" or "CYOA".[https://www.theverge.com/2019/12/9/21003455/chooseco-choose-your-own-adventure-itch-io-trademark-infringement-takedown-notices].


==Origins==
==History==
From about 1981 to about 1995, Bantam published a series of books for young readers (ages 9-12) in which the story was told a page at a time. At the bottom of each page, the reader was offered a choice, along the lines of, "If you decide to stay here and wait for the supply ship, turn to page 12. If you decide to do a little exploring on your own, turn to page 17."  Each book offered multiple endings, where the outcome depended upon what the reader wanted to happen next in the linear narrative. There were at least 150 books in the [[CYOA series]], as well as spinoffs such as the "Choose Your Own Star Wars™ Adventure" series, and knockoffs from other publishers who used variations on the CYOA slogan.   
===Origins===
From about 1981 to about 1995, Bantam published the ''[[CYOA series|Choose Your Own Adventure]]'' series of [[gamebook]]s for young readers (ages 9-12), in which the story was told a page at a time. At the bottom of each page, the reader was offered a choice, along the lines of, "If you decide to stay here and wait for the supply ship, turn to page 12. If you decide to do a little exploring on your own, turn to page 17."  Each book offered multiple endings, where the outcome depended upon what the reader wanted to happen next in the linear narrative. There were at least 150 books in the series, as well as spinoffs such as the "Choose Your Own Star Wars™ Adventure" series, and imitations from other publishers who used variations on the CYOA slogan.   


Raymond Queneau's story "Un conte a votre fa&ccedil;on" ("Story as You Like It" or "Yours for the Telling"), and later Julio Cortazar's novel <cite>Rayuela</cite> (<cite>Hopscotch</cite>), both from the early 1960s, are the original works in this one-text-multiple-paths form and deserve mention. The idea was first described in Jorge Luis Borges's 1941 story "El jardin de senderos que se bifurcan" ("The Garden of Forking Paths.")
Raymond Queneau's story "Un conte a votre fa&ccedil;on" ("Story as You Like It" or "Yours for the Telling"), and later Julio Cortazar's novel <cite>Rayuela</cite> (<cite>Hopscotch</cite>), both from the early 1960s, are the original works in this one-text-multiple-paths form and deserve mention. The idea was first described in Jorge Luis Borges's 1941 story "El jardin de senderos que se bifurcan" ("The Garden of Forking Paths.")


==Criticisms==
===Twine revolution===
The term CYOA may be applied in a somewhat derisive tone to an interactive fiction in which the player reads a lot of text and has only limited opportunities to interact with the game. If the choices are morally neutral ("If you decide to go north, select 1. If you decide to go south, select 2"), and the quality of the prose is nothing special, such a game can rapidly become tedious.  
In the early 2010s, the release of [[Twine]] opened up IF development to a huge number of creators. Many of these were people from marginalised groups, including the LGBTQ+ community, who found in Twine a means to express their own stories and feelings. Notable queer authors who began creating IF in this period include [[Anna Anthropy]] and [[Porpentine Charity Heartscape]]. Around that time, choice-based IF began to be taken more seriously in the previously parser-centric IF community of [[rec.arts.int-fiction]] and [[IF Comp]], with Porpentine's ''[[howling dogs]]'' taking 11th place in the [[18th Annual Interactive Fiction Competition|2012 IF Comp]].


Those literary hypertexts in which the page chunks and links are both hard-coded resemble CYOA stories: "If you want to read a short story about Shelly Jackson's elbow, click here. If you want to read a short story about Shelly Jackson's knees, click here." (See [http://www.altx.com/thebody/body.html "The Body"], by Shelly Jackson.) But literary hypertext typically features inline links, and can also include variable (context-sensitive) links. Matthew Kirschenbaum [http://www.otal.umd.edu/~mgk/courses/spring2004/467/archives/000265.php notes] a tendency for literary critics to interpret interactive fiction as glorified CYOA.
===Commercial revival===
Following the Twine Revolution, a number of commercial developers such as [[Choice of Games]] and [[inkle]] began producing choice-based IF for profit. In 2014, Inkle's ''[[80 Days]]'' achieved commercial success and critical acclaim well outside of the IF community, winning the IGF Excellence in Narrative Award, Game Developers' Choice Award and ''Time'''s Game of the Year.
 
==See also==
*[[Create Your Own Adventure]] (which was a MediaWiki website)
*[[Authoring systems for choice-based IF]] - list created dynamically from IFWiki's database of authoring systems
*[[:Category:Choice-based]] - all choice-based games which have an IFWiki page


==Links==
==Links==
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** [http://maga-dogg.livejournal.com/451524.html CYOA: Educational]. 28-Aug-2011.
** [http://maga-dogg.livejournal.com/451524.html CYOA: Educational]. 28-Aug-2011.
** [http://maga-dogg.livejournal.com/451896.html CYOA structures: graphic novels]. 11-Sep-2011.
** [http://maga-dogg.livejournal.com/451896.html CYOA structures: graphic novels]. 11-Sep-2011.
* [http://emshort.wordpress.com/2014/12/16/hybrid-interfaces-texture-contrition-porpentine-spondre-jay-nabonne/ Hybrid Interfaces: Texture; Contrition (Porpentine); Spondre (Jay Nabonne)] by [[Emily Short]]. 16-Dec-2014.
* [https://emshort.wordpress.com/2016/05/25/not-all-choice-interfaces-are-alike/ Not All Choice Interfaces Are Alike] by [[Emily Short]]. 25-May-2016.
* [https://www.reddit.com/r/TextbasedIFRecs/comments/1dcs8x9/textbased_interactive_fiction_games/ Reddit: Text-based Interactive Fiction games recommendations from Itch.io (r/TextbasedIFRecs, u/McGclock), 10 June 2024]. "Almost all of the IF's are made in Twine, with a few being made in ChoiceScript, Ren'py, or some other engine."


===Collaborative CYOA sites===
===Collaborative CYOA sites===
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* [http://www.protagonize.com/ Protagonize]
* [http://www.protagonize.com/ Protagonize]


[[Category:CYOA| Choose Your Own Adventure]] [[Category:Glossary]]
[[Category:Glossary]]

Latest revision as of 07:17, 8 July 2024

Choice-based IF (also called choose your own adventure or CYOA) refers to a style of interactive fiction where the game is assembled from a set of story nodes and related choices or hyperlinks. A typical turn in CYOA will consist of a passage of text describing the current situation of the game. In some works, this is followed by a short list of explicit options to choose from; in other works, hyperlinks are scattered throughout the text. When the player selects a choice or a hyperlink, the story continues with a new section of the story, which offers new options or hyperlinks. This mode of play, moving from one story node to another, continues until an ending of some sort is reached. Authoring tools for choice-based IF include Twine, Squiffy, Undum, ChoiceScript, and ink, among others. More authoring systems are listed at Authoring systems for choice-based IF.

Terminology

The appellation "choose your own adventure" or "CYOA" was once the more common term for this type of interactive fiction. It is still sometimes used interchangeably with "choice", but can be regarded as mildly derisive as the simple, stateless branching narrative trees of the Choose Your Own Adventure gamebooks (see Origins, below) do not represent the depth and complexity of many games authored with modern choice IF systems. In 2019, ChooseCo, the rightsholders of the original CYOA series, issued takedown notices to authors on itch.io who had marked their own games as "choose your own adventure" or "CYOA".[1].

History

Origins

From about 1981 to about 1995, Bantam published the Choose Your Own Adventure series of gamebooks for young readers (ages 9-12), in which the story was told a page at a time. At the bottom of each page, the reader was offered a choice, along the lines of, "If you decide to stay here and wait for the supply ship, turn to page 12. If you decide to do a little exploring on your own, turn to page 17." Each book offered multiple endings, where the outcome depended upon what the reader wanted to happen next in the linear narrative. There were at least 150 books in the series, as well as spinoffs such as the "Choose Your Own Star Wars™ Adventure" series, and imitations from other publishers who used variations on the CYOA slogan.

Raymond Queneau's story "Un conte a votre façon" ("Story as You Like It" or "Yours for the Telling"), and later Julio Cortazar's novel Rayuela (Hopscotch), both from the early 1960s, are the original works in this one-text-multiple-paths form and deserve mention. The idea was first described in Jorge Luis Borges's 1941 story "El jardin de senderos que se bifurcan" ("The Garden of Forking Paths.")

Twine revolution

In the early 2010s, the release of Twine opened up IF development to a huge number of creators. Many of these were people from marginalised groups, including the LGBTQ+ community, who found in Twine a means to express their own stories and feelings. Notable queer authors who began creating IF in this period include Anna Anthropy and Porpentine Charity Heartscape. Around that time, choice-based IF began to be taken more seriously in the previously parser-centric IF community of rec.arts.int-fiction and IF Comp, with Porpentine's howling dogs taking 11th place in the 2012 IF Comp.

Commercial revival

Following the Twine Revolution, a number of commercial developers such as Choice of Games and inkle began producing choice-based IF for profit. In 2014, Inkle's 80 Days achieved commercial success and critical acclaim well outside of the IF community, winning the IGF Excellence in Narrative Award, Game Developers' Choice Award and Time's Game of the Year.

See also

Links

Collaborative CYOA sites

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