Narrative, dialogue and investigation
Narrative challenges give players grounds for interpretation, observable consequences of choice and ways to revise a hypothesis. Each overview separates player actions, state changes and alternative rules. Examples are hypothetical design scenarios, not claims about a named game. A prototype check states an observable question for the next iteration. Existing detailed references remain separately linked from the direction map.
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Mechanics and variants
1Interrogation, testimony and contradictionsOverview and example ↗Testimony becomes a set of testable claims; the player seeks incompatibilities with other claims and known facts.4
Mechanic variants
- Clarification narrows an ambiguous statement.
- Contradictions connect incompatible accounts.
- Presenting evidence tests a specific clue's relevance.
- Repeated questions account for a witness's new knowledge.
Design example. A witness claims to have heard a bell while a repair log shows it had been removed. Prototype check: Test whether a player can explain a contradiction rather than merely guess the intended pair of buttons.
2Finding, connecting and presenting evidenceOverview and example ↗Evidence gains meaning through provenance, comparison and presentation within a relevant test context.4
Mechanic variants
- Provenance distinguishes findings from hearsay.
- Comparison tests shared properties of samples.
- Chains connect independent facts into a conclusion.
- Presentation changes access to new information.
Design example. Fabric matches a repaired cloak and a photograph shows who wore it on the relevant day. Prototype check: Test conclusions with one clue removed and distinguish proof, suspicion and an unsupported hypothesis.
3Reconstructing events and causal relationshipsOverview and example ↗Reconstruction restores event sequences and causal dependencies, supporting tests of several explanations for the same traces.4
Mechanic variants
- Timelines constrain possible event order.
- Object placement suggests a feasible action.
- Experiments test a hypothesis's physical feasibility.
- Alternatives explain the same trace differently.
Design example. A fallen shelf could have broken a window before a person left or after a timer activated. Prototype check: Test that the final account requires causal explanation rather than merely sorting every event by time.
4Procedural stories and drama systemsOverview and example ↗A drama system selects events from character states and unresolved conflicts to maintain narrative causality.4
Mechanic variants
- Preconditions permit events only in suitable states.
- Motives explain a character's chosen action.
- Consequences change available subsequent events.
- Memory preserves previously revealed conflicts.
Design example. A neighbor who loses a job asks for help only from someone previously trusted. Prototype check: Test long event chains against established knowledge, relationships and irreversible actions.
5Role-playing improvisation and collaborative storytellingOverview and example ↗Participants propose actions and world details while agreed rules determine what becomes a shared story fact.4
Mechanic variants
- Roles grant authority over specific fact types.
- Resolution rules settle contested action outcomes.
- Scene handoffs change the active narrator.
- Content boundaries are agreed before continuing.
Design example. One player describes a threat, another chooses a hero's response and a third applies the consequence rule. Prototype check: Test conflicting proposals so participants know who decides and how an uncomfortable scene can be revised.
6Unreliable narrators and testing interpretationsOverview and example ↗Unreliable reports require comparison with independent signs and revision of trust in their source.4
Mechanic variants
- Limited memory leaves recognizable gaps.
- Self-interest distorts which facts are reported.
- Another viewpoint reveals an omitted event.
- Corroboration raises trust in a particular claim.
Design example. A diary describes a victory while damage to the gates suggests its author retreated. Prototype check: Test for observable reasons to doubt before the ending instead of revealing deception only in retrospect.
7Interactive fiction and text-based actionsOverview and example ↗Interactive fiction turns reading into an action choice, after which text reports state changes and available continuations.4
Mechanic variants
- Links provide explicitly named actions.
- Parsers accept a constrained command grammar.
- State memory changes familiar place descriptions.
- Clarification resolves ambiguous object references.
Design example. Inspection reveals a key and a later table description acknowledges the emptied space. Prototype check: Test synonyms, unknown commands and out-of-order actions with state explanations instead of verb guessing.
Sources and examples
Sources support particular techniques or methodology, not every family variant. Design examples and mechanic combinations are illustrative.
- inkle: ink
Primary interactive-narrative tool documentation; context for choices, variables and consequences.
CC BY 4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors