Trivia time! Name the series that this famous tagline is associated with: “You better beware. You’re in for a scare!” Figure it out? Yes, this tagline was prominently associated with R.L. Stine’s famous series of books, the Goosebumps books. I can distinctly remember those words being uttered during the opening of the TV series of the same name. Both the television series and the book series played a large role in my childhood. Over the years, I amassed a collection of over sixty of the original Goosebumps books. Some of the stories still stick with me, even after all these years.

Choose Your Adventure

One particular subset of Goosebumps books fascinated me more than any other. Those books were known as the “Give Yourself Goosebumps” series. In these books, the story was told from the second person point of view, and allowed the reader to determine how the story would play out. How did this work? Simple. The reader would start by reading through the first two or three chapters for some setup. The third chapter would end with a choice for the reader to make. At the bottom of the page, instructions would indicate which chapter to read next based on the reader’s decision. This pattern would continue with branching paths until the reader either escaped the nightmare they’d found themselves in, or would meet an untimely demise with any manner of monsters or crazed trappings.

I can remember spending countless hours rereading through these books to find all the endings. Taking a different path each time to see what would happen, and what new creature I’d stumble upon. The books, rather simple in structure, had just the right amount of novelty to keep me coming back time and again to see what kind of adventure I could go on.

Looking back on the “Give Yourself Goosebumps” series, they were quite silly. Many times the main character would make decisions that I personally found to be stupid. I wished I could have had a say in certain decisions that would occur mid-chapter. Other times, the main character’s attitude towards his/her friends made me want to smack him. There’s also a finite number of things the author can do with this type of main character. Because the reader has control over the protagonist, the author has to be careful in how they are fleshed out. Give too much personality and the reader may become alienated from someone that is supposed to represent the reader. It is definitely a balancing act.

What draws me to this kind of writing though is the uniqueness of it. Whether writing a short story, a novel, or even a screenplay, the flow of the story is always the same. It starts with Chapter 1 and moves on to Chapter 2 and so forth (or from Scene 1 to Scene 2 etc.). In the “Give Yourself Goosebumps” books, the reader may go from Chapter 3 to Chapter 15, and then to Chapter 9. It’s a genre of storytelling that I think requires a completely different kind of mindset. It’s one I’d be curious to explore. But it’s not just books where we see this, it occurs in many forms of media.

Interactive Movies

Probably the rarest breed of interactive story-telling is the interactive movie. In fact, off the top of my head, I can only provide two examples of this genre of film. Those two films are: Final Destination 3, and Return to House On Haunted Hill. Both are horror movies, and both are far from being any good (though Final Destination has its charm). To experience the interactivity of these movies, one needs to own the DVD/Blu-ray versions of them.

How does one interact with a movie? Simple. At certain points in the movie, the scene will pause and give the view the option to (in these cases) watch the characters die, or let them live to see another day. This is gimmicky at best, and hardly worth going out and buying either of these movies, but it does create replay value for those interested. It also adds work for the filmmakers as, in order to make this possible, extra scenes need to be filmed. Now, I haven’t experienced either of these movies in all their “interactive glory” for some time, but it does raise some interesting questions. How does one account for all the possible combinations of choices in their script? How is the story merged back together?

With the given examples, most of the characters in slasher movies tend to be expendable. Thus, I’d estimate the impact on the story would be minimal at best . It makes for a fun ride, but aside from switching out some character deaths, you’re probably not making a whole lot of difference.

Into the gaming sphere

Speaking of interactive stories, how about them video games? Come on, it was inevitable we’d wind up in this category. Video games are the absolute masters at interactive story-telling. Just ask anyone that’s played through the likes of Final Fantasy, Legend of Zelda, or Mass Effect. There is a wealth of games that we could discuss, and pick apart in terms of literary quality. But first, let’s explore a more niche genre of games that is entirely story based.

Visual novels. Okay, don’t run for the hills just yet. Yes, there are a bevy of terrible visual novels notorious for their forced romantic plots, anime-esque aesthetics (and I’m not trying to say the anime look is bad), and even adult oriented content. But, if one sets aside the trash and instead takes an honest look at visual novels as a potential literary medium, I think one will be surprised at the potential.

Visual novels can get upward of 500,000 words in length, some even closing in on a million words. Now that’s a hefty stack of papers! Trying dusting off the old typewriter for one of those projects. But why so long? Like the Give Yourself Goosebumps series, visual novels expand upon the chapter skipping mechanics and takes it to next level. Think of it like a set of vines growing along a wall. They may all sprout from the same location, but they can weave back and forth, crisscrossing along their paths to the other side.

Visual novels are much like this. You’ll start at a common location, and read sometimes chapters worth of content, before coming to a choice that needs to be made. Music, imagery, and sometimes voiced lines help to set the stage. Upon making a decision, you’re led down a different path that will eventually intersect with a common series of events that all paths share. Sometimes the detour is short-lived, and only fits a scene or two worth of content. Other times though, that branching path will have its own set of decisions that need to be made before coming back to the common path.

Visual novels can have upwards of eight or nine endings, all being completely different. They generally stick with a core cast of characters, including the reader. What makes visual novels special is just how character driven they are. Interactions with the various characters is what propels the story, and leads the reader down various paths. Imagine writing a crime novel where the reader gets to interview different suspects, and based on descriptions along with dialog, try to determine who they can trust, where they can search for clues, and how they can prevent the next murder.

The stereotypical visual novel is a badly written, anime girl infested romance story that rewards the player at every turn. That species of visual novel has its place, but when one looks at the core mechanics of the visual novel, I think it exposes something far more special and worthy of our attention. It gives us a whole new avenue to explore with how we tell stories and interact with our readers.

It’s dangerous to go alone! Take this.

Finally, how about a quick look at a more traditional set of games? Games like The Legend of Zelda, Skyrim, and Final Fantasy. Video games, for all their problems and bad press, have the ability to open up a whole new world of story-telling. Now lets get one thing straight. Not all video games are capable of telling a competent story. Some don’t even try (nor should they).

One of the things that draws people to video games is the story that players can interact with, and be a part of (with limits of course). Think about it. Say you’re writing a book and there’s a scene where a man goes to a convenience store to buy bread. The interaction with the man and store clerk may just be a one off, and the clerk is never seen again. Or, a conversation could ensue where that gives the reader a sense of the world the clerk lives in. Maybe he’s poor and this is his second job. There’s a lot that can happen between the main character and that clerk.

In a video game, there can be far more interactions between the player and that same clerk. The player could choose to run an errand for the clerk, and as a result, learn more about the clerk’s life. The player could visit the store frequently, and learn something new about the clerk each time. Or conversely, the player could vandalize the store and run the clerk out of town. It’s all dependent on how the game is coded of course, but what makes video games unique is that this clerk doesn’t even need to be involved with the main story.

The ability for a player to interact with characters on a whim, is what sets video games apart from books. The main story will exist for the player to fight the bad guy and save the day (or sometimes do the opposite), but there may also be a plethora of characters populating the world that can be interacted with, and that have their own story to experience. At this point, one isn’t just writing a book, one is writing a living, breathing world, and populating it.

Now I know what you’re probably thinking. I’m overselling the hell out these video games! And you may be right. With our clerk example, they’ll be plenty of players that never bother to talk to the guy. Not only that, but many games don’t include that level of detail, and once the next game comes out, the ones that do may just get forgotten anyway.

What draws me to the world of writing in video games though, is the stories inside of stories that one can tell. The overarching story of the game may be that an evil sorcerer has kidnapped a princess, but on an individual level, there could be hundreds of tales waiting to be told. Some may be directly related with the main plot, while others may be as simple as helping a lone farmer come up with the finances needed to save his farm. It’s the culmination of experiences in these games that tell the bigger story of the world it’s set in. Sure, some players won’t care and just want goodies they get from doing a mission, but for those that do care, it can make for a far richer experience.

The Winding Roads

What fascinates me about writing are the many ways in which we can tell stories. Sometimes, it’s the books and screenplays we write that connect with people Other times, it’s the more unique and niche experiences that really stick. Whether it’s sitting down in bed with an Amy Cross novel, or having my eyes glued to the TV while playing Ocarina of Time or Resident Evil 0, it’s the experience with the characters and the stories they tell that will always bring me back for more. While we all have our preferences in how and what we write, we should always embrace new ways to reach our readers. There’s a thousand winding roads just waiting for exploration.