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Loel
Jun 4, 2012

"For the Emperor."

There was a terrible noise.
There was a terrible silence.



So you’ve decided to read a CYOA!

Wait, what?

Yes, brave citizen! You have chosen to read a Choose Your Own Adventure!

Like the books?



In a way! Instead of reading a pre-written book, and being given dozens of endings, you get to make choices live!

So, the author just does what I want?

Well, you aren’t the only reader! The quieter threads might have half a dozen, while Diog’s might have a full hundred voting.

Wait, voting?

That is correct! The writer will describe what happens from your previous action, and then the thread will argue about how to respond. This might be attacking, running away, talking, or doing something even more elaborate!

How do I vote?

It depends on the CYOA! Most of them explain how voting will work in the OP.

How do I know what CYOA to read?

We have twenty or so active ones at the moment, ranging from scifi to contemporary to bronze age. If one looks interesting, check it out!

Can I participate in it too?

Sometimes! Each CYOA is different. They will all incorporate the winning vote, but some also use your dialogue exactly. Some even let you make additional characters to run around with. Check with the OP to get an idea of what’s acceptable.

Everyone else is voting wrong, how do I fix it?

Yell at them in the chatroom here: https://client00.chat.mibbit.com/?server=EU.synirc.net%3A%2B7001&channel=%23madgod

Discord chatroom here: https://discord.gg/uwUYXeE

Okay, everyone agrees with me. What should I do now?

Post often. Writers live for replies. Say what you like. Say what you didn't. Speculate gratuitously. Argue with the other players. Point out sections of the writing that caused feels. Point out sections that seemed weak. Stay involved :D



You may end up using this a lot :v:

In Progress posted:


Paradise Lost, by Diogenes
This is it, the big one. Over 250,000 posts, running for six years. Swords and sandals mythos


Prometheus Cycle Started as 40k, now homebrew. Loel’s
My very own 40k fic. Running nearly four years and nearly half a million words, it is one of the bigger fics running, although I haven't updated frequently.


You have 001 Goblins. BoldFrankenstienMir
Long running game, simulation of an oldschool computer game


Trouble on the Rim. Swedish Thaumocracy’s
Like killing monsters? I know you do.


Mutants - Holly's.
We lead the mutant brotherhood! Join us in our quest of terrorism and gang wars. Recently picked back up, currently on NaNoWriMo hiatus.


Get ready for a scrap, It’s WRECKING CREW! by BeeBonk
The desperate dregs of future society battle mutants and robots in the ruins of humanity's cities for a chance at redemption, and it's televised! On break until H3:M1


Hell is Empty by Ninja Pete
Wanna gently caress around as a robot spy in the midwest? A new Demon the Descent game that will maybe take less than 5 years to finish this time.


A Shop On The Frontier by super sweet best pal
Come vote on what trade you'll learn in order to make a fortune selling shoddy gear that will fail to help heroes protect us from an encroaching horde of monsters.


The Glass Maker’s Dragon by Twiler
A kid with a machine that can grant wishes (which he tries to use to generate ice-cream) tries to work out why weird magical dust keeps blowing into his home.


Time Force Delta by Turtlelicious
This is a cyoa, but everyone who votes gets a secret society, and a secret objective. Work with your society to take over the avatar and push forward your agenda.


Vampires of the Caribbean by HollyLolly
July, 1791. A French heiress is accused by the Spanish Inquisition of being a witch, and will stand trial for it in Cartagena. Your decisions may help her escape! Maybe. Also there’s vampires.


Adventures in the Beaten Lands: Controller by Brawnfire
Do you like uncanny valley and weird neural net image breeders? You might enjoy this bit of amazing prose and terrifying art. Started in the Image Breeder thread of GBS on page 5 here.


Peasant Revolt Simulator by CrazyCryoDude
Hide in the woods! Watch all your friends die! Have all hope crushed beneath the relentless jackboot of the feudal order! Or maybe, just maybe, you can actually win.


Undercroft by sephiRoth IRA
100% chance of cultists, weirdoes, awful, unknowable gods, insect demons, and all the insanity and death I can conceivably rip off from my favorite authors think up!

Advice Column by AFancyQuestionMark
It's about giving advice to people. Not quite sure where this one is ultimately going yet, but I am sure we could find out together.

REDACTED IMAGE
Memento of Kali by Elentor
It's a post-apocalyptic fantasy adventure with a pint of psychological thriller and enough spoiler bars to rival the SCP foundation :v:


Everything Ends in Twelve Updates, by The Cog
Cosmic weirdness with a finite lifespan.


SYMWYRM by Bee Bonk
Baby dragons! How can you say no? Combo CYOA and boardgame.


Orks. Beer4theBeerGod
The first 40k CYOA Im aware of, extremely excellent. Inspired me to start my own. Technically on indefinite hiatus?


Blake Island School of Magic by Ice Phisherman
Former professional author writes about three teens from varied troubled situations mixing with corporate princes and princesses as they learn how to control their magic.


Holding Out for a Hero by Poultrygeist
A CYOA set in the universe of the LANCER RPG. Get in a big robot and stomp around the Space Wild West!


All Ways Be Cultivating LLSix
Become a supernaturally powerful martial artist and punch your way into paradise.


The World Library by Mr. Steak (fka onset onsider)
”I have a ton of crazy ideas that hopefully this adventure will allow me to set free.”

Voices In My Head by Space Adventure.
It’s a fresh new traditional CYOA! All the CYOA stuff you love, like picking from a list of options, and making decisions!


Yggdrasil’s Branching Paths - SMT Gaiden: Persona X by PMush Perfect
Wake up, go to school, save the world.

Blood and Thunder by Ministry of Lard
ride around beheading snake cultists with a bitching sword


JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure by Nyaa
A cyoa for jjba!


[3v3v3 Fantasy Strategy Game] Dungeon Run - Are you a bad enough dude? by Turtlicious
”My attempt at creating a PbP strategy game in the vein of Dominions, and Conquest of Elysium.”


Hired Goons by Yooper
You won't be flying the jets. You'll be telling a squadron of mish mashed poo poo where to fly, what to bomb, and how to do it.


[url=”https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3895269%94]Space Cop: Three Days To Re-Entry[/url], by Grey Hunter
We're a cop, in space. Its three days until we land on earth and something bad just happened.
The twist here is that everything we do in game has to be costed out in time, so taking time gets better results, but we only have 72 hours to solve the mystery.



MOONED! A Small Robot’s Space Adventure, by Brawnfire
It's about an AI that gets trapped in a small servitor robot after a colony ship crashes, and now we must help it find its own path. Updates will be weekly, with additional entries and treats thrown in at the author's discretion. Hand-drawn!


Mr. Owl Wise Forest Animal Counseling, by Nyaa
The inhabitant of the forest need a wise owl to guide them. Hoot will come?

Terraforming Drones Co-Op/CYOA, by super sweet best pal
Let's make a planet inhabitable.

You will find them, and you will kill them., by SniperWoreConverse
Summon foul familiars! Intimidate and electroshock your way to intel! Send your own goons to turn over the joint! Shake down peasants for lunch money! The adventures of Zlata the dragonfolk noblewoman as she raises hell across the forums.

A Valiant Monster, by ThatTaffer
“[...] it seems will be the story of the Orcish grifter and swindler sell-sword known as The Rake and his haunted rapier thatwill not shut up.”


The Wellerby Mansion, by hollylolly
“I am running a ‘quick’ Halloween one-shot type CYOA [...] where player contestants must try to be the last one standing in a haunted house. I need 6-10 players!
Also, your character will most likely die.”


Bad Things Happen, by Apocron
WFRP2e, randomly generated.


Deliverance: Spark and Ember, by busb
The trials and tribulations of a young scholar in the world of Deliverance.

The Legend of Lobster, by Mr. Steak
“an open-ended fantasy CYOA story where you'll interact with my world and stuff will happen”


Ready Made Gods, by Aabcehmu and Dog Kisser, illustrated by Dog Kisser
“In Ready-Made Gods, you take the form of a God, an entity of pure potential, ripping through the rotten flesh of this world to try and make something beautiful, or at least something exciting. For those who have played DogKisser’s The Fragile Gods of Somewhere or THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX, TheNabster’s ongoing The Broken Gods of Elsewhere, or Jvie’s Above/Below, this game will be familiar, another entry into this burgeoning young-and-old genre. The rules are very similar, but there are a few additions this time around.”


gubbin by Jvie
As a gubbin you will complete objectives in order to attain rewards, and avoid peril.

Completed posted:




Diogenes’ Land Between Rivers, aka Madgod.
Diog's previous work, the monsters of the forum. Half the CYOAs running reference it in some way.


Lord of the Tower. Dog Kisser
Competitive race set in a tower. Also referenced frequently.


Moments. Extra Noise.
Based on a computer game, longest CYOA thread I've found. You know only spite.

Your Ship Sucks 1, Strabo 4
Your Ship Sucks 2, Strabo 4
Your Ship Sucks 3, Strabo 4
Scifi game, I have not yet read it


Evil Overlord. LLSix
Ever wanted to play the bad guy? These goons did.


Cuttlefish. Arkanonmen.
Good run about being a fish, quick read.

To Ginfinity and Beyond. stevey666
Short read about bad decisions, continuation of this Spacegame.


Red Yellow Blue, by Thallium
Goldmined, sadly a lot of the art appears to be lost, as this was written in 2008.


Break Down That Gate! by Dog Kisser
The Horde needs your warm bodies to defend the sacred kingdom of Tö! Throw yourselves up against the savage Fröman hordes and save your country... or die in glorious battle! Finally finished and really should be goldmined if it’s not archived already somewhere.


Little Robot, Big Scary World, Cheapshot
Another goldmined thread, this time about a robot


Void Racers, Gilganixon
Goldmined 80s scifi


Sword of the Bastard Elf, Gilganixon
Goldmined 80s fantasy


1848, Atma
Goldmined antarctic CRPG


Space tits and sass, by Applewhite
Goldmined campy scifi


What the hell just happened, by Applewhite
Gold what the gently caress


IS.exe by Aatma
Goldmined retro rpg prisoner of ISIS


Bendyman by Atma
Goldmined satire of Slenderman


MH370.exe by Atma
Goldmined Malasyain flight 370


adventures of satan by Atma
Gold satan


hey its bob by Atma
gold bob


endtimes.exe by Atma
gold endtimes


[url=https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3111817 Roma I[/url]
and Roma II by Stop Making Sense
goldmined Rome


A Cacophony of Godlets by AJ_impy
Starting at the very beginning, an empty place where a world may come to be has attracted a swarm of Godlets, little entities of ego, will and reality-shaping power. Which of them will flourish, which will burn out and fade? Therein lies a tale only you can tell.


You are a Tree by Paragon 1
What it says on the tin, way more fun than it sounds.


Fragile Gods of Somewhere by Dog Kisser
Play as a member of the pantheon! A truly outstanding work by Dog Kisser that inspired several other CYOAs.


Alone in the Woods by Arkanomen
Gordon Gekko in the Alaskan outback


Imperial Guard 40k Tias'
Old running fic, you are a soldier in the 40k who gets shot a lot Slow to update, but definitely quality.

The 78th Integration Process: Help Aliens Conquer Humanity by A Fancy Question Mark
where players help an alien empire conquer Earth. Might be complete?


Battletech, PoptartsNinja.
60,000 posts, its a monster. Big robots crashing into each other, its fun.


Legend of Wulin. Nyaa’s
Wushu Awesomeness


Sundown Run, Dog Kisser
Space racing and corporate sabotage. I haven't played it, but it looks fun


Starship Awful by Gravedust
goons on a spaceship, everything is fine


Wizard of Warlock Tower by Saint Isiah's Boner
Screenshots of a paperback CYOA, looks fun


GREATEST PRESIDENT by Nyaa
TRUMP TRUMP TRUMP TRUMP


Saga of the Northman: The Death of Toke Frodsson by NinjaPete
Short, sweet, and poignant. Reading NinjaPete’s abandoned cyoa Vikings is suggested, as it is a precursor apparently.

[timg]https://i.imgur.com/Z5vtUrm.jpg/timg]
The Lady of the Dungeon by Swedish Thaumocracy
Players make a character and join in as somewhere between five and seven "Deepdelvers" who delve deeply into a dungeon lured only by the promise of Their Hearts Desire.


I was sent to another world (Isekai CYOA) by Nyaa
We are a regular average truck delivery guy who died saving a girl. Then we got sent to a fantasy world with stat menu and unknown gift/curse.


Above/Below by Jvie
Do you daydream of smiting heretics? Did you like The Fragile Gods of Somewhere by Dog Kisser?


Let’s Kill Dracula by Zybourne Clock
Dracula is about to be reborn. This is an objectively bad thing that should be avoided at all cost. Dust off that old whip you keep under the bed and ask your local priest for a few flasks of holy water, because we're going to pay ol' Drac's castle a visit. Collaborative CYOA.


The Great Mispachan Land-Grab (Fragged Empires) by PoultryGeist
Now it's up to you to pick up the pieces and forge some sort of future for you all.


Dungeon Master: Digging too Deep by Grey Hunter
”I had an idea and this is where we are.”

CEORFATH by LOG OS
”I AM LOG OS”

The Graveyard posted:


The majority of these suffered what’s known as the CYOA curse, wherein the moment you start a CYOA, some sort of life upheaval prevents you from continuing it. Also, the 2016 election murdered a lot of people’s motivation to write. That said, here is the graveyard of CYOA games.


Rogue Trader 40k. Beer's.
Another 40k fic, you are a pirate-king out to get all the money in the galaxy. It's excellent


Vikings. Ninja Pete
Vikings. It's what it says on the tin. CYOA Curse. Direct precursor to Saga of the Northman: The Death of Toke Frodsson, recommended reading.


Grocery Store - Dammerung
Start in a grocery store. Then it gets ... weird. Highly reccomended. CYOA Curse?


You are LBJ!- rakovsky maybe
You are president LBJ. have fun! CYOA curse?


Wander - Music Theory.
Multiverse Dungeon Survival. CYOA curse?


Burning Wheel 1. Ratpick
Burning Wheel 2. Ratpick
Burning wheel inspired RPGs. CYOA curse?


Time to Di-ary. stevey666
A new one! Let's see where it goes. CYOA Curse?


Six Stars by Poison Mushroom
Deadlands meets Firefly. Nice. CYOA Curse


Perception. Bone Monkey
CYOA curse


Perception II by Bone Monkey
A reboot after a CYOA curse. Exciting! CYOA curse or fizzled.


Sangreal by Mepstein73
Two paladins walk into a bar. You'd think the second, at least, would have ducked. CYOA curse


The House, The Hill, The Haunting by meteloides and Lives in Grey
Humorous horror fic. CYOA curse/fizzled in character creation.


Talos by LordVonEarlDuke
Post apoc fantasy, CYOA Curse


Santa Lucha by Doktor Per
Fantasy Wrestling, CYOA curse?


From the Darkness by TheCog
SPAAAAAAAAAAAAAACE. Writer’s block


Best Evil Starts Small by Blasphemaster
daemonic microbes. praise nurgle. CYOA curse


Outlaws of Thoon by Xiphopagus
hive of scum and villainy, CYOA curse


A Song of Goons and Muder: Noble CYOA by mcclay
Medieval CYOA, probably Crusader Kings influenced. Looks fun. CYOA curse?


WARHAMMER by Apocron
glorious careers of ratcatchers dying of the pox. Fizzled at character creation


Trail of Cthulhu by Grey Hunter
Grey Hunter is good peoples, you should follow this one. CYOA curse?


Fantasy Civilization by ParadoxGentleman
History is written by the Winners. We're not them. CYOA curse?


Fallout 4: Detective Flamingo's Murder Mysteries by Hopeford
modded Fallout CYOA. CYOA curse?


Evoworld by Arkanomen
Its meant to be a casual, fun game of drawing and thinking up little monsters. CYOA curse?


Marvel Super Heroes: Let's Burn Through 80s TSR Modules Together! by ibntumart
TSR's oldschool superhero genre. CYOA curse?


7th Sea - The Longest Debt by mugrim
Watch while I swash a buckle! Fizzled


Probably a Bad Idea by potatocubed
cyperbunk sprawl bladerunner. why didnt we help that turtle? CYOA curse?


Kepler's Island by Olothreutes
A three hour tour, CYOA curse


Game Room Wrestling by Apocron
Wrestling! Fizzled in character creation.


Journey of the Apostles by Music Theory
tower game variant, competitive, CYOA curse?


The Age of the Country at War (Part 1). Age of the Country at War (Part 2) by Friar John
historical japan. CYOA curse.


Idiot with a Camera by Zybourne Clock
Attempting to get more page views, the game. CYOA curse


Dwarf & Desperation by Dokter Per
Piece together who you are, where you were going. Get drunk, groom your beard and survive the winter-wonderland! CYOA curse.


Creation through Fire by Mithross
Fantasy dawn of the world game. Fizzled.


Aberrant Behavior by mugrim
Choose the time and place you start, the story will change with it. Find out what lurks just beneath the surface. Ended because Chapo Trap House did the same thing while mugrim was away on holiday break :argh:


Static Dreams by mugrim, taken over by Nyaa.
The entire world is collectively having the same dream they simply can't shake that has profound effects on national security, culture, and even religion. There's no sign it will stop and the entire world seems directionless as it falls into chaos. Fizzled?


Book of Emerald Dreams by Faustian Q
play as one of many hapless souls as you plumb the mysteries of existence while trying to avoid death and the consequences that come with it. CYOA curse?


All Life and Suddenly Me by Lazaruise
mutants from birth, fizzled?


Where the Dead Walk by FrozenGoldfishGod
We're playing a little girl who just completed her search for a name in a primitive tribal culture that lives in a swamp, who just killed a menacing stranger to earn said name. Fizzled?


October Epsilon by stevey666
SCIENCE. Fizzled?


Voices of a Distant Past by LLSix
Spesssheeps, CYOA curse


Never Ever Give Up by Dog Kisser
Take the reins of someone who can do anything - as long as the dice are on their side. Fizzled?


The Four Part Kingdom, by Apocron.
A commander returning triumphantly from a military campaign, fizzled at character creation.

Poe’s Folly by Mepstein73
“A short CYOA that I hope will get folks thinking by the end of it.” CYOA curse?

Right In The Hoop by Tias
The CYOA with the most juice per auto-injector! CYOA curse.

Overseer by AFancyQuestionmark
This CYOA is about time-management, magic powers, fantasy politics, crime fighting and helping people. Fizzled?


Woven Wires by Have Blue
This headache's a killer, you've felt it coming for days now. Well, it's here, and rubbing your eyes isn't doing any good so… CYOA curse?


A Pirate’s CYOA For Me by AnAnonymousIdiot
"Now and then we had a hope, that if we lived and we were good, god would permit us to be pirates." Fizzled


Kings Country by HostileV
game about four strangers trying to figure out what's wrong with the city they moved to. Fizzled.

Building a Better Future by AFancyQuestionMark
It's an experimental sci-fi government sim. Fizzled?


Gravediggers Adventure by Helical Nightmares
A black-comic romp through a fantasy world as a somewhat villainous gravedigger and his patron Master. Fizzled?

Yeti Quest by Moacher
single protagonist, all voting players represent their collective subconscious and guide their choices and beliefs. Fizzled? Hosted on reddit.


Sword and Sorcery by TheCog
Be a wizard. Get trained by a mystical monster hunter. Try not to get yourself killed. Fizzled.


Death in the Golden City by VinnyPossum
Court Intrigue. Romance of the Three Kingdoms, but it's in Post-apocalypse California. Fizzled in character creation.

For Freedom and Survival by A Fancy Question Mark
I have started a new CYOA and am very curious to see how fast goons can get the player character killed. Fizzled.


The Scrolls Have Foretold by Magnusth
An elder scrolls cyoa in which you have chosen to play as a badass redguard swords-lady with magical swordfighting skills. CYOA curse

From the Earth - Pre-Steel Fantasy Leadership by mugrim
Run a tribe and determine the fate of your people as you navigate the emergence of modernity. Fizzled.


And Then the Earth Spoke by Tesla Cola
A Paleolithic survival and civilization themed CYOA with some fantasy elements. CYOA curse.

The Most Magical Show on Earth by Junpei
An urban fantasy CYOA focusing on a circus of literal freaks and weirdos. Fizzled.


Scion of Gods and Monsters by Sion
Come on! Let's make a New God out of ourselves. CYOA curse.


You Can’t Steal My Joy by Ice Phisherman
Writing something new and exciting. Western low fantasy. CYOA curse.


The Sprawl by Loel
Cyberpunk one-off while I try to find inspiration for Prometheus Cycle :v: Fizzled.

The Bargain by AFancyQuestionMark
What will you trade away to attain your innermost desires? The choice is yours. Fizzled.


Well Spent by Tias
War. War never changes. CYOA curse.

Alienation by Astus
Humans botched up first contact with an alien species, and now it's up to you to help negotiate an end to the war that followed. CYOA curse


Puffs by Turtlicious
no-one is watching, the world has ended and when no-one is observing, no friends are being made. friends need to be made… Basically an alpha run for future Turtilicious games.

Land of Ogres by Apocron
Abandoned in the wilderness, adopted by a monster, what will you become? Fizzled.


Who’s Going to Throw the Toilet? by Deadmeat5150
Rock N Roll CYOA that is about exploration, violence, rock, and maybe involves a toilet. CYOA curse.

Corporate Skullduggery and Planar Adventure-a. mcclay
Fun little scifi shadowrun thing. I hope it makes a come back.


Who Needs Beer and Wheat When We Have All the Juche You Need. Hihochiro.
This one was a lot of fun, I hope it comes back as well.


Death and Second Chances. Arkanomen
This is an innovative little piece - reincarnation works, but your souls got mixed up. Very Civilization-esque

Traveller. Grey Hunter
Didn't finish character creation

Paradox Space. Knaelidos
Homestuck, didn't finish character creation


Ars Magica. Lord Prinnington
Didn't finish character creation

Eclipse Phase. Elfface.
Didn't finish character creation


Fallout: London Calling. Myrcroft Jones
Didn't finish character creation

Escape. Music Theory
CYOA curse


Dragons. Josef bugman.
CYOA curse


Supernatural. Loel
CYOA curse


The Remnants of Revelation - A Double 'Post Apocalyptic' by Stevey666
CYOA Curse


Legend of the Space Whale. Disargeria
CYOA Curse


Fallen London. Loel
CYOA curse


Magic of Nations. Jon Joe
CYOA curse


Journey Across the Shattered Empire. Jenkem Delivery
CYOA curse


[Spycraft 2.0 CYOA]Tier One Operations Inc. Thisisnozaku.
Fizzled.


Ascendent's Web. Jon Joe
CYOA curse


Into the Depths. Tollymain
CYOA curse


Pavis and Beyond (Glorantha). Jenx
CYOA curse


Call of the Void, Samolety.
CYOA curse


NeoBSG, Darkcrawler.
CYOA curse

Soul of Thy Family, Skin of Thy Father. Aabcehmu.
[i[CYOA curse.

Loel fucked around with this message at 23:56 on Nov 26, 2019

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Hot Dog Day 80
Jun 23, 2003
Thanks lowel.

Loel
Jun 4, 2012

"For the Emperor."

There was a terrible noise.
There was a terrible silence.



:D If I missed one, or one is in the wrong category, please let me know :D I plan to keep this semi-updated :v:


So you’ve decided to write your own CYOA!

Congratulations! Writing can be a lot of fun, and the responsiveness of the forum can really help you get a handle of your own style. I really recommend reading a few of the other ones that have been written (Diog, myself, Tias and Beer are all pretty prolific) so you can get a feel for how it works. I tend to do short quick posts with open ended choices, for example, while Diog uses a ton of images and dozens of choices. Its’ really up to you.

How do I start?

Firstly, have something to write about. A lot of the CYOAs start as fanfiction - using an established universe can help a lot. This isn’t necessarily a win condition, however - I’ve made CYOAs for Supernatural and Fallen London and abandoned both. Diog writes about bronze age era mythology, and so has a lot to draw on, while Holly works with the superhero/mutant genre. Playing with the common tropes is totally okay.

What if I want to do a totally original story?

That’s good too! Dogkisser does some weird ones that are totally unique, and are quite popular. The important thing is to have at least some idea of what you want to see happen. I use the Dungeon World fronts http://www.dungeonworldsrd.com/fronts , and that helps a crazy amount. You don’t have to predict the players, you just need to know what’s going on around them.

Okay, so I have a couple ideas, some bad guys, and some conflict. Now what?

Find a nice cover picture.

Really?

Yup. That’s the first thing any new reader will see, and it’s important. It sets the tone and genre, and players will make decisions just from that. I would also suggest doing 3-4 posts in addition to the OP for space reasons - I like to keep an index, and I’m always running short of space.

Then what?

Advertise :D Tell the chatroom about it. Post in this thread so I can update the OP. If you have any CYOAs you follow, post there too. Most readers have several favorites, and are always up for another good fic.

Your OP should have a quick summary of what the genre is, what expectations you might have (is it humorous? how strict are the decisions?) and character creation. From here on in, expect to be derailed :D

How do I make it a good CYOA? How do I get better at writing?

Keep writing.

What?

Yup. Keep writing. As often as you can. Regular updates keep the player base interested, and improve your skills. And if you get writer’s block, do a slice of life.

What is a Slice of Life?

You have a big universe in your head, and a lot of scenes going on that the main characters won’t see. Instead of getting stuck trying to write about them, change it up. Different point of view, different location, different time. Some of them might get weaved into the main plot later (foreshadowing), and some might be dropped (red herring).

What is the CYOA curse?

Something that inevitably strikes a CYOA writer :D I’ve gotten bronchitis and gone to the ER, for example. It’s random things you can’t prepare for, and slow down or derail your fic. It’s okay to end your fic, and its okay to tell the readers you need a break. I’ve taken months off before, its normal.

Any other advice?

:justpost:

Swedish Thaumocracy posted:

More CYOA Tips

Party Thoughts
Party Thoughts (to my knowledge first introduced in Arkanomen's Death and Second Chances) is a mechanic whereupon the various characters that the protagonist or players regularly interact with get their say on the situation at hand, without the need for player input.
It differs from Slices of Life in that the point of view is always locked to someone close at hand (whereas a slice of life can be from anywhere in the universe), and that the content is dictated more by the characters themselves than by the world at large since it is essentially their thoughts about the world writ-aloud.

Perhaps you have a lot of characters that you would like to keep relevant, even if the situation at hand doesn't really allow for extended dialogue scenes.
Maybe you just want to give the characters some extra characterisation, or you need an easy way to provide the players with in-character hints or small bits of lore that don't fit into Slices of Life.
Perhaps you would just like the players to know what the people around them think about their current course of action, so that Inevitable Plot Twist doesn't come as a shock somewhere down the line because no one remembered to ask that specific character about their feelings.

Whatever the reason, Party Thoughts is an easy to write addition that can enhance both the player and the author experience of your game.

Example Thoughts:
Rogue: Best be at the look out for traps! Old ruins are nearly always full of them!
Best Friend: Just like that one time in Brightclover, eh old chum?
Old Mentor: Remember what I told you about using magic!
Fighter: I think we should keep the treasure, we fought hard for it!
Cleric: But the villagers are in dire-straits! We should use the treasure to help rebuild the town!

dog kisser posted:

Having completed a (sorta) CYOA in Lord of the Tower, my number one advice to make the whole process less daunting is to have an ending. I was super nervous before writing LotT because I'd never done anything like that before, and the only thing that made it bearable was well okay, I'll start it, and if people hate it I'll end it on the next floor. That was made a bit easier by the nature of the game (climb a tower, each discrete floor is a puzzle or something), but really any game could be like that. There's no need to write huge and sprawling epics, especially not to start out - if you have an idea, :justpost:!

Loel fucked around with this message at 23:49 on Nov 26, 2019

hollylolly
Jun 5, 2009

Do you like superheroes? Check out my CYOA Mutants: Uprising

How about weird historical fiction? Try Vampires of the Caribbean

This is awesome :)

There is a CYOA hidden in Your Candidate Sucks You Are LBJ [CYOA] - it is really interesting.

Loel
Jun 4, 2012

"For the Emperor."

There was a terrible noise.
There was a terrible silence.



hollylolly posted:

This is awesome :)

There is a CYOA hidden in Your Candidate Sucks You Are LBJ [CYOA] - it is really interesting.

Thank you to both :D and added.

mepstein73
Sep 18, 2012

Whether or not you find your own way, you're bound to find some way. If you happen to find my way, please return it, as it was lost years ago. I imagine by now it's quite rusty.
Good advice, especially for the writing part. I eventually want to start my own... eventually...

Keep up the good work!

Waci
May 30, 2011

A boy and his dog.
Good Thread

Dog Kisser
Mar 30, 2005

But People have fears that beasts do not. Questions, too.
Having completed a (sorta) CYOA in Lord of the Tower, my number one advice to make the whole process less daunting is to have an ending. I was super nervous before writing LotT because I'd never done anything like that before, and the only thing that made it bearable was well okay, I'll start it, and if people hate it I'll end it on the next floor. That was made a bit easier by the nature of the game (climb a tower, each discrete floor is a puzzle or something), but really any game could be like that. There's no need to write huge and sprawling epics, especially not to start out - if you have an idea, :justpost:!

girl dick energy
Sep 30, 2009

You think you have the wherewithal to figure out my puzzle vagina?
Six Stars


You know what's fun? Space. You know what else is fun? Westerns. And you know what's even more fun than westerns? Weird West. I think you can see where I'm going with this. Welcome to Six Stars, a CYOA about Weird West In Space. Or, alternatively, Deadlands Meets Firefly.

Loel
Jun 4, 2012

"For the Emperor."

There was a terrible noise.
There was a terrible silence.



Added :D

Diogines
Dec 22, 2007

Beaky the Tortoise says, click here to join our choose Your Own Adventure Game!

Paradise Lost: Clash of the Heavens!

Lowel, great thread!

Anyone who is interested in starting a CYOA and wants input, join us in #madgod! Clicky this link. https://client00.chat.mibbit.com/?server=EU.synirc.net%3A%2B7001&channel=%23madgod

I am always happy to give input to others and the other CYOA authors are too. It is not as difficult as you may think, the only requisite is spare time!

BoneMonkey
Jul 25, 2008

I am happy for you.

Like all of you spare time, because you will never stop thinking about it. Hell my cyoa has been dead two years and I'm still thinking about it.

SerSpook
Feb 13, 2012




BoneMonkey posted:

Like all of you spare time, because you will never stop thinking about it. Hell my cyoa has been dead two years and I'm still thinking about it.

I miss Perception, it was really cool. Murder hobo was the best

Saint Isaias Boner
Jan 17, 2007

hi how are you

I posted a couple of CYOAs in GBS before I realised that this subforum was a thing. Now I'm stuck reading a bunch of CYOAs, what is happening to me

Loel
Jun 4, 2012

"For the Emperor."

There was a terrible noise.
There was a terrible silence.



Gilganixon posted:

I posted a couple of CYOAs in GBS before I realised that this subforum was a thing. Now I'm stuck reading a bunch of CYOAs, what is happening to me

The same thing that happens to all of us :unsmigghh:

Swedish Thaumocracy
Jul 11, 2006

Strength of >800 Men
Honor of 0
Grimey Drawer
More CYOA Tips

Party Thoughts
Party Thoughts (to my knowledge first introduced in Arkanomen's Death and Second Chances) is a mechanic whereupon the various characters that the protagonist or players regularly interact with get their say on the situation at hand, without the need for player input.
It differs from Slices of Life in that the point of view is always locked to someone close at hand (whereas a slice of life can be from anywhere in the universe), and that the content is dictated more by the characters themselves than by the world at large since it is essentially their thoughts about the world writ-aloud.

Perhaps you have a lot of characters that you would like to keep relevant, even if the situation at hand doesn't really allow for extended dialogue scenes.
Maybe you just want to give the characters some extra characterisation, or you need an easy way to provide the players with in-character hints or small bits of lore that don't fit into Slices of Life.
Perhaps you would just like the players to know what the people around them think about their current course of action, so that Inevitable Plot Twist doesn't come as a shock somewhere down the line because no one remembered to ask that specific character about their feelings.

Whatever the reason, Party Thoughts is an easy to write addition that can enhance both the player and the author experience of your game.


Example Thoughts:
Rogue: Best be at the look out for traps! Old ruins are nearly always full of them!
Best Friend: Just like that one time in Brightclover, eh old chum?
Old Mentor: Remember what I told you about using magic!
Fighter: I think we should keep the treasure, we fought hard for it!
Cleric: But the villagers are in dire-straits! We should use the treasure to help rebuild the town!

Loel
Jun 4, 2012

"For the Emperor."

There was a terrible noise.
There was a terrible silence.



The Forbidden Topics

Given the wide variety of CYOAs we've had, and the length that some of them have gone on, we've occasionally hit some bumps that caused a lot of thread ... let's call it uncomfortableness. So, a couple things to toss out, just as guidelines for roleplay.

Sex is okay, if usually alluded to, fade to black, so on and so forth. A lot of protagonists end up getting in relationships and married, so a bit of romance is not out of place. However, Your Kink is Not My Kink (YKINMK), so we have generally avoided going into the particular details.

Violence is okay, usually in gratuitous amounts. Several of the CYOAs are explicitly in warzones, and great detail is generally accepted. Pretty much every violent act or kind of death I can think of has happened to NPCs (and sometimes the protags), and largely not been a problem. The rule of thumb I use is - do they deserve it, or does it fit the scene? IE, enemy soldiers, cultists, assassins, monsters etc can have the excessive detail, but children might just get the gloss-over. And as always, gruesomeness for just gruesome's sake doesn't make for a good read.

Sexual violence is not okay. I'll say it again. Sexual violence is not okay. Even if its not the protag doing it, even having the protag be aware of it - giving it any screen time - has resulted in a mess of thread drama and bad feelings. Save yourself the argument, don't write it and don't vote for it. In the same way, gratuitous rape monsters (Firefly Reavers, Dark Eldar) need little or no screen time.

Torture doesn't work, and having a mob of players describing increasingly hosed up ideas on what to do with the prisoners makes for a lovely read. Dont bother with it. As a writer, there are other ways you can provide information - journals, disks, whatever - and as a reader, you can try incentives (bribes, blackmail) that aren't scenes from Hostel. I have the literal book on interrogations, you can ask me things if you want.

While for a different system, this is a good read on boundaries http://buriedwithoutceremony.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Safe-Hearts.pdf

Loel fucked around with this message at 02:04 on Feb 20, 2016

Loel
Jun 4, 2012

"For the Emperor."

There was a terrible noise.
There was a terrible silence.



Diogines posted:

Noble goons!

If anyone wants to buy a banner ad for our game, feel free to do so! I just bought 4 for a month of the first two below. If you buy one, post here so that people don't all buy the same one and we get a little variety! If you want to make your own, go for it!

The link to buy ads: https://secure.somethingawful.com/products/ad-banner.php


http://i.imgur.com/4AfXNuo.gif


http://i.imgur.com/DH7jzDC.gif


http://i.imgur.com/iHNn1Sh.png


http://i.imgur.com/GZWa2MH.gif


http://i.imgur.com/cGIk3Jt.gif


http://i.imgur.com/Ncxu2Mw.png

So Diog introduced this and I rather liked it. If you really like a CYOA, or introducing people to CYOAs, its an option to buy a banner for it :D

BoneMonkey
Jul 25, 2008

I am happy for you.

Sexual violence from the perspective of the victim seemed to work in my old rear end cyoa. Though it was only ever alluded to.

I never went into to much detail but I didn't pull my punches. I would suggest people avoid secual violence. But you can make it work.

Loel
Jun 4, 2012

"For the Emperor."

There was a terrible noise.
There was a terrible silence.



BoneMonkey posted:

Sexual violence from the perspective of the victim seemed to work in my old rear end cyoa. Though it was only ever alluded to.

I never went into to much detail but I didn't pull my punches. I would suggest people avoid secual violence. But you can make it work.

Yup, and I alluded to it with Amacita in my game as well.

But I've seen it go badly a lot more often than be done well :v: So for the aspiring CYOA, why jump in a swamp you dont need to?

BoneMonkey
Jul 25, 2008

I am happy for you.

Perception is back guys. Twice as much Hobo magic!

http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3765065

LordVonEarlDuke
Jun 24, 2011

I got 1 there's pictures in it
It is called TALOS http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3765394

Doktor Per
Feb 26, 2007

Look guys, I'm a lady!
After several years, I return to the format with Santa Lucha.

Wrestling in a fantasy world with fantasy races. How will the masked fighter fare inside and outside the arena? Let's find out!

Loel
Jun 4, 2012

"For the Emperor."

There was a terrible noise.
There was a terrible silence.



Welcome :D

edit: OP should be up to date

Loel fucked around with this message at 16:07 on Feb 22, 2016

Deadmeat5150
Nov 21, 2005

OLD MAN YELLS AT CLAN

Doktor Per posted:

After several years, I return to the format with Santa Lucha.

Wrestling in a fantasy world with fantasy races. How will the masked fighter fare inside and outside the arena? Let's find out!

Just started and already amazing.

Emmideer
Oct 20, 2011

Lovely night, no?
Grimey Drawer
Oh no my abandoned CYOA shame.

HiHo ChiRho
Oct 23, 2010

Two more classics:
Roma: Hard Times on the Palatine
Roma II: In the Shade of the Suckling Tree

Loel
Jun 4, 2012

"For the Emperor."

There was a terrible noise.
There was a terrible silence.



jon joe posted:

Oh no my abandoned CYOA shame.

I have two up there myself :v: The curse strikes us all.

Ralith
Jan 12, 2011

I see a ship in the harbor
I can and shall obey
But if it wasn't for your misfortune
I'd be a heavenly person today
Vote scraper release 0.3.2
Windows 64-bit, OSX (experimental), documentation.


Changelog:
  • Tolerate close parenthesis to the right of question names
  • Tolerate leading spaces on vote lines
  • HTML documentation
Comments and suggestions are always welcome. If anyone's interested in the source code (it's Haskell), get ahold of me on IRC in #madgod

Ralith fucked around with this message at 06:19 on Jun 8, 2016

hollylolly
Jun 5, 2009

Do you like superheroes? Check out my CYOA Mutants: Uprising

How about weird historical fiction? Try Vampires of the Caribbean

Ralith posted:

Vote scraper release 0.3.2
Windows 64-bit, OSX (experimental), documentation.

Changelog:
  • Tolerate close parenthesis to the right of question names
  • Tolerate leading spaces on vote lines
  • HTML documentation
Comments and suggestions are always welcome. If anyone's interested in the source code (it's Haskell), get ahold of me on IRC in #madgod

It keeps returning "No votes found" :( I'll try again and see if I'm doing it wrong somehow.

Ralith
Jan 12, 2011

I see a ship in the harbor
I can and shall obey
But if it wasn't for your misfortune
I'd be a heavenly person today

hollylolly posted:

It keeps returning "No votes found" :( I'll try again and see if I'm doing it wrong somehow.
Looks like the forums paywall went up. Until it goes back down or I add authentication support, users will need to manually collect votes into a plain text (as in .txt) file, separated by empty lines and with ##vote replaced by the voter's name, and feed that into the 'file' tab to count. I'll see what I can do to get authentication implemented tonight.

Ralith
Jan 12, 2011

I see a ship in the harbor
I can and shall obey
But if it wasn't for your misfortune
I'd be a heavenly person today
Vote scraper release 0.4.0
Windows 64-bit, OSX (experimental), documentation.

Changelog:
  • Encrypt all communications with SomethingAwful
  • Support authentication with SomethingAwful via user's credentials, so you can scrape while the paywall's up
  • Improve HTTP connection reuse
Comments and suggestions are always welcome. If anyone's interested in the source code (it's Haskell), get ahold of me on IRC in #madgod

Notes on authentication:
The scraper performs a conventional log-in through SA's log-in page when you click "OK" on the log-in dialog. On success, it stores the authentication cookies and uses them for all future scrape attempts in that session. The cookies are never written to disk or transmitted elsewhere (and your actual credentials are not stored at all after the dialog closes, even in memory), so if you restart the program they'll be lost and you'll need to log in again.

e: This project is now unmaintained. I encourage principled authors to use approval voting, a much simpler and more transparent method which can be easily hand-tabulated while retaining most of the advantages.

Ralith fucked around with this message at 06:25 on Mar 15, 2019

paragon1
Nov 22, 2010

FULL COMMUNISM NOW
People on these forums have voted and adventured as many beings, but can you survive the peril of being...a tree!??!

http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3768416

Outrail
Jan 4, 2009

www.sapphicrobotica.com
:roboluv: :love: :roboluv:
I honestly can't tell if this is a new high or a new low.

Blasphemaster
Jul 10, 2008

How about playing a Single-Celled Demon and working our way from there?

Bee Bonk
Feb 19, 2011

This CYOA renaisance has helped break my hesitation to get in on the action, and helped me break my indecision about which prospective game to run. Now, help me break in my new art tablet by joining the scum of the space-lanes in Outlaws of Thoon!

Loel
Jun 4, 2012

"For the Emperor."

There was a terrible noise.
There was a terrible silence.



Welcome! :D

Deadmeat5150
Nov 21, 2005

OLD MAN YELLS AT CLAN
I would kill someone for a Glorantha CYOA. It would be amazing.

Blasphemaster
Jul 10, 2008

Deadmeat5150 posted:

I would kill someone for a Glorantha CYOA. It would be amazing.

You are Urox. Do you:
A - Kill chaos.
B - gently caress bitches.

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Deadmeat5150
Nov 21, 2005

OLD MAN YELLS AT CLAN
C: Both

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