xgkf
Tentacle God
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2010
- Messages
- 1,214
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Re: Tentacle Lair Escape!
The only problem is, CYOAs are not simply your story to do or take where you want on the fly. You, as the writer, ultimately decide what happens with any given decision that is made, yes, but the path the character takes in the story are not solely yours to determine, especially if you're writing the story on the fly as those choices are made.
I know you're aware of this, but they're called CYOAs because the acronym CYOA means "Choose Your Own Adventure", meaning that the decisions being made by the reader/voter are what determines the direction that the character(s) or story takes. When you scrap the decisions made by the reader/voter just because you suddenly realized that the story wasn't going the way you had originally intended (despite you, as the writer, ultimately taking it there with the aforementioned choices as your guide), it leaves those who had, in fact, been enjoying it spurned when they see their votes and choices literally no longer mattering.
The story becomes something that is not a CYOA at that point. It becomes your own narrative, and continuing to provide choices that no longer have any bearing on the outcome of the story becomes pointless and misleading to those involved. Now, if you want to simply write your own story with your own narrative, then by all means, go for it. If it's good it'll be read and liked. And if you simply felt burned out on the CYOA either story-wise or just lost interest, that's fine too, it happens. People will be disappointed that it's not continuing, but that's about it. But don't be surprised or angry when the readers of your CYOA get upset when they're suddenly only being given the illusion of choice, and are no longer choosing their own adventure.
The only problem is, CYOAs are not simply your story to do or take where you want on the fly. You, as the writer, ultimately decide what happens with any given decision that is made, yes, but the path the character takes in the story are not solely yours to determine, especially if you're writing the story on the fly as those choices are made.
I know you're aware of this, but they're called CYOAs because the acronym CYOA means "Choose Your Own Adventure", meaning that the decisions being made by the reader/voter are what determines the direction that the character(s) or story takes. When you scrap the decisions made by the reader/voter just because you suddenly realized that the story wasn't going the way you had originally intended (despite you, as the writer, ultimately taking it there with the aforementioned choices as your guide), it leaves those who had, in fact, been enjoying it spurned when they see their votes and choices literally no longer mattering.
The story becomes something that is not a CYOA at that point. It becomes your own narrative, and continuing to provide choices that no longer have any bearing on the outcome of the story becomes pointless and misleading to those involved. Now, if you want to simply write your own story with your own narrative, then by all means, go for it. If it's good it'll be read and liked. And if you simply felt burned out on the CYOA either story-wise or just lost interest, that's fine too, it happens. People will be disappointed that it's not continuing, but that's about it. But don't be surprised or angry when the readers of your CYOA get upset when they're suddenly only being given the illusion of choice, and are no longer choosing their own adventure.
