Storygame

From IFki

The City of IF bases its economy on storygaming, where readers/players and authors together create and play interactive stories online. Storygames differ from traditional, linear stories or even common online text RPs because they can go in any direction chosen by the players; they're also unlike traditional online roleplaying games (RPG) because each story has a single author or collaboration of authors that create a definitive plot out of the choices that the players make. The storygame represents a unique blend of story and game.

Readers/players assume the role of the main character, and effect the actions of the character by posting comments, observations, and suggestions following the release of each new chapter of the story. The author then creates a poll from the ideas presented in the postings, and players can direct the action further through voting for their favored choice.

The best decision points generate a lot of discussion, with players clearly identifying with the main character and becoming immersed in play. However, many decisions whether peculiar or common, lend themselves to a narrow scope of logical possibilities that result in players wholly agreeing with the concepts already posted by another. This has resulted in the F5 post, which simply refers to one poster in short agreeing with what was said by another.

The City of IF continues to evolve the concept of the storygame, with each new author and reader/player pioneering this brand new art form.