Guiding a Branching Choice Story (part 2)

One thing that can be difficult with offering branching choice options in a visual novel is that you can easily become derailed from the main storyline if you're not careful. Though this is acceptable in a tabletop RPG setting, the GM usually prefers to keep the players moving along a particular story path. Why? Because that is the route that has already been carefully considered and prepared, with character development, plot twists, and meaningful, memorable moments along the way. There is nothing wrong with improvising, and this can often be a treat to creative players who decided to take the story a different direction. Inflexible GM's might try and force the players along an preplanned storyline, a practice known as “railroading.” Clever GM's, however, might be able to subtly steer the players back to the main story route using a little improvisation to create some plausible connective tissue. Players might think that their own choices brought them there, but the GM knows that some story manipulation occurred behind the scenes to bring players back from their wandering. This technique is known among RPG gamers as “illusionism.”