Write your next move
Select a suggested action or describe what you want to attempt. State an action and its intent, not a guaranteed result; then wait for the response before deciding again.
After the Crown
Interactive fiction · Visible conditions; no random checks
DRAMAFORK / Interactive fiction
After the Crown
One meeting. Three papers that cannot answer for each other.
Your marriage has ended, but palace accounts still entangle your workshop. As thirty-five-year-old Lan Ning, decide separately whether to meet your former partner, verify the assets and accept a neighboring city’s market offer.
- Genre
- Court · Relationships
- Challenge
- Visible conditions; no random checks
- Story format
- A complete short story in 3–8 choices
01 / STORY
Game introduction
An interactive experience built around reading and choosing your next action. Explore at your own pace and interact with the story's world.
- How the story unfolds
- Story and simulation
- Starting choices
- Confirm the identity and starting choices offered by this work. These describe how you enter the story; there is no single required play style.
Story themes
- Court
- Relationships
02 / PLAY
How you play
Story decisions and ongoing state share the same journey. Alternate between understanding the current scene and checking the conditions behind your next move. Follow the actual feedback rather than assuming that a successful outcome is guaranteed.
Actions for the current situation
The available choices are your starting point. An action can have requirements, costs or a different result from what you expected; read the current feedback before trying the next move.
Follow the consequences
Read the new scene and updated status together. Check the current objective and any changes before committing to another action, so each turn follows from the last.
Explore from a checkpoint
This work supports checkpoints. Use a checkpoint when the save controls offer one, and branch from it to try another route without replacing your original progress.
From your first move to the next scene
Create your player
Confirm the identity and starting choices offered by this work. These describe how you enter the story; there is no single required play style.
Read the situation
Read the current scene, status and available actions. Distinguish information the story has given you from assumptions you have not checked.
Choose your next move
Select a suggested action or describe what you want to attempt. State an action and its intent, not a guaranteed result; then wait for the response before deciding again.
Review what changed
Read the new scene and updated status together. Check the current objective and any changes before committing to another action, so each turn follows from the last.
Before you begin
- Confirm this work's starting identity and conditions, then read the opening scene.
- Check the current status, objective and action requirements before deciding.
- Free input describes an attempted action; it does not guarantee rewards or success.
- When comparing routes, use the checkpoint and branch controls offered by this work.
Creator introduction
READ / MAKE
Browse the article archiveGuides and making-of notes
Getting started · 20 min
Co-Writing a Branching Story: How to Create a Permissions Table for “Who Can Edit Which Section”
Using the fictional case River Lantern Festival, this article shows how to use a paragraph permissions table when co-writing a branching story to distinguish drafting, revising, locking, and pending confirmation, so every change has ownership, a trace, and a way to roll back.
Choosing tools · 15 min
Road to Empress: An Analysis of Public Information on Overseas Reach, Performance, Branching, and Localization
An analysis of Road to Empress’s foundations for reaching overseas audiences through live-action performance, interactive court rules, and multilingual support, based on its public Steam page.
Galgame Route Design · 19 min
Galgame Route Selection: Making the Outcome Clear When Multiple Routes Qualify
Eligibility determines which routes are available; it does not mean the player has chosen one. A table for handling simultaneous eligibility connects qualifying conditions, invitation details, final confirmation, and a way to defer, so every route outcome can be traced to an informed player action.
Interactive Game Basics · 15 min
Interactive Game, Interactive Story, and Interactive Fiction: What Players Do
Text, video, and images tell you how content is presented, but not what players do. Four versions of one fictional museum distinguish reading controls, story participation, and rule-based tasks. An observation card describes how they overlap.