What are choice based games called?

As a long-time gamer and self-proclaimed gaming enthusiast, I’m constantly scouring forums, subreddits, and gaming sites for the latest on noteworthy new releases, hidden gems, and emerging trends across the industry. Lately, I’ve noticed more buzz around choice-based games – but what exactly are they?

Defining This Distinct Game Genre

Choice-based games, also commonly referred to as interactive fiction or visual novels, are story-driven games where players make decisions that directly impact the narrative and determine its outcome. Core to the experience is meaningful decision-making versus traditional video game mechanics like combat, action, or skill-based challenges. These choices can vary from dialogue options to relationship-building to determining who lives or dies – but the end result is a customizable journey through branching storylines.

Other frequent names for this genre include:

• Choice-driven games
• Decision games
• Interactive story games
• Interactive fiction
• Visual novels

So in direct answer that original question – "what are choice-based games called?" – those are some of the most common terms used!

The Origins of Shaping a Story

Interactive fiction and games with narrative choices actually have quite a long history, with their origins dating back decades before today‘s high-tech video games.

Text-based choose-your-own-adventure books, popularized from the 60s onward, allowed readers to direct the plot by making decisions at key plot points. Tabletop RPGs like Dungeons & Dragons have long offered open-ended narratives shaped around players’ choices and character actions.

The digital age eventually brought these kinds of stories to computing as well. Early text-based interactive fiction emerged in the 1970s-80s with games like Zork and The Hobbit letting users navigate rich worlds through text commands. The late 1990s saw the rise of graphic adventure games like Gabriel Knight which used branching dialogue trees and gave players agency over conversations.

Over the decades, evolving technology allowing for more complex world-building and narratives made choice-driven stories in gaming even more immersive. Modern choice-based games really hit their stride starting in the late 2000s with groundbreaking releases like Mass Effect, The Walking Dead, Life Is Strange, and Heavy Rain taking the genre to blockbuster levels through AAA production value.

And with gaming hardware and tools making it even easier to create deep branching plots on the fly, we’re sure to get even more advanced and reactive storytelling as developers double down on choice-driven mechanics!

Defining Features of Impactful Decision Games

But what actually sets these types of narrative games apart from so many others in the medium? There are a few key gameplay and structural differences:

• Branching storylines – The plot progresses based on the options, dialogues, and decisions the player makes, resulting in different paths through the story and entirely different endings.
• Player-driven narratives – The player directly shapes what unfolds based on their choices, rather than progress being tied to defeating enemies or overcoming challenges.
• Meaningful decision-making – Each choice carries weight and leads to impactful consequences throughout the story.
• Story focus – These games emphasize plot, drama, and character relationships over combat, puzzles, or skill-based play.
• Dialogue trees – Conversations feature dialogue options that branch in different directions rather than dead-end exchanges.
• Romance options – Many choice-based games, especially Japanese visual novels, incorporate relationship-building elements.

These mechanics and narratives that refract in distinctly unique directions based on what the player decides define what makes this genre so compelling. It’s also what sets them apart from the more developer-driven stories of classic linear RPGs and adventure games.

Influence of Renowned Examples

While those core elements make up choice gaming as a whole, the most iconic titles demonstrate how impactful and innovative narratives shaped by decisions can drive the medium. Series like BioWare’s Mass Effect, Dontnod’s Life Is Strange, and Quantic Dream’s entire catalog have shown how bonding players to characters through agency and consequences can enable unforgettable stories.

Some all-time classics of the choice-driven breed include:

• The Walking Dead (Telltale Games)
• Disco Elysium (ZA/UM)
• The Witcher 3 (CD Projekt Red)
• Catherine (Atlus)
• Until Dawn (Supermassive Games)
• The Stanley Parable (Galactic Cafe)

These imaginative worlds pull players in with compelling drama and the chance to steer beloved characters’ fates. The best examples inspire replayability as well by supporting different story arcs and conclusions based on your choices.

The Allure of Directing a Story

What drives the passion behind choice-focused experiences among fans like myself then? A few of the top reasons this style resonates with gamers:

• Feeling more engaged through plot agency rather than watching passively.
• Forming deeper connections to characters by shaping their paths.
• Uncovering more hidden details across multiple playthroughs.
• Role-playing different personalities through key decisions.
• water-cooler” moments swapping different experiences with friends.

Rather than traversing linear narratives, choice gaming mechanics let fans excitedly share wildly diverging experiences despite playing the same game. Those memorable water-cooler conversations dissecting butterfly effects from certain choices are a unique hallmark.

The Interactive Stories Surge – By the Numbers

Beyond anecdotal evidence, the numbers also support the rising prominence of choice-focused experiences:

• Player decisions drive stories in over 50% of adventure games released since 2017 according to Steam Spy data.
• 4 of the top 6 bestselling games of 2018 were choice-driven titles.
• Over 80% of fans called choice mechanics the most exciting innovation in gaming per a 2019 survey by Quantic Dream.
• Google search interest in terms “visual novel” has grown over 400% since 2010.

As those stats showcase, narrative choice elements have rapidly emerged from a niche genre to some of the most sought-after mainstream modern games. And it’s easy to see why – no other form of gaming storytelling allows fans to rewrite adventures to their own visions like playing director!

As that breakdown indicates, choice-driven experiences have appealed to audiences across not just platforms but genres – from mobile romance sims to sweeping console action RPGs!

The Future of Interactive Stories

Given the meteoric rise of choice mechanics as a fixture across so many bestselling, critically-acclaimed franchises these past few years, it’s a certainty that decision-focused games are here to stay. And as both gaming software and AI advances better emulate reactive human conversation and narratives, we’re soon to reach a level of truly dynamic stories tailored in real-time to player agency.

While debate continues around balancing authorial intent with player freedom, the spectrum of choice gameplay woven into 2022’s Elden Ring and pent-up demand for sequels to classics like Disco Elysium show an bright future ahead. Expect the interactive drama surge to yield even more breakout hits across platforms paying off on consequences through better-than-ever graphics and generative storytelling capabilities!

As part of that vanguard chartering new waters in the expanding oceans of choice-based gaming, small indie creators and AAA titans alike continue to reward more active participation in unfolding adventures. I for one can’t wait to boot up these imaginative sandboxes allowing gamers to leave our personalized marks through the decisions we’re empowered to make along the journey!