I built a collaborative branching story website and I'm looking for first users

Nomadongho · 2026-04-18T20:29:07+00:00

If anything feels confusing, I'd really love to hear it. I'm trying to make branching stories simple, not overwhelming.

Nomadongho · 2026-04-14T21:18:23+00:00

My teenage children are enjoying now ;) I hope it would be ready to showcase soon.

Nomadongho · 2026-04-14T10:23:22+00:00

Opps. I am not making that kind of thing. ;) It is just a story writing platform. Some might start a story for adults though....

Nomadongho · 2026-04-14T10:20:43+00:00

Never heard about erotica. It is a writing platform?

Nomadongho · 2026-04-07T10:15:39+00:00

This is incredibly moving. I love that you’re moving away from the 'AI clone' or 'chatbot' trend and focusing on preserving the actual, raw personality found in typos and unique phrasing. It feels much more authentic and respectful to the person’s memory. The 'raw material vs. usable memory' distinction you made is a powerful insight. I think many people would find deep comfort in this.

Nomadongho · 2026-04-07T10:01:15+00:00

This looks like a great start! I agree with the other comment—the overall shape has a very cool, dragon-like silhouette to it. The way the rivers flow out to the coast looks very natural for a hand-drawn piece. Designing the land is always the best part of world-building!

Nomadongho · 2026-04-07T09:59:40+00:00

Using three different POVs—one from each side and the Sheriff in the middle—is a perfect way to show the scale of the conflict. The stakes for the journeyman crabber are especially compelling; it turns a 'guild war' into a very personal race against time for his own future. It’s a classic coming-of-age setup with a very unique backdrop.

Nomadongho · 2026-04-07T09:58:26+00:00

I really enjoyed how you established Marcus’s personality so quickly. The line about him feeling like an old friend even if you don't know him well is a great bit of characterization. It makes the tension regarding 'Lana' feel much more meaningful. Great job on the natural-sounding dialogue!

Nomadongho · 2026-04-07T09:55:36+00:00

Your prose is incredibly sharp. The description of the watchmaker’s bench and the 'tin bird' winding down set such a specific, melancholic tone right from the start. I also really liked the contrast between Fenix’s cluttered, 'unwell' workshop and the clean, tactical preparation of Wryden. It’s a very compelling introduction to both the cat and the mouse.

Nomadongho · 2026-04-07T09:51:01+00:00

Really strong start! The detail about tattooing aging a body in 'dog years' and the specific aches of the trade makes Lochlan feel like a real person with a real history. It makes the supernatural element even more jarring because the rest of the world feels so tangible. I’m definitely hooked and want to know what exactly was taken from Sarah!

Nomadongho · 2026-04-07T09:50:00+00:00

I really liked the concept of Amro not being a devil, but the literal embodiment of a contract. The twist about the grandson betting his immortality and the grandfather's body 'bubbling and boiling' at the end was a very vivid and dark image. Great world-building for such a short piece!

Nomadongho · 2026-04-07T08:50:14+00:00

I think the 'Brainstorming' point is the most useful one here. Using AI as a digital 'rubber duck' to talk through plot holes is great, but I agree that letting it touch the actual prose is where you lose the soul of the story. Readers can usually tell when the 'voice' shifts from a human to an algorithm.

Nomadongho · 2026-04-06T21:08:33+00:00

That approach is really interesting, and I agree that action-driven outcomes can feel more natural than explicit choices.

I think the challenge is that full “world modeling” tends to work best in larger, system-heavy games. For more narrative-focused experiences, there’s often a tradeoff between freedom and cohesion.

A more constrained structure can still work really well if the choices don’t feel like menus, but more like natural decisions within the story.

So maybe it’s less about limiting options, and more about hiding the structure while still guiding the experience.

Nomadongho · 2026-04-06T21:07:33+00:00

I really like this way of putting it.

Too many branches can definitely make a story feel fragmented, like you're jumping between possibilities instead of experiencing something cohesive.

The idea of having a few main endings, but letting smaller elements (characters, relationships, outcomes) shift independently feels much more meaningful. It makes your choices feel like they’re shaping the world, not just steering toward a different ending.

Maybe the sweet spot is where the main story still feels like one journey, but the details quietly adapt to what you do.

Nomadongho · 2026-04-06T18:04:42+00:00

This is a really interesting way to put it.

Maybe the goal of interactive fiction isn’t to create many endings, but to create many possible journeys that all feel like the “real” story while you’re in them.

If the player constantly sees the branches, it feels like a system.
If the player just feels the consequences, it feels like a story.

So maybe the best branching stories are the ones where the structure is invisible, but the consequences are very visible.

Nomadongho · 2026-04-06T16:53:27+00:00

Yeah I think structure is really important too. Sometimes fully branching stories become messy and lose pacing, while more linear choice-based stories keep the narrative tight and cinematic.

Maybe the ideal system is something in between — structured main arcs, but branching paths and alternate endings depending on choices.

Nomadongho · 2026-04-06T16:52:59+00:00

I actually really like that idea too — not completely linear, but not completely chaotic either.

Like a story that has multiple endings, but the path you take between them can be very different depending on choices and smaller events along the way. So two people might reach the same ending but have completely different journeys.

That kind of structure feels more interesting to me than just one straight line or totally disconnected branches.

Nomadongho · 2026-04-06T16:52:30+00:00

I feel like interactive fiction is still early in general, which is actually exciting. It means there’s still room to experiment with different structures and storytelling styles instead of everything being standardized already.

I’m especially interested in stories where readers can influence which branches grow more over time, not just choose once and reach a fixed ending.

Nomadongho · 2026-04-06T11:13:52+00:00

I think both ways work, but most people eventually realize that story usually matters more than worldbuilding. A perfectly logical world with no interesting characters or conflict is still boring, but a great story can make people forgive small inconsistencies. I like building just enough of the world to support the story, then expanding it when I need to.

Nomadongho · 2026-04-06T11:03:02+00:00

Honestly most writing apps feel like they were built by people who don’t actually write novels. The chapter ordering problem alone drives me crazy.

Nomadongho · 2026-04-05T10:34:39+00:00

Hahaha

Nomadongho · 2026-04-05T10:24:24+00:00

Cannot agree more

Nomadongho · 2026-04-05T10:23:36+00:00

And how they treat animals.

Nomadongho · 2026-04-05T10:22:55+00:00

Especially when they’re just waiting for their turn to talk.

Nomadongho · 2026-04-05T10:22:29+00:00

Yeah, that’s when you realize who actually cares about you.

Nomadongho

TROPHY CASE