The storyline may have diverse outcomes or entirely participant driven narrative, however within the constraints of what is appropriate to the particular narrative environment.
Despite a lot of idealism about how much more realistic digital narrative can be because of the mass of branching storylines available, creators simply cannot offer all possible choices to their audience. However, by developing a world whereby certain choices are more likely and more appropriate to the environment than others, a certain amount of constraint seems natural. Within FurryMUCK [MSB+90], an online roleplaying world, all characters are expected to be anthropomorphic like Bugs Bunny or Mickey Mouse. Players would not get very far or be allowed to build onto this world if they came in as the Terminator. In a section of the CD-ROM game Discworld [Pra95] if players asks their avatar to go into one part of town early in the game, he cries out that the player is crazy to lead him into such a dangerous place and will not go until he is better prepared.
Copyright © 1996, 1999 Katherine Phelps