# “Designing _Episode_’s Interactive Fiction in Three Phases”

This is an outline of a polarizing [GDC talk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Rq2oErDEmA) by Michael Dawson.

- The mobile audience is an interrupted audience.
    * It wants bite-sized stories.
    * Five-minute episodes.
- Pick a concept that your audience will love.
    * Ask what they already like and analyze it.
- Use the best practices from Hollywood screenwriting (_Save the Cat!_ by Blake Snyder, _Story_ by Robert McKee).
    * Three-act structure.
    * Story outlines.
- How is mobile different?
    * Change the pacing. The setup, the first act, should be in the first five-minute episode.
    * Design in portrait. Have fewer characters.
- Have interactivity in mind from the start.
- Go from script to playable ASAP.
    * Have authoring tools with stock art.
    * The comic timing may not translate.
- Internal review loop.
- Pilot/soft-launch -> iteration.
    * Ratings (feedback scores).
    * Drop-off.
    * Look for 50%/50% choices.
    * Dollars earned per story start.
        * Premium choices (like bonus outfits). Emphasize the pay-off of the choice. Choices about the player character work better.
- Cover design.
    * Face close-ups are good.
    * Two guys in a picture does better than two girls for the Episode audience.
- Support agency and identity across stories.
    * One avatar across stories.
- Nothing about the story should feel sacred. You can change anything to make it better.

## Page metadata

URL: <https://dbohdan.com/episode-interactive-fiction.md>

Published 2021-02-27, updated 2021-08-21.

Tags:

- game design
- notes
- talk
- video games

Index: [Notes and reviews](/notes).