>>5379241Drawing attention to certain details usually works for me, not that Bones is much of a mystery quest. It goes about the same way in detective fiction as well--if a character notices something out of place or intriguing, like an onyx bust of William Shatner in a prominent senator's study, the readers might be inclined to investigate it further. The key isn't to hold their hands, per se, but to quietly guide them towards the revelations they seek. In short, dangle some details in front of their noses--players won't always pick up on the significance, but it's better than slapping them in the face with it!
>>5379281Fun, mostly. I really enjoy how collaborative the medium is and am too impatient and autistic to just make a Renpy thing/Game myself, so...
>>5379672>>5380056>>5380108>>5380113>>5380320>>5380353Hell yea! Move over, Mario Kart! I just thought of another track, too: THE ARCHIVES! Somewhere between an MC Escher painting and a raging maelstrom, the road is fraught with perils new and old... but must be trekked if one seeks to win the /qst/ CUP!
>>5380362Sensational. IG always delivers!
>>5380339Similar to what I mentioned above, you need to dangle those sidequests in front of them if you want them to be pursued. For example, say you wanna get the players to go after a band of thieves in the nearby forest: maybe have one of the cutthroats steal (or try to steal) the player's purse and disappear into the crowd! Even a simple slight like that might motivate your players to investigate further. If a sidequest feels like a chore rather than a thread in a story, why would players do it?
As for your final question, you can only learn from experience, anon--take your lumps and study what you've done wrong, then use that moving forward. Ain't gonna throw a perfect bowling game on the first visit to the alley.
>>5380465Go read this if you jerks haven't already. It's good shit.
>>5380549Well shoot, hope you get a chance to catch up later--I promise there's still time!
>>5380707This. Speaking as a chatterbox I've found that even the simple act of making space between chunks of text does WONDERS for readability on here.
>>5380877Bones Quest began with half a Google Doc of possible character notes and 4-5 screwdriver drinks on a boring night. Honestly there's not really a lucky number of notes--you can spend ages planning only for your players to totally sidestep your notes and go a route you didn't think of whatsoever!
