gamebook
Reader-controlled story
A gamebook is a work of fiction that allows readers to participate in the story by making choices at key points, directing them to different pages based on their decisions.
The genre flourished in the 1980s with series like Choose Your Own Adventure: Turn to page 47 if you enter the cave, or page 52 if you continue down the path.
Gamebooks often incorporate elements of role-playing games, tracking inventory or combat outcomes as the narrative branches toward multiple possible endings.
Splitting into separate directions
- decisionSettled course of action
- pathRoute for traveling
- consequenceResult of an action
- outcomeFinal result of events
options · selection · fork · crossroads · dilemma · alternative · page · turning
Legendary fire-breathing reptile
- wizardPractitioner of sorcery
- magicSupernatural or illusory power
- sorceryPractice of dark magic
- enchantmentMagical influence over someone
kingdom · castle · elf · dwarf · orc · goblin · troll · quest
Recounting events aloud
- plotStoryline or land parcel
- protagonistStory's central figure
- antagonistOne who opposes another
- settingContext of events
climax · conflict · resolution · narrator · perspective · foreshadowing · flashback · subplot
branching
Splitting into separate directions
- decisionSettled course of action
- pathRoute for traveling
- consequenceResult of an action
outcome · options · selection · fork · crossroads · dilemma · alternative · page · turning · paragraph
dragon
Legendary fire-breathing reptile
enchantment · kingdom · castle · elf · dwarf · orc · goblin · troll · quest · mythical
storytelling
Recounting events aloud
- plotStoryline or land parcel
- protagonistStory's central figure
- antagonistOne who opposes another
setting · climax · conflict · resolution · narrator · perspective · foreshadowing · flashback · subplot · arc
maze
Puzzle of passages
cipher · map · clue · solution · problem-solving · deduction · challenge · mystery · trap · secret
character
Nature, symbol, or role
hitpoints · combat · campaign · tabletop · backstory · encounter · attributes · death · solitaire · solo
- text gamestext adventure, interactive fiction, word puzzle, Zork, parser
gamebooklinear narrative
Story following chronological order
classic novel · traditional storytelling · traditional literature