Storyline branches… literally
Each time we test Cinders, we end up with a small list of potential issues to fix and small improvements we could make. This time, we’ve came with one of those silly little features, that mostly go unnoticed, but look pretty and make us feel good about ourselves.
Whenever current events are an outcome of your earlier decisions, this branch icon appears in the corner of the screen (with a cool blooming flowers effect):
We like to boast that Cinders has more choices than most indie visual novels. But the problem is that players still experience only one story at a time, unaware of all the subtle things that change based on their actions. This feature clearly marks the moments where the storyline branches, hinting that things could be different on another playthrough. It should help those who want to find all the endings and their variants.
It’s pretty subtle and definitely not critical to gameplay, but in our philosophy it’s the little things like that that make the game. Like the idea?