Choose Your Own Adventure
In grade school, “choose your own adventure” books became popular with kids. This type of book works by the reader reading a few paragraphs and then being presented with a decision. “There are three paths ahead of you. For left, page 20; for right, page 100; for straight, page 150.” Then the reader makes a choice, goes to that page, and continues reading. This writing style allowed the reader to determine their fate among a selection of plots. The appeal is more exciting because they made a choice.
An alternative approach to this technology is text adventure computer games like Zork or Oregon Trail. Both entertainment genres were also popular in the 80s.
Their glory days lasted approximately five years and then faded into obscurity. However, I predict that choose your own adventure type books will come back in a modified form. Meaning that eBook readers will have the ability to do a choose your own adventure story. Or, a basic story framework will be combined with artificial intelligence to create a rule-based plot.
What about skipping all the work and having AI directly generate a story? The problem with AI is that it has limited creativity because, at its core, it is a random number generator. “Tell me a story about horses.” The AI model has 10 popular story types, randomly picks one, and randomly adds horse details. While there is a complete story, the quality is lacking.
To explain, let’s consider the movie Star Wars. It had a complex plot with detailed characters. Let us also recall that Star Wars contains humor, new concepts, and emotional bonds. Creating such a bold and new story required a lot of creativity, which will remain challenging for AI.
Another blow against AI is that, one hundred years from now, people will still get the same joy from reading Ernest Hemingway’s “The Old Man and the Sea.” One could argue that there have been better stories since, but it is still a must-read.
Why do I predict that interactive stories might occupy as much as 30% of future entertainment? The problem facing modern authors and readers is that so many books have already been released. Take the romance category. There are over a million titles to choose from, making it difficult for anything new to stand out.
Girl meets guy, and he falls in love with her. Well, what if it were a guy meets girl scenario? Would that make it more appealing? What if the reader gets to pick the story type and characters? Thus, the author can target a specific kind of reader, which offers a quality that a classic book can never have.
Will my prediction of the resurgence of choose your own adventure books come true? Turn to page 20 for yes, or page 30 for no.
You’re the best -Bill
February 17, 2021 Updated August 16, 2025
An alternative approach to this technology is text adventure computer games like Zork or Oregon Trail. Both entertainment genres were also popular in the 80s.
Their glory days lasted approximately five years and then faded into obscurity. However, I predict that choose your own adventure type books will come back in a modified form. Meaning that eBook readers will have the ability to do a choose your own adventure story. Or, a basic story framework will be combined with artificial intelligence to create a rule-based plot.
What about skipping all the work and having AI directly generate a story? The problem with AI is that it has limited creativity because, at its core, it is a random number generator. “Tell me a story about horses.” The AI model has 10 popular story types, randomly picks one, and randomly adds horse details. While there is a complete story, the quality is lacking.
To explain, let’s consider the movie Star Wars. It had a complex plot with detailed characters. Let us also recall that Star Wars contains humor, new concepts, and emotional bonds. Creating such a bold and new story required a lot of creativity, which will remain challenging for AI.
Another blow against AI is that, one hundred years from now, people will still get the same joy from reading Ernest Hemingway’s “The Old Man and the Sea.” One could argue that there have been better stories since, but it is still a must-read.
Why do I predict that interactive stories might occupy as much as 30% of future entertainment? The problem facing modern authors and readers is that so many books have already been released. Take the romance category. There are over a million titles to choose from, making it difficult for anything new to stand out.
Girl meets guy, and he falls in love with her. Well, what if it were a guy meets girl scenario? Would that make it more appealing? What if the reader gets to pick the story type and characters? Thus, the author can target a specific kind of reader, which offers a quality that a classic book can never have.
Will my prediction of the resurgence of choose your own adventure books come true? Turn to page 20 for yes, or page 30 for no.
You’re the best -Bill
February 17, 2021 Updated August 16, 2025
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