Game story generator: roll a plot you can play

The four lists

Roll a six-sided die for each list, or pick the ones you like.

• Hero. 1 a night radio host, 2 a phone repair clerk, 3 a retired stunt double, 4 a ghost who just died, 5 a lighthouse cat, 6 the villain's intern.
• Want. 1 get home before dawn, 2 clear their name, 3 save the family shop, 4 find a missing sister, 5 win one last race, 6 be forgotten.
• Obstacle. 1 the city is flooding, 2 someone is watching every move, 3 nobody can hear them, 4 they forget a little every hour, 5 the rules change each day, 6 their best friend wants the same thing.
• Twist. 1 they caused it, 2 the helper is the threat, 3 it is all a test, 4 they are not human, 5 the ending already happened, 6 the player is the villain.

Three rolls, turned into games

• Radio host, find a missing sister, nobody can hear them, the helper is the threat. Play: take calls, pick which callers go on air to find clues. The friendliest caller is the one who took her. Type: "night radio horror, pick callers to find my missing sister, one caller is lying."
• Repair clerk, clear their name, someone is watching, they caused it. Play: fix phones and choose what to report. Type: "dystopian repair shop, fix phones or report the owners, the inspector watches, my choices change the ending."
• Ghost, be forgotten, they forget a little every hour, the ending already happened. Play: walk your old house and erase traces of yourself before you lose the map. Type: "ghost in my old house, hide my photos before I forget where they are, 3 floors."

Make the plot something you do

Find the verb in your plot. A radio host picks callers. A clerk stamps or reports. A ghost hides things. That verb is what the player repeats, and each choice moves the story. Keep text to a line or two between scenes.

Roam has story games built this way. Repair & Report asks you to fix the phone or report the owner. Stamp Or Sink is a wartime cipher clerk. Don't Air That is a night radio booth with callers you might regret. Extinct Is a Lie, Uncle Is Watching and Legs Not Included each tell a full story through one action.

Questions people ask

How do you write a story for a video game?

Start with hero, want, obstacle and twist. Then pick the action the player repeats, and let each choice move the plot.

What is a good video game plot twist?

One that changes how you see what you already did, like learning the helper was the threat all along.

Can I turn a generated plot into a real game?

Yes. Type it into Roam with the action in the sentence and play it on your iPhone.