15 Video Game Firsts We Take For Granted
5. Branching Dialogue
Branching dialogue choices have become quite popular in modern gaming. If you've played Mass Effect, or a game such as Fallout 3, the entire narrative can change itself based on what responses you make to your fellow characters.
Where branching dialogue originates from is actually in books; stories throughout history have used this technique to allow readers to choose their own adventure, and it was from this that games were inspired to copy it.
The first notable example of branching dialogue in gaming is in the 1983 title The Portopia Serial Murder Case released on the NEC PC-6001, then on other PCs and the NES later.
This murder-mystery title is notable for several reasons including its use of branching dialogue through entering command choices, non-linear storytelling and plot - in true murder mystery fashion - filled with plenty of twists.
The game uses your dialogue choices to affect how the game plays out in the end. Characters can be red-herrings and be designed to throw you off the scent, and if you decide that the wrong person is the culprit, you'll have to deal with the police chief berating you and forcing you to reopen the case.