Choices: Stories You Play is a mobile game designed and released by Pixelberry Studios. They also created successful games such as High School Story and Hollywood U.
~ Fall in love, solve crimes, or embark on epic fantasy adventures in immersive visual stories where YOU control what happens next ! ~
Series
Originally, Choices: Stories You Play counted only three series, as well as three main genres, romance, fantasy and mystery. Since then, over a dozen more series have been released as the game has evolved and expanded.
The following are the current in-game series:
- The Freshman
- The Crown & The Flame
- Most Wanted
- Rules of Engagement
- Endless Summer
- LoveHacks
- The Haunting of Braidwood Manor
- The Royal Romance
- The Sophomore
- Hero
- High School Story
- It Lives
- Home for the Holidays
- Red Carpet Diaries
- Perfect Match
- Bloodbound
- The Junior
- Veil of Secrets
- America's Most Eligible
About The Books
The Freshman, Book 1
Welcome to Hartfeld University! You'll make friends for life, maybe even find true love. Will you date bookish James, party girl Kaitlyn, football hero Chris ... or all three at once?
- Dress to Impress with fashion forward outfits.
- Choose a date for the elegant and romantic Winter Formal.
- Support new friends as you tackle freshman adventures together!
The Crown & The Flame, Book 1
Your enemies stole your kingdom, but now the time has come for you to raise an army, master magic, and reclaim your crown!
- Form alliances to build your army.
- Master unique weapons.
- Choose between elegant ball gowns and powerful armor.
- Crush your enemies in an epic battle.
Most Wanted, Book 1
The heat is on when a no-nonsense Texas Marshal and a Hollywood detective are thrown together to stop a deranged hitman. Can you catch the killer?
- Play as Detective Dave Reyes and U.S. Marshal Sam Massey.
- Investigate a mystery with twists you won't see coming.
- Examine evidence at crime scenes.
- Stop the killer before he can claim another victim!
Rules of Engagement, Book 1
Your summer on a luxurious tour of Europe takes a wild turn when you learn you're in line for a multi-million dollar inheritance! There's only one catch... you need to get married by the end of the summer!
Endless Summer, Book 1
Adventure and romance await in the tropical paradise of La Huerta. Can you solve the island's mysteries?
LoveHacks, Book 1
New city, new job, new friends... Can you navigate the hilarious ups and downs of dating in the modern world?
The Haunting of Braidwood Manor
Do you dare spend the night in Braidwood Manor?
The Royal Romance, Book 1
Love awaits in the royal court of Cordonia. Travel to the beautiful kingdom of Cordonia with the Crown Prince. Will you accept his royal proposal, or will another suitor command your affections?
The Sophomore, Book 1
You return to Hartfeld for your sophomore year, but things get off to a rocky start when you meet your new roommate.
Hero, Vol. 1
Take to the skies! Make friends, find love, and save your city in this action-packed adventure!
High School Story, Book 1
Welcome to high school! Will you study hard, or hardly study? Don't get too busy... Homecoming is right around the corner!
It Lives In The Woods
Something old and powerful lives in the woods surrounding the small town of Westchester... something that knows your name.
Home for the Holidays
Welcome to Winter Haven! Who will you kiss under the mistletoe... your workaholic boss, your high school sweetheart, or your childhood friend?
Red Carpet Diaries, Book 1
You've just arrived in Hollywood. Fame, fortune, and romance await! And... is that superstar Chris Winters over by the pool?
Perfect Match, Book 1
An exclusive matchmaking service guarantees that they can find your perfect match. But is true love too good to be true?
Bloodbound, Book 1
You're applying for a job with brilliant CEO billionaire Adrian Raines... but there's more to him than it seems. Urban fantasy meets romance in this sexy vampire thriller.
The Junior, Book 1
While dealing with the events of last spring, you prepare to begin your junior year.
Veil of Secrets
Your best friend vanished without a trace on the day of her wedding! Search the town of Birchport to solve the mysteries, but be careful... everyone has a secret.
America's Most Eligible Season 10
Battle it out in a reality TV show to determine who is most eligible! Create allies, make enemies, even fall in love... the choice is up to you!
Soundtracks
Click here to go to the soundtrack page.
Gallery
Timeline
- August 17, 2016 - Choices was launched.
- August 17-19, 2016 - Players received 50 diamonds instead of 25 to reward the first players.
- April 14, 2017 - The Royal Romance, Book 1 is the first book to be released on Fridays and started the trend to release books on Fridays as well.
- August 11-September 1, 2017 - Celebrate Choices' one year anniversary with four rounds of giveaways throughout Pixelberry's social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr).
- September 5, 2017 - Announcement that a high school-themed book was in the works: High School Story.
- October 13, 2017 - Announcement that a horror-themed book was in the works: It Lives in the Woods.
- October 17, 2017 - James's appearance gets a redesign.
- October 26, 2017 - Release of the soundtracks of the "It Lives in the Woods" book.
- November 8, 2017 - Release of the "My Books" section, where you can add/remove books to it.
- November 10, 2017 - Announcement of Pixelberry's partnership with Nexon, another game company.
- November 16, 2017 - Release of the soundtracks of the "High School Story" series.
- November 22, 2017 - Pixelberry's 100th drop of Choices chapters.
- December 7, 2017 - Release of the soundtracks of the "Endless Summer" series.
- December 11, 2017 - A new story called Home For The Holidays was in the works.
- December 12, 2017 - Ms. Twombly, Sebastian, Evan, Bill and Keo's appearances get redesigns.
- January 16, 2018 - Announcement that Perfect Match (an upcoming sci-fi romance book) and Bloodbound (an upcoming vampire romance-thriller book) were in the works was stated.
- February 26, 2018 - Release of the soundtracks of "The Royal Romance" series.
- March 22, 2018 - Red Carpet Diaries and Bloodbound were announced to be book series instead of standalones.
- April 9, 2018 - The Junior, Book 1 is the first book to be released on a Monday.
- April 13, 2018 - Announcement that Veil of Secrets (a new romance-mystery story) will be released soon.
- April 29, 2018 - Through an Instagram live session at the Bay Area Book Festival, some of the writers confirmed that several of their new books fall under the historical fiction, fantasy and urban genres.
- They also confirmed that players will be able to choose the gender in Veil of Secrets.
- May 14, 2018 - Terms of Service and Privacy Policy were updated in order to comply with recent changes to European Union law. [1] [2][3]
- June 14, 2018 - Announcement that America's Most Eligible will be released June 27th.[4]
Simple Gameplay Features
To see more of these features, click here.
- The majority of playable characters' ages range from their late teens to their early thirties.
- There is at least one premium choice per chapter, although the regular rate is 2. Each scene ranges from 7 to 50 diamonds.
- Once a premium choice is bought, it will be free the next time you replay the chapter.
- Colored choices are important.
- Completing a chapter for the first time will earn the player a diamond.
- Books can be restarted at any time by clicking on the "restart arrow" once on the book's cover.
- Occasionally, some series will give the player the ability to play different characters, introducing different point of views to a book.
- Occasionally, the choices proposed to you will be based on previous scenes, actions and conversations you had.
Trivia
- Many series have spanned for a total of three books to create trilogies, examples including The Crown & The Flame, and Rules of Engagement (not including Newlyweds). Series that are set to conclude with a third book include Endless Summer. Some series do actually span for more than three books, including The Freshman, and Rules of Engagement (including Newlyweds).
- Despite the above fact, some series do not receive trilogies, and instead are confined to two books, LoveHacks being the best example of this. However, there are some stories that are contained within a single book, such as The Haunting of Braidwood Manor. Most Wanted isn't listed as it is set to have a sequel but is on an indefinite hiatus, as is Hero.
- Some books allow the player to make their character either male or female. The first instance of this was Endless Summer, Book 1. During the process of creating one's character, the game suggests gender neutral names such as Jordan, Alex and Taylor.
- The game is noted for its frequent inclusion of LGBT+ characters. Currently, of the 397 total characters seen throughout the game so far, 73 characters are members of the LGBT+ community. With some games letting your character be male or female, some are unconfirmed. The first character to be revealed as gay was Zack. The first character revealed to be lesbian was Kaitlyn. The first character revealed to be bisexual depends on player choices, and can range from Your Character in The Freshman series, to Kenna Rys. The first character currently revealed as transgender was Andy and Cameron as the first non-binary character.
- Pixelberry maintains Choices at a PG-14 rating. The words "b*tch and *b**tard are the worst insults that are stated throughout the series, but in recent times, more explicit language has been used throughout chapters. The first use of strong language occurred in Book 2, Chapter 9 of The Royal Romance.
- The chapter titles of several books follow specific themes such as "The Sophomore" books naming their titles after popular songs, the "#LoveHacks" series mimicking typical "Buzzfeed" clickbait article titles and the "Endless Summer" series naming their titles after specific quotes in the chapters.
- The idea that all of Choices' series take place in one common universe is strengthened many times in the series through locations / characters appearing in different series than their own, as well as confirmed family bonds between characters of different series and eras. Such as Kaitlyn appearing in "The Haunting of Brainwood Manor".
- The genre titles have been updated to Choose Fantasy, Choose Love, Choose Horror, and Choose Everything.
- As of June 2017 Stories are now updated on both Wednesdays and Fridays.
- Partnering with Nexon will hope to add new ways for players to earn diamonds and add new genres to Choices.
- In Pixelberry's "What's Next" blog, a statement that several genres such as "Sci-Fi", "Fantasy", "Historical Fiction" and "Horror" and many other genres will be expanded in the future was issued.
- On February 1, 2018 Pixelberry shared the playlists of the It Lives team that inspires the writing and characters of It Lives in the Woods in Spotify.[5] [6]
- Link to the Spotify playlist is found in the Reference section.[7]
- On February 16, 2018 Pixelberry shared the Endless Summer themed playlists in Spotify.[8]
- Due to backlash received by a large part of the fandom, on March 25, 2018 it was revealed that if one is to play Red Carpet Diaries now, PB has changed the altercation between Your Character and her. Victoria no longer pulls your hair. Thus the situations is no longer seen as physical.
- Book 1 was added in the title in Veil of Secrets, confirming to be a Book series instead of a standalone. It was later removed from the title when the book was launched in June 1, 2018.
- As of May 2018 Stories are now updated on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Websites
Official Website
Social Media
- Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ChoicesStoriesYouPlay/
- Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/choicesgame/
- Tumblr - https://playchoices.tumblr.com
- Twitter - https://twitter.com/PlayChoices
- YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/user/PlayPixelberry/
- Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/user/se9492q8wjb505zvjd6x249r5
References
- ↑ https://twitter.com/PlayChoices/status/996153180898574336
- ↑ http://www.pixelberrystudios.com/terms-of-service
- ↑ http://www.pixelberrystudios.com/privacy-policy
- ↑ https://twitter.com/PlayChoices/status/1007401526124429312
- ↑ https://playchoices.tumblr.com/post/170473137102/playchoices-it-lives-will-return-cue-ominous
- ↑ https://twitter.com/PlayChoices/status/959202203708764160
- ↑ https://open.spotify.com/user/se9492q8wjb505zvjd6x249r5
- ↑ https://twitter.com/PlayChoices/status/964598047379415040