Gem Choice Checklist

Remember the Three Golden Rules (for more info, see our Gem Choice Guide):

Now identify the lowest-performing and highest-performing choice in your episode:

Make sure each episode has 3-5 Gem Choices. For those that don’t, write in new Gem Choices till you hit that benchmark. (For episode 1, you might want to consider fewer — around 2 or 3 — Gem Choices, or pricing those Gem Choices slightly lower, to give players time to settle into the story.)
Now make a list of each Gem Choice that only has only one gem option. See if you can add a second gem option. (But if you can’t, don’t sweat it.)
Check out the pricing scheme(s) for each of your Gem Choices. Are they all high-medium-free or medium-low-free? If not, fix them!
Go to your data dashboard and make a list of the lowest-performing Gem Choices in each episode (generally 1-2 stars).
Now make a list of the highest-performing Gem Choices in each episode (generally, 3+ stars).
Move on to the next section.

For low-performing choices, make sure that:

Each choice establishes a sense of urgency, necessity, and emotional resonance.
The setup makes it clear what the payoff will be for choosing the gem option.
The setup makes it clear what the consequences will be for not choosing the gem option.
The gem option delivers a satisfying payoff.
The free option is not excessively punishing to players.

For mid- and high-performing choices (optional):

Add a nested Gem Choice to high-performing choices with longer branches. (But if the nested Gem Choice doesn’t fit, don’t force it!)
Phrase choice options in a way that makes them even more irresistible.
For outfit choices, make sure to include 2 or more gem options.

Do one last sweep to make sure that:

Gem Choices build trust with satisfying, high-payoff payoffs; they never trick or punish players.
There are significantly more Free Choices than Gem Choices.
Gem Choices have an impact on the world and/or characters.

If you’re looking for choice inspiration, check out our Gem Choice Slide Deck!