How to tell if your story idea will work in Pominis

Templates are useful when you want a fast start. But the stronger question is: what makes any idea ready to become a playable story?

Before you ask Pominis to generate a draft, use this checklist to shape the idea. It works whether you start from a template, a private character concept, or one sentence you wrote at midnight.

1. Can you name the hook in one sentence?

A playable story needs a clear reason to begin. The hook can be emotional, mysterious, funny, romantic, or dangerous. If you can explain what makes the moment interesting in one sentence, Pominis has a stronger center to build around.

2. Is there one pressure point?

Good interactive stories usually begin with pressure: a secret, a deadline, a relationship at risk, a locked door, a repeated day, or a question nobody wants to answer. Pressure gives the first scene direction.

3. Can the player change something?

A choice should change more than the next line of dialogue. It can change what the player knows, who trusts them, what danger grows, or which ending becomes possible.

• Weak choice: ask another question or leave.
• Stronger choice: protect a friend, expose a clue, lie to buy time, or trust the wrong person.
• Best choice: both options make sense, but each one costs something different.

4. Is the first version small enough?

Small stories generate better first drafts. One setting, one protagonist, and one conflict are enough. You can add more characters, routes, and scenes after the playable core works.

5. What should the preview prove?

Before generating, decide what you want to learn from the preview. Maybe you need to test the tone, the chemistry between two characters, the strength of a twist, or whether a choice feels meaningful.

A simple prompt shape

Try starting with this structure: “Create a short playable story about [premise]. The tone is [mood]. The protagonist wants [goal], but [pressure]. The first meaningful choice is between [option A] and [option B].”

The goal is not to write everything before you start. The goal is to give Pominis enough shape that the first draft already feels like something a player can understand, click through, and react to.