Storytelling isn't an Escher staircase.

Interactive storytelling emphasizes a personal connection with the characters. It is a powerful tool that can draw you so deeply into the world of a story that you lose sight of it as a story. You think you are there - at least, if it is done right.

It is incredible what kind of mess I can make
with a nine-hour drive and an unanswered text.

The staircase is a firm footing, the lift is a hanging platform. Wonder why so many people prefer the hanging platform.

Some have said that 'Frankenstein' is a story of a bad parenting giving rise to a troubled child.

Now, I admire The Sims as a game, but from a story viewpoint, there are two glaring problems. First, your relationship with those characters is like they're bugs in a jar. There's no empathy. And secondly, you've got this clunky, chemistry-set interface between you and them, with bars to show how tired or angry they are. It's all tell not show.