How to actually event a story...?

[Zexion]

Lol, as basic as it seems, I have never actually gotten to the part where I make a story for my game. Now that I'm getting close, I'm starting to wonder how I will even handle story progression. I was thinking that I can handle story progression on a single variable and use switches and the like for non story related events or story related events that can't use the variable for whatever reason. Or, I can just go the common route and use 500 switches for my game. lol

How even?

[Blizzard]

I usually use one variable for each specific segment of the game (e.g. a dungeon). That makes testing separate dungeons/cities/etc. easier, allows sequence breaking and if you mess up at one point or add/remove a scene somewhere, you don't have to fix all successive story points, because the variable value changed. Fixes are then localized only within that one segment. And don't reuse variables/switches either.

[Neoend]

I agree with Blizzard about the one variable approach for all the reasons highlighted. I'll just add that when you're setting up all the variables, try to have them neatly organized. For instance, all my Town variables are in a marked area, and then spaces for all the story segment variables have been reserved. The organization just helps when you're tracking them down in the listing.

My dungeon setup is a tad different, I've called the variables I use Dungeon Trigger, Obstacles and Treasure. They're just used when you're doing intermittent stuff like solving puzzles. They're used in combination with local switches, so the end result is that if you're in the middle of a puzzle and don't finish it, it gets reset if you leave.

Also, for an extra layer of redundancy, you can use switches to mark that you've finished a story segment or dungeon. It just offers a bit more ease or flexibility, especially if you're including npcs with updating dialogue.

[R.A.V.S.O]

I handle them on clusters of 10-15 per segment, I also leave at least 1 empty on purpose as a method to separate.
also core variables and events should be placed first before others to keep core events and scripts easily identified.

[Blizzard]

In dungeons I usually have one variable that marks dungeon progression (storywise, simple riddles and puzzles, boss), but I use separate variables for more complex stuff within the dungeon.

[Zexion]

Thanks guys for all the ideas. Definitely expanded my knowledge here haha. In the past, I've only done short amounts of story progression, and so I would use switches. I started thinking about it last night and wondered how I would do it considering there is going to be tons of cutscenes and story to follow. I really liked the idea of using one variable per segment because kingdom hearts revolves around visiting different worlds, each of which could benefit from using a unique variable. Which would also allow people like me who like to break into the database and mess with it to play around in different areas as different characters. Thanks again!