StoryBonsai Writer’s Manual

StoryBonsai is a tool for writing branching dialogue and world state for narrative games. It covers the ideas the tool is built on, the surfaces you use to build a project, and a reference layer for when you need to find a specific function, event, or error.

1. Getting started. Get comfortable with the editor and build the smallest thing that runs.
2. Concepts. The ideas the tool is built on. Nodes and visibility, state, scenes, the evaluation cycle, expressions, the world layer. Every other section leans on it.
3. Authoring. One page per surface you use to build a project. Read in order the first time, then treat each page as reference for whichever surface you are touching.
4. Reference. The lookup layer for every function, operator, event, and entity in the app.
5. Troubleshooting. Two lookup pages for the moments something is not doing what you expect. Common pitfalls covers behavior that is the runtime working as designed. Error messages covers anything the Validation panel or a dialog raises.

Every capitalized term in this manual (Node Graph, Scene, Trigger, Update Node) is defined in the Glossary. If a message or a surprise sends you looking for help, start in Common pitfalls or Error messages.