I grew up on Choose Your Own Adventure books and I loved them. I really wanted to keep The Enigma Agency with that same sort of feel. But there are other elements and influences as well, which change how it plays. There is an element of chance involved, though sticking to your character's strengths do make you more likely to succeed, such things are not entirely a given. At the same time, a setback doesn't necessarily mean failure, either.

In order to maintain long term continuity, there are some plot points that just cannot be changed and still continue with the plot. For example, in the first story you already know that Claire joins Alexander, because all of the following cases rely on that point. But the how is still important, and minor points spun off from that may pop up during other cases.

In some scenes, the choices are merely a matter of dialogue and simply change what information you receive. In others, you may not see an immediate effect caused by a choice made, but it will come back to you during another case. You could also have a Character Aspect be changed, or gain a Skill Point from various actions chosen during play.

The relationship between the two main characters is a long term story with a lot of intentional wiggle room. Alexander kind of has a 'does what he wants' attitude, and has multiple relationships with no gender preference. Claire has a boyfriend and two teenage kids when she joins the Agency. Their relationship can go in multiple directions, spanning dozens of cases. You can keep it entirely professional between them and not miss out on anything, or ship them as a couple and have different scenes and situations to play through. The important thing is that none of this is forced on the Player. The amount of affection between the two main characters is based entirely on the choices you make, but all paths have their own scenes, their own dramatic moments.

I can't possibly write in every possible scenario for every possible thing that can happen. But it is my hope that I'll be able to put in enough to keep things interesting for quite a long time to come. Ultimately, these stories are Enigmas in themselves, little mysteries to be solved.