I've got two conflicting views on this:
1. Go interactive movie - This would cost a small fortune to make, but could
generate a larger fortune if done well. This would also probably make for a 10+
CD game in order to pack all those story branches in with full multimedia
style. That's a bit of a hefty package, but there are already two bestseller
games I can think of with multimedia IF elements, and they each pack four CDs.
2. Think in literary terms instead. Concentrate on opening up IF as a literary
medium. There might not be as many sales per title, but production costs would
be far lower and more titles could be released in shorter time. The risk of
rejection due to lack of "flash 'n trash" could be minimized by good graphic
design and perhaps some incidental sounds or animations. Think in terms of
Encarta, here. Lots of text, pleasing to the eye, plenty of sound and video -
just in small clips.
Since I'm not enormously wealthy, I don't have a sound studio in my garage, my
circle of friends generally don't know the first thing about video production
and my computer and my VCR aren't even on speaking terms, I tend to lean toward
View #2. Somehow, it seems a bit more in reach of the home shop dreamer. :)
Stay cool!
Scott