Build a Custom Branching Scenario in Rise Without Code

Branching scenarios are one of the best ways to move learners from simply understanding a concept to feeling ready to take action. But building a custom branching scenario in Rise can feel daunting—especially if you’re not a developer.

Create Custom Branching Scenarios in Articulate Rise

Mighty Studio’s Branching Scenario template gives you a no-code way to build that experience directly inside a Rise lesson, with your own images, audio, videos, questions, answer choices, and endings.

What the Branching Scenario template does#

The Branching Scenario block is a Mighty studio template for Rise 360. Instead of asking learners to read a scenario and choose from a static list, you can create a sequence of scenes that respond to the learner’s choices.

Each scene can include your own media, such as:

• An image with uploaded audio
• A video clip
• Optional captions for audio
• A question and multiple answer choices
• A destination for each answer choice
• An ending message when the path is complete

That means you can build something simple, like a quick coaching decision with two outcomes, or something more immersive, like a customer service scenario where each decision leads to a short filmed response.

The big instructional design win: learners get to practice in a safer space before they have to make the decision on the job.

How to add the Branching Scenario block to your Rise lesson#

Start in the Rise editor where you want the scenario to appear.

1. Add a new block.
2. Open Studio Templates.
3. Search for Branching Scenario, or browse to the Scenarios and Simulations section.
4. Select Branching Scenario.
5. Choose a preset to start from.

You have a few useful starting points:

• Branching video if your scenario is built around video clips
• Branching image with audio if you want a still image paired with narration or dialogue
• Default if you want a blank-slate setup

You can click the template immediately to insert the first preset, but it’s worth opening the preset options first so you can pick the closest match for your content. Tiny time-saver, but on a tight build, those add up.

Build your first scene#

Once the block is in your lesson, you’ll build the scenario out of scenes. Think of each scene as one moment in the learner’s path: a setup, a response, a consequence, or an ending.

For your starting scene:

1. Open the Branching Scenario block settings.
2. Select the scene you want learners to see first.
3. Mark it as the starting scene.
4. Add your media.
5. Add the question learners should answer at the end of the scene.
6. Add the answer choices.

In the video example, Brianna uses a starting scene with an image and uploaded audio. The transcript is baked into the image itself, so she doesn’t add a separate caption. But the template also supports adding a caption that appears on screen while the audio plays.

That gives you a little flexibility depending on your design. If the transcript is already part of the visual, a caption may be redundant. If it isn’t, adding a caption can make the scene easier to follow and more accessible for learners who can’t listen to the audio.

Connect answer choices to scenes#

Here’s the part that makes the block feel especially friendly: each answer choice can point to another scene using a dynamic dropdown.

To connect a choice:

1. Select the scene that contains your question.
2. Click into one of the answer choices.
3. Edit the answer text using the rich text editor.
4. Use the destination dropdown to choose which scene that answer should lead to.

As you add new scenes, they automatically appear in the dropdown. In the demo, Brianna adds a new scene called choice D, returns to the start scene, opens an answer choice, and choice D is already available as a destination.

Branching scenarios can get messy fast. You do not have to type the name of a destination scene and hope you spelled it exactly right. The dropdown keeps the available paths connected to the scenes you’ve actually created.

Create ending scenes#

Not every scene needs another question. Sometimes a choice should lead to an outcome, a coaching message, or a restart point.

That’s where an ending scene comes in.

An ending scene uses an ending message instead of another question-and-answer prompt. You can still include optional media, but when the learner reaches that point, the scenario wraps up and gives them the option to restart from the beginning.

A simple structure might look like this:

1. Starting scene: A customer asks for help.
2. Choice A: The learner responds well and sees a positive outcome.
3. Choice B: The learner misses an important cue and sees a coaching message.
4. Choice C: The learner escalates too quickly and sees another consequence.

Even a short scenario like that gives learners a chance to compare decisions, see results, and try again.

Decide how audio and video should play#

The template gives you control over autoplay for audio and video.

In Brianna’s example, autoplay audio is turned on for all scenes except the first one. That’s intentional: you probably don’t want audio suddenly playing while the learner is still scrolling through the Rise lesson and hasn’t arrived at the interaction yet.

For later scenes, autoplay may make the interaction feel more fluid because the learner’s choice immediately launches the next piece of media. But you can turn it off if that’s a better fit for your course, your audience, or your accessibility approach.

Use video for more immersive branches#

The same branching structure works with video. In the second example from the video, the scene uses a video clip followed by a question-and-answer moment.

There’s also an overlay option that places the question and answers over the final scene of the video instead of switching to a separate question screen. That can be a nice fit when you want the learner to stay visually grounded in the moment, especially if the final frame sets up the decision.

After the learner selects a response, the scenario moves to the next piece of media. When that media finishes, the learner sees the ending result.

This is where the template can support more realistic practice. Brianna mentions a customer service project Maestro created for a client, with scripted and filmed scenes at a hotel front desk. A customer approaches, the learner chooses how to respond, and each branch shows the interaction continuing based on that decision.

You do not need a full film crew to make this useful, of course. Stock footage, still images with audio, or carefully produced short clips can all work. The key is choosing media that feels close enough to the learner’s real context that the decision feels meaningful.

Style the scenario so it belongs in your course#

Branching scenarios can feel bolted on if the visual treatment doesn’t match the rest of the Rise course. The template’s appearance controls help you keep the interaction aligned with your design system.

In the appearance panel, you can adjust the player frame, including:

• Corner rounding
• Drop shadow

You can also style the question-and-answer screen, including:

• Background color
• Answer button color
• Answer button corner rounding
• Answer button drop shadows

Navigation buttons, such as the restart button, can be styled separately with controls for:

• Label color
• Corner rounding
• Drop shadow

Any on-screen text is handled through the rich text editor, which gives you direct control over font, color, and font weight. Instead of managing a long list of separate typography toggles, you style the text where you edit it.

In the demo, the two sample scenarios look noticeably different: one uses a more straightforward image-and-audio layout, while the video example has stronger rounded corners and pill-shaped buttons with a drop shadow. Same template, different treatment.

A quick planning tip before you build#

Before you start adding scenes, sketch the flow somewhere simple. It does not need to be fancy.

Write down:

• The starting situation
• Each decision point
• The answer choices at each point
• Where each choice leads
• Which scenes are endings
• What media each scene needs

That gives you a cleaner build inside Rise, especially if stakeholders are reviewing the scenario logic. It also helps you avoid creating branches that are visually polished but instructionally thin.

A good branching scenario is not just “choice A, B, or C.” It should show learners the consequence of a decision, offer useful feedback, and, when appropriate, let them try again.

No more workarounds#

Mighty’s Branching Scenario template keeps the build inside your Rise workflow while giving you the pieces you need for decision-based practice: scenes, media, answer choices, dynamic destinations, endings, replay, and visual styling.

That’s especially helpful when you’re balancing real constraints: brand requirements, accessibility needs, stakeholder edits, and a timeline that does not have room for rebuilding an interaction from scratch.

Try it in your next decision-heavy lesson#

If your course includes a moment where learners need to choose what to say, what to do next, or how to respond under pressure, try turning that moment into a short branching scenario.

Start small: one setup scene, two or three choices, and a clear ending for each path. Once the logic works, layer in the media and styling that make it feel like part of the rest of your Rise course.

You can explore more Mighty studio templates in Mighty Studio, or add the Branching Scenario block from Studio Templates the next time you’re working in Rise.