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R P G A M E R . C O M   -   E D I T O R I A L S

Choices That Matter
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Mike Moehnke
STAFF EDITORIALIST



Let's take an everyday scenario. Groceries have to be bought every so often, or else eventually I will run out of food in the house and learn whether the mushrooms growing in the back yard are edible the hard way. Do I want to go to the grocery store? Yes indeed I do, or else those mushrooms are going to look mighty tempting in spite of the likelihood that they will prove a spectacularly bad idea to eat. So while I could indeed refuse to buy food, it would be a remarkably stupid decision, and would eventually prove the end to my existence.

This philosophy of turning things that cannot really be refused into pointless choices permeates RPGs. Would I like to insert that key I obtained into the door that blocked my progress? The answer is going to be an unqualified 'Yes' every time. Taking up the player's time with a pointless option is just annoying. What purpose does asking the question serve when progress is impossible until one says 'yes?'

I'm not against games asking for player input in this fashion, but I want it to mean something. If interaction with another character is affected, the story will change, a different route through a dungeon is made accessible, a morality system is in play, or something else that makes a question useful, then I have no problem with being asked if I want to pick up that magic brick that just might fit into a stubborn wall that refuses to let me progress. If I'm simply being asked to confirm a choice that is no choice at all, my dissatisfaction rises. Choices that are not really choices serve no one.




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