Illusion of choice is a huge double edged sword. Pound for pound I think it's one of the most effective ways you can design your game. I the player feel like what I'm doing is important, and you the developer still get to design a mostly linear game and not have to worry about thinking of a response to any and all scenarios my sick little head can come up with.
But... when that illusion breaks - and it will break, it's only a matter of time - it's sadly going to drop a ton of the weight it once had. Like the FedEx arrow, once I see it, I can't unsee it. I feel like The Walking Dead series is the perfect example of this. First season? Holy mother of God. Second season? It's not that it's bad, but I am now completely wise to Telltale's methods, and the sheer magic of the first game is just not there anymore.
"The sausage of Green Earth explodes with flavor like the cannon of culinary delight."
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cj iwakuraThe Rhythm RegentBears The Name FreedomRegistered Userregular
Spec Ops is great because it both gives choice, and denies choice - or, in a meta sense, gives you the choice to stop playing if you reject the choices offered (war crimes vs. dying and being unable to progress past a certain point.)
The meta choice to stop playing is a crock of pretentious shit. That "choice" exists in every game ever made, hell, every form of media ever made. It requires zero effort and zero thought from the developer to "create", and acts as an all covering excuse out of any argument about the game. It's quite possibly the laziest, most vapid semi-philosophical dingleberry I've come across in gaming.
That's not what I meant. I mean the fact that you can actually change the ending, and it has differing outcomes.
And Jeyne Kassynder is one of my favorite video game antagonists. My second favourite Obsidian one as well. (With the King of Shadows being actually one of the worst ones IMO)
*Trollface*
^^
Eh, I think we've discovered for a while in previous conversations that we both have very different opinions when it comes to writing.
Anyway, topic.... I have nothing to add.
Well, except that no game developed so far actually managed to really satisfy me. I applaud every game that experiments with the capatabilities of video games. Sadly while there is experimentation, it always feels like holding back and playing it safe. No game goes balls to the wall crazy with possibilities.
A lot of "choices" in SW:TOR really annoyed me with fake choices.
No matter what the choice what, kill someone or cooperate with them, the result was nearly always the same: you never saw them again.
I understand why they did it: killing someone removes them from the story, and they didn't want to go through the trouble of writing intertwining stories for all the combinations that would lead to. So each story chapter was very self-contained, and no matter the outcome it tied into the next chapter in the same way, maintaining a status quo no matter what.
A lot of "choices" in SW:TOR really annoyed me with fake choices.
No matter what the choice what, kill someone or cooperate with them, the result was nearly always the same: you never saw them again.
I understand why they did it: killing someone removes them from the story, and they didn't want to go through the trouble of writing intertwining stories for all the combinations that would lead to. So each story chapter was very self-contained, and no matter the outcome it tied into the next chapter in the same way, maintaining a status quo no matter what.
Apparently in the early beta you could actually piss off your party members enough that they would leave or you'd fight and kill them, but of course people whined that because they were assholes they couldn't benefit from the same thing as nice people (never mind that nice people might not get along with certain party members).
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But... when that illusion breaks - and it will break, it's only a matter of time - it's sadly going to drop a ton of the weight it once had. Like the FedEx arrow, once I see it, I can't unsee it. I feel like The Walking Dead series is the perfect example of this. First season? Holy mother of God. Second season? It's not that it's bad, but I am now completely wise to Telltale's methods, and the sheer magic of the first game is just not there anymore.
That's not what I meant. I mean the fact that you can actually change the ending, and it has differing outcomes.
Right in the face.
Moment of shock and disbelief as I slowly realized that, yes, the game was letting me do that.
And Jeyne Kassynder is one of my favorite video game antagonists. My second favourite Obsidian one as well. (With the King of Shadows being actually one of the worst ones IMO)
*Trollface*
^^
Eh, I think we've discovered for a while in previous conversations that we both have very different opinions when it comes to writing.
Anyway, topic.... I have nothing to add.
Well, except that no game developed so far actually managed to really satisfy me. I applaud every game that experiments with the capatabilities of video games. Sadly while there is experimentation, it always feels like holding back and playing it safe. No game goes balls to the wall crazy with possibilities.
No matter what the choice what, kill someone or cooperate with them, the result was nearly always the same: you never saw them again.
I understand why they did it: killing someone removes them from the story, and they didn't want to go through the trouble of writing intertwining stories for all the combinations that would lead to. So each story chapter was very self-contained, and no matter the outcome it tied into the next chapter in the same way, maintaining a status quo no matter what.
Apparently in the early beta you could actually piss off your party members enough that they would leave or you'd fight and kill them, but of course people whined that because they were assholes they couldn't benefit from the same thing as nice people (never mind that nice people might not get along with certain party members).
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
I cherish the memories of killing Fenris and Zevran.