❔ Choices

Hey friend,

Choices, they are essential in life no?

Everyday we make choices on what to eat, or whether to eat at all. We choose to go to work, some because we want to, some because we have to. We choose what friends we make, and the people we talk to.

And it can be exhausting...am I right?

Although in games, we present choices to the player to increase their enjoyment, not to exhaust them. We are trying to provide them with agency in this space we have created for them. And whether the game reflects real life or not, by giving the player choices, it makes that world seem more real, more engaging.

When they go the path the developer laid out, the player will be rewarded.

But sometimes they make the wrong choice, and will be forced to suffer a setback, a punishment, a price to be paid. But that doesn't always have to be fully negative.

We use those wrong choices as teachable moments, make it very clear in the player's mind, THAT WAS A BAD MOVE. So in that way, we really are the ultimate authority, we declare what the consequences of a choice will be. Its a precarious balancing act of playing god, while holding the player’s hand through the wilds you created for them.

And you wonder why being a game designer is hard.

They say the only sure things in this world is death and taxes. But if I may, I'd like to append "choices" to that list.

Because even if you decide to do nothing, that is a choice you made.

As for me, I choose to try something new today. Whether it results in success...or pain, it was my choice to make.