“Would you kindly…” In the history of video games this phrase will forever live in the memories of gamers. Why is that? What makes these three words taken together such a powerful statement? Because these words marked the moment that we as gamers realized that we are all pawns in the hands of the sometimes sadistic game developers / writers.
Throughout the history of mankind there has been one central tenant that we strive to preserve, our freedom of choice. Wars have been fought over this for centuries and from these conflicts come some of the most compelling stories of heroism and sacrifice. Who has not heard of the Spartans, especially after 300 came out? When examined through this lens, most video game narratives are just this, a single character or group of characters and their struggle to retain the freedom to choose something, anything. So why do I say we are pawns? Aren’t we simply just playing a game where the characters in the narrative are our pawns? It is not quite that simple, we willingly hand over our ability to choose. How many games truly leave it up to you? I would say none, because in the end someone, somewhere said this will happen if this happens.
At this point I am going to warn all readers, MASSIVE SPOILERS are to follow. I will be discussing the plot points of several video games to illustrate this Illusion of Choice. And before the trolls bring out their fire and/or the fanboy’s start defending their games, I personally do not have a problem with turning over my right to choose. In the act of choosing to play the game I am unconsciously acknowledging that I am going to have to follow the path laid out by the developer. I am only pointing out the fallacy that I have heard regarding video games. Games like Mass Effect do not give you the ability to change the galaxy as you see fit and your decisions in Fable do not determine the future of Albion. There is a set path the writers have planned, and your only choices are those they have placed in the world.
Choose Character Life or Death
The first major area of choice that I will address is the ability to choose the fate of the characters in a game. I mentioned in my post on Narratives in Video Games that I had a hard time choosing who to save between Ashley or Kaiden in Mass Effect. But did I really have a choice in the matter? I would argue no. If I had truly retained the ability to choose, I would have been able to choose to send someone after the other person or would have had to choose out of all of the characters who died. In Prince of Persia, I would have had the choice of letting Elika die in the end rather than save her life by unleashing Ahriman on the world again. But the best example is Bioshock, if I really had the choice I would have been able to complete the game without killing Ryan. But that is impossible because Ken Levine decided it was so.
Choose Fate of a Group of People
Peter Molyneux is best known as the man behind the Fable series. Several years back, before the release of Fable I, Molyneux described the game as giving players the ability to choose the fate of Albion. At the end of the game, I didn’t see any major changes based on the choices I made. I was forced to fight the final beast to officially “complete” the game, thus rendering the game with two possible outcomes, the player wins or dies resulting in a Game Over. More recently in Fable II, players were given a greater chance to influence the land, to a degree. While an area would prosper or flounder based on who you killed and decisions you made earlier in the game, it was impossible to bend everyone to your will. And in the end no matter how you played the game, the ending consisted of three Fate cards. And no matter which one you choose the people of Albion would go about their merry lives.
Choose the Path
Let’s be honest, how many games have been touted in the last couple years as being open or sandbox games? It doesn’t take long before an impressive list is created, several of which I have already discussed. But is the ability to choose the path present in these games? Sure we as players can putz around cause random, wanton mayhem and destruction, but does this ever continue the core story? How many times have you played numerous side quests only to come back to that one core quest that will continue the story? RPG’s are the biggest offenders in this department. The story will not continue unless you complete the right mission. Where is the game where if you wait too long to do a mission, it can never be completed? Where is the game where not completing this mission changes the story, and instead of being the hero, you are now scorned by everyone in the game? Where is the game where if you as the player choose, you can kill off every character in the story and finish the game?
Choose the Final Ending
Ah the Final Ending. The ultimate goal of all games is the actions that propel the player to the credits, but can you really choose the final ending? Nope! You are forced to choose between the options given to you by the developer. In Mass Effect the decision came down to saving the council or letting them die. The act of harvesting a single Little Sister determined your ending in Bioshock. Which Fate card you choose of the three determined the ending of Fable II. And for all the freedom in Prince of Persia, to truly complete the game there was one choice. In most cases one decision chooses your ending, one.
The Illusion of Choice, we as gamers rave about how we can choose the fate of our character; how we can do whatever we want in a game world. But in reality we can only follow the scripted choices given to us. Gaming is not about being able to choose every detail along the path; it is about experiencing the story. And that is why we choose to give up our freedom of choice to be entertained.
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