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Friday Fun Thread for March 7, 2025

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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You've hit on something important here. I've thought of the systems vs narrative distinction at some point, but had never put it into words.

While I can appreciate systems games, I am probably more of a narrative player, having spent more time on RPGs than any other genre. I think I would feel some emptiness or lack if I just abandoned rpgs/narrative games forever.

I think where it easily becomes an issue that evokes aversion is when the narrative doesn't suit me, or when a game that is supposed to give roleplaying alternatives and freedoms does not let me play the way I want. Such as when various dialogue options do not in fact lead to different outcomes but just railroads you into one direction while giving a false appearance of choice. You're supposed to be shaping your character through choice, and then he/she is just shaped for you. Or, like in KCD2, when all my inventory was removed, I was put on a timer, and had to finish the sequence in one way that the devs had decided for me. That causes some emotional dismay in me, and probably often leads to putting the game down for a while, and because it ended on a bit of a sour note the last time I played, there's a threshold to overcome to pick it back up again. Yes, I think this must be it... It's mainly about the absence of choice and liberty. Roleplaying without getting enough agency to decide the role.

I fear you're expecting a little much from video games, then. They're not tabletop RPGs where a DM lovingly crafts your choices into an evolving narrative. They're CYOA books. And unlike books, a new narrative strand doesn't just take an extra page or a hundred of plain writing, but also requires millions of dollars spent on a very expensive and time-consuming production process (at least for anything like AAA games). The more freedom for the player, the more the budget gets stretched, and the devs can't just sacrifice game length for freedom because most players will play the game exactly once, and if it's too short they will complain and review it poorly. So freedom gets the axe instead.

Good narrative games, for all that I know, don't offer freedom but a convincing illusion of it. They will always railroad you, but let you change the order, pacing or cosmetic details of otherwise fully predetermined events. The proliferation of games that tout "multiple endings" which then come down to reaching the end of the otherwise linear game only for the player to press a button to choose which cutscene plays is not a coincidental development. Many games let you make significant choices only in parts that do not matter for the overall narrative.

Maybe I'm wrong though. Maybe it's actually possible. Let me know if you've ever played any CRPGs that offered significant narrative freedom.

There are some exceptions. Or games that are better at upholding the illusion. Disco Elysium and Baldur's Gate 3, to an extent. Fallout New Vegas. The Witcher 2 and 3.

But I take your point. I think it's the advances in graphics towards more and more photorealism that have made me expect more from the roleplaying and gameplay too.