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PaperclipPerfector  1mo ago (text post)   2735 thread views

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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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.

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