Choice or Illusion of Choice? [No Spoilers, just Question]

[Hex: Onii-Chan]

Well, i've played the Walking Dead a while ago and came as far as the 3rd episode. My problem was - the choices you supposedly met were utterly meaningless 90% of the time. You saved someone? You bet your 455 she is going to be killed in the next 1-2 episodes. You made a tough call and cut someone's leg off, so he survives? Well, f u, dear player, because it wont change anything.

Now, i would like to know whether this game actually has proper choices or is it once again just some cheap illusion of choice, so they dont have to write too much dialogue? Dont get me wrong, i dont hate linearity - Bioshock: Infinite i.e. is one of my favorites. I do hate however when a game pretends to be something that it is not.

[cldrvrs]

Not sure yet. 90% of choices will mean something in next episodes.

[katsuragi]

To be realistic... it is a stretch to think the developers can make every choice lead to drastically different results.

Your 3 hour tale would require hundreds of hours of alternate paths to cover every possibility.

This game like all games of this type give you the illusion of choices which marginally impact the direction of a linear story.

If you could really end each episode differently there would have to be four or five versions of episode 2 depending on how you ended 1

then 16 to 20 versions of episode 3

then 64 to 80 versions of episode 4

you see where this is going?

They want you to feel involved but they also have to tell a linear story. It's still fun for me nevertheless

[Matteus]

I felt the same way when i played the walking dead games, but like the previous guy said it's way too ambitious of the developers to create so many path ways. I do wish that walking dead would give you a little more freedom, like who can die and what not, but whatever (keep in mind I am only at episode 4 still). The main point of these games isn't to drive a pathway of the story, but rather the player projects themselves into the character filling in the missing dimensions of that character, whereby the other characters interact with how the player decided to handle the situation.

[Acorna the Starchild(Solvix)]

If you wanted a game with alot of player choice to direct the story, way of the samurai 4 (and the others also) on the PS3 maybe something you are looking for . It can have very very difernt storys depending on what you go with and do, but it can be finished in 3 to 5 hours first sitting.

Sadly the more meaningfull a choice is the more money it costs, if you had just two very meeningfull choices in each chapter you would need 16 endings. very costly and would likly make the game far shorter without replay.
so no matter what you will allways have some form of ilusion of choice, if you have read the old choose your own adventure books you can see just how much you lose.

[Francis_Mallman]

Almost all games have an illusion of choice.

[Combo]

I do expect different endings though.

[CoffeeDialectic]

I read an interview with the developer and he mentioned that they still want to tell a story and not have the story endlessly branching.

So I'm guessing you won't be able to change the core of the storyline, certain things will happen which you won't be able to change. But how you get there may be different.

[Avalanche]

ultimately, choices and consequences are minor, its like on Mass Effect, the choices you make, make little to no difference in the future games, so picking the other choice gives the same result.....roughly the same anyway.

[novruz94]

Hm, it's only the first episode so no one can really tell.
Apart from others I personally expect some of the choices to change the storyline a lot.
For example: Signing the petition in the beginning for sure should prevent the installation of the cameras. That in later episodes may have a great impact - the criminal (if there is one) will feel more safe, and will be able to do more. Not signing on the other hand, may mean installation of the cameras that may help in the investigation about Rachel (unless the security guard has some other evil plan).

Or Choosing to intervene in the joint episode, and learning about the gun may lead to talking Chloe out of using it, while hiding option, and a resulted slap may make Chloe more determined about what she is planning to do with the gun.

Anyway, I expect at least three totally different endings. And it would be great if within those totally different endings there were some variations from minor choices regarding the attitude of other people Max interacted with.

[̔̏̊]

the ending will be the same scene with different colour
blue
green
red

[Hex: Onii-Chan]

Originally posted by katsuragi:

To be realistic... it is a stretch to think the developers can make every choice lead to drastically different results. [...]

They want you to feel involved but they also have to tell a linear story. It's still fun for me nevertheless

Yeah...sorry, but thats buIIsh!t. If i tell you "Hey, i found the cure for cancer" and then give out mint drops, i doubt you will appreciate the fact that i tried to make people feel cured, as i dont have the resources to cure it anyway

If they promise choices that matter, then i expect those instead of some Mass Effect 3 traffic-light-ending. And as already said - a well told, linear story can be great, unless it tries to be more than that and fails because it simply lies to me as a player by making me think that i actually have a choice.

And if you all forgot - thats the reason such games are supposedly released in 5 parts, so devs have time to create all the branches and stuff while still getting cash to keep going and make us play an incredible adventure.

Look at Witcher 2 - you meet a choice after the first hours and the game utterly separates until the very end.

My point is: Wanna tell a linear story? Make a game that has one. Bioshock, Spec Ops: The Line, most Final Fantasy parts - there are many good, linear games. But if they bring out a game telling us "Hey, choose whether she lives or dies" (just an example, i havent seen anything of the game) and 5 minutes later she will trip and crack her head on a stone anyway, im getting really, really p!ssed and dont tell not for a good reason.

[Blackwolfe]

I think it's far too early to know how much choices matter. I've gotten used to the illusion of choice in Telltale games, yet I still enjoy them. I'll still enjoy this one either way. In the Mass Effect triology however, your choices felt like they made an impact, that they mattered and then suddenly.. BAM! Not even the extended ending helped much. I mean, the journey itself was great fun and you could really see how your choices affected alot of stuff. But then.. the ending..

[Buck]

How many earth shattering decisions do you make in a normal day?

Not every decision will have big consequences. As a matter of fact, a vast majority won't, and will only affect your life in minor ways. But it's not about the effect of any one of a million decisions you make over the course of a lifetime, it's about the net change over said lifetime. Exactly what said net effect will be can only be reflected upon at the end of said life.

[Hex: Onii-Chan]

Originally posted by Buck:

How many earth shattering decisions do you make in a normal day?

Not every decision will have big consequences. As a matter of fact, a vast majority won't, and will only affect your life in minor ways. But it's not about the effect of any one of a million decisions you make over the course of a lifetime, it's about the net change over said lifetime. Exactly what said net effect will be can only be reflected upon at the end of said life.

It doesnt have to be earthshattering, but if im given the choice to take the right or the left part, i dont want the paths to join again after 10 meters.

If im given the choice to help an NPC and presumably save her, then i want that she is actually saved and not just postponed on the death list for another episode, just to be killed of in a complete rediculous way to prevent branching.

[Buck]

Originally posted by Kasseopea:

It doesnt have to be earthshattering, but if im given the choice to take the right or the left part, i dont want the paths to join again after 10 meters.

But in reality, that's exactly what happen. Regardless of the exact steps we take, we're always moving towards one inexorable future

If im given the choice to help an NPC and presumably save her, then i want that she is actually saved and not just postponed on the death list for another episode, just to be killed of in a complete rediculous way to prevent branching.

Just because you have the oppurtunity to "save" someone doesn't mean you actually did. Maybe they were never really in any mortal danger, maybe they would have been okay by a different means without your intervention.

Or maybe they just subscribe to the "Terminator thinking" - Everyone constantly says "no fate but what we make", yet we are also constantly seeing/hearing about how Judgement day is inevitable, and happens somehow NO MATTER WHAT choices anyone makes.

Call it fate, or karma, or bad writing if you want, but either way, it is what it is.