Game Decisions?

[MioSegami]

I wonder, is it annoying for games too have too many in games menu? I mean like it isn't a bother to me, but is it to others? What's your thoughts on this? I kind of feel cheated on if a game doesn't that much menus if it isn't a KN.

[Anna]

It varies per person, but I don't mind having just a few choices as long as the story is nice and as long as it isn't promoted as 'you can manipulate/change everything!'. Too many choices actually bother me because it interrupts reading. Too many endings simply make it a chore for me to gather them all and find the good ones. So the conclusion is I am a very lazy VN-reader *shot*.

Also, kinetic novel = no choices at all, so calling visual novels with a few choices a kinetic novel is wrong ^^;.

[MioSegami]

Too many endings simply make it a chore for me to gather them all and find the good ones.

AHAHA! So true! Especially if one route is super long >.<!

Also, kinetic novel = no choices at all, so calling visual novels with a few choices a kinetic novel is wrong ^^;.

I think you read it wrong >.<; lol Or it must be my confusing wording. What I meant was if a game has few menus ( such as 5 or less) in a long game it makes me feel cheated out since it isn't a KN >.<

[gekiganwing]

MioSegami, I wasn't sure what you meant by "menus." Did you mean moments in a visual novel where the player (reader) is prompted to make a decision?

In my opinion, it's usually not a good thing if the only choices available to the player are trivial or meaningless. In other words, if the choices have little to no impact on the story, then they might not be necessary. It might be best just to present the story as a linear work of fiction (prose, comics, film, kinetic novel).

Having said this, I can imagine a visual novel in which trivial or meaningless decisions might be a good design choice. For example, if the story/game is about a world in which there is no free will, or if the main character is an insignificant pawn in a large conflict...

[MioSegami]

By menu meaning as the decision correct :]!

[Anna]

I think you read it wrong >.<; lol Or it must be my confusing wording. What I meant was if a game has few menus ( such as 5 or less) in a long game it makes me feel cheated out since it isn't a KN >.<

Ooh, I see. Mhh, for me it doesn't really matter, I care more about the type of choices; if I get choices such as 'will you eat ice cream or cake?', I won't care if there are just a few because even one of those is too much for me XD. Unless of course, eating ice cream or cake is a plot point because the main character has...um... stomach issues, or something.

[Cabriolean]

I'm interested in choices that add to the story, they can influence the story, or they can reveal character background/clues to a mystery etc. if the results are trivial and neither influence the story, nor add to my understanding of the story, then I have no real interest in making decisions that I see as almost pointless.

[Destiny]

Well, I just played Gakuen Heaven again, and that game as (especially at the beginning) a ton of decisions.
And they even define, which characters you will meet, so they are even important.

But I think, decisions should fit the game and the story.
Random decisions without any impact can be entertaining for a while, but get bothersome soon.
But if they define the ending or how much a character likes you, then they can come in a big load, I guess.
I mean, it makes a difference, if I won the game by picking the right options in three decisions or 30. The latter is maybe more bothersome, but you feel more proud to have won, too.

[ebi brain]

I like having lots of choices.

Like in Cinders, you get to make a ton of choices ( every 5-10 minutes or something) and so it really feels like *I* am Cinders and it makes me care about the story because it feels like I'm the one creating it ( does that make sense >_>).

When a VN has 1 choice every 30 minutes or so, no matter how good, I'd rather just read a book or read a KN. I guess it's because, when I'm playing a VN, I actually want to *play* a VN and be involved in the MC's actions/thoughts just a bit more.

Though, I guess it can be quite a headache to include lots of menu's that will all play a part in the game's outcome. Then again, I'm one of those who doesn't really mind if a menu doesn't affect the entire game, but just the current scene (perhaps giving the player more background on characters and such).

[AxemRed]

...so it really feels like *I* am Cinders and it makes me care about the story because it feels like I'm the one creating it.

Those are role-playing choices (and as the name would imply, they're fairly common in role-playing games). Some people really like those, others (like me) can't stand them.

[MioSegami]

@ebi brian: Same here, I love interacting in the game, it makes me feel involve, and I enjoy KNs as well :]!

All in all, I guess it's just personal taste

[Ran08]

Yep, it all goes down to personal taste.

I actually really enjoy having choices, but in Katawa Shoujo, I was always annoyed when a choice would come up. It's probably because KS makes me so engulfed in the story that I feel like decisions make it slower. There is also the danger that I might now get the ending I wanted.

Hmm... so when it comes to VNs that use the points systems, I like many choices, but when it's similar to games like KS where the game moves in a "flow" I'd rather have few.

[Lishy]

I hate when games have choices period because I just end up using an FAQ walkthrough anyways.

It's not fun to redo the story and the player loses immersion. I do not know why visual novels continue it.

[sake-bento]

I think it depends on the nature of the choices. For Cinders, the choices either affected the plot directly, or shaped Cinders' personality, which then affected how she behaved in the future. All the choices were important to create the character.

I like choices that make a difference, and sometimes things happen that I wish could have been a choice. I've been playing a lot of cell phone games lately, and sometimes I wish I had the option to turn down a date or tell someone off, but instead the MC is passive and I have to sit there and deal with it.

I don't like having lots of choices just for the sake of having choices. If you've ever seen The World God Only Knows (great series for anyone interested in VNs, BTW), the fourth episode has something like this. There's a cafeteria, and the MC has to choose what to eat from a list of twenty or so options. None of them have any real bearing on the story.

I guess...I want to have choices at important places, but for the rest of the time, I don't want to be bothered.

[iiStarCandy]

It kind of depends. If there are too many choices all at once, and the game is not that long, then it gets a little bothering. However, if the game is long but the choices are evened out through the game, then that would be better. Also, I once played a game with a very long beginning with no choices, and then only about five choices popped up through the game. That wasn't good.