The Invincible Protagonist

[Zelan]

Sounds awesome to me. c: I especially like the idea of having a "default" player. Although I do enjoy character customization when it's available and will definitely put that to use in your game, I hate having to name my player character and will always go with the default name if one is presented. This is partially because I don't see the player character as "me," I see it as the game's protagonist, a separate entity, and partially just because I suck at naming things.

I also especially like the sort of balance you have between the consequences of those options. Like you said, continuing to work at the arcade leads to a lot of stress and troubles for the protagonist, but is (I assume) ultimately more fulfilling. While the option of quitting the arcade job is dull for the protagonist and leads to a Game Over, it's nice to know that the protagonist lived a relatively comfortable life after that decision.

Along that vein, I would advise against describing that ending as a "Bad End." Although it is an early game over and is not as exciting for the protagonist as I'm sure other endings will be, it's much more complex than just "bad." Dull though the protagonist's life may be, I'm sure it has its high points, and it's better than being left with not job and starving on the streets. Instead of using descriptors like "Good End," "Bad End," "Best End," etc., try using ones like "Saved The Arcade End," "Halfway There End," even something as simple as "Boring End." It's more interesting than the overused good-bad-worst-best, and it gives the player a bit more freedom of interpretation. If you label a particular end the "Best End," for example, but the player actually liked the one called "Good End" better, it creates a bit of disconnect between the player and the game. It's not a huge major issue, but little things like that can contribute to overall improve the player's experience.

[Twoflower]

Along that vein, I would advise against describing that ending as a "Bad End."

Oh, definitely. In fact at the end of the rather depressing and grey stretch of narration, it flashes - GOOD END - in all caps. Sort of a tease that hey, you got exactly what you wanted, good job, go you. Like hitting Control+W while playing Secret of Monkey Island. ("You win! You scored 1000 of 1000 points. Roll credits.")

[YossarianIII]

It sounds like you might already have stuff figured out by now, Twoflower, but if you want a good example of an invincible protagonist, just look at Superman. You know he's going to succeed, you know he's not going to die (or at least not die permanently), but the best Superman stories still make you care about his struggle.

Or, looking at it the other way, think of the movie Titanic. Everyone knows the boat is gonna hit that damn iceberg, but again, people still watch it because they care about the characters and the struggle.

I'm all for Monkey Island-style shenanigans that play with the concepts of Good Ends and Bad Ends in games. That sounds pretty awesome actually. I just mention Superman and Titanic to show that you don't have to reinvent the wheel if you don't want to. Arguably the most important part of storytelling is a good understanding of characters and a good understanding of drama.