Editorial: consequences matter in RPGs
Jeremy Signor has an interesting editorial up on bitmob about what makes choices meaningful in an RPG:
Many modern designers fall into the trap of choice for the sake of choice; they try to make the game meaningful with something that doesn’t change the experience much. Infamous exemplifies this in a particularly egregious way with the morality system the developers tacked on to the open-world gameplay. Its extremely binary nature nearly parodies other morality systems, but it really fails with its lack of consequences behind its choices.
Click here for the rest.
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I think the problem he’s having is with the notion of there being good and evil endings, rather than just endings without any moral stamp applied by the game.
Indeed I think he’s shooting himself in the foot because he’s looking for effects like how you are greeted the next mission – that could matter to the ending, but by itself it’s forgetable ephemera.