How Kingdom Come: Deliverance Handles Choice Differently from Other RPGs
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After sitting through a hands-off demo of the game, PC Gamer has editorialized about why they're convinced that Warhorse Studios' Kingdom Come: Deliverance is taking a different approach to player choice than what we're used to in other role-playing titles. A sampling:
The idea that the world doesn’t revolve around you is surprisingly rare in RPGs, where most quests are quite literally waiting for you to undertake them. In this respect, Kingdom Come veers more towards Warren Spector’s One City Block game design philosophy, which eschews scope for a densely-packed world of emergent, consequential interactions. In Kingdom Come you might beat up a pub patron, only for him to go elsewhere for his next evening tipple; or you may commit murder after which the local sheriff will investigate the body, leaving his office free to break into and so on.
One instance of branching narrative that stands to mind involved collecting the aforementioned debt from Kunesh. There’s a good chance he’ll beat you up should you choose to approach him directly and while you could flat-out murder him when no one’s looking, this will lock you off from a specific scenario with him later in the game.
Alternatively, you may bump into a trio of pranksters who plan to pelt a disgruntled local's house with dung. Tag along and you'll wind up siding with them in a brawl with law enforcement—payment for which will see them teaching you how to pick locks. From there you're free to case Kunesh's house, and rob the whole place blind if you so choose—a rite of passage for any discerning RPG player. Most interestingly, this event plays out regardless of whether you join in or not, meaning you have a limited window of opportunity within which to engage.
