Scars of War Developer Blog Update
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That last series of posts about failure in RPGs generated a fair bit of discussion, both in the comments/forum and on other blogs. But one comment by Scorpia really got me thinking. The comment was in relation to failing a skill check :
For one thing, any time a skill check is made, we figure, (this must be important), or why bother? Who wants to screw up something important? Who knows what the developer has in mind here, and what terrible thing might happen if we don't succeed?
This comment is really interesting, especially if you think about it not just in the context of a skill check but in the bigger picture of the entire game, the plot and your path through it. Because it illustrates a design flaw which is especially harmful in roleplaying games. False choice.
To illustrate let me present you with a scenario. Before you is 2 doors and a sign. On the sign it says (Left door : Instant Death, Right door : Continue on your way".
Is this a choice? No, it is a false choice. Sure, there are 2 paths, but one has such a disincentive to following it that it may as well not exist.
Now what if we change the sign? Now it says (Left door : Instant mega-wealth, Right Door : Continue on your way". Is that a real choice? Obviously, no. Unless you have a reason to distrust the sign or suspect a trap then this is another non-decision. There is such a massive incentive to go left that the right door may as well not exist.
Now if we look at Scorpia's comment we can see how this applies to RPGs, and how it kills choice, the foundation of roleplaying. You see most quests in RPGs work like the door example above. You know for certain which is the choice that rewards you, which is the (win", so much so that the other option may as well not exist. Succeeding at the task gives you verbal praise reinforcement from NPCs, gold, exp, scripted sequences, whatever. Failing gives you a tiny (oh well) type script or dialogue and simply not doing the quest, well, that's not even something worth talking about.
So when a player comes to some choice, some quest decision point, instead of thinking (ok, which option should I choose?) they think (Which option is the right one, the one the designer decided was the best? Which one is the door with the fabulous rewards and which one leads nowhere?". Which one is the (win"?
