Do more choices make us happier (in gaming)?

[Crothian]

The data shows that good feeling to be fleeting, however.

People with more choices sometimes feel better about it on day 1 (while creating the character). On days 2 through 200, the people with fewer choices are happier (playing the character for the rest of its career).

What data? Why can't the people who had more choices on day one play their character for the rest of its career?

And I'm not saying more choices is the best. I'm saying more of the right choices are.

 

[Silvercat Moonpaw]

Having stats (and other stuff) randomly thrown at me puts me in the mind-set of: "Okay, what's the best I can do with this stuff?" -- and for me, that kind of improvisation can be a very fun place.

The opposite of that is someone like me: we can't work with a fixed identity. We have to start blank and work from there.

 

[Crothian]

Another thing to think about is that for some people (including some gamers I've played with) having a lot of options and choices is paralyzing. Give them 3 things to choose from, and they choose and move on. Give them 20 things to choose from, and they seize up under indecision.

Bullgrit

Then it is good to run into this in an RPG and maybe they can learn to overcome that paralyzing effect in a place were a bad choice won't really impact their lives.

 

[Jeremy Ackerman-Yost]

What data? Why can't the people who had more choices on day one play their character for the rest of its career?

And I'm not saying more choices is the best. I'm saying more of the right choices are.

I was drawing a parallel to existing data on everything from photos to decor to marriages. As far as I know, no one has done a version of this study with RPG characters. And some people have given good reasons why it might not work as cleanly.

 

[Betote]

The problem with choices is that you have to live not only with what you chose, but most importantly with what you didn't choose. That said, even if too many choices can make you less happy in the long run, one thing players love more than anything is uniqueness, so we could argue that a player can be happy with having a decision made for them as long as it has a result a character different from any other one.

Another point to be made is that a player that can choose from a wide arrange of options is happier during day 1, so we can see that having a lot of options is something desireable if they are all short-term options, as in combat or, to a lesser extent, levelling up.

 

[Doug McCrae]

Sometimes you want the freedom to avoid a bad choice. So long as at least one good (or non-bad) choice is available to you, that's enough.

Cake or death is okay. Torture or death, less okay.

 

[Raven Crowking]

Good topic. Bookmarked.

 

[Stormonu]

Choice is good - to a point. We all strive to find a happy medium where our ability to choose has an impact, but at the same time does not become a detriment to our effectiveness at performing something.

I don't think anyone wants to be stuck forever with their only choice to play a character being a human fighter with a long sword. But at the same time we don't want to have to churn through 20 books to make a character.

 

[Dice4Hire]

I demand that the choice be made for me.

Cheers, -- N

It was, as in there not being a poll, the OP chose you would not vote.

Are you happy? Or should I ask in a week?

 

[jdrakeh]

Choices alone do not do it. The right choices though do.

That's a good point. I have played some games that had a lot of codified options, but very few of them that I actually cared for (Fuzion, I'm looking at you). On the flip side of that situation, I've played some games that had a comparatively limited number of codified options, but hit every "must have" on my list of things I want in an RPG (Risus and Story Engine both come to mind).