Sunday, January 22, 2023
Empty and Pointless?
The
illusion of choice is one of a video game’s most fragile tools, a
single contradiction or misstep in presentation and the whole thing
shatters and the player feels cheated. As such the idea of a
Meaningless Choice is one which is viewed in a negative light as
something to avoid alongside the idea that all choices must offer
some form of consequence, no matter how minor. Games such a Mass
Effect and output of Telltale embody this fear of making anything the
player does feel as if it does not matter. A Meaningless Choice is
one which does not effect the outcome of the game in any noticeable
fashion outside of a possible change in one or two lines of dialogue after the choice, or could even be the same choice offered
multiple times, and it is the boogeyman of narrative choice focused
games.
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| This is perhaps the most icon Meaningless Choice and for good reason |
When
it comes to visual novels the picture becomes noticeably blurrier, on
the one hand there are those which follow the common wisdom and make
the choices all have meaning, such as increasing the affection value
with a heroine, but on the other are those which use a large amount
of Meaningless Choices in their structure, often mixed in with real
ones. It is this second group which will be the focus of this
analysis and the surprising ways that the unique position of visual
novels allows them to be more flexible with the presentation of
choice.
Engagement For The Player
At
their most basic level all choices serve the purpose of engaging the
player, be it through the consideration of romantic options or life
or death battles. Meaningless Choices also fall under this category,
but due to their inherent low value they act upon the player in their
own distinct manner. Rather than providing any grand spectacle, their
role is to keep the dial of engagement ticking up and prevent the
player from losing interest by showering them with smaller doses of
the highs given by more significant decisions. These small nods to
the player involve them more directly in the narrative and give them
a moment to pause and ponder what has just occurred, which engages them with story
in a more conscious manner while they make their decision. It is easy
for the player to slip into a trance like state and not be properly
looking at what is being presented to them and, given the narrative
heavy nature of visual novels, could lead to a sense of boredom due to
the lack of other gameplay elements to keep their attention. By containing small points of engagement, visual novels can
avoid this pitfall and also create a cohesion throughout the entire
experience, hence the use of Meaningless Choices. Aokana -Four
Rhythms Across the Blue- uses this approach to pad out the space
between its important choices but uses them sparingly enough to make
sure they are still effective and unobtrusive. There is a careful
balance showcased in Aokana between having Meaningless Choices to
increase engagement and just using them to fill space which could
cause the player to become irritated with the constant interruptions, and this is key to their presence in a visual novel being beneficial.
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| Can you determine a Meanless Choice from a real one? |
Choices As Roleplay
By
far the most common use of Meaningless Choices is as a means for the
player to roleplay as the protagonist. This generally
takes the form of deciding their reaction to events which are
obviously of no importance and provide a selection of in character
choices to give the player a little room to co-author the
character. Having a co-authored protagonist is far from unique to
visual novels as many western rpgs use similar techniques for their
player character with perhaps the most iconic of these being Geralt from the
Witcher games. However, it is far more prolific in the medium of
visual novels, pick up any of them and you will likely find each one
has some degree of Roleplay Choices. This prolific presence is no
doubt due to the increased importance choices have in visual novels
as the primary means of interacting with the player, outside of
including some other gameplay style, and
means that visual novels must make the most out of this limited
resource. OELVNs in
particular tend to use Roleplay Choices due to their closer cultural
relationship to western rpgs with games like Sunrider leaning heavily
into this aspect of visual novels to supplement the narrative feel of
their events.
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| Sunrider is a game which leans heavily into the Mass Effect school of choice design |
The
advantages of Roleplay choices are twofold, on the one hand it
disguise the fact that these choice have no consequences by
presenting enough personality in the choices that the player cannot
be sure if the choice has any greater meaning, while at the same time still
knowing they are of only minor consequence. A camouflage like this
helps the visual novel maintain a sense that its choices have gravity,
with some having more significance than others, and prevents their
sense of agency from being compromised. On the other hand it allows
the player to form an attachment to protagonist through their role in
shaping the character in their everyday life and as a result
they feeling invested in the outcomes of the narrative when things
get tough. Since visual novels are often focused around a single
point of view character, it is all the more important that the player
feel investment in that character as without them the player may loose
interest the longer the game goes on and Roleplay Choices offer a
clean and easy to implement means of preventing this issue.
Immersion In A Feeling Of Helplessness
Sometimes
the sense of agency provided from choices can be turned on its head,
the player can be stripped of power through Meaningless Choices and be
made to feel the powerlessness of the characters. Most other games
would fear the idea of putting the player in a position of weakness
like this since many lean heavily into a power fantasy and would be
concerned about the player losing interest if this illusion is not
constantly fed. Visual novels by comparison tend towards a variety of
forms of emotional resonance and often choose to have lows to
complement the highs which other games would struggle to implement.
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| Atmosphere is what Cartagra values above all else |
Stripping
the player of their primary agency while still offering the pretence
of choice is what Meaningless Choices excel at. They make it clear to
the player how helpless the protagonist is and how
nothing they attempt changes an outcome they never had any control
over. Rather than simply being told this is the case, the player gets
to experience the character's feelings through their own actions in
the face of this unchanging reality. Cartagra: Affliction of the Soul
is a strong example of how effective this technique can be for
creating empathy. While it does have some real choices mixed in, it
uses a heavy amount of Meaningless Choices to communicate to the
player the desperation and powerlessness of its protagonist in the
face of the murders which threaten those he holds dear. It
compliments the overall bleak tone of the game and allows the player
to sink into the atmosphere and character mindsets without the game
having to spell it out from them. Of course this approach is a
balancing act, be too aggressive with the choices and the tone can
become overbearing or silly in the absurdity of the lack of
consequences, but be too light in their use and the player may not
even notice the intended effect at all.
Disguising What Choices Actually Matter
As
alluded to earlier, the function that ties together the use of the
Meaningless Choice is its ability to disguise what choices have
consequences and what is just filler. This not only functions as a
form of engagement by keeping the player on their toes, but more
importantly it also serves to create a more believable experience.
Our lives are not only determined by single large choices but also
the smaller choices of our everyday activities can collectively have
just as much of an impact. As we grow up we learn the intricacies of
these choices to the point at which they almost become second nature
and are only thought about at the back of our minds. It is this lower
level decision making which Meaningless Choices simulates and so the
player inherently ascribes value to them where none exist since it
resembles something they are intimately familiar with. In doing so
Meaningless Choices hide the important choices in a coat of noise
while helping them to appear more natural in an apparent web of
choice and consequence. Most visual novels using Meaningless Choices
utilise this technique in some fashion, even if it is only by
accident, it is a fairly common feature in the Slice of Life genre such in
the Sakura games and My Girlfriend is the President who use it to
create a sense of normality to their worlds.
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| The Sakura games have some of the most vanilla choice design in the medium |
Conclusion
Every
part of a visual novel serves some function even if it was not
intended by the developer, and Meaningless Choices are a strong
example of how careful consideration of every aspect is needed to
avoid any undesired influences on the player. They can form a solid
backbone for the more substantial narrative elements by providing the
space to roleplay and disguise the choices which actually matter
while helping hold the player’s engagement. On the other hand they
can offer a chance to disempower the player through a feeling of
helplessness in the face of what appear to be unavoidable fates.
There is an impressive degree of flexibility to Meaningless Choices and they are
a strong tool in your development toolbox and are more than filler,
just beware of overusing them as the illusion could quickly breakdown.
