Talking to the Player (Part II)

In my last post, I talked a little about creating a teachable moment in a video game though breaking the 4^th wall to address the player directly. However, there is another more subtle and arguably more effective way to cause a player to question his beliefs. Ask the player a question that they cannot answer.

Now, there is a lot to say on this topic and I cannot summarize it better than the good folks over at Extra Credits (link below), so I encourage you to listen to what they have to say. However, what I intend to explore here isn't what the player learns from the choice itself. I'm interested in exploring the mechanics of presenting that choice effectively.

I'm going to use an example that recently forced me to pause the game and think in just such a fashion. The example comes from Dragon Age: Origins. Be warned, there will be spoilers.

Still with me? Good. The set-up for this scenario involves the dwarves and their centuries long battle against the darkspawn. Originally, there were 11 great dwarven kingdoms connected by a large network of underground tunnels known as the Deep Roads. The Darkspawn also live underground and have been constantly attacking the dwarven kingdoms through the Deep Roads. The dwarves have steadily been pushed back; only 2 of the original 11 kingdoms remain.

This is where the Golems come into play. Centuries ago, a dwarven inventor figured out how to create Golems, soldiers of living stone. For a time the dwarves used the golems to hold the line and even push back the darkspawn, but the artifact used to create the golems was lost.

In the game's storyline, the player eventually goes into the Deep Roads and finds the lost artifact that was used to create the golems. However, when they do they are met by the spirit of the dwarf who originally created that artifact. He reveals that the reason he sealed it is because the secret of the golems is that creating a golem requires the sacrifice of a living person – their soul is imprisoned in the golem and used to power it. At first, he only used volunteers, but then criminals were used and eventually the dwarven king started ordering his political enemies be used. He then begs the player to help him destroy the artifact rather than allowing it to enslave more souls. The player is then faced with a choice of recovering the artifact or destroying it for good.

The choice is re-enforced within the game's mechanics. Preserving the artifact allows the player to add Golems to the army they are trying to assemble and makes them usable during the game's final battle, but one of the characters in your party feels strongly enough about the evil of the artifact that they will leave the party and fight you.

The way the choice is framed is also significant. The choice is either-or ; there is no middle ground option because the player cannot both destroy and preserve the artifact. This prevents the player from ducking the decision. It is also important that neither decision is presented as the clearly superior choice – both of them will require sacrifice.

Furthermore, the decision is treated seriously by the game and carry consequences. There are no snide comments to the player to make light of that decision.

All of these elements are significant in crafting a decision that forces introspection from the player.