Stupid choices in games

[Techno]

What are some examples of really stupid choices that can be done in games?

[Empire]

Too often I choose the option I think best represents my preference only to find that my PC says something almost entirely unrelated. At the end of the game I want to have gotten to the place I should be based on my preferences and playstyle. If anything goes wrong that will interfere with that too much, I'll go back to an earlier save.

Or very often start a whole new playthrough.

[Shortie]

I feel one of the really stupid choices I have noticed in video games especially the ones where you have multi-choice is where you get say two options and both end up in you saying something to annoy the person you are talking to and you have no other option to avoid that. I understand it's probably all part of the story but sometimes, you just want to be able to have more than just the annoy the person option. 

[Tonberry]

On 12/28/2022 at 6:33 AM, Techno said:

What are some examples of really stupid choices that can be done in games?

Narrative-driven games have become better at this, but like a decade ago it was really stupid how the "Good" choice in a conversation would be to hand a sick guy a potion to help him maybe feel a little better, and the "Bad" option would be to insult him profusely, then shoot him in the head, steal his credit card, wire his entire family's savings to yourself, kick his dog and take a bite of his lunch.

This was for like EVERY game that had a "Your choices matter!!!" bullet point lol

Edited December 29, 2022 by Tonberry

[Crazycrab]

The stupidest choices I think I've seen in video games really come to the time frame in which they are presented.  This was a major problem Life is Strange: Before the Storm.  If you played the original first (which is what I would assume most people did), then you would know that many of the choices in the prequel appear to be meaningless since you know going in what the end result is going to be anyway.

It was a similar issue with Beyond Two Souls, at least in it's original release.  The story is told out of order, so there are scenes with Jodie as an adult that you see before you see her as a child.  So, once again, it makes the choices that you have with Jodie as a child feel redundant since you know it's doesn't have any long term consequences.  Later releases of the title allowed to choose to go through the story chronologically but combined with a few other controversies meant that damage had already been done. 

[Kane99]

I don't like when games give you a 50/50 pick. Pick this or that. Maybe give us more options instead of two that will decide the story for you. I think having more options to choose from, expands the story and gives you more to explore each playthrough too. 

I can't think of anything off the top of my head, but I'll say I probably made stupid choices in games in the past, and regretted it because I probably should have done it a different way instead. 

[Shortie]

3 hours ago, Kane99 said:

I don't like when games give you a 50/50 pick. Pick this or that. Maybe give us more options instead of two that will decide the story for you. I think having more options to choose from, expands the story and gives you more to explore each playthrough too. 

I can't think of anything off the top of my head, but I'll say I probably made stupid choices in games in the past, and regretted it because I probably should have done it a different way instead. 

I agree. The amount of games I have played in the past that have had the option of two choices and you sit there and think to yourself "why is there not more options" and you often think of options that you would have like to see there but aren't. These kind of games that only give you two options often result in sometimes being quick games that you complete and you end up feeling disappointed with the game. 

[The Blackangel]

Inconsistent design in a single franchise. The biggest culprit of this is The Legend Of Zelda. With every release, Hyrule is in no way even similar to the previous entry. The only thing the games have in common is the name Hyrule, and the characters of Zelda, Ganon, and Link. There is literally nothing else that's found in every game. Including the master sword. That wasn't a thing in TLOZ and Zelda II on the NES. The first one had 3 different swords for you to find. But the second one barely even had a sword. More like a severed erection than a sword.

When Nintendo releases a new Zelda game, Hyrule is nowhere near what the previous one was. I wrote an entire article on this that's posted here if anyone wants to read it.

[killamch89]

Creating a game with "choices" only to end up with the good ending no matter what you chose. This illusion of choice thing really grinds my gears because what is the point of offering them if they didn't affect how the story played out in the first place.

[Scorpion]

One classic example is in RPGs where players waste resources on low-level potions when they could save for better gear. Another dumb choice? Jumping into a fight with a boss without leveling up or preparing. Those decisions often lead to regrettable outcomes!

[Lens]

Sometimes games can be very frustrating especially if you do not grasp the gameplay. But there are simple and yet challenging games that are being made now. It makes everything simpler.