Choices: A Broader Sense of In-Game Freedom

Games from the late 1980's often had simple objectives, along with a linear path for the player to walk through to reach the final goal: the completion of the game. The player was always a set main character, and almost always did the exact things he/ she was supposed to do to complete the story, if there was one. While jumping over lava and collection coins were necessary obstacles, this left little else for the player to do. If you've ever played Super Mario Bros., you know that you had to move continually right to get to the castle, dodging enemies and collecting power ups when possible.

It was later that RPG's became popular, a later example being Morrowind (2002). An RPG gave the player vastly more choices: namely the creation of one's own main character, and a 'free roam' where the player didn't necessarily have to do the main objective, or complete quests in any particular order. This gave players a sense of a much broader world- one in which they could explore however much they wanted to. As RPG's began to become more and more popular, larger maps and more customization followed suit.

Where older games were more linear and newer ones more free-roam, there were also multi-linear games emerging in the late 2000's. One such popular multi-linear game was Mass Effect (2007), in which the player was given a variety of options when it came to dialogue and character interactions. These interactions would also develop karma, altering the options for the player and storyline. This gave the player the option to choose which ending they wanted, something not though of a decade before.

Different game genres appeared as well, including multiple simulation games, such as Sims 3 (2009). Newer simulation games not only gave the player a personalized character, but complete freedom in what that character did. Instead of scripted events, newer ones were being generated by what the player character did on a daily basis, who they interacted with, and what they chose to do when it came to major decisions. In The Sims, customization went down to every corner of every room, every relationship, every dinner choice, and so on.

While older games have more linear pathing and storylines, newer games have continually given the players more and more choices when it comes to their character and what they do with them. Some games have even become more and more open world, to the point they have been labeled 'sandboxes', worlds in which you can alter however you want. As newer games are being made, more and more customization is being put into them.