As I am formulating a response for this post, I could not help but wonder what is the current, most popular game genre. I googled and was not surprised that RPG games are ranked among the top three popular game genres. RPG games are becoming more and more popular because players are able to form their own narrative instead of blindly following set instructions to win or lose. Interestingly, winning or losing seems to becomes less important to users. For example, players choose the losing in the game Myst because “the winning ‘losing’ endings of the game are much more satisfying than the winning ending.”(175) Another example of how winning is not as important as it used to be: “instead of playing to increase their score, MUDders now indulged in more intense role-playing. And with the increase in immersive involvement came a desire to construct their own virtual worlds.”( 182-183)
Being immersive is an important part of RPG games because they allow players to feel their presence in the games. And because they feel their presence in the games, they have the desire to navigate and interact with the game’s environment. RPG games do not have very strict rules or instructions for players follow, so they are free to explore and interact. This freedom of navigation and interaction could a great sense of agency because players actually see the result of their free-will-decision-making actions.
Still, giving players too much freedom could also take a way a sense of agency away from a game. I remember playing a game where my character was stuck in a very large room and I had to figure a way out. There were so many objects in the room and the room itself was so large that just walked around, picked up random objects, and threw them away. It was fun at first but eventually I got a headache because I had no idea how to solve the puzzle to unlock the door. With this, I just want to remind that there’s always a slippery slope to look out for.