No surprise then that Metroid Prime 2 has actually evolved into an in-joke of sorts with my younger brother, whenever the topic of “what should I play next?” comes up.

That TED video is great. I’m reminded of two other examples where ‘the paradox of choice’ is prevalent: RSS feeds, and the classic Choose Your Own Adventure books. Seriously, I’d love to meet someone who actually read through those things without a constant bookmark of sorts.

On Crackdown and narrative though, I think that’s precisely the prime (ho ho ho) reason that’s held me back from Prime 2, and other games. As a fan of a series and/or franchise, I more often than not feel begrudgingly obligated to be taking part in canon proceedings, rather than for the gameplay itself. And with the rate sequels/prequels/side stories/etc are made in this industry, well…

It’d be interesting to see if Crackdown stays uninhibitedly fun a couple of ‘story’ iterations from now.

It’s interesting that the reason we gave up on Oblivion and Fallout is similar to the reason Harry hasn’t started Metroid Prime 2: there’s too much choice. We don’t want to do the wrong thing, so we do nothing.

The experience of playing open-world games, which sounds so utopian in theory, is undermined by the paralysis that comes from being presented with all that choice. Having the choice is fine, but making the choice is more stressful than fun.

I’m not sure about Oblivion, but Fallout 3 is reputed to be weakest in its main quest and strongest in its explorable areas off the beaten track. I wonder if that’s part of the reason Fallout 1 still feels like a better game? A narrowly directed storyline with just a little choice is somehow calming to the anxious, time-poor gamer.

Then again, Crackdown is totally open and free-form and doesn’t come with that anxiety. It might be because it’s not a strongly narrative game, or because you’re never asked to make a permanent decision.

I highly recommend this video on the paradox of choice – it has serious implications for game design:

http://www.ted.com/talks/barry_schwartz_on_the_paradox_of_choice.html

I have a few games sitting untouched on the shelf/desktop: Thief II and III, Forza 2, Rainbow Six 3, Medieval: Total War, Fall From Heaven II, Beyond Good and Evil. At least most of them were bought this year, so I can say “I’ve been busy!”

Longer and more damning is the list of games I’ve had for ages but only sampled briefly: GalCiv 2, Fallout 2, Morrowind, even Planescape Torment. I’ve given them each at least a couple of hours, but they all feel abandoned in their infancy, and every day I think “I’ll play these as soon as I have time!”

And yet the weekly round of bargains always sings its seductive siren song…

Remembering your fondness for all things Metroid, I imagine it wasn’t a game starring Samus that enlightened you to your brain-filling ways!

Well, maybe Metroid Prime Hunters.

I find it appropriately eerie that a commenter on your blog post also referenced Archibald D. Hart’s Thrilled to Death. Definitely a recommended indulgence for overindulgence.

I remember reading that post and more-or-less agreeing with it. For mostly financial reasons I’ve recently become a highly selective gamer: in fact, I haven’t bought a new console game since last year. The ones I have played have been rented or loaned, though I have bought a handful of small PC games.

The fact is that while I miss having the choice, the games that I do get hold of I generally finish and really feel like I get under the skin of. I doubt the same can be said of anyone who burns through game purchases every other weekend.

Doesn’t have to be games either, though I think they are the worst form of media for compulsion because of the commitment required. I wrote this blog post a year ago about it:

http://davesinaneramblings.blogspot.com/2008/11/filling-your-brain-with-stuff.html