Likewise, I've suggested to other VN authors around here to do more fake choices or choices where it just alters the dialogue of a scene but then dovetails back into the main path. They give the player a sense of agency without actually making too much more work for the author.
It's narrative choices, it give a better feeling of implication for the player, making him participate not only on the main key points of the story, but also on the narration of a scene. It's nothing new, it exist since the starts of stories in video games, and I have absolutely nothing against them.
But my point wasn't on the presence of those narrative choices, it was on the false promise that accompanies them. There's absolutely no reason to warn the player that "she'll remember this", when it's not the case. It's a lie, and an abuse of the confidence of the patrons. It's also something unnecessary, because the players will not suddenly feel more invested because they are told that their choice matters ; it's the default thought when you start a game.
In fact, it tend to have the opposite effect. Because they are told by the game that "this choice" was important, they'll tend to think twice. They'll try to make the choice that will lead them to the best possible ending. But when they are told that their choice will have no influence on the main story itself, then they just enjoy the game, making the choice that effectively please them and creating their own way to reach the only possible ending.
And there's no effective way to defend this approach. Almost all the games available here that have a story, also have narrative choices. And really few feel the need to lie, saying that choice matters when they don't. Which bother no one and never prevented a game to reach its public.
