[QUOTE="Requiem131, post: 6126617, member: 37151
I completely disagree. One of the things that sets gaming apart from reading is the agency the player has. If choices are meaningless, then you take away all agency and thus, better to see a film or read a novel. There are many ways in which you can branch out the story and give meaningful choices, while at the same time keeping branching under control so as not to become "two different games" because of one choice. Actually, Estate Dominate does it pretty well to keep decisions both having an impact and not branching out too far.
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I don't play a game to see the MC get out unscathed any more than I read a book to see the MC get out unscathed. It's the Hero's Journey. They have to get into lots of trouble and come out changed in some way.
I don't think the grand arc can be changed practically. The MC can shape the details a bit, but the grand arc can't be altered without it being a whole 'nother story.
One thing I see in these games (not necessarily Estate Dominate in particular) is that players can't try to avoid things without the danger of succeding. IRL, people would try very hard to avoid most of the trouble they find themselves in, but too often I find myself having the player make an unrealistic decision so as to keep the trouble coming. I like games where no matter what you do you are going to be in plenty of trouble - maybe even the very trouble you are trying to avoid. All good stories torture the MC, games let the player in on the fun a bit, both of torturing the MC and being tortured. How the MC prevails and what 'prevailing' means depends on how they changed along the way so as to be able to 'prevail'.
