Here's a fun anecdote, take it for what it's worth: I visited Istanbul, Turkey last February. My first time out of the country, and I visited a country where I stuck out like a sore thumb, didn't speak the language, and had only a passing familiarity with the history and culture of the region. Also, this is right around the time a series of devastating earthquakes killed tens of thousands of people. On my first day there I rolled out of bed, and was wandering around looking for a coffee shop. A guy approached me, introduces himself as Rafael, and asked what I was looking for.
"Coffee? Abi, abi you come, my store's just over here," says my new friend.
So, I follow this random dude, thinking he owns a coffee shop. Nope! Homeboy owns a rug store --
El Rincon De Fehmi, if you're ever in the neighborhood. He makes me some Turkish coffee, he tells me which restaurants I should visit, which tourist places to avoid, and eventually talks me into buying a rug. "For your mother, she'll love it."
I take the rug and go back to my hotel. A few days later, I decide to hit up a pharmacy for a few things. On my way, a guy working near a kiosk sees me wandering, and asks what I'm looking for.
"Pharmacy? Abi, is one right over here. My name is Sancar, come."
Now, I know where the pharmacy is. I've been there already. But, he begins to lead me down a winding alleyway that runs parallel to the street I need to be on. I'm a little leery, until he leads me by a storefront and explains, "This is my place, maybe you come by after we visit pharmacy, eh?" So, I get it. I'm growing accustomed to the sales tactics of Turkish folk.
I go in the pharmacy, buy what I need, and find my guide waiting outside. "Abi, abi, why don't you come to my store? I make us some tea, you sit and talk." Now, I've got a friend waiting in my hotel. I really don't feel like having tea, but fuck it. It's my first time abroad - why not experience some things?
So, Sancar leads me into his storefront, which I realize is actually just a very long hallway, with various offices and other stores inside it. But, most of the lights are out, and my sketchy bullshit sense is lighting up. Eventually we arrive at a modest rug store, and he hurriedly makes me some tea. As he's doing so, a young kid filters into the room, along with three adult men. Sketchy bullshit sense is screaming now, but I tell it to quite down.
Unlike Rafael, Sancar launches right into the hard sell, and starts slapping rugs down on the floor. I tell him, firmly but politely, I already bought one rug on this trip. I can't be going home with a suitcase full of rugs and baklava. He proceeds to get aggressive. "I help you find pharmacy, I give you tea, I welcome you here to my country, my store, and this is how you repay me?!"
In the end, I bought a table runner for $10, and gave his son 5 lira as a tip.
When I told this story to my best friend, she was aghast. "Stop following strange men into rug stores, you fucking idiot!"
When I came back to my hotel and my friend who was staying with me saw I'd gotten
another Turkish textile product, she put her face in her hands and said, "Howwwwww?!"
Now, why did I tell this very long story? To explain that sometimes even smart, capable, people make bad decisions. My bullshit sense was screaming at me to turn around and go back to my hotel, and I didn't listen, putting myself into a potentially dangerous situation. Why? Well, a few reasons. I'm a fairly big, athletic sort of guy. I work a dangerous job. I grew up in an environment where I was around drug dealers and criminals. I'm not easily intimidated, and that sometimes blinds me to the fact that bad things can happen to me.
Now, let's recap some things about Guy:
- He worked for years at a shitty neighborhood convenience store, where he's likely dealt with all manner of drunks, homeless people, etc.
- He's been rich for all of four and a half months, living the 'good life' for three.
- He previously lived in a shitty studio apartment with peeling paint, in a neighborhood where his building is still regularly tagged with graffiti.
- He's newly fit, and feeling a bit tougher than he's used to.
So, this guy who's accustomed to dealing with the public, who's lived in a neighborhood where he had to be on guard, and who's still getting used to not being a skinny-fat lump, agrees to drive a girl home. She leads him to a shady place, he tries to get out of it, and she makes it pretty clear he has two options: go in with her, or have her make a scene, and attract attention. So, he ignores his good sense and says, "Fuck it, let's get this over with."
Is it smart? No! People do dumb things, for dumb reasons. But, it's not like he walked into a building that said, "CREEPY SCARRED WEIRDO WITH A HALF-NAKED GIRL, HERE!" It's an abandoned building, and Risa's dealer was just as likely to be a stoned teenager watching Rick and Morty.
And again, if you're wondering why you can't just skip the whole scene.. I don't know, probably the same reason you don't get to pick whether or not you take Mason in, or give Nicki money, or buy Cassie a swimsuit, or have a photoshoot with Brittani, or get involved with the movie project Ashe is working on -- all things people have complained weren't optional, by the way. Because this isn't a free-roam game where you have unlimited options. It's a story where you get to guide it at certain junctures. I can't plan for every
thing that every
one wants.
I've talked about this before, but there seems to be this perception sometimes that, because I allow a
lot of options, I should allow
all the options. And it's a critique I don't see leveled at games which are much more linear, and restrictive.
