Player agency in video games
It seems the topic of choice always comes up around the beginning of a year. Reflections on the choices we made in the last year. Decisions and promises for future action. Goals and resolutions. It’s all about OUR choices. This got us thinking about the decisions we make as players, about player agency in video games and its impact on our experience.
What is player agency?
There are many definitions of player agency. It can be considered as any type of autonomy given to the player. The sum of consequences of a player’s actions over gameplay and storytelling. Or, simply put, what we can freely do within the world of a game and how the game behaves as a result.
No matter the definition, it all seems to revolve around choices and their impact.
If we think of interaction as the distinguishing feature of games, we can consider agency to be an added layer of an interactive environment.
Player agency is also a means of expression, it’s a way to mold an experience into something more custom and in alignment with our personal preferences. This can mean deciding how to reach a goal, how the main characters look, how the story unravels, how the game ends, or other similar options.
Not all choices have the same impact. Some may alter the entire outcome of a game, while others are only designed to introduce a bit of flavor, to make the world feel livelier and plausible.
Impact of in-game choices
When it comes to freedom in a game, there’s no right or wrong. A well-crafted linear narrative can be just as powerful as a multiple-choice story. In general, puzzles or action-based games tend to be more linear, while RPGs are more choice-based.
Great titles like Baldur’s Gate or Disco Elysium involve numerous options at all steps of the way. Equally major titles like Alan Wake or Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice offer a more linear playthrough. Both styles bring a different kind of experience to the table.
But since we are discussing the topic of player agency, let’s see what are the benefits choices may add to a game:
🔗Connection: When we’re involved in what happens (for example if we decide the fate of a character), it can strengthen the emotional bond we build with the game.
🔄Replayability: Choices add diversity in both narrative and gameplay, which encourages us to come back, to try other options or follow different paths.
🕰️Game time: As a result of replayability, when we have multiple possibilities to explore, the overall play time may increase.
🔮Immersion: When our actions have an impact, the game starts to feel less scripted and more organic, enhancing immersion.
🧠Memory: Story moments, combat or environmental interactions can stick with us for longer when we feel like we were personally involved in them.
🌍Community: How many times did we find ourselves siding with the choices of some players over the others? Variety can build communities and open conversation.
🎉Fun: In the end, we play games because it’s fun and choices can create a level of unexpected which can be engaging and entertaining.
Agency comes in many forms
There’s much more to player agency than how the story ends or what a character picks in a crucial moment. A game could allow players to exercise agency in various ways, in different moments of a playthrough – from the initial selection screen, down to the last interactions. For the sake of this analysis, three major categories come to mind: narrative, gameplay and environment.
Narrative
An NPC approaches you in a tavern. What do you do: a) offer to help them or b) start a fight?
Story is probably the first thing that comes up when we think of choices. Selecting how characters respond and exploring branching storylines is usually a good way to illustrate agency.
Examples of narrative agency:
💠Picking a line of text
💠Entering covenants or factions
💠Engaging with NPCs
💠Accepting/refusing quests
💠Building reputation
Gameplay
This refers to anything the players can do with the mechanics at their disposal. Most games usually offer a certain level of agency when it comes to gameplay. We can choose whether to use one attack over the other, to fly or to walk, to invest in certain talent points, and so on.
Playstyles can have a great impact on player’s journey. For example, selecting a ranged character (i.e. sorcerer, warlock, archer, etc.) offers a vastly different experience than a melee character (i.e. warrior, rogue, monk, thief). The view distance expands, the angles shift and the action is either slower or fast-paced.
Examples of gameplay agency:
💠Picking a class or a weapon
💠Selecting a talent
💠Designing a combat strategy
💠Choosing to solve/bypass a puzzle
💠Collecting items
💠Playing solo or in a party
Environment
The interaction with the world of a game can also involve many layers of agency. In most games, players can explore the environment and interact with it in a way that brings some repercussions. Open-world games usually allow the most agency, as the players get to build their own sequence of events.
Examples of environment agency:
💠Picking up items
💠Jumping from a cliff
💠Playing a sound
💠Changing the weather or the time
💠Opening a door
💠Travelling
Where true choice lies
When we decide to play a game, there is a certain level of agency we can’t recover. This is given by the technical constraints. No matter how many options there are, we’re still in a closed system that responds the way it was designed to by its creators. An article in Game Studies brings up the interesting theory that true agency lies not within the game itself, but outside of its context, in our personal interpretation.
There are many means through which we can engage with like-minded fans to express our very own perception over the game:
➡️Forum discussions
➡️Fan fiction
➡️Fan art
➡️Cosplay
➡️Memes
➡️Fan theories
➡️Generally, all kinds of user-generated content
These activities could be interpreted as an exercise of player agency. Even though they’re all choices we make in the real world, it stems from in-game inspiration. We continue our player experience and it may give us a sense of control and freedom. It’s an endearing exchange between original game creators and their fan base, taking interactivity to the next level.
Conclusion
Player agency gives us options and creates the illusion that anything can happen. It brings the uncertainty and excitement of life to the world of a game. When we have the possibility to actually change things and make them our own, it keeps us engaged.
And perhaps in the end, the ultimate choice is to start the game and continue playing it?
