Choices Don't Really Matter

Jamin, the host of PBS's "GameShow," does a great job of analyzing complex principles that are commonplace in many games.  I like Jamin.  But today, Jamin kind of ruined my day.  In the newest episode of "GameShow," he explored the illusion of player choice in many games.  Here is the video:

What?  So going back to replay all of The Walking Dead is a waste of time!  I knew that but was enjoying the state of denial that I currently live in.  It's completely true that player choices tend to matter very little when it comes to how the story ends.  This is somewhat of a disappointment as it seems like a lot of games use the idea of player choice as a big selling point.  Sandbox games most likely do offer the most varied types of play.  I'm not a really that into sandbox games so I guess I'll just keep lying to myself that my next playthrough of Mass Effect is going to be different than my previous twelve.

Would it even be possible to make a game that gives you infinite possibilities?  Is too much choice a bad thing?  This episode has blown my mind and made me ponder reality...in a BioShock:  Infinite kind of way.