Picking paths

Since I haven't been getting far chewing on the question of branching/choices/rewards by myself, I kicked the question out to a few groups of writers/gamers.

Realizations: 

• Everyone is going to reference Mass Effect (3) when it comes to  choices/endings, especially if you're vague about the nature of these choices in conversation
• Threshold (of points) /= decision path
• I need to change the link text for the dialogue options I've written

In talking through this issue of choices leading to an ending vs. unlocking end options, I realized that I'd have certain expectations of reward if I was playing a point-and-click vs. a text-based game. With PnC being more engaging and requiring slightly more work from the player, I would definitely want whatever the designer thought was the top-tier ending. With text-based being more of an exploration with all of the options laid out in front of me, I don't know - maybe I'd want to feel like I still had just as many choices in the end, rather than the choices culminating into a single, variable-determined ending each time.

I'd also have different expectations for the choices and their payoffs along the way if I know I wasn't looking at good vs. bad, but rather, some other variable, ie, expressing different attitudes/approaches toward gathering information, with all avenues leading toward "success." In other words, this isn't really a Carmen Sandiego game because Carmen never gets away; every option leads to Carmen waiting in the same place. (That's not a spoiler, right?)