How Agency is Affected by Showing Prerequisites of Choices in Strategy Games : A Comparative Study

Abstract: This study attempts to uncover how the player’s agency is affected by seeing prerequisites of dynamic choices, as opposed to not seeing them. The study’s background presents different definitions of agency, along with what kinds of conclusions previous research has drawn on the term. The background also presents and discusses varying implementations of digital choice interfaces in a variety of different genres of video games. In order to answer the research question, a short strategic experience was created with two versions, one containing visible markers on prerequisites choices and one which hides these markers. A qualitative method was used to investigate how these two versions affected the player’s agency, and whether there was any difference between them. The results showed that visible prerequisites allowed the player a higher chance to experience positive agency because of the clear and direct feedback it gives on the player’s previous choices.