Great Oak Gazette

Asher Geonetta’29

Staff Writer

On a cold, winter afternoon,

I come home and sprint straight to my console

After a long day at school,

I just want to escape

In this video game,

there are two species:

Human

and Elf

My friend told me this game was amazing.

If it was really that good,

it would have more options.

I take note of its faulty design

and boot up the game

It spawns me as an elf.

What?

I don’t get to choose?

Well, that’s fine, I guess.

I can still equip human tools,

select human clothes,

and drink human potions.

But as I progress through the game,

I find this not to be the case.

For a moment,

I think my game must be broken.

How faulty must this game be—

to not let the player curate their experience?

How unfair!

I continue to play.

I find a human arena

where the human players are fighting.

They are battling huge, awe-inspiring monsters—

monsters I am not allowed to fight.

How unfair!

I didn’t even get to choose my species!

Even now,

at level 10,

I am constantly being forced to use elvish things,

complete elvish tasks,

be an elf.

I check the settings.

There is no way to change my species—

At least,

not until level 20

How unfair!

How unfair,

to spawn in as a randomly assigned species,

to be made to act out that species,

to lose points if acted otherwise,

to be forced into a role you don’t want to play,

To not let the player curate their experience until they have played 20 levels in—

at which point,

it’s too late

to go back.

How unfair that world would be,

if that was the world we lived in.

What terrible game design!

I turn off my console

What was the point

if I could not be myself?