Line #37 Main/BigFirstChoice


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8	Typically, games let you make choices. Some games let you make choices that have significant effects on the game world. The Big First Choice is an early player choice -- sometimes occurring ''before proper gameplay even starts'' -- that has a ''massive'' effect on the game.
9
10	Consider:
11
12	''After the tutorial level, the rebel leader offers you a chance to help her free the galaxy from the [[ReligionOfEvil Dark Order]]. But your hero would have to give up his grand life as a space mercenary. You ponder the decision, then have your hero turn down the offer. You then spend this space opera being dragged into one conflict after another, meeting the rebels under awkward circumstances, and making life hell for the Order. Finally, you get to put a bullet between the eyes of the [[BigBad Shadow Prince]], collect your reward and fly off into the sunset.''
13
14	''After your victory, you go online to discuss the game. But what's this? You don't remember an infiltration mission aboard a satellite. And a romantic subplot with the rebel leader? How come no one's talking about the [[{{BFG}} MX-6000 railgun]] that got you through the final stages? After skimming a few threads, you can't help but wonder: did you even play the same game as everyone else?''
15
16	The answer: not quite. As it turned out, a lot more was riding on the rebel leader's innocuous first question than you ever could have guessed. By making one choice or the other, you determined the entire course of the rest of the game.
17
18	Not every game is quite as extreme as this example, but the Big First Choice (or second, or third) is a common way of extending the life of a game by making the player's choices at key points have a dramatic effect on the way the game plays out - perhaps even the way the game ''plays,'' period. Multiple playthroughs are absolutely necessary to wring OneHundredPercentCompletion out of games that feature such choices: sometimes the different paths will converge again at the end, but it's just as likely that each individual choice [[MultipleEndings will lead to a different ending.]]
19
20	One method of StoryBranching. Compare MultipleGameOpenings, where the the story branches even ''before'' you make the first in-game choice, and LastSecondEndingChoice, where you play through ''most'' of the game before a major and [[PointOfNoReturn irrevocable]] plot split. Contrast ButThouMust, which might ''look'' like a big choice, but really isn't; and NonStandardGameOver, for where one of the choices ends the game almost immediately.
21	----
22	!!Examples:
23
24	[[foldercontrol]]
25
26	[[folder:AdventureGame]]
27	* In ''VideoGame/DreamfallChapters'', Zoë's first choice is when she wakes up from the coma: does she start working in her chosen profession as a bioengineer, or does she try something different. While the story will play out the same, some of the important characters will be different.
28	* Played with in ''VideoGame/GoodbyeVolcanoHigh''. The first choice the player is given is whether or not to [[spoiler:burn the yearbook]]. From the player's perspective, it's the first choice they get to make, but in the story, it's Fang's ''final'' choice before [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt the meteor hits]].
29	* ''VideoGame/StrayGods''' first big choice is to determine Grace's main characteristic (Kickass, Clever, or Charming), while the first big song choice is where Grace can choose to join her friend Freddie, the god Pan, or neither and strike out on her own.
30	* In ''VideoGame/ATaleOfTwoKingdoms'', your choice at the wishing well has a surprisingly big impact on the next couple hours of the game. For instance, if you wish for humans to trust you, you get to enter the city of Carbonek much earlier than you otherwise would.
31	* ''VideoGame/UltimaIV'' opens with a quasi-tarot-reading at a Renn Faire where you must choose between various virtues. Your choices determine your character class for the game proper. (Albeit, you must collect a party with one of each class to complete the game.)
32	[[/folder]]
33
34	[[folder:Art Game]]
35	* The first major choice of ''VideoGame/TheStanleyParable'' happens when the player is presented with a pair of doors, yet the Narrator insists that Stanley enters the door on his left. There are a few different endings that can be found before the door choice, such as refusing to leave the room at the beginning of the game, but the doors mark the first time where the player is given a clear choice and must either follow or disobey the Narrator, setting up the meta MindScrew for the rest of the game.
36	[[/folder]]
37
38	[[folder:EasternRPG]]
39	* ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI'' and [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII its sequel]] ask the player to choose which skills to emphasize and de-emphasize (strength, magic or defense) and how quickly they level up at the start of the game. Woe to the player who might unknowingly choose to level up slowly at the start.
40	* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'', at the beginning of Chapter 2, you have to decide which of two factions to give an important MacGuffin to. This affects which faction-related sidequests will be available to you later. This is also an especially notable example as it also determines whether you can get OneHundredPercentCompletion or not - one path does, the other maxes out at around 97%, no matter what you do. Of course, with the perks of NewGamePlus, full completion is actually somewhere around ''145%''.
41	* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':
42	** Your choice of starter Pokémon determines your rival's starter as well: if you choose the Grass-Type starter, he'll choose the Fire-Type; the Fire-Type starter, the Water-Type; and the Water-Type starter, the Grass-Type (i.e. whichever you choose, he gets the one that's strong against it). Yellow is an exception: there, your starter is always the Electric-Type Pikachu, and your rival's Eevee will evolve into Vaporeon (weak against Electric), Flareon (neutral against Electric), or Jolteon (resistant against Electric) depending on how often you lose to him. Your rival's starter (or his starter's final form) will also determine his final team. Some of the later games have another rival character who gets the remaining starter Pokémon (the one that is weaker to yours).
43	** Also, in the ''[[VideoGame/PokemonFireRedAndLeafGreen FireRed and LeafGreen]]'' remakes, your choice of starter determines which of the Legendary Beasts from Generation 2 will roam the Kanto region: choosing Charmander will cause Suicune to appear, choosing Bulbasaur will cause Entei to appear, and choosing Squirtle will cause Raikou to appear.
44	** In ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'', your choice of starter Pokemon determines both which gym leader you fight in the first gym (as with your rival, it will always be the one with a type advantage), and also which one of three Pokemon you receive as a gift prior to the battle (which will always have a type advantage over the gym leader).
45	** ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'': The previous games' pattern of your rival's choice of starter is played with. Whichever starter you choose, Hop will select the starter with a type ''dis''advantage. It's Hop's brother, Pokemon Champion Leon, that will take the starter with the type advantage over yours by claiming the last starter remaining. What this means, for example, is if you choose Fire-type Scorbunny, Hop will choose Grass-type Grookey, and Leon will take Water-type Sobble.
46	* Subverted in ''VideoGame/RadiantHistoria'', one of your earliest decisions is whether to stay with Heiss in Special Intelligence, or join your friend Rosch in his new brigade. However, due to the [[TimeTravel nat]][[AlternateHistory ure]] of the game, the paths are not ''truly'' mutually exclusive, and because of some [[TimeyWimeyBall interplay]] between the two diverging timelines, it is not only possible but ''necessary'' to experience both, making only the order you do events impacted by your choice.
47	* Very early on in ''VideoGame/SoulHackers'', the PlayerCharacter is asked what his very jittery companion Hitomi is normally like. The answer given changes one line of her dialog... and [[BodySurf Nemissa's]] ''entire skill tree''. All the possibilities are about equal in the end, but you're given no indication these two things are related until you answer different next time and wonder why on earth one of your party members is learning wildly different skills.
48	* Early in ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' you're asked if you want to board a ship to cross a large body of water. You get ''one'' chance to say yes; say no and you lose the opportunity to board it for good. While the end result is the same and you ultimately end up at the Tower of Salvation mid-game, it changes the order of when you encounter what temples and Human Ranches as well as tweaks the power levels of various bosses and enemies.
49	* In ''VideoGame/TrialsOfMana'', the game begins with a selection of six main characters: StoneWall Duran, GlassCannon Angela, BarefistedMonk Kevin, WhiteMagicianGirl Charlotte, FragileSpeedster Hawkeye, and JackOfAllStats Riesz. However, a player can only pick three of them when the game starts, with one of them as the main character and two others as {{deuteragonist}}s. The story bumps into the other three that weren't chosen, but they can't be recruited. Also, which of the six characters is picked to be the main character and [[TheChosenOne the destined wielder of the Mana Sword]] determines which of the three {{Big Bad}}s that a player has to fight, along with changing a few other mid-game bosses. So a player has to think carefully about potential party line-ups right from the word "go" in this game.
50	* The opening section of ''VideoGame/RakenzarnTales'' has you decide which of the two protagonists you're going to play as, which determines the first few story beats and the order in which your required party members join. After that, you pick your character's initial stat distribution, your weapon of choice, your first moves and even your first LimitBreak.
51	* The first thing you pick before anything else in ''VideoGame/RakenzarnFrontierStory'' is who your first [[SummonMagic summon ally]] will be.
52	[[/folder]]
53
54	[[folder:First-Person Shooter]]
55	* In the opening mission of ''VideoGame/WolfensteinTheNewOrder'', the evil Dr. Deathshead forces you into a SadisticChoice by making you choose which of your two allies you want to sacrifice to his research: Fergus, an old war buddy; or Wyatt, a fresh-faced young soldier. The survivor becomes your [[TheLancer Lancer]] later in the game, and the story plays out slightly differently depending on your choice.
56	[[/folder]]
57
58	[[folder:RealTimeStrategy]]
59	* ''VideoGame/BattleRealms'', at the beginning of Kenji's journey, he must choose whether to slaughter or save peasants. If he saves the peasants he takes the Dragon path, if he kills them he takes the Serpent path.
60	* ''VideoGame/TheNewOrderLastDaysOfEurope'':
61	** Germany has to do one early in the game: choosing Hitler's successor. While any choice will always lead into the German Civil War, who the player picks will inform the event tree to follow, as well as the faction they will lead in the war and what they can do.
62	** The United States also undergoes one with the Civil Rights Act of 1963, which Nixon must either approve or veto. While he can dither on the choice, eventually he'll be forced to make a choice - and whatever he picks will be what decides the path of politics of the USA in the following decades, as it will affect both his own and the opposition party.
63	[[/folder]]
64
65	[[folder:TurnBasedStrategy]]
66	* ''Franchise/FireEmblem'':
67	** ''Videogame/FireEmblemFates'' builds its entire premise on this. The protagonist is a ChildOfTwoWorlds, born into the royal family of [[{{Wutai}} Hoshido]] but raised by the royal family of [[AlwaysNight Nohr]]. The two kingdoms are at war, and shortly into the game the protagonist has to choose a side to support. Which side they choose affects the story so drastically it branches into ''[[OneGameForThePriceOfTwo two separate games!]]'' And there's a downloadable third route where they [[TakeAThirdOption side with neither]], which branches into a ''third'' storyline. Each has a completely different set of chapters and recruitable characters.
68	** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'' early on has the protagonist choose which of the Three Houses of the Officer's Academy will under their guidance, with each House consisting of students from a specific nation. While the mission and battles are the same for all Houses during the first StoryArc, it diverges after the five-year TimeSkip when the continent is engulfed in war, and the protagonist sides with the nation whose students they taught ([[spoiler:with the possible exception of the Black Eagles]][[note]]the default option is to side with the Church of Seiros; you'll need to view an extra scene and have a C+ Support with Edelgard in order to support her and the Empire instead[[/note]]).
69	* ''VideoGame/FrontMission3'' has quite possibly the most extreme example in all of gaming: an innocuous choice at the beginning (whether or not you want to accompany your friend on his delivery job) determines your ''entire path'' through the game. There are two complete storylines with wildly different results throughout, all hinging on that little choice.
70	** If you choose not to go with your friend, you have time to read your email and learn that your sister is working at a military base in town. Later, when an explosion occurs while you are at the base, you try to find your sister.
71	** But if you do go with your friend, you don't check your email before going to the base, so you leave after the explosion and don't learn until later that your sister was there, causing you to try to sneak in to find her. In both stories you get help from opposing factions which leads to the very different plots, and characters who are allies in one route are enemies or throwaway [=NPCs=] in the other one. It's very nearly two games in one.
72	* ''VideoGame/TacticsOgre'' features a major divergence at the end of its first chapter, placing the player on one of two mutually exclusive paths (until the PSP UpdatedRerelease and its NewGamePlus). There is a secondary split in one of the paths, and all three routes eventually converge, but the characters and resources available will be vastly different by the end.
73	* ''VideoGame/TacticsOgreTheKnightOfLodis'' is nasty about this one. Not only does the big choice determine Alphonse's loyalties and the path the story takes, but it looks ''completely innocuous''. It's about the third choice you make (with the previous two being yes or no to recruiting a character), it's simply whether Alphonse quietly accepts Cybil's plan or voices his opinion, while ostensibly going along either way. Unless you play the game again or look at a guide, you could reasonably have no idea the decision did anything at all.
74	[[/folder]]
75
76	[[folder:SimulationGame]]
77	* ''VideoGame/IWasATeenageExocolonist'': The player is faced with one after unlocking the possibility to recalibrate the ''Stratospheric'''s shields at the beginning of the playthrough. To have the option at all, specific choices must be made for two out of the four sources of starting stats, forcing to choose Reasoning and Engineering over alternatives. There are also three different shield settings to choose from: one leaves things as they are, one prevents the famine in the fifth year and one [[spoiler:sacrifices the ''Stratospheric'' to end the time loop via destroying the wormhole, which leads to a glimpse of what would have happened if Sol had been born on Earth]].
78	* In ''VideoGame/NoUmbrellasAllowed'', what you do with the blue-haired girl's moonrock on Day 1 will ultimately establish your true identity later on, as shown through your weekly nightmares starting at the end of the first week.
79	** If you keep the rock for her and return it to her later, she'll take a liking to your kindness because [[spoiler:it reminds her of her OldFriend Jisu Cha]].
80	** If you sell the rock to Darcy instead, the girl won't show up at all, and instead, Dr. Gonam Choi will visit you and task you with returning two important artifacts to AVAC [[spoiler:so he can prove to them that you're his loyal apprentice, Bok Bae]].
81	** If you don't sell the rock to Darcy but hide it from the girl when she comes back, she'll criticize you for it and leave. Then, you can sell it for a high price of 400+ [[FictionalCurrency Vana]], and people will start commenting on how focused you are in running your shop because [[spoiler:you're actually Sangsu Ahn, a greedy businessman]].
82	* The very first thing the player must do in ''VideoGame/{{Spore}}'' is decide whether his character should be a herbivore or carnivore. It is possible to reverse this choice during the cell stage by swapping mouths, but once the cell stage is over you're stuck with it. The choice of herbivore, carnivore, or omnivore determines which mouths you can use in creature stage.
83	** The gameplay in the creature and village phases is also affected, since carnivores need to constantly enter fights (where even a weaker creature might outnumber them) just to keep themselves from starving to death, while even the weakest herbivores can just walk/crawl up to the nearest plant.
84	[[/folder]]
85
86	[[folder:StealthBasedGame]]
87	* The very first action in ''VideoGame/Dishonored2'' is to choose who you will play as, and thus the set of powers that will be available to you.
88	* In ''VideoGame/TheNamelessMod'', after leaving the starting area, the player has the option to join either PDX or World Corp. It affects the entire plot of the game, most of the missions, and even which locations you encounter.
89	[[/folder]]
90
91	[[folder:SurvivalHorror]]
92	* In the first chapter of ''VideoGame/EternalDarkness'', you have to pick up one of three artifacts. Which one you take determines which of the three Ancients will be the BigBad of your playthrough, which also affects which of three attributes (Health, Magick, and Sanity) the protagonists are particularly strong/weak in and by extension, the special properties of {{Elite Mook}}s in that playthrough. Going through all three Ancients' campaigns via NewGamePlus is the way to unlock the secret GoldenEnding [[spoiler: where it's revealed that Mantorok split the timeline in three to kill off all three Ancients in separate timelines before combining them to create a new timeline where all of them are dead.]]
93	* A decision made early in ''VideoGame/SawIIFleshAndBlood'' determines who survives at the end of the game. [[spoiler:If [[DecoyProtagonist Campbell]] makes it into the elevator, then Michael ''can't'' get into it - because he's in there - and plummets to his death; Campbell is then brought to meet Jigsaw and learns the truth about his son. If Campbell falls to his death, then Michael ''can'' get into the elevator, and is taken to another area, where Jigsaw offers him a choice...]]
94	* Before beginning the ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil'' remake you're asked what your opinion of video games are, with your answers being "hiking" or "mountain climbing". It's actually a disguised choice in difficulty[[note]]hiking being easy with fewer enemies, stronger vitality/defense against damage, more ammo, more health items and less damage to kill an enemy, and mountain climbing being normal difficulty[[/note]], and is the game's first of many methods of making you feel unsettled because you don't entirely know what to expect based on what you pick or what the consequences could be. Once you've finished the game, rather than this question you get a standard Easy, Normal, and Hard selection.
95	* ''VideoGame/WorldOfHorror'' has you choose which Old God is awakening, which influences which Old God-related events you get, and a gameplay mechanic.
96	[[/folder]]
97
98	[[folder:VisualNovels]]
99	* ''VisualNovel/{{Aquarium}}'': The first choice in the game asks Theo if he wants to push on with his joke advances on Marine even if they both will get kicked out. The game asks three times if you want to "set sail" with Marine before [[spoiler:an [[RelaxOVision implied offscreen sex]] later the game sets onto a comedic Marine route. With the route being rather short and generally nonsensical, it's a clear NonStandardGameOver]].
100	* Around a few seconds into ''VisualNovel/BoyfriendToDeath'' you get a choice of which bar to go to for a night out. [[MortonsFork There's no way to avoid getting screwed over]] - it only determines just who screws you over.
101	* In ''VisualNovel/DaughterForDessert'', the protagonist has the choice to date Heidi or Veronica.
102	* Subverted in ''VisualNovel/DoubleHomework''. The protagonist seemingly has the choice to either go to summer school or go on disability payments when Dr. Mosely visits him at home, but he decides not to apply for the payments anyway if the player chooses this option.
103	* In ''VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}}'', a few less than obvious choices during the first two days of the story determine which one of five branches it will follow for the rest of it. It doesn't help that some options and branches only become available after you clear other endings.
104	* In ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'', you are given a few choices regarding how you follow your day as an OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent... and the answers you give determine which route you follow for the rest of the game. However, like the aforementioned ''Tsukihime,'' the key choice for the 2nd and 3rd routes don't appear until you've already cleared the previous one, forcing you to play through the game (for the first time at least) in the order 'Fate', 'Unlimited Blade Works' and 'Heaven's Feel'.
105	* In ''VisualNovel/ReflectionsOnTheRiver'', the first choice players make is whether to abduct Prince Shun or Princess Yanyu. This sets the game down completely different paths. (However, the result of the choice itself is flipped by the non-chosen character saying TakeMeInstead, so you end up going down the path of whichever you didn't select).
106	* In ''VisualNovel/MysticMessenger'', your very first choice of the game is whether to play Casual Story or Deep Story mode (although the latter becomes available only after you unlock it with 80 hourglasses). The modes diverge greatly after the first day with different love interests accessible on each one (Zen, Yoosung, and Jaehee in Casual Story; Jumin and 707 in Deep Story).
107	* Before a new game of ''VisualNovel/MonsterProm'', the player or players will be asked a series of personality questions which will determine their starting stats. All perfectly normal and not this trope. They will then be asked a final question which will determine whose route they start on - this decides which events they will get from the beginning, and while it's possible to get another character's ending after this, it's definitely harder, and it'll be almost impossible to get a secret ending. In ''Second Term'', there are two questions that determine which pair of characters each player first meets, giving a little more leeway to which route they start on.
108	* The first two choices you get in H-game ''Kyonyuu Fantasy'' don't really affect much. The third choice, however, is telling the king what job you want. This is the choice that determines which girl's routes are available to you for the next two-thirds of the game. Amusingly, one of these options leads to an ending not even five minutes later (although, technically, you were on that girl's route from the ''start'' of the game).
109	* ''VisualNovel/LongLiveTheQueen'': If neither Julianna nor Selene are taken on as a Lumen mentor within the first few weeks of the game, the player is giving up on being able to learn magic at all for the rest of the run and locking themself out of any skill checks that require any kind of magic ability. Some of said skill checks have an entire ''story path'' hiding behind them. Meanwhile, a player keeping the option to learn magic open will still have to take the time to learn it, which means giving up on another skillset and the choices allowed by having it.
110	* ''VisualNovel/GalaxyAngel'': The first sequel, Moonlit Lovers, starts out with Tact recounting the events of the original game, and the player has to choose which of the Angels he chose to go to the Fargo dance and ended up with (except on [[SixthRanger Chitose's]] route). Same applies for Eternal Lovers, where during the interlude Tact is on vacation with the Angels and once more the player has to choose who is his love interest. The events of both games will center around the chosen Angel and will vary accordingly.
111	** The sequel trilogy, ''VideoGame/GalaxyAngelII'', has it similar on the second and third installments, Mugen Kairou no Kagi and Eigou Kaiki no Toki, with both games starting out with the player choosing which of the Rune Angels is Kazuya's love interest. To a lesser extent, the player also picks out early on which of the original Moon Angels is married to Tact, albeit this one doesn't affect much the story events save for a few instances.
112	[[/folder]]
113
114	[[folder:WesternRPG]]
115	* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' has its eponymous Origin stories: class/race-specific pseudo-tutorial missions, the consequences of which come up again and again throughout the rest of the story.
116	* In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', your choice of class (mage or non-mage) determines who of the younger Hawke twins dies in the prologue, [[WeHardlyKnewYe before their character arc can even begin to unfold]]. The death of their sibling haunts Hawke for the rest of the game.
117	* In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'', pretty much the first major plot choice is whether to approach the mages or the Templars for help with closing the Breach. Doing so effectively allies the Inquisition with the respective faction in their on-going war, causing their enemies to turn to the Elder One instead and be transformed into his brainwashed and disposable mooks for the rest of the game.
118	* ''VideoGame/QuestForGlory'': The choice of [[FighterMageThief class]] for the Hero has a major impact on which side quests, characters, and locations will be accessible to him in the current game and, if you [[OldSaveBonus keep importing your saves]], in every subsequent installment. For example, in ''VideoGame/QuestForGloryIV'', non-wizards never meet Tatiana the Faery Queen, non-thieves cannot enter the local ThievesGuild and help the Chief Thief undo his ForcedTransformation, while non-paladins[[note]]with ThePaladin class only available in this game via OldSaveBonus[[/note]] never meet the ghost of Paladin Piotyr and cannot help the Rusalka of the Lake.
119	* In ''VideoGame/SidMeiersPirates'', your choice of nationality and era determines your starting ship, crew, and home port. The era chosen also determines the balance of power among the four nations on the game map. You are also given a choice of one of four different skills, each of which make a different aspect of the game easier to manage.
120	* In ''VideoGame/AlterAILA'', the choice at the end of the prologue determines which faction you (and by extension Green) will side with for the first chapter, and determines who your allies will be. [[spoiler: However, the three routes merge in the GoldenEnding route.]]
121	* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'' gives you the option of nuking the town of Megaton fairly early on. If you go through with it, you kill off many characters and lock yourself out of any quests there that you haven't completed yet, which can be quite extensive. If you refuse, you miss out on a free penthouse apartment, which is snazzy-looking but not particularly gameplay-relevant (especially since you can get a functionally equivalent pad in Megaton instead).
122	* ''VideoGame/MassEffect'': The first thing that happens in the game is choosing Shepard's service record and personal history. The personal history choice determines which of three side quests you'll get on the Citadel, while the service record chooses which of three [=NPCs=] in different side missions Shepard has a personal history with.
123	* The first thing you do in ''VideoGame/{{Nox}}'' is pick your CharacterClass, which also decides which one of three largely different storylines the game will follow.
124	* Early in ''VideoGame/{{Wasteland 2}}'', you receive simultaneous distress calls from Highpool and the Ag Center and can only answer one in time to save the respective settlement. The other will be destroyed, and you ''will'' be reminded of your choice at every opportunity throughout the rest of the game.
125	* ''VideoGame/TheWitcher2'' presents the option to ally with the army or the elves, which results in a major divergence of the storyline. There are a few other big choices along the way, as well. The achievement granted for finishing your first playthrough of the game? [[LampshadeHanging "Once Ain't Enough"]]
126	[[/folder]]
127
128	[[folder:WideOpenSandbox]]
129	* Spoofed in ''VideoGame/SaintsRowIV'', where immediately after the tutorial you're thrust into the role of President. During your walk to a press conference, your Veep gives you the option between pushing a bill for curing cancer or one for ending world hunger, a confrontation with a cranky Congressman lets you choose whether to [[TalkToTheFist "punch a dick in the head"]] or [[GroinAttack "punch a dickhead,"]] and finally an annoying actor asks if you want to hang out and watch ''[[ShowWithinAShow Nyteblade]]'' later. Absolutely none of this matters because in the very next cutscene, aliens attack Earth and abduct you, putting you into the [[LotusEaterMachine computer simulation]] you'll spend the rest of the game trying to escape from.
130	[[/folder]]
131
132
133	[[folder:Non-Video Game Examples]]
134	* The ''Literature/GiveYourselfGoosebumps'' book ''Literature/TheCurseOfTheCaveCreatures'' have you being hunted by a powerful Cave Spirit, and being given the choice of assuming the role of a hunter, or spellcaster. The story then branches off after you've decided which role to take.
135	* In the WebSerialNovel ''Literature/DreamHighSchool'' readers get to make some big decisions off the bat, but one of the first ones that has evident repercussions throughout the rest of the story is joking to somebody who hardly knows you that your name is Grok, Destroyer of Worlds. They believe you, and it becomes your [[EmbarrassingNickname well-known nickname]].
136	* In ''The TabletopGame/GameOfLife'' you can either go to college or enter the workforce straight out. This affects two things right away (how much money you start with and which career paths you can accept) and will impact your overall earning potential for the remainder of the game (which ultimately influences your retirement options).
137	* An early choice in Creator/KimNewman's adult {{Gamebook\|s}} novel ''Literature/LifesLottery'' is whether your favourite character in ''Series/TheManFromUNCLE'' is Napoleon Solo or Ilya Kuryakin. The answer decides whether you end up joining the social in-crowd at your primary school or becoming a misfit, which branches the novel into two completely different decision trees.
138	* Happens in a couple of ''Literature/FightingFantasy'' gamebooks.
139	** In ''Literature/ScorpionSwamp'' you have to make an early choice about who hires you - working for a good, neutral, or evil character. This affects what your goal is within the swamp and what spell gems (one-off spells) you can take into the swamp
140	** In ''Literature/AppointmentWithFEAR'' you have to choose what powers your superhero character has before you start the book. This affects the options you have throughout the book.
141	** In the ''Literature/{{Sorcery}}'' series, you have to choose whether you are a warrior or a wizard before you start play. This affects your stats and your options (wizards are weaker, but frequently have extra options in the form of casting spells).
142	* The basement of ''Film/CabinInTheWoods'' is set up in this fashion. Which of the cursed artifacts the teenagers choose to play with determines which horrific monster will come forth to slaughter them. Notably, this is the only choice that the watchers don't interfere with, saying that "they have to make the choice of their own free will. Otherwise, the system doesn't work."
143	* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', the ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue'' parody storyline [[https://www.egscomics.com/egsnp/gam-03 includes]] the choice of starter {{Mon}} and true to the game [[https://www.egscomics.com/egsnp/gam-04 the rival picks the one with a type advantage]].
144	[[/folder]]

Context Main / BigFirstChoice