Fated to Choose

The concepts of Fate and Destiny have been carved into our culture for as long as humans have been living on earth. Fate, specifically, can be traced back to Ancient Greek mythology through the Moirai, three goddesses who determined the course of every human’s life. However, these three goddesses were not tied to just one mythology as they were also seen in Roman myth as the Parcae and Norse myth as the Norns (“Fate.” Encyclopædia).

Caduceus, aka Hermes' Staff

Mythology is still strongly tied to our society today as seen in our frequent use of The Hero’s Journey for storytelling and in our symbology like Caduceus, Hermes’ staff, being used as the symbol for medicine. Heck, even as I studied English in college, we were required to take a Classical Mythology class.

“Why exactly we do have this class as a requirement?” my professor asked us on the last day of instruction, “What is it that we want you to walk away with?” While my peers and I theorized many different reasons, there was no one answer that we could posit as to the true intent of having Classical Mythology be a requirement for all English majors. However, I believed that one idea brought up during that last class was a response that held a lot of weight: many stories today can be connected, can reference, can allude to, or can be tied to these mythologic tales in one way or another.

Now, this could dive into a whole other discussion about whether or not completely original ideas are even possible with the amount of time we have been telling stories to each other and what has been left out of the canon over time. While our textbooks say that Fate’s origin lies in Ancient Greek’s myths, it is possible that the Greeks learned of Fate from somewhere or someone else. Regardless, Fate and Destiny have continued to be used as vehicles for storytelling like in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, both of which have sustained their popularity today despite their initial releases being many years, or even hundreds of years, ago. There is no denying that Fate and Destiny have enticed readers, listeners, and audience members for centuries and that has not stopped in our modern age. Take Choose Your Own Adventure (CYOA) video games as an, completely random, example.

CYOA Lore

A personal favorite genre of mine, CYOA “began” with the CYOA “gamebooks” back in 1979 (but as mentioned before, it is likely this idea was floating around before this time, possibly in another form). Popularized after an employee suggested “seeding” 100,000 of the books in random libraries across the country, they sold over 250 million copies between 1979-1999 alone and the series was later translated into 38 languages (“History”). I vividly remember excitedly buying these books as a child and taking the time to read the book over and over again to see how each route played out. Even today, I have found some novels aimed at an older audience in the CYOA style and had a blast reading them.

Over time, as many things do, CYOA evolved. The Choose Your Own Adventure official website attributes the rise of CYOA in video games to Japanese Bishoujo video games in the 1980s (“History”). The barebones of a CYOA video game is that it gives the player opportunities to make choices that impact the story, leading to a different outcome depending on which choices the player makes. This results in many routes and endings, encouraging replayability as players try to find endings that they enjoy or even the elusive “true” ending.

Visual novels and dating sims are two kinds of CYOA games that use the barebone formula and consist of purely reading and choice; to put it simply, with these games, you will be pressing a button at a leisurely pace most, if not all, of the time. However, CYOA video games can be enhanced when they are combined with another genre to deepen a player’s immersion. This means that making important choices will be a part of the game along with other mechanics. Two examples of this concept, and two of my favorite video games franchises, are The Walking Dead series and Detroit: Become Human. The Walking Dead video game series can be described as an episodic horror adventure while Detroit: Become Human can be classified as a sci-fi adventure game but both are CYOA video games. Unlike visual novels and dating sims, these two games will give you a character to control and move around the world with the choices being made through mostly dialogue options. While other games may allow you to make choices, if the choices do not change the story in some way and there are not multiple endings programmed into the game, then it cannot be considered a CYOA video game.

No matter the CYOA video game, the relationships between the player character and the other characters in the story are key and will likely factor into which ending the player will receive. It is the weight of these choices that affects the bonds between characters which add to the immersion of the game, an aspect of the CYOA genre that I enjoy. (Spoilers in this next sentence for Detroit: Become Human) For example, in Detroit: Become Human, the choices you make as Markus, one of the three main characters you play as through the game, will change how those in the rebellion will view him as a leader and will decide whether or not they can have a successful uprising.

With no end to what genre CYOA video games can be incorporated in, it is no wonder the “choice” mechanic is becoming more popular and well-known. What new players to the CYOA genre may not know is that unlike the “gamebooks” they originated from, the video games in this genre are sometimes paired with a visual chart called a flowchart. This mechanic shows all the possible routes and endings that a player can achieve. Even if there isn’t a chart available for the player to reference, flowcharts also serve as a visual representation of how CYOA video games function.

Flowchart for Detroit: Become Human's first mission (Credit: Quantic Dream/Sony Interactive Entertainment)

And it was the flowchart that made me wonder about my favorite video game genre and how it correlates to the concepts of fate and destiny.

Fate vs Destiny as Themes in Entertainment

Even though the words “Fate” and “Destiny” can at times be used as synonyms in our day-to-day conversation, there are differences between the two. Fate is the idea that what comes next in our lives has already been predetermined and that there is no changing what has been set for us, while Destiny is the belief that we will be introduced to a “calling” or purpose that we have been set to fulfill. While Fate’s origins have been tied to mythology, Destiny has more religious ties to Providence. Destiny factors in free will as it is viewed more as an opportunity for someone to take or leave. However, the most damning difference between the two is that destiny is seen as something that can be changed, especially if it will lead to a terrible outcome if carried out with its original intention (“Fate.” Fate).

While this is what can be found from a few google searches and some research, viewing the concepts of Fate and Destiny through an entertainment lens changes their meaning. In my opinion, a negative connotation is typically attached to the concept of Fate in entertainment whether it be through dialogue or as an overarching theme. On the other hand, Destiny is frequently used more in an inspirational way, particularly when it is first introduced. Over time, a Destiny can be revealed to have negative circumstances surrounding it that will negatively affect or may even be seen as a sort of “punishment” for the destined character. For instance, read these two lines of dialogue.

“This is my fate.”

“This is my destiny.”

These two sentences are written the same way except for the last word which makes each carry a completely different tone. “This is my fate,” announces that the character saying these words is probably going to suffer or even die from what happens next. They have given up trying to fight back the power against them and are going to let whatever happens, happen. It is usually said near the end of a piece or during the story’s climax. The character may even be a sacrifice for the others to proceed through the story. Their sacrifice may be a necessary loss for the sake of the group, the task, or even the world at large. Likely, the character feels some sort of responsibility to this action, that this is a necessary punishment that they must take on.

On the other hand, “This is my destiny,” can declare many more meanings than Fate can. The spoken character could be saying this near the very beginning of their adventure, choosing to “answer the call” and follow through with the outcome whatever it may be. This outcome could be positive for both the character and others or could be beneficial purely for others while the character themselves have to deal with a heavy burden. However, this could also be said at the same moment as the climax but carry a whole new meaning. While the Fate line is seen as more of one giving up their fight, the Destiny line gives more of a sense that this was where the ending was heading all along, whether the other characters knew this outcome was coming or not. Contrarily, it could also be the moment where a sacrifice must be made and the choice about who or what must be sacrificed is a big one; there could be too many options or too few options but each one carries a host of drawbacks. However, the character who says this line has made the choice: they will relinquish something whether that be their life or something else important to them that will alleviate the situation at hand. They are freeing the other characters of the burden of choice and they are happy to do so. Likely, this answer comes quickly to the character, unlike the fate line which could come with more contemplation. To make a long story short, “this is my fate” will likely be said by a character who is no longer taking action while “this is my destiny” will likely be said by a character taking final action when said at the climax of a story.

However, it is important to keep in mind that these views on Fate and Destiny in entertainment are my opinion. As I’ve learned from my many years studying English, words and pieces of work will always be interpreted by each person differently. This entertainment lens is also being expressed from my own experiences with movies, television, books, video games, and the like. There are also always exceptions to the rule and there are likely many pieces of entertainment that I do not know about or may not remember that take a different approach to these concepts. Basically, my view is limited and everything I have said should be taken with a grain of salt.

How Fate and Destiny are Utilized in CYOA Video Games

With all this in mind, CYOA video games seem to fall into both the categories of Fate and Destiny conceptually. First, let’s view these concepts from the perspective of yourself as the player. Destiny has the aspect of free will that is given to the player with each choice, especially with choices where you can accept or refuse an opportunity given to you. If you don’t like a choice you made, you quit the game and play up until that choice again; you can make sure to save just before making your choice and go back to that decision if you don’t like how things shook out; or when you get to the end of the game, you can start from the beginning again and pick other choices. You can change your Destiny. However, all these timelines have already been written, there are only so many paths you can take, and because of this, Fate can be factored in. As the player, you are fated to choose. You are fated to end up with one of these endings. There are no other options or endings than the ones that the writers have created for you, hence the existence of the flowchart. You cannot fight against the system and create your own ending.

This can also be said of the player character. They are fated to one of these endings without them even knowing it. Even if they were aware of the simulation they are in, they cannot fight against the system and create an ending that isn’t already written out for them. However, there is one key difference that the player character can experience that the player themselves cannot. When the player resets the game from the beginning, the characters typically do not retain the information from the previous playthrough like the player does (I say “typically” as there are some CYOA games that play with this idea and make it a part of their game. One example of this is the underrated video game, Raging Loop.) The player character is kept completely in the dark as to what will happen next and who they may become. In essence, each playthrough shapes them into a completely separate person from who they were at the very start of the game. Are they “destined” to change? Are they “fated” to be different from the start? No, they are experiencing the Many Worlds Interpretation.

Timelines Splitting in Marvel's Loki (Credit: Marvel)

The Many Worlds Interpretation Theory: The True Theme of CYOA Video Games(?)

If you have recently watched the popular Disney+ Marvel show Loki, you have already come across the Many Worlds Interpretation (MWI) without even realizing it. This theory is actually based on quantum mechanics and it “holds that there are many worlds which exist in parallel at the same space and time as our own'' (Vaidman). As someone who does not indulge in quantum mechanics science books in any capacity, the specifics of MWI confuse me. However, I was able to ascertain that MWI is in fact the closest answer to the theme of CYOA video games even if the creators of this genre do not realize it. In basic terms, each time you play a CYOA game, there is a new timeline every time a player makes each choice.

A player character is a different person once you make the very first decision and yet still exists amongst the other versions of that character making different choices, hence, once again, the existence of the flowchart and the player’s ability to access and reference it. Each decision from a CYOA video game would be considered a “quantum experiment” in the MWI terms. A quantum experiment is an instance where something with multiple outcomes occurs. This can take place in somewhere as serious about experimentation as a laboratory to somewhere as simple as your home. If a lightbulb flickers, that is a quantum experiment. Since a video game is its own static virtual space, the only thing within it that can be affected and be considered a “quantum experiment” is the decisions that the player must choose as the main character.

Going back to the MWI’s definition, it is primarily made up of two parts: the “world” and “I.” For this portion of the article, I’m going to pass the mic to Lev Vaidman, the author of the Many Worlds Interpretation Theory article in Stanford’s Encyclopedia of Philosophy, as there is no way I will be able to simplify or summarize this any better than they do:

 What is "a world"? A world is the totality of macroscopic objects: stars, cities, people, grains of sand, etc. in a definite classically described state….

 Who am "I"? "I" am an object, such as the Earth, a cat, etc. "I" is defined at a particular time by a complete (classical) description of the state of my body and of my brain. "I" and "Lev" do not refer to the same things (even though my name is Lev). At the present moment there are many different "Lev"s in different worlds (not more than one in each world), but it is meaningless to say that now there is another "I". I have a particular, well defined past: I correspond to a particular "Lev" in 2012, but not to a particular "Lev" in the future: I correspond to a multitude of "Lev"s in 2022. In the framework of the MWI it is meaningless to ask: Which Lev in 2022 will I be? I will correspond to them all. Every time I perform a quantum experiment (with several possible results) it only seems to me that I obtain a single definite result. Indeed, Lev who obtains this particular result thinks this way. However, this Lev cannot be identified as the only Lev after the experiment. Lev before the experiment corresponds to all "Lev"s obtaining all possible results. (Vaidman)

Did you get all that? Let’s try placing this in the terms of a CYOA video game.

The “world” part of the MWI may seem to be the easier part of the two but ends up being a little more complicated. Most players would see the word “world” in the context of video games and instantly think of the environment or the virtual realm the game is set in, seen in visuals, exploration, and described in the dialogue. However, in this case, the “world” would be each route seen in each flowchart. Once the first choice is made, multiple “worlds'' are created, visualized in the split created on the chart. While the environment has not changed, several worlds have been created with different player characters in each.

This is where the “I” part of the MWI comes in. The “I” in this situation would be the player character. However, they will only become the “I” in the MWI when the first choice is made, when there are “many different [player characters] in different worlds.” Every time the main character makes a choice (a quantum experiment), which the player knows is made up of many different results, it will only be perceived by the main character at that moment as a “single definite result.” The player character’s experiences are different from route to route and even though the player is in control of their actions, their personality, relationships, and sometimes even story can vary widely. Ultimately, while Fate and Destiny can be looked at in the context of the individual player and the player character, the Many Worlds Interpretation can only be examined through the relationship between the player and the player character.

Choose Wisely: Fate, Destiny, or the Many Worlds Interpretation

When I got this idea for my very first blog post, I never could have imagined the deep hole that I would fall down and the bumps, dark crevices, twists, and turns that I would come across. Even now, I feel as if I continue to toil away in that hole, trying to the light at the end of the tunnel where my mind will finally find solace in a definite conclusion. While the Many Worlds Interpretation feels to be the closest answer to CYOA video games’ theme, I do not believe that the concepts of Fate and Destiny do not play a major part in them. It may be the safest conclusion but it is also the one I feel the most comfortable with: CYOA video games deal with the themes of Fate, Destiny, and the Many Worlds Interpretation. These three concepts intermingle in CYOA video games’ themes and their makeup which adds to their appeal. However, I feel as if they each correlate to specific moving parts in these games. The player relies more on the idea of Destiny as they have more freedom in the choice-making while the player character is slated to fall into Fate’s hands as they have very little say in what happens to them. Combining the two is the Many Worlds Interpretation, where the player’s choice makes the player character different in each route, or “world,” they exist in. So essentially, all three are working in tandem to create the CYOA video game genre I know and love.

If this was a decision I had to make in a new CYOA video game, I would choose all three...by saving my game and going through each choice individually to see what comes next.

“Fate.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 1998, www.britannica.com/topic/Fate-Greek-and-Roman-mythology.

“Fate.” Fate - New World Encyclopedia, www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Fate.

“History of CYOA.” Chooseco LLC, www.cyoa.com/pages/history-of-cyoa.

Vaidman, Lev. “Many-Worlds Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Stanford University, 17 Jan. 2014, plato.stanford.edu/entries/qm-manyworlds/.

Thank you to my close friend for giving me edits and feedback for my first ever

blog post. You’re the best!