RPG players are conditioned to think they’re ‘built different’, says Josh Sawyer, so some of them hate it when games like Pillars of Eternity tell them they can’t do something
Josh Sawyer, creative director of Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire, has commented on a fundamental tension between player expectations and RPG game design. Sawyer observes that RPG players are psychologically conditioned to believe they are “built different” — expecting exceptional freedom and the ability to overcome any challenge through creativity or persistence. This mindset creates friction when games implement design constraints that tell players “no,” limiting options or preventing certain narrative outcomes.
Sawyer’s remarks center on Deadfire specifically, where a vocal segment of players expressed disappointment with the game’s ending. The narrative involves the reawakening of the god Eothas and the player’s mission to prevent his apocalyptic plans. The disconnect stems from players’ expectations of agency clashing with the game’s designed narrative structure, where not all player choices prevent predetermined story events.
The commentary reflects a broader game design philosophy debate: whether RPGs should provide unlimited player agency and multiple solutions, or whether narrative-driven games can enforce limitations while remaining satisfying. Sawyer’s observation suggests that decades of RPG player conditioning have created expectations that sometimes exceed what individual games are designed to deliver, leading to disappointment when developers enforce narrative boundaries.