--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Most games follow a real railroad plot…" description: "\"Most games follow a real railroad plot, no matter what you want, you're following their storyline to its unavoidable conclusion. I'd like to write a ga..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90d/patrick-rothfuss-145_arcs_most-games-follow-a-real-railroad-plot-n_173520.jpg" --- # Most games follow a real railroad plot, no matter what you… ![“Most games follow a real railroad plot, no matter what you want, you're following their storyline to its unavoidable conclusion. I'd like to write a game where your character can follow any number of possible story arcs and sub-plots.” quote by Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90d/patrick-rothfuss-145_arcs_most-games-follow-a-real-railroad-plot-n_173520.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90d/patrick-rothfuss-145_arcs_most-games-follow-a-real-railroad-plot-n_173520.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90d/patrick-rothfuss-145_arcs_most-games-follow-a-real-railroad-plot-n_173520.jpg) > “Most games follow a real railroad plot, no matter what you want, you're following their storyline to its unavoidable conclusion. I'd like to write a game where your character can follow any number of possible story arcs and sub-plots.” [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Games often force players into predetermined narratives, limiting freedom; the desire is for branching, player‑driven storylines. **In simple terms:** Games restrict story paths; want more freedom. Key Takeaway Design games with multiple, player‑shaped arcs. Themes gaming storytelling agency Mood creative critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - role‑playing - interactive fiction - sandbox games - educational simulations Key Concepts branching narrative player choice design theory Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance narrative depth with feasibility? - What tools support dynamic story creation? A Different Perspective Complex branching can overwhelm development resources. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Conclusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conclusion/) [Games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/games/) [Railroads](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/railroads/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Video](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/video/) [What you want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/what-you-want/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I suffer during games. We follow the action, kicking every ball, wondering if our centre-backs can stop the cross... In some ways, you enjoy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-hodgson/i-suffer-during-games-we-follow-the-action-kicking-every-ball/) [Roy Hodgson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-hodgson/) > [People will follow you when you build the character to follow through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orrin-woodward/people-will-follow-you-when-you-build-the-character-to-follow-through/) [Orrin Woodward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orrin-woodward/) > [Take care of your kid's character, and everything will follow after that. Character is everything](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-prager/take-care-of-your-kid-s-character-and-everything-will-follow-after/) [Dennis Prager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-prager/) > [All storytelling is kind of that - there's a bit of text that you put pressure on that spits out some desire that a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/all-storytelling-is-kind-of-that-there-s-a-bit-of-text-that-you-put/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [It's the reason I love doing TV - revisiting stories and characters and the length of the story arcs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-rundle/it-s-the-reason-i-love-doing-tv-revisiting-stories-and-characters-and/) [Sophie Rundle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-rundle/) > [Being in the industry, I've seen many situations where someone will get the call from the network where they say 'You guys have 5…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-fillion/being-in-the-industry-i-ve-seen-many-situations-where-someone-will/) [Nathan Fillion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-fillion/) > [I'm such a dork, but I really think there are derivatives to be found between story arcs and character motivations. And the way you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-saylor/i-m-such-a-dork-but-i-really-think-there-are-derivatives-to-be-found/) [Morgan Saylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morgan-saylor/) > [Filming 'The Drew,' thinking a lot about story arcs and all that stuff, I thought about how my career ended. I decided I wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-davis/filming-the-drew-thinking-a-lot-about-story-arcs-and-all-that-stuff-i/) [Baron Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-davis/) > [When I first starting conceiving series like 'Courtney,' 'Polly,' 'How Loathsome,' etc., I was shooting for closed story-arcs but open-ended concepts. Then I started…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-naifeh/when-i-first-starting-conceiving-series-like-courtney-polly-how/) [Ted Naifeh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-naifeh/) > [If a movie makes it really big, they do the obvious thing, right? They make an amusement park ride out of it. ... The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-regan/if-a-movie-makes-it-really-big-they-do-the-obvious-thing-right-they/) [Brian Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-regan/) > [Textbooks pretty much have no real drama. They have no real storyline. To the extent they have a storyline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-w-loewen/textbooks-pretty-much-have-no-real-drama-they-have-no-real-storyline/) [James W. Loewen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-w-loewen/) > [I want to do character driven epic storylines with Throne of Atlantis kicking off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-johns/i-want-to-do-character-driven-epic-storylines-with-throne-of-atlantis/) [Geoff Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-johns/) > [I don't generate a storyline and then fill it out in the course of writing. The story actually generates in the course of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/i-don-t-generate-a-storyline-and-then-fill-it-out-in-the-course-of/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [If a book has a predictable storyline or familiar situations, there's little satisfaction for me in writing it. A woman deciding which man she'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jillian-medoff/if-a-book-has-a-predictable-storyline-or-familiar-situations-there-s/) [Jillian Medoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jillian-medoff/) > [What Cable is up to is not something that can be done quietly. It will raise the interest of some pretty important people and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeph-loeb/what-cable-is-up-to-is-not-something-that-can-be-done-quietly-it-will/) [Jeph Loeb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeph-loeb/) ## More by Patrick Rothfuss > [Each woman is like an instrument, waiting to be learned, loved, and finely played, to have at last her own true music made.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/each-woman-is-like-an-instrument-waiting-to-be-learned-loved-and/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Prefiero tocar canciones que divierten a mis amigos que complacer a quienes me juzgan basándose solo en habladurías" - Kvothe”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/prefiero-tocar-canciones-que-divierten-a-mis-amigos-que-complacer-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Wilem snorted."That doesn't sound suspicious at all," he said. "And you wonder why people talk about you." "I don't wonder why they talk," I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/wilem-snorted-that-doesn-t-sound-suspicious-at-all-he-said-and-you/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“The point isn't to win the game. The point is to play a beautiful game. (paraphrased)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/the-point-isn-t-to-win-the-game-the-point-is-to-play-a-beautiful-game/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I was nervous about writing Slow Regard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/i-was-nervous-about-writing-slow-regard/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I am no poet. I do not love words for the sake of words. I love words for what they can accomplish. Similarly, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/i-am-no-poet-i-do-not-love-words-for-the-sake-of-words-i-love-words/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“There is something deeply satisfying in shaping something with your hands. Proper artificing is like a song made solid. It is an act of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/there-is-something-deeply-satisfying-in-shaping-something-with-your/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [He had a bright, reckless tenor that was always wandering off, looking for notes in the wrong places.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/he-had-a-bright-reckless-tenor-that-was-always-wandering-off-looking/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I smiled,"Deoch, my heart is made of stronger stuff than glass. When she strikes she'll find it strong as iron-bound brass, or gold and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/i-smiled-deoch-my-heart-is-made-of-stronger-stuff-than-glass-when-she/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I have a blog where I keep in touch with my fans. I write about things that are important to me. Sometimes on there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/i-have-a-blog-where-i-keep-in-touch-with-my-fans-i-write-about-things/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [Soft fantasy worlds have a much looser cause-and-effect relationship. Alchemists can turn lead into gold and nobody wonders about how it will impact the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/soft-fantasy-worlds-have-a-much-looser-cause-and-effect-relationship/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [But how awful would that be? How terrible to live surrounded by the stark, sharp, hollowness of things that simply were enough?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/but-how-awful-would-that-be-how-terrible-to-live-surrounded-by-the/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [ Here's the thing: Authors live or die by recommendations. \[That's one of the reason I review so many books on Goodreads.\] Giving books you… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/here-s-the-thing-authors-live-or-die-by-recommendations-that-s-one-of/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I was pretty poor for a long time. Not \*poor\* poor. But college student poor. I lived for most of my adult life living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/i-was-pretty-poor-for-a-long-time-not-poor-poor-but-college-student/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) [Explore all 895 Patrick Rothfuss quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) ## More Arcs quotes > [It's a challenge to work a character's arc into a format in which you only have a very limited amount of time to grow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ginnifer-goodwin/it-s-a-challenge-to-work-a-character-s-arc-into-a-format-in-which-you/) [Ginnifer Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ginnifer-goodwin/) > [Through the music I hope to give it an arc that gives it a greater sense of a journey through the set rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gotye/through-the-music-i-hope-to-give-it-an-arc-that-gives-it-a-greater/) [Gotye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gotye/) > [Because we grew up surrounded by big dramatic story arcs in books and movies, we think our lives are supposed to be filled with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/because-we-grew-up-surrounded-by-big-dramatic-story-arcs-in-books-and/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Joan of Arc should be played as a "pain in the ass" and how do I know she was a "pain in the ass"?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-clurman/joan-of-arc-should-be-played-as-a-pain-in-the-ass-and-how-do-i-know/) [Harold Clurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-clurman/) > [When in doubt, the rule of threes is a rule that plays well with all of storytelling. When describing a thing? No more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-wendig/when-in-doubt-the-rule-of-threes-is-a-rule-that-plays-well-with-all/) [Chuck Wendig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-wendig/) > [Sanchez looked at me and we locked eyes a second too long. There was nothing I could do about it. The signal went out.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/sanchez-looked-at-me-and-we-locked-eyes-a-second-too-long-there-was/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [When we are young, we spend much time and pains in filling our note-books with all definitions of Religion, Love, Poetry, Politics, Art, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/when-we-are-young-we-spend-much-time-and-pains-in-filling-our-note/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I suppose that, for me at least, the biggest difference betweenThe Gunslinger Born and the next two story arcs (The Long Road Home and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-furth/i-suppose-that-for-me-at-least-the-biggest-difference-betweenthe/) [Robin Furth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-furth/) > [We've got this arc of instability from North Africa to South Asia, and we have to pay close attention to it. And we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/we-ve-got-this-arc-of-instability-from-north-africa-to-south-asia-and/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [I do not pretend to understand the moral universe; the arc is a long one. . . . But from what I see I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/i-do-not-pretend-to-understand-the-moral-universe-the-arc-is-a-long/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > [I think every woman character, every female character, has her own arc.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katheryn-winnick/i-think-every-woman-character-every-female-character-has-her-own-arc/) [Katheryn Winnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katheryn-winnick/) > [I am committed now to one thing: lyric sequences. I want the intensity of lyric, but the scope and arc of narrative. so, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-orr/i-am-committed-now-to-one-thing-lyric-sequences-i-want-the-intensity/) [Gregory Orr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-orr/) > [We must move forward in the days ahead with audacious faith. The moral arc of the universe is long but it bends toward justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/we-must-move-forward-in-the-days-ahead-with-audacious-faith-the-moral/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Arc, amplitude, and curvature sustain a similar relation to each other as time, motion, and velocity, or as volume, mass, and density.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-friedrich-gauss/arc-amplitude-and-curvature-sustain-a-similar-relation-to-each-other/) [Carl Friedrich Gauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-friedrich-gauss/) > [It seemed to take Sirius an age to fall: his body curved in a graceful arc as he sank backwards through the ragged veil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling-2/it-seemed-to-take-sirius-an-age-to-fall-his-body-curved-in-a-graceful/) [J. K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling-2/) Browse all 250 Arcs quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Most games follow a real railroad plot, no matter what you want, you're following their storyline to its unavoidable conclusion. 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