There is a puzzle-like aspect to encounter-based storyworlds. The player is given a choice between two or three options and must select the best of these. How can the player make a selection? What guides the player?
At one extreme is random guesswork. Yes, there really are designs that require solutions that make no sense whatsoever; the gefilte fish from an old text adventure is a classic example (I believe that you had to put the gefilte fish into a vending machine). This is puzzle-making at its worst.
The ideal puzzle challenges the player’s intuition. That is, a player should be able to determine the solution to the puzzle with an appropriate exercise of intuition. This ideal has not been pursued in game design because games are so utterly physical in context that there’s nothing to exercise intuition over. Intuition is applicable only in extremely complex situations involving human relationships.
Some examples illustrate the matter. Here’s an encounter from Le Morte D’Arthur:
Upon returning, you triumphantly present your catch to Guenevere. It's really not very big; she looks at it and somehow works up an appreciative smile.
"Well, I suppose that it will liven up our soup tonight. Where are the bay leaves?"
"Uh….”
"You forgot to get the bay leaves?”
"I was so excited about the fish that I wanted to hurry home and I... well, I forgot.”
She stares at you for a moment; you know that she is suppressing the urge to say, "You got excited over this little fish????”
The player is given two options:
"I'm sorry."
"I'll send someone to get the dochyell bay leaves tomorrow.”
These two options give the player a clear choice between humility and dominance, allowing them to apply emotional intuition to the situation.
This is the grand opportunity that interactive storytelling confers upon us: shifting the challenge from hand-eye coordination, spatial reasoning, and resource management to the exercise of intuitive social reasoning. This changes everything — but only if you are willing to shift your design efforts to take advantage of this opportunity.