Originally Posted by azraelck
Makes for a far more interesting and varied game. You usually (or should) know you do have a choice in these matters. It's the end conclusion that isn't obvious.

That's what I meant (and Thrasher too, from what I can tell). I need to know when I'm making a choice. This is also possible with time based events (see my example above) and the choice should IMHO always be made clear, and preferably be exclusive.

Another example (sort of) from Chrono Cross: "Hey, we need to catch the bad guys, but one of your friends needs help. Do you want to get the medicine, which could mean the bad guys have time to escape, or do you let others try to help your friend and go after your enemies immediately?"

What can be a little uncool, at least from a completist's perspective, is when you go about your business and suddenly at some point in time a quest line becomes unavailable, because, well, time passed. That's not making a choice, that's … I don't know what it is. Life?