As famous game designer Sid Meier said, a game is a series of interesting choices (Rollings & Morris 2000, p. 38). Understanding the role and effect of choices, is critical to effective game design and, quite likely, to learning. With this in mind, the overarching question asked was: Do the effects of customization, defined as a series of choices, change players’ experiences over time? A mixed method study was designed with two conditions: customization (n=33) and no customization (n=33). Adult participants played Lord of the Rings Online (Lotro), a Massively Multiplayer Online game (MMO), for about ten hours over four sessions. Data was collected through surveys, interviews and observations. Results showed that participants’ perceived choice changed over time and customization had a small effect on players’ perceived choice.
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