When is comes to design decisions, you are the expert, make the best choice for your game.  Too often, games leave in too many options for the user to sort through and decide.  There should be plenty of INTERESTING decisions in a game, crisis points that drive the action and narrative.  BUT, why bog down the user with tedious choices that you the game creator did not care to refine for them?  Further, why present them with loads of exotic and unfamiliar choices, when most people will only be interested in a few options?

I like finding off-line examples for game design scenarios.  Here is one from the world of ice cream.

THE 5 MOST POPULAR ICE CREAM FLAVORS  (Flavor, percent preferring. Source: International Ice Cream Association)

1. Vanilla, 29%
2. Chocolate, 8.9%
3. Butter pecan, 5.3%
4. Strawberry, 5.3%
5. Neapolitan, 4.2%

When it comes to ice cream, the vast majority of people prefer plain old vanilla.  More people prefer vanilla or chocolate or strawberry than prefer to have them packaged together for them in Neopolitan.  Even common flavors like mint chip and rocky road do not compare to the basics in preferrence.  So when offering a choice to players, use your expert judgement to narrow the choice to appealing and interesting ones.

Let’s think about vanilla for a moment.  Default, white, plain vanilla.  Vanilla is a rare and expensive tropical spice.  It is difficult to grow, pollenate, harvest and ferment.  It is rich and complex in its aroma and flavor.  The thing about vanilla is how you use it.  Use it well, and it is the best selling flavor.  Make a “vanilla” game, but make it with skill and care, and you can have a mass market hit. 

In ice cream, and in life, more people prefer vanilla to the alternatives.  Vanilla is mass-market! That said, people prefer rich, quality Haagen-Dazs vanilla ice cream to artificial vanillin frozen dairy product.