I am writing a game book where the story's plot is about an antagonist who keeps people hostage and, based on the reader's choices, they can survive or not. Now I am at a point where I am deciding between two different ways how to tell the story:
The reader is communicating with the antagonist (kidnapper) and tries to save lives of his family members or friends. In this scenario, I see the problem in the fact that there is a conflict between the reality and the characters I am presenting to the reader. For example, he might see that his mother would never behave like that, and it would ruin his immersion to the story.
The reader is interacting with the protagonist (kidnapped person) and makes decisions for that person so that he/she escapes. This kidnapped person is a character he has never met, and they can create a connection through storytelling.
What do you think that will have a bigger impact on the reader's mind and in which case he will care more about saving the people lives?