The downside of this process is that it is difficult to predict and often costly. It does, however, lead ultimately to creating a fun game. Presenting the player with interesting and well-paced decisions is the rocket science of game design. Players have fun when they are interested in the decisions they are making, when they are kept absorbed by the pacing of the required decisions, and when they feel a sense of reward and accomplishment as good decisions are made. When the required decisions are too often trivial or random, fun sags.
Good pacing can heighten interest in decision-making.
Real time games have an inherent advantage versus turn-based games because the continual ticking of the game clock adds a sense of desperation. If the player has many reasonable decisions to deal with but time to make only a few, everything being considered becomes much more interesting. When considering a new feature for a game, apply the interesting decisions test. A player must be actively engaged by a new game within 15 minutes of starting play or we risk losing that player forever. Get the player into the game quickly and easily so that he or she is absorbed and having fun without frustration.