A brief digression on story hooks.
There’s this thing Fallout does–all four RPGs, I mean. I can’t speak to Tactics. You start out with an important goal, and once you’ve done it, the elements of the world you were travelling through coalesce and you have the second bigger goal. (You find the water chip, but the important thing is now to deal with the Master. You find get the GECK for your village, but the important thing is now to deal with the Enclave. You find out who shot you and why, but the important thing is now the second Battle of Hoover Dam and the ultimate fate of New Vegas.)
What’s important, I think, is that the first goal is not irrelevant; you do not fail at it, you never discover it didn’t matter. But the process of achieving it results in you learning about the world, and gives you a chance to care about the second goal. It’s interesting; and as far as I can tell, it’s fairly unique in video games. I mean, I need to play more of them, but…
I’m not sure the technique would work as well in written stories or movies; the involvement is a bit more distant. Still, possibly bits of it are adaptable. Will keep an eye out for examples.