For instance, a computationally sophisticated MIT student who is also an expert gamer instanced a particular dramatic moment from the text-based Zork II as among his lifetime favorites: The story involves a dragon that is slow to rouse but always lethal if you persist in fighting him. Elsewhere in the dungeon is a wall of ice that is impossible to pass. What you must do is attack the dragon enough to get his attention—but not so much that he “toasts” you—and then run and head for the wall of ice. The dragon follows, sees his reflection in the ice, and thinks it is another dragon. He rears up and breathes fire at his enemy; as he does so, the ice melts, drowning the dragon and eliminating the obstructing wall
Through the medium of a game, agency is limited but the environment is engineered in a way that makes helplessness as just another step or another obstacle adding to the enjoyment. Much like Odysseus, you're placed in a situation where there's not much to work with but through your agency you can make what there is of the situation to get out of it.