Fallout: New Vegas and Pentiment director, Josh Sawyer, has spoken about how he doesn't find it interesting when RPG protagonists can save everyone and fix everything. Instead, his design philosophy surrounds restricting players and forcing them to sit with uncomfortable choices.
Speaking on The Examined Game (thanks Kotaku), Sawyer, who is reportedly working on a new Fallout game, explains that even if RPG players have been "conditioned" to be all powerful, he finds it more interesting when they are forced to make difficult choices.