Have a hard time being evil?

[thelastmccabe]

I keep finding that I have sort of a mental block against playing an evil character, even though I really want to see what it's like. I'm wondering if anyone else experiences this. The most recent example is Infamous, which I just started playing for the first time. I told myself I was going to stop being a sissy and play evil, and the first two choices I took the evil path. (That would be zapping some people who wanted food so that I could keep it all for my friends and me and then starting a riot so that I wouldn't have to take on some cops by myself). I then reached a third evil choice in which this guy is blocking your way because he believes doing so will protect his wife. You can get him to move by either telling him his wife is already dead or by just killing him. I chose to kill him, but then I felt so disconnected from the character after that that I decided to start a new game as good.

I think part of the problem is that the first two choices are ones that I could sort of understand, while the 3rd one didn't really make any sense. Even if you're evil, you could always just TRY telling him his wife is dead and then kill him if it doesn't work. This is especially true considering that this FBI agent is listening to what you are doing this whole time. It wasn't really in my self interest to just kill the guy first.

I guess I just enjoy playing the hero more than an evil bastard. Part of the problem is maybe that evil characters in games tend to be not just evil but totally psychotic. A character who does whatever it takes to advance his own self interest could be evil but worth playing. A character who just goes around killing people and acting like a dick for no reason is evil but also just plain crazy, and that's hard to identify with.

Anyway, whenever I start Fallout 3, I'm absolutely determined to man up and be evil or at least not be a big heroic pushover. Hopefully it's not like Fallout 1 and 2 where you seemed to get a lot more easy experience by being nice.

I WAS an evil God in Black and White. So I guess I at least accomplished that.

Anyone have any thoughts on this?

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

I actually felt that in the original inFamous, playing Cole as a good character felt kind of off, because the writers wrote him as being a bit of a prick.

Hell, in one mission Moya asks you to save a bunch of hostages that the dust men have locked in some boats so that they can get across the water and out of the city. Moya clearly states that if you don't help her the hostages WILL DIE because the military has orders to kill anyone who tries to get out of the city. Cole's response is basically "I don't wanna, it's not my problem" even when you're playing him as the good guy. That just felt wrong.

Seriously though, the writing, acting, and even animations in inFamous where mediocre ranging on bad at times, and the morality system was completely stupid most of the time that it was used. The only thing that really saved the game was the fact that the gameplay was really fun.

 

[Zantos]

I keep trying to play Evil in Fable but failing . It's really difficult!

 

[chuckey]

I find it hard myself to be evil in games because it's just not me in real life, in subsequent playthroughs however I will pick the evil side for achievements, different endings, and sheer boredom (especially if it's GTA)

 

[Johnnyallstar]

I'll admit I have a hard time being evil in a lot of games. Unless evil = being a total dick, then I have no problems.

Example: In Fable 2, I was a good guy because I saved innocents, killed bandits and kept house prices affordable. In Mass Effect 2, I was evil because Renegade Shepard is a total dick.

 

[EMFCRACKSHOT]

I have no problems playing evil characters in games. In KOTOR II i loved using the force to make those guys jump over the rails on Nar Shaddar to fall several miles to their deaths and its always fun exploding peoples pants in fallout 3 and new vegas.
This always gets me in the mood for some good old fashioned evil fun =D

 

[Arctarus'sCookie]

Well I can't relate to InFamous because I don't have it, but the moral choices on Mass Effect 2 (the game I'm currently playing) is really good in my opinion. You can either try to make everyone happy and do the work, or you can get the job done and not care too much about who gets screwed in the process. I've chosen mostly renegade, but I also choose paragon actions when it comes to teammates and some random NPC's.

 

[Talydia]

I find it hard myself to be evil in games because it's just not me in real life, in subsequent playthroughs however I will pick the evil side for achievements, different endings, and sheer boredom (especially if it's GTA)

Same here, the closest I've been to being evil on my first play through of a game was being a renegade in mass effect. but that's less being evil and more being kind of a jerk

 

[TonyVonTonyus]

I find it hard to play an evil character to because he acts bad. Trust me, there's nothing I would like more than to shove a giant sword through every Cockney-voiced NPC in the gaming world but moral choice systems never distinguish between being evil and just plain being an asshole.

 

[Scarecrow]

I have no problems playing evil characters in games. In KOTOR II i loved using the force to make those guys jump over the rails on Nar Shaddar to fall several miles to their deaths and its always fun exploding peoples pants in fallout 3 and new vegas.
This always gets me in the mood for some good old fashioned evil fun =D

God damn you ninjas! I was going to post the awesome song!

 

[kidd25]

Evil it just need to have better rewards, and i will sign up.

 

[violent_quiche]

I guess I just enjoy playing the hero more than an evil bastard. Part of the problem is maybe that evil characters in games tend to be not just evil but totally psychotic. A character who does whatever it takes to advance his own self interest could be evil but worth playing. A character who just goes around killing people and acting like a dick for no reason is evil but also just plain crazy, and that's hard to identify with.

I usually pick the heroic route and struggle with playing evil. I rationalize it partly for the reasons you describe, but mostly because real life doesn't present a lot of opportunities to act heroically- or at least act heroically and get away with it ;-)

That said, I can totally understand why people play the bad guy. The good guy in most movies may be the one you're supposed to identify with, but doesn't it always seem like the villain having the most fun? Every now and then I'll kick a merc out the window in Mass Effect 2 or assassinate the 50000th beggar to blow my cover in Assassins Creed, but I just can't live there on a permanent basis.

 

[Saltyk]

Personally, I find it easier to be evil, if I play the good route first. Like you said, evil is just so not me that playing evil just feels wrong. Doesn't help that most games make you feel bad for being evil, and your allies generally disapprove of it. Seriously, even the most evil characters will have some lines they don't cross.

Once I played as the great hero, I can happily play the total dick, as long as I think of it as just being a game. Besides, after spending a couple hours trying NOT to kill civilians in inFamous, its nice to just let it all go and make them fry.

 

[Chased]

I played through Fable 1 and KotOR as being evil and I'm trying to do it in Fallout 3 but I'm having a bit of a problem. There seems to be little to no support for being evil because if you just run around murdering everyone then there's little to nothing driving the story.

 

[Flailing Escapist]

Being evil definately gives me a "hard" time. Bwahahaha

But really, the only reason I'm not "evil" more often is because in a lot of games being evil is more like being a major douche than anything. For example in the beginning of Fable 3 a lowly villager asks if you'd sign their petition. If you're "good" you'll sign it but if you're "evil" you wipe your ass with it. If it was up to me and I wanted to be truly evil I would've taken the petition with me or I would've just said no and continued with my day. But tl;dr I'd rather tell them to stfu & gtfo than douche everywhere anyday.

 

[Kahunaburger]

My problem with playing an "evil" character is that the character is either poorly-written (everything but Planescape: Torment), really uncomfortable to play (Planescape: Torment), or both (Bioshock.)

 

[Phlakes]

I hate being douchey in real life, a lot, so I try not to in games either. It just feels bad.

 

[AlAaraaf74]

I don't have problems playing evil characters because it's just a game, so whoever I hurt/kill doesn't really exist.

 

[Debatra]

The only evil act I've ever been truly unable to perform was harvesting Little Sisters. I've done just about everything else I can think of, up to and including wanton slaughter of random people for no reason whatsoever.

 

[octafish]

I'm just too much of a bleeding heart to be comfortable being evil. I find it easier being good as I know what to do. Being evil is so foreign to me that I just get a bit confused as to what my actions should be. Being selfish I can do, being righteous I can do, I can even see the Renegade side in Mass Effect (Not 2, it lost it a bit there), however being wantonly evil doesn't hold my interest.