Quite a few games latley have moral descisions in them (Fable 2 for instnace, probably my best example). So, what are your thoughts on having moral descisions in games, and what do you choose, good, evil, or what?
Moral descisions in video games
- Thread starter KiLlErCoRn
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I often find myself going more towards good. Mostly I think because you have a choice to do good or be a completely fracking evil bastard who eats babies.
Be nice if there were more of a middle ground to take, other of course than 2 good 1 bad, rinse, repeat. Anyone else more of a chaotic neutral/good kind of guy?
Be nice if there were more of a middle ground to take, other of course than 2 good 1 bad, rinse, repeat. Anyone else more of a chaotic neutral/good kind of guy?
A middle ground would be nice but I generally do a game good then one evil. Evil was fun in Fable 1 - call yourself arseface then hit people for calling you it.
I usually take the decision that makes things move along faster...not my fault that 99% of the time the option is just shoot the person in my way.
Love the choices presented in BioWare Games, and how completely they change up your game...I love that in a game like Mass Effect, being evil can actually make some decisions easier...and some really make you stop and think, "oh...can I DO that?"
The different endings in Jade Empire and KotOR keep me replaying those games...years after others had me bored to tears...
I actually felt like CRAP after executing the Asari on Feros...and I had to reload and replay cuz there was no WAY I was finishing Virmire without Wrex...
I personally think that the moral decisions in games is good, however very unbalanced. Generally the Evil path is far simpler and usually have very little consequences. In Fable 2 for example, if your evil, and you go around killing everyone you see, you actually get a ton more XP, then someone playing Good.
I think the most Balanced Morality system so far is Fallout 3( however still a bit evil biased). If they Balanced it out, and gave more sever consequences to Evil Characters, and as stated above, make it more of a spectrum, then a Binary value, then it would enhance games dramatically.
I think the most Balanced Morality system so far is Fallout 3( however still a bit evil biased). If they Balanced it out, and gave more sever consequences to Evil Characters, and as stated above, make it more of a spectrum, then a Binary value, then it would enhance games dramatically.
The only game designer with a real philosophical education that I know about is Brian Reynolds. I'd buy it from him, but frankly, I don't want an education in morality from a Star Wars fan fiction.
The beauty of videogames and the internet revolution is that you don't have to follow any moral decisions you don't choose too... Granted, good always seems slightly easier for me to take in the beginning (as in Fallout), but bad turns out more fun in the end... Always. So I choose both in RPGs, and most likely, if you see me playing an FPS... All bad decisions and killing, no talking it out involved... lqtm...
ive always enjoyed that more good route, but at the same time babies are quite delicious, so it all depends if they feed me well
plus, a video game is meant to be something your not. weather its a soldier or a god, its all pretend. so, moral decisions give the gamer a choice to be whatever they want to be.
plus, a video game is meant to be something your not. weather its a soldier or a god, its all pretend. so, moral decisions give the gamer a choice to be whatever they want to be.
It depends on how open the game really is. If we're talking *exceedingly* open like Fallout 3, I'd probably be evil, just because there's more world reflection on my character than say, Bioshock (sorry for using what everyone else has been saying, but they're good examples) since its either kill the girl or let her live, either way you're getting rewarded.
When games are open enough to let me rob a bank, then turn around and kill my partners in crime for extra evil points, then I can say I'm going totally evil.
Untill then, I can only pray.
When games are open enough to let me rob a bank, then turn around and kill my partners in crime for extra evil points, then I can say I'm going totally evil.
Untill then, I can only pray.
I always pick the good path until I have the highest good rating.
What I find interesting is that the good in evil scale is almost always completely broken. In Knights of the Old Republic, running into someone's home and robbing them at gunpoint doesn't get you evil points. In Mass Effect, you end up committing genocide twice and nobody but Wrex calls you on it. Killing an repentant mass murder in the dueling arena gets you evil points even though there is a legal bounty on the guy's head. In Fable, (I think it's been a long time since I played it.) You get evil points for stealing something from your own legally purchased home but not from stealing things from other people.
What I find interesting is that the good in evil scale is almost always completely broken. In Knights of the Old Republic, running into someone's home and robbing them at gunpoint doesn't get you evil points. In Mass Effect, you end up committing genocide twice and nobody but Wrex calls you on it. Killing an repentant mass murder in the dueling arena gets you evil points even though there is a legal bounty on the guy's head. In Fable, (I think it's been a long time since I played it.) You get evil points for stealing something from your own legally purchased home but not from stealing things from other people.
Usually evil since there are rarely consequences for doing so, other than more money. In Fable I was actually good the first time since I got sucked in and liked my character being the good guy. Fallout 3 I was more grey area, you know steal whats expensive but not to the point where everything not tied down has been sold by me at some point. Doing that in Morrowind ruined that game for me.
I pick good generally, it isn't necessarily because I want to though. Just that most games seem to interpret evil as just being kind of a dick rather then what i would describe as evil. Thinking about the Kotor games where the lead up to being the ultimate badass evil of the universe was basically a whole bunch of petty theft and thuggery(although there are a few awesome things you can do when your evil that really make you feel like a magnificent bastard). Nevertheless most of it just seemed pointless.
However, there are games that seemingly make the evil side either legitimately evil or at least evil with some kinda greater agenda then stealing the 5 years old candy. Ones that really make you feel like a magnificent bastard.
I thought of sacrifice and the missions that you do for the "evil" god Charnel. I think this is one of the few games where it felt just as rewarding to play the evil side as it was to play the good side, if not more so if your into that kinda thing.
Dungeon keeper also comes to mind (granted in that game you don't actually have a choice) but the point is that evil seems to be done in a very specific way in that game that makes it work really well.
Going back to Kotor and the previously mentioned exception to the general flow of the game is the crowning achievement that is HK-47.
Playing as the brotherhood of NOD in command and conquer works for the same reasons as well I think.
However, there are games that seemingly make the evil side either legitimately evil or at least evil with some kinda greater agenda then stealing the 5 years old candy. Ones that really make you feel like a magnificent bastard.
I thought of sacrifice and the missions that you do for the "evil" god Charnel. I think this is one of the few games where it felt just as rewarding to play the evil side as it was to play the good side, if not more so if your into that kinda thing.
Dungeon keeper also comes to mind (granted in that game you don't actually have a choice) but the point is that evil seems to be done in a very specific way in that game that makes it work really well.
Going back to Kotor and the previously mentioned exception to the general flow of the game is the crowning achievement that is HK-47.
Playing as the brotherhood of NOD in command and conquer works for the same reasons as well I think.
I like it but, I wish it would get deeper. It often is done TOO black and white, but what I love, is teh gray area. My TES hero is viewed as a super good guy, but he has a dark side he hides, but never truly goes evil. Also my RP character for DnD who the other players really enjoyed, was hard to tell if he was good or evil, and most characters were split.
Sure you can play morally in the middle, but for playing to either extreme often provides major differences, and would be nice if being in the middle also offered such things the other two give.
Sure you can play morally in the middle, but for playing to either extreme often provides major differences, and would be nice if being in the middle also offered such things the other two give.