Poll: Good/Evil Games
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I tend to go with whatever my whim at the moment is. The first time I played through KOTOR, I did Darkside, The first time I played the sequel, I played Lightside. The first time I played Mass Effect, I was sort of quasi-evil, I picked some evil choices, but most of them were neutral. It was just whichever I felt like at the time, and I usually don't go with every evil choice or every good choice. I tend to roleplay. In Bioshock, however, I went purely good and never harvested a single Little Sister. I wanted a challenge with the lesser amount of EVE and all. Of course, it turned out you end up getting pretty much the same amount, but whatever.
After the first playthrough I always play it again to see what each extreme is like.
After the first playthrough I always play it again to see what each extreme is like.
My nature usually depends upon the game and it's representation of good vs evil. In games like say Overlord where it's cartoon evil with no serious quality to it I find evil to be a barrel of laughs. Whereas in a game like Bioshock, the game does a very good job of invoking emotion about your actions, and I couldn't bring myself to kill the little ones.
It also depends on how the game treats the two. Jade empire had the closed/open palm choices which ultimately amounted to good/evil and yet the closed fist path is much more satisfying then normal evil choices because it has an interesting kind of Darwinian struggle philosophy to it. Mass effect really didn't do the best job of representing evil as you more or less come across as a racist jerk instead of the typical evil which would have done just as well.
I do have a problem with the two sides with no middle ground thing. Although no one seems to understand it's very hard to make a good/evil game with a decent neutral ending. The whole game you're usually on a quest to save or control the world in an epic journey across vast distances. How do you make a decent neutral ending when your game builds the final confrontation up so much. They tried in Jade empire by giving you the surrender option and yet it leaves you feeling unsatisfied and has the same results as the evil ending in the long run.
It also depends on how the game treats the two. Jade empire had the closed/open palm choices which ultimately amounted to good/evil and yet the closed fist path is much more satisfying then normal evil choices because it has an interesting kind of Darwinian struggle philosophy to it. Mass effect really didn't do the best job of representing evil as you more or less come across as a racist jerk instead of the typical evil which would have done just as well.
I do have a problem with the two sides with no middle ground thing. Although no one seems to understand it's very hard to make a good/evil game with a decent neutral ending. The whole game you're usually on a quest to save or control the world in an epic journey across vast distances. How do you make a decent neutral ending when your game builds the final confrontation up so much. They tried in Jade empire by giving you the surrender option and yet it leaves you feeling unsatisfied and has the same results as the evil ending in the long run.
I played The war of the ring (LotR) and it said that if ur playing the game for the first time you should try good side... Yeah, it kinda worked for me... And ok, not many games ^^... but still, I have to admit, I didn't play Bioshock, nor Fable...whiteshodan post=9.69773.671070 said:
If there's a choice, I always play as good on my first playthrough, since that's the way I would act in real life, then evil on my second playthrough to experience the differences being evil has on the gameplay & story.
It's funny how in Bioware RPG's being evil just equates to being a dick. Like in Jade Empire you find a cameo of some old guys dead wife in some recently unflooded ruins, & the Closed Fist option is just to show it to him then decide to keep it. How is that teaching him strength through adversity?
I'd like to see a parody of this in a RPG where as you make more dickish evil choices, your character starts growing a phallus from their forehead, which gets bigger the more evil you become. Or your character just turns into Dick Dastardly & all quests get halted until you catch a pigeon.
It's funny how in Bioware RPG's being evil just equates to being a dick. Like in Jade Empire you find a cameo of some old guys dead wife in some recently unflooded ruins, & the Closed Fist option is just to show it to him then decide to keep it. How is that teaching him strength through adversity?
I'd like to see a parody of this in a RPG where as you make more dickish evil choices, your character starts growing a phallus from their forehead, which gets bigger the more evil you become. Or your character just turns into Dick Dastardly & all quests get halted until you catch a pigeon.
I personally hate this pseudo-duality with "good-evil" paths in games. These are so obviously moral or immoral choices and the immoral choices doesn't just exploit people or situations, but means that you are needlessly a psychotic dick. VG writers can't seem to comprehend the idea of a genuine moral dilemma; instead we have pretty much clear-cut issues that they try to colour up and grey it but most often spectacularly fail.
Personally, I think its a bit refreshing in games like The Witcher or Fallout where the lines are blurred and we see in colour rather then in black-and-white. Where developers dare you to give you a situation where despite good intentions, you may end up doing the wrong thing.
I think morality in VG have to be rethinked: its not direct physical choices we should follow but motivations. Why should we kill this woman? How seriously should we take the death of the man we accidentally killed? Is the death of a innocent worth the price of taking away someone who casually takes several times more? This person betrayed us but for understandable and good reasons, should we be the one to punish, let others or should we just give the person another chance?
However, that would require good writing and that is an unreasonable expectation of million-dollar games, now isn't it? I mean, what would they do with the time and care they put into the bump-madded, shaded, polished and what-the-fuck-ever rusting drum pile we don't even care about?
Personally, I think its a bit refreshing in games like The Witcher or Fallout where the lines are blurred and we see in colour rather then in black-and-white. Where developers dare you to give you a situation where despite good intentions, you may end up doing the wrong thing.
I think morality in VG have to be rethinked: its not direct physical choices we should follow but motivations. Why should we kill this woman? How seriously should we take the death of the man we accidentally killed? Is the death of a innocent worth the price of taking away someone who casually takes several times more? This person betrayed us but for understandable and good reasons, should we be the one to punish, let others or should we just give the person another chance?
However, that would require good writing and that is an unreasonable expectation of million-dollar games, now isn't it? I mean, what would they do with the time and care they put into the bump-madded, shaded, polished and what-the-fuck-ever rusting drum pile we don't even care about?
i find it really hard to play as evil character i don't why, i never managed to be a sith in Kotor and i couldn't kill any of the little girls in bioshock, the closest i've come is achieving renegade on mass effect. but then i feel bad if a NPC on my team dies in OPF or Half Life or Dead rising etc.
i guess im evil, i get plesure out of killing any NPCs, dont know why. in oblivion i killed everyone in bruma and leywin because they annoyed me and in kotor i got maximum darkside for me and most of my team
I've got a habit of always going for the good guy option. Weather it be KOTOR, when everyone knows the Sith are cooler, I'll still opt for doing the right thing or Rome TW, I'll Occupy a settlemnt to give the residents a chance before exterminating them if they revolt.
Even when I play with the express intention of being a shit, I'll still end up feeling guilty(?!?!?) and chicken out.
Even when I play with the express intention of being a shit, I'll still end up feeling guilty(?!?!?) and chicken out.
These games turns me into someone I hate. I am always good, and I'm always a pushover. The reason is that I want to do all the quests, every side quest I find, I want to help, and to do that, you pretty much have to stay on the NPC's good side.
The worst example of this is when I was playing fallout 2, and I got to a guy who wanted me to go out to an enemy filled forest, find his house and get his moonshine. I wanted to scream "Asshole, do you know who I am? I'm the fucking protagonist, I'm on a mission to save the world, I don't have time to be your goddamn waiter!". But instead, I said I'd do it... and I died a little inside.
I've been trying to do better, though. For example, in Oblivion, there was a crazy guy who wanted me to spy on his neighbours, and although it took a solid ten minutes of soulsearching agony, I finally had the power to say "You know what? No, I won't help you, you paranoid psycho."
The worst example of this is when I was playing fallout 2, and I got to a guy who wanted me to go out to an enemy filled forest, find his house and get his moonshine. I wanted to scream "Asshole, do you know who I am? I'm the fucking protagonist, I'm on a mission to save the world, I don't have time to be your goddamn waiter!". But instead, I said I'd do it... and I died a little inside.
I've been trying to do better, though. For example, in Oblivion, there was a crazy guy who wanted me to spy on his neighbours, and although it took a solid ten minutes of soulsearching agony, I finally had the power to say "You know what? No, I won't help you, you paranoid psycho."
i've actually always played the good guy escpecially in fable and bioshock. ofcourse i'm a nice guy but the games also seemed to reward those who chose not to be a bastard douche.
Put me on the side of the "good-evil" haters. I can't understand why anybody would choose to go down the "good" route in Bioshock anyway when there's no "upside" in gameplay terms to not killing the Little Sisters (or at least, not one that you know about early on).
One of the reasons - in fact, probably the main reason - I play games is to escape from the humdrum greyness of real life, get into the body of a massive orc with a big club, and smash some stuff to bits. That's all the morality I need, thanks!
One of the reasons - in fact, probably the main reason - I play games is to escape from the humdrum greyness of real life, get into the body of a massive orc with a big club, and smash some stuff to bits. That's all the morality I need, thanks!
I would say I like to play good, as that is most of my characters, but I will vote both as I like being the evilest bastard that ever lived after a bad day!