Poll: How do you align yourself in games?

[Durxom]

Many RPGs now (mostly Bioware games) have an alignment system dependent on your choices, with a good/evil level. Many of these choices end up effecting occurences within the game or the endgame material. How exactly do you align yourself when you play?

I mostly go good whenever I play, cause that is usually how my normal choices end up being. Especially with Mass Effect, when the Paragon/Renegade things aren't really that good or evil, but I feel when I go Evil, I lose a large chunk of the content of the game, either by cuting conversations early by picking the jerk choices, or killing off characters just to get more evil points.

 

[Radeonx]

I'll either go neutral, or do whatever seems the most fun at the time.

 

[Johnn Johnston]

I generally start off good, as that's normally what I would actually do, then with each subsequent character I start sliding down the scale.

A Fallout 3 example;
1) Sam (good)
2) Jane (neutral)
3) Thaddeus T. Burninator (evil)
4) Tempty the Omnivore (I think you can guess)

 

[D_987]

I don't choose before-hand, instead I base my choices on the game specifically. This usually means I end up going "good", because the world created is interesting enough to make me want to be its saviour, but there are games in which I choose to act "evil". For example, in Mass Effect I chose to play as a "good" character, because the universe was interesting and the game, regardless of choice, made you a hero regardless. But in Fable II I took the "evil" route as the story was really one of personal revenge - I wasn't out to help anyone else - and the NPC's were not particularly likeable or interesting - therefore I saw no point in helping them.

Oblivion was a bit harder to decide - as the game still set you up as a kind of hero - but at the same time the plot was so convoluted it seemed to loose its way and despite having the main goal of saving the world, I ended up looking out entirly for myself - mainly due to the unrealistic A.I.

On your poll I guess I would come under "wherever your choices take you".

 

[Crimson Cade]

Always good the first play-through, then evil if the game's quality warrants another go.

Most of the times, the good path seems like the "real" path, where the developers have put the most work, and made most rewarding. Though sometimes, especially in Dark Forces: Jedi Knight, and the Knights of the old Republic series, the evil ending is just so deliciously superior.

 

[ZeroMachine]

I choose whatever I'd choose if the situation came to me in real life.

I always have Light Mastery in KoTOR 1 and 2 less than half way through the game...

 

[Chipperz]

Depends on the game and how I'm feeling. If I play through Fallout 3 (as an example) the way I would act, then I get good. I'm just at home gunning down all the unarmed civilians in Megaton before devastating their remains in a nuclear blast, though.

An exception is Star Wars games, by the way. I ALWAYS go Dark Side, because the Dark Side gets shit done!

 

[IxionIndustries]

I will STRIVE to be evil on my first run through.. Every. Time..

 

[Dahemo]

I am painfully, painfully good. It is a source of incessant annoyance the lengths I will go to maintain a high standard of niceness, and you very often feel the game is making you feel put upon to test that goody two shoes exterior, a test I fail constantly as I bow to NPCs every whim.

My main problem with evil-ity is that there is very rarely an opportunity to be a Machiavel, to play along with the goodies until I can suddenly turn the tables and screw everyone. I don't want to be dumb and evil, lurching around like a steroidal gorilla, killing all in my path. I want to be the smart, frustrating evil that the lawful find the most difficult to defeat. Then perhaps most of these game plots would make sense!

Take Fable 2 as an example of this:

Spoiler

Why should I care if he's trying to destroy the world as it is if that's my objective anyway? If I'm evil but cleverly benefitting from the world, it is in my interest to remove him, or if I'm a meglomaniac; then "this town ain't big enough for the both of us" but simply being a student of genocide means my inevitable fight against a similarly evil foe make absolutely no sense

That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. That and I can't hit girls...

 

[elemenetal150]

honestly usually my first play through is good while my second is a true bastard and the rest are a mix of the two....with none of my characters being straight down the line neutral or totally good

 

[TheNumber1Zero]

I tend to do the good choices first time around, they tend to have more long-term benefits than the evil choices, although I will be swayed towards evil if it fits my goal, that goal being uniqe equipment, if there's unique equipment I will personally destroy anything neccesary.

Otherwise I will go with a "Whatever I feel like" kind of thing, maybe give up something for others, maybe go on a bloody rampage, all depending on what I feel like doing.

 

[Shaegor]

I just generally go with what seems most natural to me morally, so mostly I'm a goody two-shoes.
I only choose evil once the game has ticked me off and made the good possibilities too long to accomplish.

 

[FinalGamer]

Always the good guy. I am too morally strong to be a bad guy in a game, so much so I get too emotionally hurt if I do a bad thing.

 

[Karlaxx]

I just choose the outcome like I would if I was in the situation, so I've ended up being every alignment out there... All depends on how many shortcuts I can force myself to skip.

 

[MetallicaRulez0]

Unfortunately most games make you choose between helping old ladies across the street or eating live babies with a grapefruit spoon.

I'm not a fan of baby aftertaste.

 

[Flamezdudes]

I love being Evil in RPG's because i get to be cruel and mean which i'm not like in real life. Lol.

 

[The Cake Is A Lie]

I generally go Evil because it is more suited to my personality, so I find it's easier to play (except in WoW where I made the mistake of going Alliance from the start -_-.

 

[Doc Theta Sigma]

To quote Mr. Croshaw, I go for the 'evilest bastard who ever lived' approach. Mostly in RPGs. Fallout 3 I lost count of how many times I killed Moira and in Fable 2 I walked around killing random people. Why? Because I can.

 

[The_Echo]

Considering open-end games tend to use the heroic choices as canon, I usually go for that.

 

[Disaster Button]

I usually do an unlawful neutral kinda thing.

Depends what mood I'm in on whether or not I wanna make a good or evil choice.