Rethinking Morality in Games

[rdaleric]

I think morality systems in games would be interesting if your rating was only affected if your actions were witnessed and/or became common knowledge (I didn't like the karma system in fallout 3). So you could be seen in public as a virtuous hero, but really be doing some not good things

 

[Fuhjem]

definitely needs a system that tracks both good and bad like mass effect did. You should not be able to nuke an entire town like megaton and then wipe it clean with church donations and donating pure water to beggars.

personally i think a good system is where they are both tracked but the player doesnt know the level and every action is checked.

Exactly what I believe in (although not expressed here)

I don't think Charlie Manson would be forgiven if he went around handing out money.
In fact, that would raise suspicion.

If you're notorious for being evil, doing nice things should make NPCs feel even MORE uneasy about you.

Thanks for the idea nikki191

 

[Kimarous]

Sorry, but I fail to see how this is a "retooled" morality system. Seems pretty standard to me... kinda like the original "Overlord", wherein one could be really evil or resist corruption and more or less be a good guy. In one instance, some elves offer you a gift on the far side of their sacred meadow, which they do not realize has been infested with blood-crazed unicorns. Do you avoid corruption and fight the unicorns in melee combat... or do you simply throw a fireball and torch the entire grove?

What I feel is a TRULY retooled morality system is in the upcoming "Dragon Age: Origins". In that game, there is no outright tracking of morality; rather, individual actions have individual consequences and your party members have their own views on the matter. You might learn a powerful form of forbidden magic, but if a certain party member learns of this, she'll abandon you. Speak ill of another person and he may outright attack you. And so on and so forth.

 

[Naheal]

What is being presented here is not a choice. Most gamers will take the evil path simply because it's "easier". What your describing is, from a production standpoint, a problem rather then a choice.

 

[Cgull]

any true morality system would have to reward neither side or reward each side equally before it truly reflects your morals.

This ^

I've always thought it odd that games feel that your moral choices have to be recognised or rewarded at all. Realistically, I could choose to be a bastard to everyone I meet for a day and it (more than likely) would have no real knock on effect in any way.

I'm not sure I follow your rethinking of the morality system....as a game it would give no incentive to keep playing as the good guy at all?

 

[TehJammers]

I think this approach reminds me too much of Bioshock's attempt at morality.

The choice to kill or save Little Sisters didn't boil down to a moral choice, but a gameplay choice.
Save Sisters for half the Adam and the good ending?
Or kill her for all of the Adam and the bad ending?
In essence, you are deciding how difficult you want the game to be, not how great or terrible you are as a person.

Some of the moral 'choices' that hit me hardest in games were those that I was forced to do.
There was no in-game choice to save the Colossi in Shadow of the Colossus, if you wanted to continue the game, you HAD to kill them, even as your character became more and more corrupted over time.
And Far Cry 2, my friend who had saved my life lay bleeding in the dirt, and I was out of syrettes. Do I put an end to his misery? Or leave him behind? Either way, he dies.
Deciding to pull the trigger was a surprisingly emotional choice.

Similarly, the thing that impacted me most in Bioshock was not the vaunted moral choice over the sisters, but the realisation that

Spoiler

I was being controlled

.

When giving a moral choice, don't make it a choice between making the game hard or easy. A good moral choice system makes both sides viable, and leaves it up to the player's morals as to what they should do.

As for me, given the choice between burning down the world or saving it in a game, I'll usually take the evil path.
It's the small things that matter most. If given the choice between being a nice guy or a douchebag in a conversation tree, i'll always pick the nice guy ones.
Of course, if they keep bagging me out, I'll choose the insults every time.
I can be an arsehole to the entire planet, but I can't bring myself to be a dick to people who treat me like a friend.