7 ms·

There's value in giving people choice and making them uncomfortable with the consequences of easy options. The Witcher series is famous for that, and I'd like t

by ajuc 12y ago

There's value in giving people choice and making them uncomfortable with the consequences of easy options. The Witcher series is famous for that, and I'd like to see more games took that approach (show what can be done, even give in-game bonuses for evil behaviour, don't judge but show consequences). DF skips over this problem because it's more abstract, and it's just not this kinds of game. Another example - Crusader Kingdoms 2 - this game is all about incests, backstabbing and assasination, but somehow it's funny not deep. I agree it's probably not good idea for games targeted at children.

spdustin 12y ago
Bioshock was the first to make me uncomfortable with a choice. Do I harvest the Little Sister, and get more powerful? Or do I "rescue her", which itself looks a bit like torture at first, and send her off in a place that is filled with psychopaths who'd want to kill her anyway. Later in the series, when I experienced what it's like to BE a Little Sister, it almost made me regret "rescuing them" before, because the way they see the world as a Little Sister is quite beautiful, and they did serve a profound purpose. The final choice seems to be a moral absolute, but it was a deeply unsettling choice, for me, to make, and to revisit again later.
- tsotha 12y ago
  It's not really a choice, because in the end you get more powerful by not harvesting the Little Sisters. The only reason to do it is to see the evil ending cut scene.
  - spdustin 12y ago
    I didn't know that until, you know, the end.
  - Dylan16807 12y ago
    And you get that world-conquering evil cut scene for even a single slip. Immediately you are irredeemable.
    - tsotha 12y ago
      Heh. I didn't realize that. When I'm evil I don't do it by half measures.
    - spdustin 12y ago
      Would you kindly not spoil the game too much. (See what I did there?)
      - Dylan16807 12y ago
        I'm amused by the joke, but I don't consider it a spoiler to explain how one bad act ever leads to the uber-evil ending that has no connection to the rest of the game. It's just pointing out that the claimed 'moral choices with consequences' feature is a farce.
shanusmagnus 12y ago
Great comment. The critical part is "show consequences."
arprocter 12y ago
Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri offered 'nerve stapling' [0] as a method of quelling riots [0] http://civilization.wikia.com/wiki/Atrocities_%28SMAC%29 http://civilization.wikia.com/wiki/Atrocities_%28SMAC%29

by ajuc 12y ago

spdustin 12y ago

Bioshock was the first to make me uncomfortable with a choice. Do I harvest the Little Sister, and get more powerful? Or do I "rescue her", which itself looks a bit like torture at first, and send her off in a place that is filled with psychopaths who'd want to kill her anyway. Later in the series, when I experienced what it's like to BE a Little Sister, it almost made me regret "rescuing them" before, because the way they see the world as a Little Sister is quite beautiful, and they did serve a profound purpose. The final choice seems to be a moral absolute, but it was a deeply unsettling choice, for me, to make, and to revisit again later.

tsotha 12y ago
It's not really a choice, because in the end you get more powerful by not harvesting the Little Sisters. The only reason to do it is to see the evil ending cut scene.
- spdustin 12y ago
  I didn't know that until, you know, the end.
- Dylan16807 12y ago
  And you get that world-conquering evil cut scene for even a single slip. Immediately you are irredeemable.
  - tsotha 12y ago
    Heh. I didn't realize that. When I'm evil I don't do it by half measures.
  - spdustin 12y ago
    Would you kindly not spoil the game too much. (See what I did there?)
    - Dylan16807 12y ago
      I'm amused by the joke, but I don't consider it a spoiler to explain how one bad act ever leads to the uber-evil ending that has no connection to the rest of the game. It's just pointing out that the claimed 'moral choices with consequences' feature is a farce.

shanusmagnus 12y ago

Great comment. The critical part is "show consequences."

arprocter 12y ago

Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri offered 'nerve stapling' [0] as a method of quelling riots [0] http://civilization.wikia.com/wiki/Atrocities_%28SMAC%29 http://civilization.wikia.com/wiki/Atrocities_%28SMAC%29