Video Game Morality

[Hawthorne]

Another fluff-ish thread, okay?

When you play games with multiple paths and decisions trees and all that jazz, what sort of character do you play?
Are you one of those people who struggles to pick the "mean" options?
Do you pick choices according to what you'd actually do in those situations? Or according to a pre-established personality for your character?
Or is your decision-making process more complex than what can be quickly summarized in a very lazy thread starter?

Do share!

 

[HongDou]

Do you pick choices according to what you'd actually do in those situations?

^this

IMMERSION

 

[Hawthorne]

Sadly, I am a very predictable person. I almost always play snarky and/or jokester and/or renegade characters that make the other party members go "wtf is your problem, man?". Sometimes even when it makes the game harder than it has to be.

 

[Hawthorne]

^this

IMMERSION

I can see the appeal but sometimes it's fun to see what the wilder options do, you know?

 

[á´…eparted]

When you play games with multiple paths and decisions trees and all that jazz, what sort of character do you play?

As close to myself as I can. I makes some exceptions, but I generally don't like playing as characters who make choices I would not make. It's not satisfying. I like playing as characters who look nothing like me, but more or less act like I do.


Are you one of those people who struggles to pick the "mean" options?

Yes. I can't be mean without reason, and video games almost never give those reasons.


Do you pick choices according to what you'd actually do in those situations? Or according to a pre-established personality for your character?

How I would pick them. It's never perfect but as close as I can. Sometimes I'll set minor caveots for the purposes of the game though.


Or is your decision-making process more complex than what can be quickly summarized in a very lazy thread starter?

It's fairly simple.

 

[HongDou]

I can see the appeal but sometimes it's fun to see what the wilder options do, you know?

Yeah sometimes if a really wild option presents itself I'll choose that because I can't resist, but most of the time I do what I would really do I like to engage the fantasy of me being in a completely different world. I know "role-playing" is kind of the point, but I want to live out the fantasy myself if that makes sense. Don't get as stimulated just by playing a specific role or personality, although I can see the appeal of playing up a persona that's different from your meatsauce one.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

In games where this is an option, going "bad"always seems like more work.

 

[Hawthorne]

In games where this is an option, going "bad"always seems like more work.

That's interesting. I often think the "bad guy" responses make the game easier. Especially choices that involve brokering peace between warring factions. You can either pick one or the other or tell them both to fuck off easily and all but the last still give decent outcomes. But the hidden "help everyone" paths tend to be more involved and sometimes the benefits (a few extra ally units or unlocking a new party member or dialogue path) don't always seem worth it. Not to me at least.

 

[Masokissed]

I do what I'd do if I were there, and that usually means being a mostly good character. But I'll usually do an unsaved or separate saved run where I can unleash my evil too.

 

[Chrysanthe]

I pretty much do what I'd do in real life if I had no control over my Id ( thank you Sinclair), acting purely off my own unfiltered impulses. Which usually ends up in me cannibalizing priests of an enemy deity and joining sacrificial cults for whatever god happens to have the most power. Though, in many fantasy universes, the general atmosphere feels much less serious and restrictive, making me more likely to care less about societal values and forge my own path without concern to the morality of my actions. For example...


why murder is relatively okay in my opinion, in regards to the Elder Scrolls universe specifically:
What is so immoral about being carefree adventurer who kills people for fun when your world is falling apart anyways, and you know the outcome of the deaths you are responsible for?

I think the reason why we take death so seriously is the fact that it's a complete mystery to us, and so to kill is to essentially force someone into the unknown, which, since we all relate to the fear of the unknown, comes off as something very unsettling and therefore immoral.

Now, what if you knew there were gods? What if you knew there was a place where all souls go to (temporarily) rest? Then what reason would there be to worry at all about who dies? At this point, death is simply a transportation device, and so I have little reason to care who I happen to murder.

...or maybe I am just a future psychopath?

 

[Jaspii]

I love these types of games because it exercises my heavily thought out moral compass and problem solving abilities. I'm pretty sure I'm a better person in video games than I am in real life, due to the fact that I can always be rational minded in video games. I always try to avoid conflict and make the most mutual decision.

 

[Ghost]

I play myself but less inhibited. In Oblivion, I stole so much stuff! So much! Even stupid things like books and pieces of cheese. I would do a sweep through each town to steal all the things. Then I'd pickpocket everyone because I got Sneak to 100. Hahaha!

But I didn't like killing people. In those missions where you'd partner with an in-game character, I'd always reload if they died during the mission. I feel like they're my responsibility. I don't like for NPCs to be killed. I remember trying to have fun leaping around in Infamous, but there were all these people lying on the sidewalk. So I'd run along the streets reviving them even though it really annoyed me.

If the game gives me an option for snarky dialogue, I'll usually take it. If I can charge for my services, I totally will. There were also times when you'd learn backstory and realize the person you'd helped in a side mission was a bastard. In those cases, I'd turn around and steal whatever I'd stolen for them or I'd even kill them. I like to get even, I guess? Or maybe I don't like to think I was a sucker who fell into someone else's trap (in the narrative).

I do try to kill the important characters or attack unicorns or whatever, but that's just to see if it's allowed or what happens when you do. I always revert to a previous save, so I don't see that as part of my gameplay. Other than that, I don't do anything that goes against my actual morality unless the game gives me no option, in which case I get grumpy.

It's sort of like this:

Around 5:44 where he tries to help the woman he ran over.

 

[Jaq]

Give Crusader Kings 2 with the expansions a run, and you'll become a monster fast. You'll enjoy it the entire time too!

 

[Yama]

When it comes to quest decisions and dialogue options, I'm simple and boring. I pick what I would pick if I was in that situation--which is usually the "good guy" option and I can't be mean to anyone unless they're a total dick to me or someone else first.

But when it comes to actions outside of dialogue and such... like stealing in Oblivion? I'll do it. I'm also a completionist, so if in order to do a quest I have to do something "bad" (like kill someone I have no problem with) I'll do it... but as nicely as possible.

It's pretty similar to one of my real life mottos: "just leave me the fuck alone and I'll leave you the fuck alone."

 

[SearchingforPeace]

I have tried over the years to play different ways.

All the way back to Ultima III (old school gaming rules!!!) I killed Lord British and looted towns. I disliked when they added morality to the series.

However, as I got older, it got harder to play the "evil" style. I can't even play games that force you to be evil. Amoral is OK, but even then, it is more Road Warrior/Han Solo ESTP style than a really amoral character.

 

[RobinSkye]

^this

IMMERSION

I theme it. For full immersion, if I'm very familiar with the game, I'll play the role of my character. I optimize not only in terms of stats, equipment, etc. but also the mindset. The way your character appears, in the case of an RPG for instance, is very affecting of how you play whether or not you consciously realize it.

 

[Bush]

As you all say, making a reflection of yourself gives you immersion. I never thought about it that way. That explains the appeal.


I like making avatars that look like me if possible. Because, hey, why not. That, or he gets a xanadu-colored outfit.

If there's a paladin or spellblade sort of class -- fighter + some magic -- that's what I snatch up. Always my favorite, and the concept resonates with me.


"Morality" is all over the place, because I like to experiment. Easier to do that in a game than it is in real life. "Save state. What happens if I slice up this talking dog? Okay, neat. Load state." That's not really what a paladin's about, but hey

And also, I'm not going to play e.g. Grand Theft Auto and go the speed limit and use my turn signal like a good person would.

 

[Null]

Depends on the game. In stuff like Papers Please I generally play as Lawful Neutral, and that's because I'm not that involved with the character I'm playing as. It's different in games like Dragon Age or Tales from the Borderlands where I can create my character and/or play as someone I really identify with. If that's the case I'm always choosing what I'd do in their case which is most of the time the nicest option. Being mean makes me uncomfortable even if it's just in a stupid game.