Bastilla Shan, noted Jedi do-gooder, pointed out that neither she nor the Jedi council would approve.
I was giggling like a schoolgirl.
Im not talking about other players, but the NPCs in single-player games.
I cant be mean to Judy, I cant tell Panam that Im only helping her for the eddies.
Its not like either of these are exceptions to a rule.
Playing a villain is a fun power fantasy, just as legitimate as playing a hero.
And doing it from your awesome volcano lair, surrounded by loyal minions in futuristic silver jumpsuits or whatever.
Conversely, no one dreams about being mean to people they care about.
Im talking the time ofBaldurs Gateand the aforementioned KotOR.
There was a lot of talk about how RPGs presented a very simplistic, extreme moral binary.
Do you give the beggar some gold or fireball him for his insolence?
Youve caught a criminal, make her your BFF, or ten thousand years in a dungeon?
Okay, maybe Im exaggerating, but only a little.
Its a fair criticism.
Having two options that feel wrong is barely better than no choice at all.
At the same time, theres only so many options a video game can provide.
Were still some way from being able to replicate the experience of a human GM.
Its frequently a case of choosing the least worst option, often with limited information available.
On top of that, the consequences of your actions are rarely immediately obvious.
Bioware, on the other hand, have fared considerably less well.
In Dragon Age: Origins, youre confronted with a boy who has been possessed by a demon.
And if that option is still on the table, why not bring back truly villainous protagonists?
I would love to see more games giving me that option again.
The real world has enough shades of grey, were surrounded by instances of paralysing moral ambiguity.
