Decisions… Decisions…: Games with choice

In a lot of games in today’s market, there are plenty of choices to be made. Whether

to be a hero or to be a villain, whether to incapacitate or to kill, whether to

sneak or go in guns blazing, whether to save the world or end it. Thereby giving the

player the chance to upset the norm, and pretty much do whatever they want to.

However, I am of the camp that chooses to let the good guys win.   Often when I

start up a new game that allows me to make my choice, I often take the road of

morality that sides with the good guys. The paragons, the heroes, the righteous.

I just play to my character. That’s the thing. It’s MY character. So, after I’ve gone

through the game and saved the galaxy from whatever malcontent the bad guys

have been stirring up, there then comes the question of what to do with a second

play through.

 

After all, the games choices do allow for a completely different experience.

Though, is it an experience that I want to have? Every single time that I attempt

my evil run, darkside run, renegade run, whatever nomenclature suits the title, I

fail miserably.

 

I think that the problem is that I’ve fallen in love with the world and the characters

that I am attempting to destroy. Once while playing through Mass Effect 2 on an

attempted Renegade run through, there came along a paragon action. This simple

action was just to give my crew mate, Tali Zora nar Rayya, a hug to console her at the

sight of her dead father. Bad guys do not hug! I broke character. Tali is apart of my

crew, I couldn’t just sit back and watch her fall apart. It would have been tragic.

However, those malicious algorithms of code came back to bite me, as when the

time came to renegade it up to tell the Admiralty board to stuff it, I choked. I didn’t

have enough renegade in me to go through with it. I ended up getting my beloved

crew member exiled from her fleet, shaming her in front of her entire race of

vagabond people.  It is often difficult to do the right thing, I suppose for me, it is

even harder to do the opposite.

Dragon Age: Origins will remain in my mind as one of the best/worst experiences

I’ve ever had trying to decide. The moment when you fight your way past the horde

of  zombies that come out at night and finally make it to the castle, only to find that

it’s the Arl’s son that is causing all the shenanigans. Then there comes the problem

with fixing the other problem. There is a way to slay the demon that dwells within

the child, offers up the bloodmage that you and your party may or may not have

rescued earlier, though it requires a sacrifice. The mother offers up herself, to save

her child. Though the earl implores that you seek out the mages in the circle of

magi tower. I remember being so completely racked with the anxiety of this

decision that I was paralyzed and nearly gnawing off my own fingers over the fate

of these characters. The choice was in my hands, the responsibility of it was down

to me. It’s moments like these that remind me why I am not an adventurer. It is

video games that give us these truly awesome moments, that completely envelop

us in their story.

The games that I have mentioned are indeed, both created and developed by

Bioware. Granted there are other games that allow for choice. Bioshock, for

example, allows for the choice of saving, or harvesting the little sisters. Infamous

let’s players choose to be a hero or a villain, creating a customized arsenal of

powers to take on the enemy. However, those choices seem rather binary. It seems

that in today’s market, the option of choice, is really more of a selling point, as

opposed to a key element of game design.

 

Speaking of decisions, this doesn’t look like it’s a good one

What are your thoughts? Good guy? Bad guy? Light side? Dark side? What are some

of your favorite games with choices to be made? What were some of your favorite,

or horrific, moments when you made some decisions? Let us know in the

comments…