Should Every Story-Driven Game Have Moral Decisions?

I love moral decisions in games when it matters what you do like in Fallout 3, Mass effect 1-2, and soon to be in Heavy Rain. But its kinda lame when 'moral decisions' are being tacked onto every game now like army of two for example. Do you think this feauture should be in all story-drivben games? Like would you want to see a game like zelda with moral decisions to make?

i dunno if it has to be moral decisions but simply decisions in general would be nice

i get tired of watching a game unfold before me without any involvement in the story

They shouldn't be there if they don't matter at all. Games that have decisions need to have decisions that actually have impact on the game's storyline.

It does not work for every game.

My biggest gripe about games that do is that even not being extremely nice can count as being "bad" or evil. Not totally patient and nice with someone in a conversation? RENEGADE points.

I love moral decisions in games when it matters what you do like in Fallout 3, Mass effect 1-2, and soon to be in Heavy Rain. But its kinda lame when 'moral decisions' are being tacked onto every game now like army of two for example. Do you think this feauture should be in all story-drivben games? Like would you want to see a game like zelda with moral decisions to make?

Boogie_J

Depends on what it tries to be. Games are too limited in order to pull it off in a mind-blowingly meaningful way. You will never see such situation when one of the key planets in a hypothetical game gets totally annihilated, and then you have to fight against your allies who turned out to be traitors, and you will never get to play on a totally different set of planets as an implication of the choices you've made, the stuff you see in games is mostly minor in terms of influencing the game on a technical level, apart from The Witcher. I want some literally ground-breaking choices and their implications. You will never see an acid rain on some hypothetical planet / land as an implication of your choice, etc. Psychological, moral-driven decisions theoretically are easier to pull off since they are not limited by game's budget, but writer's imagination (ambitious writers aware of ******* around with various composition techniques are rare among developers, though), but then again I have yet to see the game apart from The Witcher who trully delivers on this level.

No. The system doesn't work for all games, and shouldn't have to.

I love moral decisions in games when it matters what you do like in Fallout 3, Mass effect 1-2, and soon to be in Heavy Rain. But its kinda lame when 'moral decisions' are being tacked onto every game now like army of two for example. Do you think this feauture should be in all story-drivben games? Like would you want to see a game like zelda with moral decisions to make?

Boogie_J

I think it varies game to game, story to story, developer to developer. I generally like a moral choice based story to a linear one, but there are always exceptions.

In fact games would be more interesting if they didn't try to moralize you and if there wasn't explicitly stated what is right / good and what is bad / evil.Salt_The_Fries

I think it's because perceptions are different, and morals can vary. The developer is essentially forcing their own moral code upon you and your character in-game. Sure, there are societal norms regarding morals, but it doesn't work for everybody.

[QUOTE="Salt_The_Fries"]In fact games would be more interesting if they didn't try to moralize you and if there wasn't explicitly stated what is right / good and what is bad / evil.Cerberus_Legion

I think it's because perceptions are different, and morals can vary. The developer is essentially forcing their own moral code upon you and your character in-game. Sure, there are societal norms regarding morals, but it doesn't work for everybody.

But don't linear stories do the same thing? A game with moral choice may provide the player with only 2 or 3 choices all limited to norms, but a linear story has only 1 choice, and the player doesn't have a say at all.

Moral decisions can add an interesting aspect to a game, when they aren't tacked on, and don't dramatically effect the game play. In game such as Bioshock and inFamous, choosing one side or the other really just slightly alters the course of the game, but doesn't offer significant insight into the game universe or characters.

Moral decisions can add an interesting aspect to a game, when they aren't tacked on, and don't dramatically effect the game play. In game such as Bioshock and inFamous, choosing one side or the other really just slightly alters the course of the game, but doesn't offer significant insight into the game universe or characters.

jimkabrhel

[QUOTE="Cerberus_Legion"]

[QUOTE="Salt_The_Fries"]In fact games would be more interesting if they didn't try to moralize you and if there wasn't explicitly stated what is right / good and what is bad / evil.heysharpshooter

I think it's because perceptions are different, and morals can vary. The developer is essentially forcing their own moral code upon you and your character in-game. Sure, there are societal norms regarding morals, but it doesn't work for everybody.

But don't linear stories do the same thing? A game with moral choice may provide the player with only 2 or 3 choices all limited to norms, but a linear story has only 1 choice, and the player doesn't have a say at all.

I think that's a given. :P Quite right. But hey, games with moral choices always have at least one decision you'll agree with personally.

[QUOTE="Salt_The_Fries"]In fact games would be more interesting if they didn't try to moralize you and if there wasn't explicitly stated what is right / good and what is bad / evil.Cerberus_Legion

I think it's because perceptions are different, and morals can vary. The developer is essentially forcing their own moral code upon you and your character in-game. Sure, there are societal norms regarding morals, but it doesn't work for everybody.

I don't mind so much if the devs base it off of their own beliefs. It's art imo and you shouldn't avoid because you can't find a one size fits all answer. Some people will get it, some won't. I say leave it at that. Gray is cool but sometimes it's also fun to see "Dark Side Points Gained" pop up on the screen when you went out of your way to do something undeniably evil.Senor_Kami

Oh, I don't mind at all either. I'm quite fine with it, and I agree with you that it is art as well. I always find myself agreeing with many moral decisions I make in games, but I'm more or less speaking in general. Strictly speaking for myself, there is no problem.

[QUOTE="Salt_The_Fries"]In fact games would be more interesting if they didn't try to moralize you and if there wasn't explicitly stated what is right / good and what is bad / evil.Cerberus_Legion

I think it's because perceptions are different, and morals can vary. The developer is essentially forcing their own moral code upon you and your character in-game. Sure, there are societal norms regarding morals, but it doesn't work for everybody.

I like moral decisions in games, but I understand if they just don't fit the design. Also, most games don't really allow for multiple moral perspectives. For example, consider a plague that kills painfully. Suppose you have the opportunity to stop it from spreading, but you'll have to torch a town to do it. Different characters in the game should view your actions as moral or immoral, depending on their own worldview. (As I understand it, Dragon Age has some of this in it. I haven't played much of DA yet.)

Edit: spelling

moral decisions are stupid

JRPGs are proof that linear stories work.

Moral decisions, the new sandbox? Pls no ; )

Sometimes I want to read a good well written story and not a "choose your own adventure. "

I don't like how in some games with moral decisions the decisions are either obviously good or bad. Like if I choose one I know what turn the story is going to take. Also sometimes the responses are just plain unnatural.

It does not work for every game.

Mercenary848

Most moral choices in video games are superficial. They only amount to DO BAD AND GET BAD POWERS DO GOOD AND GET GOOD POWERS. I like a game where its moral decisions are more subtle and aren't presented in ways that force you to go black or white.

For instance, I'm not a big fan, but the GTA series gives you plently of chances to behave in different ways morally. Everytime you get in a car and drive, you're being put to the test. I also thought the "No Russian" scene in MW2 was at least an interesting take on a moral dilemma.

And it's funny you mention moral decisions in Zelda as if they have no place, but there have been some good ones in the series in the past. In LA's, you can choose to steal something from a shop, but you risk being labelled a thief for the rest of the game and getting shot when going back into the store. Is that a big, game-changing decision that affects the entire storyline? No, but it is a rather immoral action that may make you feel somewhat guilty about what you've done. You can even say that choosing whether or not to help certain characters in Majora's Mask is a choice of good conscience. Those arethe kind of moral decisions that I think games can incorporate well without making you feel as if you're choosing some convoluted path toward light or toward darkness.

well in mafia i feel they should have included it, for example i would have like have seen how the game ends if you kill frank and that women.

i wanted to know how tommys life would have been like

Bioware as a studio and fallout as a series has some of the best moral decisions I've seen in games. I think it's pretty much a requirement for RPGs since it's always a big deal in P&P RPGs.

I'd like to see more games support gray morals, and have more moral dilemmas.

I think mass effect did a great job w/ having the player make decisions, mostly because the game seemed to progress very naturally w/ your decisions.

Choices seem to be the new thing to have in your game for it to be cool, but they are done badly for the most part.

They convey that big choices in life (or the character's) are polar, where really, there is no black or white; it's all a big shade of grey. The only game to really capture that is The Witcher.

Choices seem to be the new thing to have in your game for it to be cool, but they are done badly for the most part.

They convey that big choices in life (or the character's) are polar, where really, there is no black or white; it's all a big shade of grey. The only game to really capture that is The Witcher.

-Feath-

As long as it isn't black and white choices only I really enjoy games.

Only if this features works out well for that specific genre or games, because to have it tack on for the sake of it will mostly likely ruin a gaming experience if it is not needed at all. What I think they should do is have it for a game where the protagonist is not well known or ones that you are able to create, this way you don't really know what the characters is suppose to be, unlike where the decision is arise for a known characters like Link. I just don't see or picture making a bad choice for Link and seeing him react in a unusal way.

I hate moral choices and multiple endings in that matter. I always feel screwed for seeing only one ending

It would be cool to see in more games. It also depends on the game, and if it makes sense with the story, characters, and setting. - Mario moral choices? - Banjo Kazooie moral choices? - Ratchet and Clank moral choices? Nah. Not EVERY game.TREAL_Since

I meant story-driven games

[QUOTE="TREAL_Since"]It would be cool to see in more games. It also depends on the game, and if it makes sense with the story, characters, and setting. - Mario moral choices? - Banjo Kazooie moral choices? - Ratchet and Clank moral choices? Nah. Not EVERY game.Boogie_J

I meant story-driven games

Half the time, they are a pure waste of time. A distraction. Hardly any moral based games, actually had me sit and think for a good minute on what to do. Maybe one or two choices in mass effect and fallout 3. Do it right or dont do it at all.

To respond, no. In general, Im saying its not a necessity, but if they actually understand what makes the player tick...Then by all means. More features, the better.