The Way Morality In Games Should Be

Ever since the dawn of gaming there have been morality games. In general, they have existed primarily in the small pocket of RPGs. As this concept became more and more popular; it has begun to be carelessly induced in every small niche of gaming. I will be honest, the first true mortality game that I played was Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. It was a very well made game for its time period and I believe it offered some very keen insights on the future of western RPGs. It is now five years later and the formula has remained the same; for better or for worse. The formula has remained intact to say the least; there is always a definable line between good and evil. Albeit, your choices are very linear in this regard. Your selfish actions means you are evil while being benevolent and kind is the negation to that. Fundamentally however, it seems that we have forgotten why this system is crucial to the RPG experience.
It wasn't until I played the second SW: KOTR game that I realized that I craved for something different. In that game, there where a few key moments where it is brought to your attention just how "good" you were. By helping and being charitable, you were dooming people to a life of dependency. It created the good shade of Grey that morality truly is. In that form we can then express our motivations as gamers. As gamers we make choices based on our perceived social norms. We play the "good" character because there is no challenge in playing as an "evil" character. In that way developers cannot truly simulate desperation in this console's generation. Without desperation, the concept of morality falls completely apart.
On that note many games of this generation within the morality genre contain "difficult" choices. Irrevocably these are choices that are often the splinter group of the two common moral choices. These choices are laid out very routinely; they revolve either around an evil concept that is too repulsive to put into practice even in a digital world, or a very morally grey issue that is the lesser of two evils. These bring about a generally genre defining experience. However, I beg to ask the question; what if all your choices were difficult? Not having three or four difficult choices in the scope of the ten hour experience, but a genuine thought provoking experience? No, what if every choice was not a black and white cutout. What if the gaming world that you crafted was as morally questionable as everything else in the world? To not be the savior or the harbinger of doom but your own person. Just an average Joe or Jane trying to make it through the day. Making these choices as that person, not as the stereotypical action game character who is capable of godlike feats. There exists only you, and the people that you interact with. The world and its values are defined through your actions and how you perceive it. Essentially taking out the proverbial hand-slap that developers give us when we commit an act of indecency. Gamers don't need developers telling them how to play their games. If you want to ransack a village and burn the place to the ground, that is your prerogative. We don't need good and bad smiley faces telling us that we are "bad" people.
Though games are nowadays a point of contention on many issues relating to art and culture; they are above all a form of entertainment. That is why as gamers we have come to overlook the difficult choices that are associated with games. We have come to a point where we cannot push the boundaries of the norms now accepted for the video game industry. If we are to show brutal acts of violence, why can't we include sex that expresses love? However, that is an issue for another time. Beyond the realms of Peggle and 99 cents I-phone games there exists the triple A titles. This is the world that morality resides in. As the industry begins to grow we have to understand why these games exist. They exist for the sole purpose of reminding you just how human you are.

Welcome to Pittsburgh!

Immeasurably Fallout 3 has always existed as a world of grey and even more morally grey choices. Entrenched throughout the lore of Fallout are stories of survival and deep moral choices. The Pitt, Bethesda's latest DLC for Fallout, continues this trend. As the name elegantly suggests, the DLC sends you to Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh carries the honor of being one of the few cities in Fallout lore not to be directly ravaged by nuclear warfare. However, over the years the city has become a breeding ground for slavery and mass disease. Similar to the "Operation Anchorage" DLC, players must wait for a broadcast signal to access the content in the Pitt. From there you are thrust into the city with naught save your wits and must make do to survive in the city. However, if you are level 20 to which I assume most people are, there is little to no challenge in the combat.
Presentation is top notch as it was with the previous DLC pack. The city looks absolutely infested with Trogs, disease, Slavers and the cancerous fumes from the industry. Bethesda has done a wonderful job of nailing the overall presentation. The city looks truly dilapidated as it seems that each instrinsic detail of destruction was painted throughout your environment. You'll explore smoking ruins, brave diseased tunnels and recoil in horror witnessing the slaves being treated like vermin. Achieving a greater sense of immersion with the overall dreary and depressing atmosphere.
The game play is still very much intact from the main game. If you enjoyed the combat in the main game, then this is a very natural and easy transition for you. However, you have two new weapons at your disposal; the Auto Axe and the Infiltrator. The Auto Axe is a wondrously crude chainsaw like blade that eviscerates enemies horrifically. The latter is a small submachine gun with an afixed scope to make combat outside of the system of VATs slightly easier. You'll be using plenty of these weapons throughout the course of Pitt's four to five hour experience. While it doesn't change the game-play in any significant fashion, it provides an innumerous amount of fun.
The story of the Pitt is a wonderfully crafted, albeit predictable tale of freedom and salvation. It provides the series staple of showing gamers the grey side of morality. Good and evil are definable concepts to you. There is no angel or devil to judge your actions, no large consequence for your overall actions. Fallout is a world where the rules of your actions governs who lives and dies in the end. Not to spoil anything, but the big reveal at the end of the Pitt is incredibly intelligent in the support of both the "good" and "bad" karma routes. This leads to one of the "better" quests of Fallout showing you there is almost no "proper" way to finish the quest. Each outcome will make you feel a little remorseful in the end. I believe this to be a brilliant approach to the overall style of Fallout and captures the very essence of the series.
This results in a fair amount of replay value seeing the Pitt from the savior of the slaves and the self-glorified bastard. Is it worth 800 Microsoft points? That depends; If your a fan of Fallout 3 this pack is for you. While it may be on the short side, it provides you with a great experience that will hold you over until "Broken Steel" is released. Eight out of Ten

Gunnerkrigg Court

Just like to plug Tom Siddell's web comic: Gunnerkrigg Court. Its a wonderfully intelligent and beautifully drawn web comic. It holds many inferential holds over me and I believe it to be a very mature take on a limited fantasy world. While it would be pretty awesome if I included numerous references to Objectivism and thoughts of "greater" good; that is for you to discover on your own. It tells the story of a young girl named Antimony as she discovers for herself the meaning of the world that is thrust around her. If you are interested in this comic, his website is Gunnerkrigg.com; while his first collection of comics can be purchased from Amazon.com or you're nearest bookstore. Oh and Stacey I'm sorry about tonight, I promise I'll be a better boyfriend tomorrow. Promise.

The Progressive Future of Video Games

As G.D.C continues on this week, many interesting points are being raised or in short, being addressed again. As many people have noticed over the course of the industry is the lack of "progressive" games. I believe in this generation that we have all lost the ability to fear and or view things inferentially. We have become accustomed to being slapped in the face with overall obvious game design and poor scares. Like the newly released Resident Evil 5, fear is certainly not an existing aspect in the game whatsoever. Why should I be afraid of anything when zombies are static bullet sponges, and I have enough firepower and ammo to take over a small country? The lack of a very inferential experience that draws in your most complex emotions and the ability for a game to make you ponder the intrinsic details of their interpretation and meaning.
I believe that over the years we as gamers have lost something very vital in this console generation. The ability to draw from and take our own inference from the overall story and experience that we payed forty to sixty dollars on. Every game offers its own experience and as a whole every gamer draws something from it. However, due to the changing iteration of difficulty, gamers have lost any sense of connection with the overall experience. Albeit, the moments that now capture our attention are drawn out testosterone based explosions and gore. The sense of wonder that existed in the older generation of games has all but evaporated. No challenge exists anymore, turning every single game into an over wraught movie. You press one button or sometimes even two to advance the plot of the game. The result is a lack of deep connection to the entire journey that you shared with this character; all the deaths and failures you endured to reach the end. This emotional undertaking is slowly fading as the new console generation is ushered in. Is it the future of gaming? As it exists now, the industry is certainly embracing it. Will you let it happen?

Role Models

Just finished watching the movie. Yes, I have to admit, there was a large amount of "toilet" humor. Although it wasn't the smartest comedy in existence; it was great for a laugh. It also provided the sappy corny moments that make you realize the awkward side of life. Not to be sentimental, but these moments make you realize just how much you care towards that significant other. Yes, hold back your groaning sighs; you know that singing someone's name is awesome too.

Awesome!

Wheee, I finally have a space to spew out my boring thoughts! Time to blog on the important stuff like movies, games, and life. Practically everything that's essentially important.