I really like Geneforge series from spiderweb software. When was the last time I thought about my moral choices in a game? This game caught me off guard and made me find my morality.
It's become a bit of an obsession with modern games to have a moral choice system be part of any game released. Unfortunatly it's very rarely a true moral choice. Most games you choose between doing the right thing, and getting rewarded, or doing the wrong thing and getting rewarded equally.
Not to mention most games nowadays only give you the choice between total psychotic sociopath evil, or complete paragon of virtue good, with no middle ground or shades of grey. 
You should deffinitely see what geneforge can do to people. I know I was like the shapers. Wanting to control everything with strict laws, trying to protect people from hurting themselves. But shapers were cruel, and didn't allow freedom. Now I'm a neutral sympatising with the rebels that go "everyone should be allowed power, so kill 'em all the bad shapers" . Rebels do more harm to the world than the shapers, and are frequently doing mass genocide. But if all of this is done to ensure freedom, then I'd rather do that, than deny freedom. In geneforge there's no black or white. There's only grey. Maniac grey, idealistic grey, freedom grey, conservative grey and many more.
In geneforge 2 I was so lost. Nobody really stood out to me. Everyone was equally more or less bad. That's why I'm a neutral vigilante killing everyone that stands in my way. Both sinners and innocents. When was the last time a game made you care about what is right or wrong and not who gives the biggest reward?
Everyone please answer my three questions:
1) Serviles are a sentient race created by the shapers. They are humanoid, capable of thought and feelings. They can hate and love. They feel pain. Do you:
a) We created them, so we owe them. They shall be put to slave work for the good of mankind.
b) Serviles are equals with us in every way. They may have a mind of a child and a tendency for mental unstabilities, and even if that would mean that it's economically bad to do so, they should have an equal share on human resources, and should be cared for.
2)A rogue creature (One that isn't controlled by a shaper and has a free mind) is lying on the road, wounded, do you:
a) Kill it. Put it out of it's misery. All rogues deserve to die.
b) Leave, and do not interfere.
3)A powerfull device is created. It has the ability to give power to everyone without effort. What do you think is the best?:
a)Destroy it. Everyone needs to earn power, and needs humility to ensure that it's not put to bad use.
b)Give power to everyone. Power deserves to be shared.
See the problem with these questions? There are no good answers to them. Each answer is both good and bad. Power without control may seem like a fair idea, but it may only hurt the world when everyone has power. Shapers control every aspect of life and that's denying freedom, but at least it's safe. But you like to have freedom do you? Are other sentient beings to be considered lesser and used as slaves, or as equals? Many years into the future robots are supposedly going to reach such an amount of computing power that they will reach almost sentiency. But they aren't alive. They are just machines. Should they be put to use, or given freedom? This is a highly entertaining series of games, and I hope you try it out. The demos are free at least.
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Topic: My problem with modern games. (Read 126967 times)