How do you feel about morality systems? Do you think they give an extra level of depth to gameplay, or do you think they're just for background noise and extra dialog options? What are some games that you think have done morality systems best?
I don't like 'morality systems', per se. I like faction alignment systems more, with certain actions being in direct conflict with two or more factions.
>>332611742
You want a morality scale where moral and immoral are on an axis? How does that even work?
I don't like morality systems because they're never done well. I think the best was Catherine if that even counts.
How would you draw the line between moral and immoral as both are based on your subjective own view on the world?
>>332612458
The rules of the game may be arbitrary, but they're still black and white.
>>332612458
>The bad guys never see themselves as the bad guys
>Hitler was doing what he thought was best for the country
That's always a problem with morality systems, and there's no easy way around it. If you say "well these actions are perceived 90% of the group as immoral" someone will always say "well what about the 10% that see it as a moral action?"
>>332611742
morality in games is bullshit because it always requires you to go down a selected path to get the most reward, regardless of choice. However there is no black or white in morality, only shades of gray. Even in your diagram, the best gameplay option would now be 1 of 4 maximums. How would you reward a player who averages somewhere in the neutral. Or should there even be rewards for any path. If not, then the morality is even more useless.
>>332612804
If the morals of the game are simply black and white then it is shit, hombre.
Then you could play a game with no moral choices or dilemmas as all.
>>332611742
I think Mass Effect actually had the system closest to what I would want in a game which paragon and renegade. Your goals was the same either way, it was just two different ways of going about it.
Kotor 2 also hit pretty close to a realistic system, but that wasn't so much because of the system itself (it was still just light side and dark side), but because of other dialogue options and actions you could take. Sure you could be an outright evil dick, but you could also be a very manipulative coercer.
>>332613141
Any game that lets/forces you to choose sides does that.
>>332613234
That's basically what you'd be doing.
>>332612934
>>332611921
Basically this. You can have multiple factions or ideals and skew one to appear less likable, but the idea of "good" and "bad" are entirely subjective. Mass Effect is one of the better systems for this I feel because some of the choices you make aren't necessarily good or bad, its jsut a decision to shaft one group or the other. OF course, locking decisions that make everyone happy until you are either renegade or paragon enough is fucking stupid, because rather than let me make decisions based on my morals, i make a decision at the first choice whether I'm doing run A or B because staying in the middle leaves no one happy.
>>332611742
>D&D alignment
It's shit
Witcher 3 does it right. Actions have consequences, but they're not tied to whether the action was good or bad.
>>332611742
There should be done benefit to being neutral. Neutrality is realistically the best way to get ahead.
The only morality system worth a flying shit was Alpha Protocol's because it didn't have a morality system.
You want a blue bar to reassure you you're doing the right thing? Fuck you, make up your own mind about the morality of your actions--but all your contacts, allies, and opponents will all have their own opinions as well.
>WOW YOU'RE SUCH A NICE PERSON, WE'RE MAKING THE GAME EASY NOW
>wow you're literally Hitler, we're locking you out of half the game's content
>your decisions affect fuckall in the plot
If it were easy to translate morality into the binary set of rules and rewards of a game, we wouldn't have most of the ethical problems we have now. Do it right by not fucking doing it at all.
>>332611742
I prefer games that introduce moral dilemma that I have to think about with complicated implications for the relationships between my character and everything else I the game. I find most binary scales boring and arbitrary.
>>332614254
This is pretty much the only way to do it, The Witcher does it well too.
>morality
>in video games
lmao my ass off
>>332611742
it should be an N-dimensional scatter plot where N is equal to the number of individuals/factions within the game world. anything less is a pissweak cop-out by pathetic wannabe game devs. any game that uses just a mere integer to represent the character's current "moral position" is trash.
>+1 goody two-shoes pts
>-1 shame on you! pts
that shit belongs in a highschool "introduction to programming" class
