Wednesday, January 04, 2006

The Choice is Yours


Arseface. That is the nickname I have in Fable. The choices I made in that game are the reason I have it.

Playing through Fable, I realized how moral choices make the game much more interesting. Anything you do in Fable, whether it be good or bad, shapes your character, who he becomes, and how other characters in the game view you. That was Fable’s main selling point, and if sales mean anything, it means that gamers want more of this.

Need proof? Both Knights of the Old Republic games sold very well and had great critical acclaim. The Shin Megami Tensei games (Which were the first games to have this “Good or evil” feature) were cult classics in both the U.S. and Japan. So why don’t more RPG creators interpret this feature into their games?

The moral choices should be a standard feature in most next-gen RPGs. That really should be the next evolution of the genre. Forget hidden costumes and other worthless unlockables: a moral system would interest most gamers much more. Natsume’s Harvest Moon games haven’t been very intriguing or enjoyable to play since 2000’s Back to Nature. How about if you don’t take very good care of the farm or if you are not known as a very good person throughout your village, other characters look at you differently? That would probably regain some gamers interest who lost interest in the now-lacking series.

Moral systems: a standard for all future RPGS. I’m sure I am not the only one who would like to see this.

3 Comments:

At 10:16 PM, Blogger Ross said...

"...over the world to the point that it sends NPC heroes after you to try to stop you."

In Fable, there are NPCs that try to stop you. Assasins in Fable who did not like what you do based on your choices try to attack you.

The moral choices you make in it can change events and things that happen around you, so it adds a much more enjoyable flavor to the overall experience.

You can command things in Fable. You can summon powerful beasts or people and command them to do what you want.

 
At 4:31 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I disagree with your assesment that moral choices need to become a gaming standard. After beating both Fable and KOTOR 1, I am toally bored with the concept of "good" and "evil." Basically, there are only two ways to go in these types of games, and it perpetuates the simple black and white, good and evil perspective. Plus, after playing these two games, it's just not very exciting to be evil, in my opinion.

 
At 10:40 AM, Blogger Son_et_lumiere said...

Yeah, it was a pretty obvious, 2-sided moral system in Fable, either kill the townspeople or help them sort of thing. I liked it, being evil- when I was higher level I could kill everyone in a town and just sit there for like 10 minutes killing all the guards spawning. Teehee. Plus I looked like a badass in my massive evil spiky armor, with a horned head.
I would like to see an evolution of this, with better NPCs and more ambiguous choices.

 

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