Does anyone else find it really difficult to play evil in games, like emotionally and morally?
I loved fable and got my angel wings and halo easy-pie; I never managed the horns and huge black wings. I tried, I really did, but I just can’t do it properly… I feel bad for it.
Edit: Or wait is that what this is about, rather than just a specific game…?
I also find it hard to do evil play throughs. I tried to do one on Baldur’s Gate 3, but I couldn’t bring myself to because of how it affects your companions. It doesn’t help that I had already seen most of them work through their trauma on a more good aligned play through
Most people don’t do evil runs cause most games do a shit job at portraying evil.
If I help the nice girl who has the keys to the treasure chest, in order to make her like me, that isn’t a “good” act.
I just want her to trust me so it’s easier to get the keys later.
Motivations make you evil, not actions. Actions can make you evil if the motivation is there, or if you lack any motivation other than self-service, but if you are just a fuckup, are you actually bad? Sure if enough of your actions are bad even if the goal is good, it makes you a bad person, but does it make you evil? (I’ve played enough morally ambiguous virtue games to know the answer is no; they always forgive the antagonist if he repents and tries to do better)
Killing people is often, in games, portrayed as a good thing… but not helping people doesn’t make you a morally reprehensible person… helping them the wrong way does. And that’s hard to encode.
“My husband had to go to xyz to deal with the kobold problem, but he hasn’t come back yet”. Your options are help or ignore, and ignoring it isn’t inherently evil, it’s just not compassionate or caring. Helping the kobolds would be the evil act in this scenario and it’s never an actual option in most games.
Does anyone else find it really difficult to play evil in games, like emotionally and morally?
I loved fable and got my angel wings and halo easy-pie; I never managed the horns and huge black wings. I tried, I really did, but I just can’t do it properly… I feel bad for it.
Edit: Or wait is that what this is about, rather than just a specific game…?
Nope it’s just a “Do you play as the good cop or as the bad cop?”
I also find it hard to do evil play throughs. I tried to do one on Baldur’s Gate 3, but I couldn’t bring myself to because of how it affects your companions. It doesn’t help that I had already seen most of them work through their trauma on a more good aligned play through
Most people don’t do evil runs because people feel bad if they hurt the emotions of someone they care about.
Though it helps if the people you are being an asshole to are the bad guys of the story. Gives more of an anti hero vibe to it.
Most people don’t do evil runs cause most games do a shit job at portraying evil.
If I help the nice girl who has the keys to the treasure chest, in order to make her like me, that isn’t a “good” act.
I just want her to trust me so it’s easier to get the keys later.
Tbf there was also a poll on how many people played through the Mass Effect games and did a Renegade playthrough and a vast majority didn’t.
Your idea sounds cool though.
I think this makes sense.
Motivations make you evil, not actions. Actions can make you evil if the motivation is there, or if you lack any motivation other than self-service, but if you are just a fuckup, are you actually bad? Sure if enough of your actions are bad even if the goal is good, it makes you a bad person, but does it make you evil? (I’ve played enough morally ambiguous virtue games to know the answer is no; they always forgive the antagonist if he repents and tries to do better)
Killing people is often, in games, portrayed as a good thing… but not helping people doesn’t make you a morally reprehensible person… helping them the wrong way does. And that’s hard to encode.
“My husband had to go to xyz to deal with the kobold problem, but he hasn’t come back yet”. Your options are help or ignore, and ignoring it isn’t inherently evil, it’s just not compassionate or caring. Helping the kobolds would be the evil act in this scenario and it’s never an actual option in most games.
Just slap town guards that infinitely respawn for max evil. Ez.