A typical trope in video games this generation is the element of choices. While it may seem like a common thing to include in a video game, they are literally two-dimensional. Moral choices appear in such games as: Grand Theft Auto 4, inFamous 1&2, Red Dead: Redemption, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Bioshock, Mass Effect 1&2, Dragon Age 1&2, etc. The latter two examples are developed by Bioware and have prided themselves on the importance of moral choices. An example that pops into my head, from Mass Effect 2, is that a teammate of yours wants revenge on someone who betrayed his team and got nearly everyone killed. His lust for vengeance puts you between him and his target, as you are the bait to lure the defector out. Yet, when you see and have a dialogue exchange with the target, he tells you how he can’t eat and has nightmares about his actions. The game asks you: Do you stand between your friend and his target or do you let your friend kill the man? The only problem is that these are the only options and they are clearly outlined as being good and evil, respectively.
The problem with moral choice is that they do not explore a moral gray area. The player either chooses to be Mother Teresa or Satan. Mike Laidlaw from Bioware commented on why moral choices fail. "I think it's difficult because the raw morality you're presented with in a game is a very narrow slice of life, a narrow experience band… a game is a big experience and you have to account for the player working within a possibility space as opposed to a single linear narrative.” Games cost a lot of money to make and so the games that have moral choices have to extend each choice and the consequences in detail or else the player disbelieves the world and experience the developer is crafting.
One example of a game with consistent moral gray areas is Fallout 3, developed by Bethesda Softworks. The plot involves you exploring the wasteland of Washington D.C. after a nuclear war between the United States and China. The whole world has been thrown into disarray so the choices that the player makes are for his or her own survival. There is no right or wrong answer when civil society has been dealt a massive blow. Bethesda goes out of their way to create massive worlds and all these choices, even if you never see any of it. The possibilities of different actions taking different effects are a hallmark of Bethesda’s games. The only system that involves a good or evil relation is the karma system. The karma system gives you bad karma when you murder or steal but gives you good karma when you help people. Unlike Mass Effect 2, the karma system does not change how the game turns out but rather; it changes how the other people view you, which makes for a more immersive and believable game world.
Sound off in the comments with your opinions of a moral choice system in video games.
