Intro #

I’m working on a game right now that involves a lot of narrative. That’s lead me to think a lot about moral choice in games, what I like, and what I want to do in the future.

For my game, Esmerelda: The Black Amber Covenant, I want to have quests and a morality system. But what does that look like, even just from the design perspective?

Well, let’s think about some games that did moral choice well:

• Fallout 3 & NV
• Jade Empire
• Fable
• MGS3 and V
• The Outer Worlds

Why do these morality systems work? #

Those games all had major and minor gameplay implications based on your choices.

• In Fallout 3, being too evil gets you scolded on public radio by Three Dog.
• New Vegas has unique dialogue based on Karma and Mr. New Vegas also comments on your actions, but with a softer touch.
• Jade Empire grants an entire skill tree to either side of the morality binary. Your moral choices throughout the whole game dictate what kind of combat options you have access to. I think this is really cool, since it impacts the moment-to-moment gameplay, and reinforces you for making those choices.
• Fable turns your character either hideously ugly or hideously ugly (a lose-lose really) based on you karma.
• MGS3 and V offer totally different challenges based on lethal / non-lethal playthroughs.
• The Outer Worlds braids quest lines with other quest lines, and as you progress, your earlier choices will continue to support (or haunt) your experience.

Truly Evil #

Some games do not do a good job with moral choices, and the first that comes to mind is Fallout 4, where the moral range goes from “goodie goodie” to “expensive smart ass.” Off the back of such a rich evil experience in Fallout 3, this was a major mistake in my opinion.

Evil playthroughs offer depth and catharsis. Turning Moira Brown into a ghoul feels totally justified after completing her quest line in a previous Good run in Fallout 3.

It’s important to make being good harder than being evil, but sometimes, offering the depths of evil is just as important.

Designing Choices #

Morality absent Agency is nothing. How do you make choices that enhance your game? Here are some Ideas:

1. Notify users how their choices immediately affect their karma. This should be as gratifying as scoring points at the arcade. Only at the end, the score says something about your experience besides your competency.
2. Offer in-game content and rewards for pursuing different moral outcomes. The more you can intertwine this history with the players in-game experience, the more their morality will resonate with them.
3. Sometimes, making good choices should be hard. Same with evil choices. As a designer, you can force the player out of their comfort zone with choices like these.
4. Uncertainty shouldn’t be over-used. Games are supposed to be fun. If every choice has unpredictable moral outcomes, that can be grating more than rewarding.
5. Your game doesn’t need a morality system to have morality. Rescuing a comrade in Arma 3 who is clearly out of position and risking your own neck in the process can make you feel proud when it works and ashamed and guilty when it doesn’t. Granted, this is a multiplayer example, and there’s no save-scumming in multiplayer.

Beyond the Game #

Humans exist in the context of the stories we tell ourselves. What can games do to shape our own identities? How can games help us grow as people?

Some people may find those question presumptuous.

As an indie dev, who are you to say what “good” even is? True. It may be pretentious to think your little indie game will make an emotional impact on someone. But I believe that’s exactly the mindset you need to take when crafting a video game. Not every game needs this, but some certainly do.

So that’s the mindset I’m going to carry forward as I continue deving. At least until I finish my game!