The Ultimatum

Last week I blithely wrote about moral scenarios in games until archfiend Veret promptly SHUT. ME. DOWN. And he was right, you know. I was arguing that moral choice is always too game-y because they never really get you to deduce just why you should enter a situation, let alone give you another option but to choose from a list of timeshare packages in the Bahamas, each more diabolical than the next. Ultimately my hypothesis ended up punishing the player for their lack of knowledge of the situations, but aint’ that just life? Then I thought (precisely one and a half minutes ago) that the problem with moral choice is not necessarily that they situation is unwarranted, it’s that they always rely on the moment of ultimatum; the sudden moral climax within the tale that never really expected you to give it much forethought.

In Bioshock 2 (and there will be some minor spoilers here, sorry) there was a succession of key moments in which you had to choose whether the particular demi-god/ ruler of the level should live or die, under particular moral circumstances. What I liked about this was that they gave you a level to build an opinion of the character so that when you finally confronted them, you’d have a bit of an idea of whether or not they’re worthy of your sleuth diplomacy. What I didn’t like about this, is that these moments were unnecessary and contrived. What this essentially means is that the game is setting the player up for a sequence of ultimatums (live/ die binaries because people like shooting things) which never have any discernable impact upon the immediate, or unfolding plot apart from the possibility of a slap on the wrist, or some nice flowers. On the other hand, the Little Sister mechanic was equally bewildering as you were essentially punished by being forced into a duel between you and the Big Sister, irrespective of your choice to harvest them or save them which only further strengthens the player’s confusion toward the game’s sense of causality.

When I finished Mass Effect, I sat there with a stupid look on my face and marvelled. That’s right people, MARVELLED. Why? Well because it was great, but largely because of how seamlessly the cause and effect of the moral choice system was threaded into the plot, and its proceeding events. Sure there was the glaring option of the RENEGADE-PARAGON dialogue options, but it almost didn’t matter because your moral choice was rarely an isolated event within the dialogue. What they were careful in doing was building tension through story and your seemingly insignificant choices to help you create rounded opinions of the situation, characters and plot, so when it came time for you to make an important decision, you were adequately educated yet still put under pressure, knowing your choice will have a resounding impact upon the development of the plot.

I still think I’ll make this mod. What I like about it (and excuse me whilst I stroke my burgeoning ego here) is that its events really only feel like a piece on a timeline, stripping away all external features to focus the game on your experience. You are never introduced to the character, but you are shown how he thinks, and beyond his actions, or moreso yours, it is up to you the player to interpret the game’s wishes, and fill in the events that follow. With your imagination. Provided it hasn’t turned black and fallen off. Saying that it punishes you for possibly doing the wrong thing, or the obvious thing is a valid point, but it makes the moral choice feel that much more real when you don’t know about every possible outcome or motive. Creating an experience where the player was aware of everything would be like having a cheat-sheet for life.

THOUGHTS, CRITICISM? Careful, I’m an incredibly narcissistic person and my ego is fragile.