Matt Heston

Pictured above: The fast-paced, action-filled, edge of your seat dialogue system in Mass Effect
This is my first cblog, so I thought I’d start out by revealing something about myself: I love playing as the hero in RPGs. Constantly, incessantly, without fail when given the choice between a good or evil moral choice, I go with good. No matter how annoying or frustrating the NPC, I walk the path of righteousness. Why? Maybe because I didn’t have adequate acceptance from my peers as a child. Maybe my ego demands that all people, both real and virtual, see me as a likable figure. Or maybe I’m just a good person (unlikely, but possible).

For whatever reason, I choose to be a good guy. What do RPG developers do to reward this behavior compared to the rewards a player gets by choosing to be evil? Normally, I get a rushed thanks and some gold or a weapon, plus a little boost to my karma or whatever arbitrary point system used to differentiate between saintly and Hitler-esque. And if I’m really lucky, I get no gold or weapon but more karma.

Frankly, just getting a pat on the back and stuff what kills things gooder gets boring. I could try being evil, but it basically pans out the same way. Carcasses and some more stuff that puts down your enemies right quick. It’s like being a kid at Christmas who only gets sweaters and school stuff. You only really get two options in these games that are pretty much the same formula. Here’s how I boil down every moral choice ever-

Good Decision + Kill Bad Guys = Profit

Evil Decision + Kill Good Guys = Profit

Good or Bad seems to be the only variable that’s available to the player, and that’s a problem. When I talk about this with others, most of them think the solution is to add more moral ambiguity. While I agree that may be part of the solution, I don’t think that’s the only way. There are many more variables that are rarely considered that can be added to this equation. For example, in Fable 2, your actions changed how every NPC interacted with you. As a good guy, you were loved by every woman and respected by every man (or some combination thereof). This made it easy to get a spouse and get discounts at stores with increased inventories. So the Lionhead formula would be-

Good Decision + Kill Bad Guys = Popularity

Evil Decision + Kill Good Guys = Infamy

The way the NPCs in Fable 2 react to you doesn’t significantly change how the game plays out, but what if it did? In games like Persona 4, Knights of the Old Republic: The Sith Lords, and Mass Effect (sorta), your main character had to have conversations with his or her allies, it was a key part of the game. As you became better friends in Persona 4, new powers and abilities would become available. If you said the right things to the right characters in KOTOR, you could fill your space frieghter full of Jedi or Sith. And in Mass Effect you could unlock brand new stories through entirely optional conversation. Lets say this kind of formula looks like this-

Popularity + Good Decision = Profit

Infamy + Evil Decision = Profit

There’s an overlap between these games and another genre that most people ignore. Namely, dating sims. Like RPGs, you slowly build up your character to meet a goal. While that goal is usually doing the nasty in dating sims, the underlying concept of words being your primary weapon to affect change in the world is terribly unnoticed.

Try to imagine now, a game set in WWII where you’re a spy behind enemy lines out to spread anti-Nazi propaganda, or an RPG where you lead a squadron of misfit soldiers whose abilities are directly guided by not only the missions you send them on, but also by how they view you, or if you’re a particularly sadistic type, a Phoenix Wright style game where you discover and attack your enemies insecurities to send them into a downward spiral of psychological uncertainty.

I’m just spit balling with these, but the whole choice system and charisma stat in general are way too limited. If it’s not discussed, we’ll get more games with moral challenges like “Save the World or Kick a Cat?”.

Which would be just great.

There’s a lot I missed in the three days I spent at Penny Arcade Expo, the Halo 3: ODST demo, the Left 4 Dead 2 demo, the H1N1 virus that was getting passed around, and the 6 hour line for Dragon Age: Origins as demonstrated with the above picture. Granted, I was able wait for hours on end in lines so long and labyrinthine I could easily forget about the names and faces of all the people I loved. For the most part, these lines were worth the wait. Listening to Tim Schaefer talk about storytelling in videogames was phenomenal. Seeing new videos of Knights of the Old Republic made me almost want to try the unholy pleasures of MMO gaming. Talking about the industry with the indie developers of the PAX 10 was unlike anything I’ve ever done before. Sadly, this made the rare exceptions when the wait was definitely NOT worth it all the more bitter.

While Dragon Age: Origins looks fun, the line for the demo was just inexcusable, especially when you compare it to other exhibitors who had more consoles, or scheduled times, or at the very least handed out swag as a consolation for those who got snubbed in line (Nintendo did this with Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story, which I appreciated. Plus the Mario beanie was pretty cool.) There were a few other offenders, but it was the one gripe I had with what was a totally rockin’ experience.

Each exhibitor had a different setup, so just taking a few steps would lead to an entirely different experience. There were demos, gigantic projectors, marketing guys talking up some tech thing or game, or in the case of Bethesda, doing all of those things plus handing out t-shirts and posters to anyone who passed by. After PAX, and giving it all some time to digest, I’ve found there’s a lot of people out there vying for your attention, but only some of them earned it with me.

Guys, get Wet when it comes out on the fifteenth.

But please, don’t buy any more Madden games. I’m begging you.

I’m going to give my thoughts on a number of topics before I go to Penny Arcade Expo.

Entertainment Consumers Association sent me an email letting me know that they want to hear the positives of video gaming and gamers. If I go to their booth this weekend and retell a good enough personal experience on record, I’ll get two tickets to PAX East. While I’m still pretty awkward in front of a camera, I can admit I have a few nice experiences from video gaming- the weight I lost playing Dance Dance Revolution, the friends I’ve made in all-night LAN parties, and the memories of waiting in line for the midnight release of a video game (next time you hear Nintendo talk about midnight releases, get yourself right to the middle of the waiting line. The most considerate and fun strangers I’ve met are huge Nintendo fans). But even more than winning any prize, I’m curious as to what other people have to add to this. How gaming has affected my generation is spoken of ad infinitum, so hearing about it’s impact on a personal level is something I don’t want to miss.

WET looks like something Quentin Tarantino would make- the levels are separated by (I don’t know the exact word for this) old school film reel countdowns, the cut scenes are deliberately grainy with a brownish shade that gives you the feeling that you’re watching an old cowboy flick, and the main character is a woman assassin who wields twin revolvers and a katana and can shoot ‘em up John Woo style. I want it.

Splosion Man has been out for a few weeks now, but it’s a really under appreciated game. It’s had great reviews, the platforming is excellent, the humor is great, and it’s only ten bucks. So why isn’t it getting some mainstream attention?! My brother and I have been playing it cooperatively for a little while now, so I thought we’d give it a little bit more of the love it deserves by posting a Youtube video. If my brother is too adorable for you, or my voice is a touch too handsome, you can watch one of my other videos. I won’t mind.