There are days when I get tired of being good in real life, and what I
want to do is go be amoral in a setting where it doesn't hurt anybody
(a game). But those days are rare, and most of the time, I feel like
playing a game but don't *want* to be forced by the game to behave
amorally -- at such times I play a paladin in Omega (a roguelike game,
not an IF game), so that I can be rewarded by the game for being good.
Maybe I'm ridiculously squeamish, but I didn't like taking the egg out
of the bird's nest to give to the monk in Unnkulia, because the egg
was the bird's potential child, and it seemed cruel to steal it right
out of the nest. (Yes, I AM a vegetarian in real life. :-)) I also
don't like taking an object that seems as if it belongs to a game
character, as opposed to an object that's just lying around and
appears to belong to no one. I usually feel much better about taking
something if it's clear that its owner died many years ago, and I
usually feel better about killing monsters if they attack me first. A
game such as you propose, where the player was forced by the design of
the game to behave amorally, then scolded by the game for doing so,
would bother me.
This is an interesting question -- thank you for bringing it up.
Cory Kerens
-- ******************************************************************************* Who needs drugs when we have sex and chocolate? cory@miso.wwa.com *******************************************************************************