StaceyPowers Posted November 21, 2020 Posted November 21, 2020 I’m playing Mass Effect 2 right now, and hypothetically I could get away (I think) with having a fling with another character before rekindling with Liara, but I can’t seem to bring myself to do it, even though these aren’t “real” people. I don’t think it’s weird to me not to want to harm my NPC buddies, but I do find it funny and odd I feel actual guilt over the prospect of cheating on Liara, just like I would if this were a scenario IRL. Has anyone else ever felt genuinely guilty over something like this?
The Blackangel Posted November 22, 2020 Posted November 22, 2020 After the events of chapters 3/4 in RDR2, and what happens in Rhodes and St Denis, I feel a lot of guilt. Like I could and should have done something different. But those events are part of the story line and out of the gamers hands. So I don’t have any choice but to cry when they happen. StaceyPowers 1
AndreiMirfi Posted November 22, 2020 Posted November 22, 2020 At the moment, I'm a little bit sad but then, I get used to it. Happens at movies & series too.
m76 Posted November 22, 2020 Posted November 22, 2020 39 minutes ago, AndreiMirfi said: At the moment, I'm a little bit sad but then, I get used to it. Happens at movies & series too. You absolutely cannot compare this to films and tv, you have no choice there, you just observe. You can feel bad for characters but why would you feel guilty?
m76 Posted November 22, 2020 Posted November 22, 2020 I feel bad for making the wrong choice all the time. And I loath game designers who trick you into wrong choices by withholding information from you. And laying traps. Like the ominous dialogue choices in Mass Effect, when you don't know what the character will say, and often it ends up the opposite of your intentions. I hate that. I even feel guilt when I run over pedestrians in gta.
The Blackangel Posted November 23, 2020 Posted November 23, 2020 RDR2 royally pissed me off tonight. Outside St Denis there was a man who needed help. He was at deaths door, and needed someone to get him to the doctor. I picked him up and raced to town. While I was on my way, some asshole rode right in front of me which sent both me and him flying off my horse. The crash killed him and I got a fucking murder charge. I had to race like hell because every cop, bounty hunter, and asshole with a gun was on my ass. That’s fucking bullshit. In trying to help someone, they die due to something that was none of my fault, and I’m charged with a crime as a result. That’s the last god damn time I try to help someone.
killamch89 Posted November 23, 2020 Posted November 23, 2020 When it comes to video games, I'm quite the sadistic bastard 😹. In most video games, my mission is to conquer the entire gaming world and cause the npcs as much grief as possible. On second thought, it isn't so much that I'm cruel, I just want to see the consequences of killing every single npc.
The Blackangel Posted November 23, 2020 Posted November 23, 2020 I’ve done that. I got a $4000 bounty on my head from killing so many. This is $4000 in the 19th century. If a kid had 5 cents, he was one of the richer kids in town during that era.
StaceyPowers Posted November 23, 2020 Author Posted November 23, 2020 (edited) 14 hours ago, m76 said: You absolutely cannot compare this to films and tv, you have no choice there, you just observe As @The Blackangel pointed out though, even when we have no choice while gaming, we sometimes feel oddly guilty. I suppose that is because despite not really having a choice in-game, we are still active participants, not passive observers as when watching a film. This does make me think of Spec Ops: The Line making players feel guilty despite giving them almost no choices. I don't think Spec Ops made me feel guilty per se--but it did make me question the unconscious assumptions that influence me when I am playing games, and in life in general. I think the game's point was that until we become aware of those unconscious motivations and beliefs, we don't really have full control of our actions. Such a cool game. Btw, I hear you on Mass Effect dialogue. Same in Dragon Age sometimes. Where it's like, I did not think that picking that option would mean that result. I usually just go back when that happens if it's really bad, because it's not like it was an unexpected consequence of a deliberately chosen action--it wasn't the action I was trying to choose. 5 hours ago, The Blackangel said: The crash killed him and I got a fucking murder charge. In the original RDR, if you crash into someone, nobody dies, or even falls off their horse or carriage, lol. And I am SUCH a bad steerer. I'm going to get into so much trouble in RDR2! Edited November 23, 2020 by StaceyPowers
AndreiMirfi Posted November 24, 2020 Posted November 24, 2020 On 11/22/2020 at 5:24 PM, m76 said: You absolutely cannot compare this to films and tv, you have no choice there, you just observe. You can feel bad for characters but why would you feel guilty? Because I like the game and it feels like I'm in it, and the things are real.
m76 Posted November 24, 2020 Posted November 24, 2020 10 hours ago, AndreiMirfi said: Because I like the game and it feels like I'm in it, and the things are real. You were referring to movies. How do you feel guilt over what happens in movies? Sadness, pity, resentment, but guilt? HOW?
killamch89 Posted November 24, 2020 Posted November 24, 2020 In Skyrim especially, I love slaughtering all the killable NPCs and using the ritual stone power to revive them all and now I have a whole army of undead to do my bidding. I don't even have to fight anyone myself and I can even use them to distract my enemies while I flank them.
skyfire Posted November 27, 2020 Posted November 27, 2020 I don't feel that way. Considering the scenarios are made and we have to act according to that scenario. And so the video game characters are not real and we are given scenario to act for it.
Empire Posted November 27, 2020 Posted November 27, 2020 Games that I play, I feel no feelings at all. That's just me anyway. That being said if it was a good story plot and making that right choice on what that character needs to do next can be affected to the next part of the story. Walking dead stories series games that I'm talking about here that has changed the way that you game.
skyfire Posted November 29, 2020 Posted November 29, 2020 On 11/27/2020 at 7:37 PM, Empire said: Games that I play, I feel no feelings at all. That's just me anyway. That being said if it was a good story plot and making that right choice on what that character needs to do next can be affected to the next part of the story. Walking dead stories series games that I'm talking about here that has changed the way that you game. Pretty much same for me. I can't think of games as more these days because putting outselves into the game ends up draining from inside.
