What do games say about you?

[Skyblade]

I was talking to someone who pointed out to me that some people prefer stories in games that are very black and white. There is a morally good side, and a morally bad side. The person in question disliked games like FFT because the story has many more grey areas. This leads me to believe that the person has a very strong moral code as to what is right and what is wrong.

Actually, as one of those types of gamers, I have to say that I don't think that isn't quite correct. FFT has a lot of black and white in it. Almost all of the characters (including the "good guy") simply stray more to the "black" side of it. This definitely contributes to my dislike of the game, but it's not the only reason (do I need to bring up the atrocious combat mechanics again?).

FFT's moral problem (and the problem with a lot of games that claim to be "grey area" games) is that it makes a grey area by forcing you to choose between two different degrees of black. A lesser of two evils question. This is fine, unless there is a clear and obvious third choice you could make, if the game wasn't written just to be so "dark" or "meaningful".

I generally despise playing villains, especially in games with heavy characterization. Games like GTA never held any appeal for me. When I played Sith characters in SWTOR, I always play them as Light Side. I just don't really feel any reason to play a jerk.

On the other hand, games where you're evil, but are either completely ridiculous, lack real characterization, or both, can be awesome. GTA2 was a sandbox demolition derby with no plot I can remember that I had a blast with. Evil Genius was a fantastically underrated game that just needed a little polish on the overworld mechanics to be the best Tycoon style game of all time.