Theme-y Thursdays: Good and Evil

Today's theme is going to surround games which indulge in that concept of good, evil and the wonderful grey area in between. While a majority of them place you, as the player, into the always benevolent hero or heroine role, the stories which either go against the grain and force you to be the villain or let you choose a side are amazing.

Image Credit: Karen Arnold

While we all love that illusion of balance, where the world is always black and white and good triumphs over evil indefinitely, reality is much more complicated. That is usually why many of us find ourselves rooting for the villains, even when they stand for everything we are against. GLaDOS and The Joker, just to name a few of my favorites off the top of my head, represent two of the many "evil" characteristics which we rarely see with our heroes: deadly calculation and absolute chaos.

These absent aspects make the supposed "bad-guys" more personable, and make us question our own morality by admitting our shared similarities with the villain. Yet, that is usually life in a nutshell. While we all like to imagine ourselves as perfect angels, apathy and empathy are becoming harder and harder to find these days. 

However, I would be lying if I said that the moral paths you choose actually reflect who you are in real life. Even though my favorite character in GTAV is Trevor Philips, that does not mean you will find any of his "hobbies" penciled into my own busy schedule. 

So, what does video-game morality say about you? Should you feel condemned to the dark side simply because you would rather be a Sith Lord than a Jedi, or because you punched that annoying reporter in all three Mass Effect games? Yes... no... well, maybe...?

Morality is a complicated issue, which many forms of art and literature use to their advantage. Just because we all know that our favorite superheroes will save the day, that does not mean we do not become invested in the story. Half of the experience in being a viewer surrounds the conflict, not the outcome. This conflict is such an important part, and generally the focus of so many mediums, because it allows us to experience that aspect of ourselves which we try to downplay: our internal struggles with being a good or bad person.

We want to see the "hero" triumph the same way we strive to put our best face forward. All of the negative characteristics that we find "evil" about ourselves manifest as something which can be overcome or defeated. When the main character is good, we can play at being the best versions of ourselves and help all the elderly across that metaphorical crosswalk. As the villain we can play at the generally repressed parts of our own personalities, stealing fake candy from an NPC or kicking virtual puppies. Games with either path are simply catering to both our inner hero and villain.

I want to hear what you guys have to say about this topic. Are you a Paragon, Renegade or somewhere in between? When you are allowed to choose, is there a path that you naturally take or do you feel an obligation towards one over the other? But most importantly, who are your favorite villains? While a lot of people can gush over their favorite heroes, I find myself liking villains more, even while I am fetching all the things for all the NPCs. 

I hope everyone has a wonderful day and thanks so much for reading.

SS