RE: We chat about videogames and videogame accesories.
01-22-2012, 04:08 AM
I was discussing this earlier and I personally think that karma meters aren't inherently bad, but I think the problem stems from dividing things to a single axis.
I'm reminded of Ultima IV, which sort of pioneered the concept but did it better than basically everybody since. It had eight virtues, all of which could be increased or reduced via your actions in the game, and some of which would come into direct conflict. It seems to me that if you must track the players decisions, track it as a series of opposed philosophies, each with their own merits-- Justice versus Mercy, say, or Heroism versus Pragmatism, or Tradition versus Independence, that sort of thing. That's just my take on it though.
I'm reminded of Ultima IV, which sort of pioneered the concept but did it better than basically everybody since. It had eight virtues, all of which could be increased or reduced via your actions in the game, and some of which would come into direct conflict. It seems to me that if you must track the players decisions, track it as a series of opposed philosophies, each with their own merits-- Justice versus Mercy, say, or Heroism versus Pragmatism, or Tradition versus Independence, that sort of thing. That's just my take on it though.