Morality as demonstrated in Mass Effect 3

Since I've made the recent life decision to one day go into game design, I've decided that I should write about games more often.  To be clear, this isn't writing glorifying a game for being fun or awesome, but for the seldom analyzed effects that gaming can have on oneself.

**Caution: Spoilers Abound**

So Mass Effect 3 is pretty awesome right? (Minus the ending)

Well, I think it is at least and you can read about it here.  Anyway, something interesting has been happening in one of my playthroughs and I wish to share it with you guys.

Now, Mass Effect is all about decision making.  It makes you factor morality into the story to determine if you are the savior or the biggest asshole in the universe.  What makes Mass Effect great is that your decisions carry over from one game to the next, culminating in this storyline that feels completely like your own.  They really create the idea of your story, not Shephard's, but your story.

My first playthrough was with my Paragon (good) Shephard.  Largely, I made morally righteous decisions.  For example, the Krogans and the genophage.  The whole series teaches you that Krogans are dangerous, that they are destructive, that there was a legitimate reason for the sterilization via the genophage, and largely you begin to understand why the genophage was necessary.  In ME3 you get the chance to reverse the genophage.

But why would you do that?  You've been taught that the genophage saved the Krogan from destroying the galaxy.  However, in ME3 the Krogan wish the genophage cured if they are to lend their support to you so that you can save the galaxy from the Reapers -- essentially trading one evil for the other.  However, the more you get to know the Krogan, the more you realize that maybe they don't want to just destroy the galaxy.  So you are left with this huge decision to make.  You can trick them into helping you and not actually cure the genophage so that you can secure the help, however, that decision will have long standing consequences once they realize the truth.  Making decisions like this make the universe feel more real, more alive, and more personal.

Another prime example is the Geth.  The Geth are essentially machines that were built by Organics, they have a central AI (like the Borg).  You can make several decisions which will alter the future of the Geth.  In the game, you deal with the issue of rights for Synthetics --  do they deserve them?  Ultimately you decide their fate, as well as the fate of the galaxy.

Anyway, in my second playthrough, Renegade (Evil), I'm beginning to feel the weight of all of these decisions I've made over a 100 hours of game with each character.

Wait, I'm beginning to feel guilty for all the evil I've done to these imaginary characters?

Hell yes.  I feel way bad.   These stories and people have become real to me over these 100 hours of game.  They feel as real as they possibly could, and every decision I've made carries weight to it.

I think any game that can make you feel this way about morality should be considered a work of art.  Another great example of this is Heavy Rain which I wrote a paper about as well.

Ok, so I've strayed a little bit.  Basically, play the game, feel guilty, experience the human condition.  It's worth it.  And I hope that one day I can be part of the design of a game that makes someone feel like I did while playing this, and that is that these characters are real and breathing and dynamic.