The idea is, of course, that most of the lives we take are really evil anyway, so we're actually doing the real good guys a favor. We kill tons of demons, ghosts, zombies, dragonkin, giants, and rabid beasts -- even most of the humanoids we kill are bandits or wicked cultists of one sort or another. This way we do lots of killing, but still feel as though we are heroes.
There are some situations in the game, however, that turn things around for us, in which our character is not the hero. While there are some higher-level instances such as the Black Morass, or the new Caverns of Time: Stratholme, in which one could argue either way whether what we're doing is good or evil, most of situations in which you are clearly the bad guy, as far as I am aware, have to do with the undead, and to a lesser extent the blood elves as well. Of course, you can argue that in general, undead are just misunderstood, and the blood elves are just tragically misled, but as in the case of quests in Hillsbrad that ask you to go slaughter human farmers, or help develop a new plague, there's really no denying that your character is doing something "morally wrong."
"But it's just a game!" you say, "Dude, chill out!" And yes, of course it's just a game. I did those quests just like everyone else, and I'm not saying they should be taken out. Doing morally wrong things in a game is very different from doing them in real life.
However, there's one moral limitation built right into the game mechanics, and it's worth being aware of. Aside from critters such as squirrels, rats and cows (and it's debatable as to whether those count or not) each and every killable entity in the game is capable of defending itself in one way or another, and usually they will attack you if you don't attack them first. Furthermore, it's actually impossible, as far as I know, to kill children in World of Warcraft; this isn't realistic, of course, but it does a whole lot to keep the game from being depressing.
I know there are some games out there, such as Grand Theft Auto and Bioshock, in which you have to face the question at some point: Should I kill innocents who cannot fight back? Some games, such as Knights of the Old Republic, are all about such choices, and your character takes a very different path depending on whether they act out of compassion or selfishness.
But in WoW, we are denied that choice to a large extent. Whether we want our characters to be evil or good, all the same quests are available to them all the time, and there's no difference for your character between doing good quests versus evil ones. There are players out there who would love to run around murdering these digital kids if they could, screaming "It's just a game, STFU!" I don't understand the desire to do that myself -- perhaps it's a way of venting their own vulnerability they feel about themselves, to kill imaginary children who are the very epitome of helplessness? In any case, to my mind the invincibility of kids in this game and the power of almost all other creatures to defend themselves (even to the point where they'll come back to fight you after running away at low health) is what makes WoW so accessible to anyone who wants to enjoy a fantasy adventure for a while. You can just do whatever without making moral choices. You don't have to think about right or wrong at all unless you're dealing with other players, and anyway, the worst you can really do to players is camp their corpse or ninja their loot.
So here's a question for you to ponder. With all the slaying of terrible monsters in this game, the acquisition of heroic items, or even these quests to do something bad, is there anything actually heroic about what our characters do? Alternately, is there anything actually evil or heroic that we could do to other players? When we log out at the end of our game, is it all just happy harmless fun time with no moral consequence whatsoever?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
9-02-2007 @ 3:42PM
Charlie said...
In the kind of society that wow is in, i would say our characters our heroes. But as you said yourself our characters would be considered maniacs in the real world. The two societys are so different, you just can't compare it. You just have to let it be.
But on the topic, i would love to see a new MMO thats fable-esque. Allowing the choices we make to truly impact the world. Spore is a good start to this kind of game (I hope it isnt indefinatley suspsended!)
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9-02-2007 @ 3:58PM
Nathan said...
I always imagine the poor souls of the Azeroth homicide unit, out on yet another crime scene.
"You say some guy came through here, murdered twenty farmers, and vanished?"
Just once, I want a quest objective that says "Hug 20 gnomes" or "Have reasonable discussion with Evil Demon Lord."
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1-09-2008 @ 8:19AM
Calybos said...
VERY good idea. I never lay a finger on critters, as a matter of policy, but some of the quests where I'm asked to slaughter harmless (yellow) creatures or wipe out farmers and villagers... I just skip them. Abandon the quest and move on.
Sure, that's less XP--but so what? Satisfying my own sense of ethics is more important than a few percentage points in a gameworld.
9-02-2007 @ 4:09PM
xdiesp said...
Btw killing people for rewards does not make you a hero, it makes you a bounty hunter. Heroes more than often don't come back to their families
And I can't remember where, but there is at least a quest dialog where your character says something like "cut it short, you want me to kill someone right?".
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9-02-2007 @ 4:10PM
draeth said...
LOL @2
That would be a hilarious quest, or something like crafting shirts for the Stormwind Homeless Shelter, or burning down the SW homeless shelter for the horde side lol
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9-02-2007 @ 4:45PM
nick said...
So...it should called, World of Iraq...right?
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9-02-2007 @ 4:50PM
epsilon343 said...
Ever since KOTOR and Fable, I've yearned for the day when games begin to eschew the need to make us the good guy who fights for justice. Arguably this is more because of previous hardware limitations as well as the culture of America fighting off any game that allows to you enjoy your dark side a little.
What I think WoW could do, or any other game, is give you an objective and then, as you go about completing that objective, give you good or bad points. Say, for example, you have to retrieve some item. Maybe a "good" player would try and use non-lethal attacks to keep the people away whereas a "bad" player would cut through the horde (no pun intended) of people and just walk over their bodies on the way out. As you gain more and more points, you'd slide further an further to one side of the spectrum (or stay in the middle).
It'd be a much more realistic look at the world where people aren't just good or bad, but all different shades. It's pretty obvious WoW is too established for this sort of a change, but I think that as we begin to reach a point where graphics can only get so realistic, we need to start aiming more for the psychological aspect of a game to become more involving and realistic.
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9-02-2007 @ 4:57PM
Mats said...
Being a undead, killing 20 farmers to find a new plague is not morally wrong. Humans are not part of your race, and can be seen as nothing more then animals that would not think twice about killing you. (try running close to them, and you will see the madness in there eyes) And the new plague is crucial to the survival of your own race, would you not kill 20 savage animals to save your race? What kind of unmoral bastard are you, wanting to save 20 savage creatures, while your own kind die at the hands of your own lazyness. For shame David Bowers, it makes me sad that there exists such a awful creature as you in this world.
Now this is just one way to show you that in the real world, there is no such things as "good and evil". These things only exist in fairy tails and video games. The killing of farmers is no more good or evil morally speaking then the tranquilize and tag quest in netherstorm. No one does evil in the world, they all think they do good. But in reality we just do, and then we decide if we have done good or bad.
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9-02-2007 @ 5:05PM
Pzychotix said...
Way to be completely biased.
I mean, surely every single spirit, person, and animal you kill as a human MUST be evil, amirite? They've gotta be, because you're on the side of good, and you'd never do something greedy, selfish and wrong. Surely since the people are undead, orcs, or some other random race not alliance, they're completely evil!
Way to be racist.
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9-02-2007 @ 5:08PM
VegasHorde said...
I felt bad when I helped the Undead dude kill the Tauren in the Undercity...
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9-02-2007 @ 5:16PM
Elzam said...
Morals for an individual are dictated by the society at large.
There is nothing morally wrong to someone such as an Undead to kill Alliance Farmers as it does not violate the normal code of conduct for a Forsaken.
For example, Spanish conquistadores when first arriving in North America, as we know, conquered the native peoples near them. Was this morally wrong by their standards? No, they had gone for their own reasons: gold, glory, and God. Is it morally wrong by today's standards? Most would argue yes.
You cannot apply morals in your perception to those of another society and say that they are performing "evil" or that they have "bad morals."
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9-02-2007 @ 5:20PM
Bret said...
Those kids are far from helpless. In Darkshire, there's a kid there that summons guards like normal civilians, but YOU CAN'T KILL HIM. He summoned a horde of guards on our raid.
Helpless? I think not.
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9-02-2007 @ 5:33PM
kenny said...
poor gamon. the things we do to him...
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9-02-2007 @ 5:57PM
4STR4STALeatherBelt said...
@10
While I see your point (and I agree to to degree) you must remember the Forsaken were once Human too. Blizzard's take on this in the story is they have been tortured terribly by their experiences during the Third War and have become rather twisted as a result. I don't really believe every Forsaken would suddenly have no moral issues with slaughtering weak farmers simply trying to survive.
And that, therein, lies the meat of my view on the matter. Blizzard, in a way, gives you the choice: Don't do that quest, don't kill those NPCs, don't steal that relic from their hall, etc. 'Take a stand' if you will.
Ok, you lose out on some exp, but if you care enough about "playing your character" that way then you have the option to do so. Lets remember the NPC giving those quests is a High Executioner of the Forsaken. It's like an Officer ordering/allowing executions during real world wars. Is it right? No. Do the Soldiers under his command have (by law) to follow his orders? No. Sometimes must they, however? Yes.
In Warcraft terms, there are bastards on every side of every race. Tirion Fording expresses a similar opinion of that when conversing with him. I mean hell the Orcs have 'regained their honor' and all, but do you really think there aren't some amoung them who would gladly rape and pillage Human villages if given the chances? Of course there are.
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9-02-2007 @ 6:10PM
Heraclea said...
If I were given the chance to kill the boy who runs around with the girl's doll in Stormwind, I would do it in a heartbeat.
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9-02-2007 @ 6:47PM
Ozain said...
@2 Hehe... Good luck with the discussion, I can just imagine my char sitting down at a table with a Pit Lord drinking tea and nibbling biscuits.
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9-02-2007 @ 7:04PM
Valethas said...
Ahhh yes......Reminds me of Fable. Its too bad there's not a game thats alot like an MMO version of Fable (and BTW a freind of mine was saying there's going to be a second one woo!)if there was it would actually by the way some people talk about maybe perhaps beat WoW since that is a major hole in WoW stuff. Doesn't matter if your an Orc or a Troll your still.....ehhh pretty good.
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9-02-2007 @ 7:10PM
lordfrikk said...
I always play "dark side" in games. Only exception was Fable, where I got seriously depressed after being "full dark side" and killing my friend and rival from childhood. Never finished the game:)
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9-02-2007 @ 7:12PM
twh said...
So, Mr. Mats, killing villagers whose capacity for survival is clearly dwarfed by yours is morally justified.
Not just that, but evidently, despite the fact they've been there all their lives, doing nothing to you and doing their best to survive in abject fear of death by you, makes them fear game, because, according to you, it's perfectly justified so you can kill more people to perpetuate the species made of shambling corpses that have about as much body mass as a twelve year old.
Gimme a break.
To claim that there is no 'right or wrong' is the creed of the ethically lazy and arrogant. Heaven forbid someone actually looks at themselves and see their own faults. To deny that is the apex of hypocrisy.
Seriously, if someone was actively plotting and planning to kill you, I can understand. Cultists, bandits, and what not are nothing new. But to kill people that are just hanging on to what little they do have is despicable. And no, Forsaken are not the ones I'm talking about. It's the villagers of Hillsbrad, the refugees outside of Gilneas' wall, and the mages of Dalaran, which are the victims of Forsaken cruelty.
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9-02-2007 @ 7:25PM
Pzychotix said...
@13: There are as many orcs left who would like to "rape and pillage" as there are humans who would do the same. Hell, there are entire factions of humans who are devoted to doing it.
@Everyone else: Fine. I want a peace treaty with all the mobs in the game. Anything that attacks me is now just killing in self-defense. Got it?
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