Editor's note: “Quarter Muncher” is a new games column in The Spectator named after a particularly difficult arcade game.
Video games with morality systems are not a new fad, but it took time for the gaming field to develop this idea. 1991 streets of rage is considered to be one of the first games to feature a morality system, but in reality there is only one final choice.
2004 fable had an “authentic” moral system, but was criticized for not ambiguous whether that “morality” was good or bad. Other games from the early 2000s experimented with morality systems with varying degrees of success. For example, the 2007 game. bioshock and in 2008 fallout 3.
dishonor has a different morality system than other games (with the possible exception of Dishonored 2, which I haven't played so I don't know for sure). You play as Corvo Attano, a “guardian” who is accused of assassinating the empress he risked his life to protect.
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Your captors are intent on getting rid of you, but on the day before your execution, your friends from the outside help you break out of prison. They say these people are watching your every move. It's funny that they say that because the game itself is like that too.
When you get out of your cell, you'll find a guard with his back turned to you. He will never look back. You have already been given the first choice. Do you just kill this guard who gets in your way? Or stun him and let him see you another day?
After escaping from prison, you receive a visit from an outsider. The Outsider is a neutral god who gives gifts to humans he finds “interesting.” He gives you supernatural powers and asks you to just continue on your path. He doesn't care how you accomplish your goals as long as you're fun to watch.
These powers include possession, teleportation, and time dilation, among others. The game begins in earnest from here, encouraging you to test your powers and be creative in your execution.
Will you use teleportation to slip through the blind spots of patrolling guards, or use it to land behind them and eliminate them completely? Should I open it or have him walk directly there? The possibilities continue.
This system of determining fate also applies to prominent individuals. Every mission in the game has a set target to eliminate. It's easiest to just walk up to them and give them an old blade slice, but if you don't want to kill them, there are other options.
Dishonored assigns players a “chaotic” rating. This is primarily determined by body count, but can be influenced in other small ways. The game plays out differently based on Corvo's chaos rating.
In less chaotic conditions, allies will be more friendly towards you. As the match progresses, the patrol remains quiet and small. As chaos spreads, your companions grow more contemptuous of you. The number of enemies will be much higher, as they will try to dispatch you (in vain).
Each mission plays out differently in progressively more subtle ways based on your Chaos Rating. The final mission takes you directly to two different levels of chaos.
Players are given an incentive to go in either direction. High Chaos is generally “easy” because you don't have to worry about stealth mechanics and just need to be proficient in combat. However, lower chaos is more rewarding and encourages you to explore all of the game's mechanics.
However, ultimately the choice is yours. No one can truly stop Corvo Attano, the magic-wielding, gun-wielding, sword-wielding, mask-wearing assassin.
4/5 quarter. This time I barely touched on the gameplay aspects and instead focused on the meaning of the game. I think Dishonored will do a DIS service (which I know is easily possible) that focuses on the gameplay rather than the meat of the problem.
Who are you when no one can stop you?
Tolbert can be contacted at: [email protected]. Give him supernatural powers.
