The moment that inspired this question:

A long time ago I was playing an MMO called Voyage of the Century Online. A major part of the game was sailing around on a galleon ship and having naval battles in the 1600s.

The game basically allowed you to sail around all of the oceans of the 1600s world and explore. The game was populated with a lot of NPC ships that you could raid and pick up its cargo for loot.

One time, I was sailing around the western coast of Africa and I came across some slavers. This was shocking to me at the time, and I was like “oh, I’m gonna fuck these racist slavers up!”

I proceed to engage the slave ship in battle and win. As I approach the wreckage, I’m bummed out because there wasn’t any loot. Like every ship up until this point had at least some spare cannon balls or treasure, but this one had nothing.

… then it hit me. A slave ship’s cargo would be… people. I sunk this ship and the reason there wasn’t any loot was because I killed the cargo. I felt so bad.

I just sat there for a little while and felt guilty, but I always appreciated that the developers included that detail so I could be humbled in my own self-righteousness. Not all issues can be solved with force.

  • Count Regal InkwellEnglish
    10·
    1 year ago

    Old-ass example: Zelda: Majora’s Mask. Waiting for the mooncrash with Anju, Kafei showing up at the last minute, and them telling Link to save himself and leave them to die together. It was the first time I saw tragic beauty in a medium I mostly knew for either childlike joy or gleeful violence (depending on if the game was E or M rated lmao)

    Newish example: Towards the latter half of Supergiant Games’ Pyre, as it becomes clear that the stars are going out, and only a few will get to leave the Downside, and the entire team is looking downcast and they turn to you, their reader, the crippled scholar who would never be able to ascend due to being unable to partake in the games of magic basketball, but who had guided them this far, for guidance. And the game just lets you – Write the speech you’ll give to your friends. I had never seen a game do anything of the sort. My jaw was on the floor.