Thoughts from a Video Game

During the recent Steam sale, I made the excellent decision to buy Dishonored. I think I got it for 5-7 dollars, and it was the best buy I made this entire sale, hands (hooves) down. The gameplay was amazing, the story was great, and I was sucked in from the first scene. But what really sets this game apart from the rest of the pack is what is shown between the lines.

Those who read my material know that I love this type of story: one where the hidden message is most important. I wouldn't go as far as to say that I love cryptic messages, but I love subtlety. I love it when the true message isn't plastered to your face the whole time and I Iove it when there is a moral point made whilst not being preachy about it.

That is EXACTLY what I got out of this game. ***WARNING --- INCOMING SPOILERS***

I'll try to keep the spoilers to a minimum, but there are things I have to convey. The game gives you freedom of choice as to how you beat the game. You can either be stealthy and pacifist, or rogue and violent. It would make sense to do either, so it's really up to you. While being stealthy is much more difficult (especially later in the game), it brings it's own rewards. The ending is much better and I'm told people treat you better. If you go violent, the ending is worse and the game gets harder... and people treat you like garbage.

I went the rogue route. I tried being stealthy when I could, but it was too much fun to just kill people. (Yes, you may quote me on that.) You'll find that there is one person in the game that looks out for you, whether you go rogue or not. Because all of your actions are for the greater good, he understand what you have to do. At the end, however, even he admits his disappointment in your violent actions and promised to never see you again. That part really got me.

The moral of the story is that you have to answer to the consequences of your actions. If you do bad things, you have to suffer for it. If you do good things, you'll reap the good you sew. When I finished the game, the girl I was supposed to protect told me that she's going to kill the people that harmed her.

I know none of this means a hill of beans to a person who's never played the game, but I don't write this kind of thing for an "okay" game. This game is fantastic and you must play it.

There's also another hidden message behind what you see in the game. At the end of the violent ending, it is revealed that the empress (the girl you've been protecting) finally got her power and rightful title. Which in hand tells us that if Corvo (main character) hadn't killed or at least taken care of the people who tried to harm Emily, she wouldn't have been empress. It hints that even though Corvo did bad things, he suffered for the greater good. A good man did bad things so good things could happen.

It's not all black and white and there are many opinions on this, but it's difficult to argue that the concept of the greater good is obsolete. Let's take my most recent story (yes this is a shameless product placement) "A Time in the Sand." Big Mac is clearly a good person/pony. It's also clear that he did some things he was not comfortable with while at war. These are things civilians would argue are "bad" or "wrong". But if he hadn't had done these things, good ponies would have died. You could say the same is true with real soldiers. I'm sure most of the infantry would rather not kill people, but they have to in order to protect the freedom we enjoy (and take for granted) so much.

In any case, this video game made me get into deep thought about such topics, and it deserves your gameplay time if you have the money for it. Coming from the guy who doesn't buy games unless they are on sale (meaning I'm hella cheap) you should really get the game.

If you have played the game, I'd like your opinion on it and what outcome you had. If you haven't played the game (or even if you have), what do you think of the concept of the greater good?