Guest blog: 5 Games that implement great Karma Systems

Infamous 2:

This game was developed by Sucker Punch Productions. Every action of the main character in Infamous affects Cole, the main character in some way. This is a popular and common title when talking about Karma systems.
Knights of the Old Republic
This RPG takes place within the Star Wars world and essentially gives the player different dialogue opportunities based on the choices of the character. Often the dialogue is presented as lengthy options after the conversation is over. BioWare, the developer, tends to make games from two perspectives: good and bad, and you can choose how to experience the story.

Mass Effect:

Mass Effect is another game developed by BioWare with a karma system similar to Knights of the old republic. However, the interaction during dialogue sequences was revamped to give a more cinematic feel. Interactions with NPCs feel less scripted.

Fallout 3:

A game developed by Bethesda Game Studios, takes the karma system in a new direction (although the system is actually referred to as Karma, in game). In addition to affecting the dialogue options, the choices a player makes have tangible effects on the player. For example, some abilities in the game require different levels of karma to obtain.

Fable:

Developed by Lionhead Studios, Fable offers a few unique twists to karma systems. Alignment is a major part of the game. The food you eat and the way you treat NPCs affects your alignment and your reputation. Further, your alignment affects your appearance. Play as a wholesome, do-gooder and your character appears bight and even sports a halo. Play as an evil, murdering goon and your appearance is dark and pale and your experience is increased at night.
On the other hand, the Grand Theft Auto series has a pathetic karma system. Get far enough away from the police, for example, and they’ll forget you just murdered an innocent pedestrian.

Podcast

Fable Karma System (research)

Introduction:

Fable is one of the more popular role playing games out there  today. The player takes on the role of The Hero of Oakvale, whose destiny is determined by the player.  Fable is set in a land once know as the Old Kingdom. ore spefically it takes place in Albion.  Albion is a network of city-staes with lawless plains and forest between them all.

Karma/Alignment:

In Fable, a player's Hero has a measure of good or evil alignment based on the Hero's actions. Good actions award good points, which produce a positive alignment, while committing evil acts adds evil points, producing a negative alignment. (basic alignment/karma system) Also their are certain food items within Fable that can affect the player's alignment. As an example eating tofu will earn the player positive points, while eating crunchy chicks will earn evil points. also if the player prays at certain temples, it can affect alignment. how good or evil a character affects how the character looks and how the non-playable characters react to the player.

Sources:

Buchanan, L. (2004, September 23). The Straight and Narrow. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved December 2, 2011, from http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/chi-0409230087sep23,0,988509.story

Fable Review for XBOX, 360 from 1UP.com. (2004, September 14). 1UP.com: Video Game Reviews, Cheats, and More. Retrieved December 2, 2011, from http://www.1up.com/reviews/fable 

Fable Review on Xbox - GameSpot.com. (n.d.). GameSpot is your go-to source for video game news, reviews, and entertainment. Retrieved December 2, 2011, from http://www.gamespot.com/fable/reviews/6106444/fable-review/platform/xbox 

Goldstein, H. (2004, August 27). Fable - Xbox Review at IGN . IGN Xbox: Games, Cheats, News, Reviews, and Previews. Retrieved December 2, 2011, from http://xbox.ign.com/articles/542/542632p1.html 

Saltzman, M. (2004, September 29). 'Fable' weaves fun fantasy adventure. USA Today . Retrieved December 2, 2011, from http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/games/2004-09-29-fable-review_x.htm

Elderscrolls games and karma systems(research)

Introduction:

The Elder Scrolls series has several game titles in it that are very popular among gamers and non gamers alike.  There are two games in particular that have to do with karma systems. The games are Elders Scrolls Oblivion and Elders Scrolls Skyrim.  Elders Scrolls Oblivion came out a few years ago and Elders Scroll SKyrim just came out this year. How ever they arent your typical karma systems.

Elders Scroll Oblivion:

First a brief background on Elder Scrolls Oblivion. The entire game is set as a open world sandbox adventure game in the mythical land of Cyrodiil, a province of Tamriel.(mythical continent which the entire series has been set on) Oblivion is the fourth game of the Elder Scrolls series and each games events are set after the previous games before it.  Oblivion's timeline is set after Elder Scrolls Morrowind, the previous installenment of the Elder Scrolls series.

Now for Oblivion's karma system. Its unique in fact it doesnt really track the players good karma only really keeps track of the bad karma. When the play commits a crime (be it a stealing or killing innocents) the guards will accost the player and the player has a few options:

1. pay the fee and get away
2. go to jail and serve time (not advisable because player can lose skills if its a long sentence)
3. fight the guard

If the player chooses option 1 nothing happens, well the player loses gold but nothing serious. If the player chooses option 2 all items are removed and stored in a holding chest at a prison location, serving time also reduces player bounty. Now if the player chooses option 3 theres 2 out comes:

1. the player dies
2. the player kills the guard(s) and their bounty is increased

Elder Scrolls Skyrim:

Skyrim follows he rest of the Elder Scrolls series by being set 200 years after the events of Oblivion. Skyrim is still on the continent of Tamriel but now its the north northern part. Skyrim has the same otions if accosted by guards with 1 aditional option.

• if its a minor crime the palyer can ask the guards if its really worth their time and the guards will let them go.

If the player chooses to fight or picks server time then escapes thier bounty will increase depending on the serverity of the crime. when the bounty increases it increases the chance of bounty hunters coming after the player.

Sources:

Bertz, M. (2011, January 17). The Technology Behind The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Xbox 360 - www.GameInformer.com. Home - GameInformer.com. Retrieved December 2, 2011, from http://www.gameinformer.com/games/the_elder_scrolls_v_skyrim/b/xbox360/archive/2011/01/17/the-technology-behind-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim.aspx

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Review on Xbox 360 - GameSpot.com. (n.d.). GameSpot is your go-to source for video game news, reviews, and entertainment. Retrieved December 2, 2011, from http://au.gamespot.com/the-elder-scrolls-iv-oblivion/reviews/6146657/the-elder-scrolls-iv-oblivion-review/platform/xbox360

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Review - Xbox 360 Review at IGN . (2006, March 25). Microsoft Xbox 360 Games, Cheats, Walkthroughs, News, Reviews, Previews, Game Trailers & Videos - IGN. Retrieved December 2, 2011, from http://au.xbox360.ign.com/articles/698/698400p1.html 

 The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Hands-on - PlayStation 3 Preview at IGN . (2007, February 6). IGN . Retrieved December 2, 2011, from http://ps3.ign.com/articles/762/762108p1.html

New Elder Scrolls V Skyrim Details - Xbox 360 News at IGN . (2011, January 11). Microsoft Xbox 360 Games, Cheats, Walkthroughs, News, Reviews, Previews, Game Trailers & Videos - IGN. Retrieved December 2, 2011, from http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/114/1143527p1.html

interview with Church paster about game karma systems

Introduction:

The pastor has asked not to have his name revealed in the post. So for the purposes of the blog ill be calling him Pastor Bob. Pastor Bob is one of many pastors at the church in the neighborhood. Most of his time is spent in his office goign about his work. He has played a few games here and there but never anything serious. The Questions asked were:

• Do you think current game karma systems work?
• Why do you feel this way about the system?
• What would you do to change it?

Do you think current game karma systems work?

Pastor Bob thought about the games he played trying to rember anything he could about the games karma system. he answered by saying "well seeing as I can not recall one to mind I would have to say that it doesnt work." Pastor Bob also felt he didnt rember it cuase it had no spiritual impact on him.

Why do you feel this way about the system?

Pastor bob didnt take to long in answering. he started with how he thought it was barely noticable in the game. He said if it worked it would have had a impact on him in the game which he felt there was non. He continued on a tangent before saying that it boiled down to that everyaspect didnt work well together.

What would you do to change it?

Pastor Bob thought a few minutes then said "well quiet honestly i dont know if i could do much of anything about it." he was asked to think about what his idea of a karma system was to get some thoughts of improvements in his head. he then said "well when u put it like that put the meter somewhere where the player can see how they re progressing with out being constantly reminded where there karma was." He then went on about making some sort of quests that impacted karma or make the quest clear that it will affect karma upon completion. He ended with wanting a clear line between good and bad.

Interview with Bestbuy Store manager about Game Karma Systems

Introduction:

John is a store manager at the local Best Buy in town. He was kind enough to take the time out to answer a few questions about game karma systems. the questions were:

• Do you think current game karma systems work?
• Why do you think its that way?
• What would you do to improve the system

Do you think current game karma systems work?

John admitted he dint play a lot of video games but he had played a few that had a karma system in them. He didn't really have an opinion on weather or not it worked. He thought current ones were ok.

Why do you think its that way?

John seemed to pause while he thought of a way to explain.  after some time he said that he thought they were ok because there only purpose was too show the player which way they were tipping on the scale. He further went on to say he doesn't really understand the mechanic other then to advance the storyline in a direction.

What would you do to improve the system?

John again paused for awhile before answering. He said that he felt there wasn't much he could other then too possibly make the effects on the game more noticeable so it actually impacted the players in some way. He also thought that maybe there should be some sort karma award for moving a certain way. he was asked to expand on what he meant by karma award, and he said "well say ur going bad karma and in most games that means just killing random ppl for fun. well say u get to certain level and you wish you had a different sword.  well then there should be a sword rewarded to the player after so many kills to keep players going on that path."

How to Max Karma In Fallout 3

Introduction:

Fallout 3 is a post apoptilitic Role-playing game and has a karma/morality system that affects game play.
There is a way to do a neutral karma path but theres no extremes and some aspects of the game wont trigger. Here are a few tips to maxing karma in Fallout 3.

Sticking with one side:

First off its always easier if you choose one path and stick with it. Trying to switch path mid game can be hard to get max karma because of certain plot elements that may have already fired in the game. Examine each karma moment and save often so if it doesnt go the correct path u can redo.

Avoiding a netural option:

While there is an option to stay in the middle on this game it is extremely hard because there are so many quests that affect karma in a big way. also its quite easy to gain karma without trying too. For example if you help people for a quest and your neutral u can gain good karma for saving someone. another example would be when you enter an occupied house and steal you gain bad karma. while not impossible to stay neutral its just unadvised because u have to balance your good and bad acts throughout the entire game.

Look and read up on all quests:

There are numerous online sources that give you infromation abotu quests and the karma out comes on them. One quest i know about is the tranquil lane quest if you do what the little girl wants you to do to get out you get lots of bad karma. However, there is a good karma option that people are unaware of. There is an abandon house that has clickable objects (all version pc and consoles) there is a certain order you have to click the items to get out. however i do not know the order but the information can be found on numerous sites.

Get advice from other players

If you are unsure which way you will want to choose you can ask your friends and other gamers about their experience playing the game. You can also ask others for some tips on the harder quests in the game as well as what are the benefits to playing one way over the other. always be polite and nice when asking so you can get a timely and nice response.

InterView with Gamestop manager about Karma Systems

Introduction:

The local Gamestop manager TJ took some time outto answer a few of my questions. specficallyi was interested in game karma systems. the questions asked were:

• Do you believe karma systems work in games?
• Why do u believe this to be true
• What would you change about the karma systems?

Do you believe Karma Systems work in games?

TJ thought for a few minutes and then said "I believe that karma systems work in some games but not others." as he elaborated abit he further went to explain that most karma systems wer ebased on the game developers and tthere vison for the game plot. He Also explained that he doesnt believe there is a "perfect" karma system out there as of yet.

Why do you believe this to be True?

Tj started in on specfic examples to explain what he meant. the first one he though was good was the Fallout series karma. He explained this was becuase it impacts the game in ways that are seen and unseen so it can still throw curve balls at the players. while he went off on a tangent about his thoughts on fallout eventually he got back to his other example.  for one he didnt like he used Starwars force unleashed. he believed it was too similar to the knights of the old republic karma system and that one didnt work. he explained that the star wars karma system only affected player appearance and really nothing else and that it didnt really affect gameplay too much.

What would you change about the karma systems?

Tj thought there need to be a clear effect on gameplay so that players could have a different experience based on the choices they made. he also would keep the karma quests as they do in infamous and fallout have. as well as a clear difference in character appearance or attitude as the choices affected the gameplay .

Philosophy Behind Game Karma System

Explanation of karma

Karma is the religious belief that each persons actions have consequences and that these choices will affect you in the next life. In Buddhism however, karma mainly refers to one's intention or motivation while doing an action.(http://viewonbuddhism.org/karma.html) Accirding to Buddhism there are 4 laws of karma.

The Four Laws of Karma

1. Results are similar to the cause. Simply said, when I cause other people harm, I will harvest suffering myself. It is important to note here, that "positive" actions are defined as actions that have happiness as a result; "negative" actions are defined as actions that lead to suffering as a result.
2. No results without a cause. As is obvious within science, things do not just appear out of nothing.
3. Once an action is done, the result is never lost. Similarly as above, things do not just disappear into nothing.
4. Karma expands. Once we have an imprint of an action in our mind, it tends to be habit-forming. As is often said in wars for example, killing the first enemy is tough, but after a handful, one quickly loses count and it becomes "normal". Also psychology often stresses a similar point when e.g. explaining actions of adults from their childhood experiences.

In conclusion karma is just a belief more then anything so its more accurate to call it a morality.


Designer intent with morality/karma system

Game designers intended for players to make their own choices as they would in real life situations. there is no strict moral code to be followed.  The karma system is designed on what most of society has deemed good or bad decisions.  As their is no strict moral code to be followed playing through the game then its all based on players choice alone and them accepting the consequences.

Sources:

Parker, L. (2009, November 17). Black or White: Making Moral Choices in Video Games - Features at GameSpot. GameSpot is your go-to source for video game news, reviews, and entertainment. Retrieved November 17, 2011, from http://www.gamespot.com/features/black-or-white-making-moral-choices-in-video-games-6240211/

Karma. (2011, September 11). View on Buddhism: (Tibetan) Buddhist practice and philosophy. Retrieved November 17, 2011, from http://viewonbuddhism.org/karma.html 

Schulzke, M. (n.d.). Game Studies - Moral Decision Making in Fallout. Game Studies - Issue 1102, 2011. Retrieved November 30, 2011, from http://gamestudies.org/0902/articles/schulzke

Character Alignment - Television Tropes & Idioms . (n.d.). Home Page - Television Tropes & Idioms . Retrieved November 30, 2011, from http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CharacterAlignment

Adkins, N. (2011, November 28). Morality in Games. 1UP.com: Video Game Reviews, Cheats, and More. Retrieved November 30, 2011, from http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=9091877

Starwars Knights of the Old Republic Karma/ alignment

Basics

StarWars Knight of the Old Republic is a game set in the StarWars universe.  The player takes on the Role of a brainwashed sith lord know as Darth Revan. The main character has limited customization options. (gender and then your standard traits and talents setup) in starwars all jedi control a mysterious power know as The Force. The Force has two sides: a light side (good karma for the purposes of the game) and a Dark side (bad/evil karma).

Karma System and Gameplay

Gameplay rules are "The game's system is based on Wizards of the Coast's Star Wars Roleplaying Game, which is based on the d20 role-playing game system derived from the Third Edition Dungeons & Dragons rules. Combat is round-based; time is divided into discrete rounds, and combatants attack and react simultaneously. However, the number of actions a combatant may perform each round is limited. While each round's duration is a fixed short interval of real time, the player can configure the combat system to pause at specific events or at the end of each round." (http://www.search.com/reference/Star_Wars:_Knights_of_the_Old_Republic) Game developer Bioware uses an alignment system(which for the purposes of most games is a karma system). the two sides are light or dark.  "The alignment system tracks actions and speech — from simple word choice to major plot decisions — to determine whether the player's character aligns with light or dark side of the Force. Generosity and altruism lead to the light side, while self-serving or violent actions will lead your character to the dark side, which will alter the character's appearance, turning their skin gray and scarred." (http://www.search.com/reference/Star_Wars:_Knights_of_the_Old_Republic)

Dark Side/ Bad Karma

Light Side/ Good Karma

Sources:

Reference for Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic - Search.com. (n.d.). Metasearch Search Engine - Search.com. Retrieved November 17, 2011, from http://www.search.com/reference/Star_Wars:_Knights_of_the_Old_Republic

Dark side picture from http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i135/phenormenon/jadzian_kurr.jpg

Light side picture from http://images.wikia.com/swgames/images/2/25/Light_Side.JPG

Infamous 2 Karma System

Basics

Infamous 2 is a followup to Sucker punches hit game Infamous.  The same factors that contributed to karma in the first infamous still apply in Infamous 2. Although there are few additions and changes.

Improvements

Brian Fleming of Sucker punch said in his blog "When we spent time thinking and designing the improved Karma system, we ultimately concluded that there was a way to make these choices both clearer and much more believable: to make your Karma decisions more about relationships and less about the specific choice at hand. So instead of a question that really didn’t relate to our primary gameplay (e.g. “should we take this food or give it away?”), in I2 we let the player decide who to ally with on a quest, or choose between Kuo’s surgical strike or Nix’s no-holds barred assault. You aren’t just choosing a mission, you’re choosing an ally and alienating another person. This was both clear for players, and more real." After playing Infamous 2 i can agree that the karma choices aqnd affects are much clearer then in Infamous.  They also updated there quest icons to let the player know concisely which way your karma will go from doing this quest.

Evil/ Bad karma from quest

Good karma from quest

Sources:

Fleming, B. (2011, February 11). What Goes Around Comes Around: More on the inFAMOUS 2 Karma System. Playstation Blog. Retrieved November 17, 2011, from blog.us.playstation.com/2011/02/11/what-goes-around-comes-around-more-on-the-infamous-2-karma-system/

Bad karma icon from http://images.wikia.com/infamous/images/8/86/Badmission.png

Good Karma icon from http://images.wikia.com/infamous/images/a/a1/Goodmission.png

Infamous Karma System

example of Bad Karma

This is an example of good karma

Infamous Basic plot and factors that contribute to Karma

infamous is an open world game where the player is thrown into the role of Cole MacGrath.  the back ground on Cole is not very detailed but the game does give you information that builds the character.  Cole is a bike messenger in Empire City (fictional city though does bare some resemblance to Chicago and New York City morphed together).   Game starts with Cole delivering a package to an unknown person, where e then recieves a phone call from someone name Kessler who instructs Cole to open the package.  COle opens the package and pulls out a device known as the ray-sphere.  COle closes the sphere causing an explosion and imbueing himself with new electrical powers.

Karma System

All of Cole's karma is solely based on how he uses his powers through out empire city.  Good actions such as helping injured citzens or using Cole's powers to live capture enemies grants you good karma. Evil actions such as draining an enemies life force or using Cole's powers to kill civilians grants you bad karma. Also as you progress through the story there will be points where it requires the player to make a choice one way or the other that grants the respect good or bad karma. The end of  Infamous is based on the Cole's karma level at the end.  If it was good then Empire City praises Cole as a hero and rebuilds. However, if Cole's karma is bad Empire City falls into chaos.

Karma levels:

Good

• Guardian
• Champion 
• Hero

Evil/Bad

• Thug
• Outlaw
• Infamous (which is also the game title)

 References

1.  Infamous (video game). Wikipedia. Retrieved October 10, 2011. from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infamous_(video_game)
2. Bad Karma Picture from http://i2.ytimg.com/vi/yIrxfaahPto/0.jpg
3. Good Karma picture from http://www.cheatcc.com/imagesps3/infamous_000c.jpg

Fallout 3 Karma Meter

picture from http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/KarmaMeter

Several games implement some kind of morality into their gameplay.  The purpose of this morality system is to affect the gameplay.  You may ask: "How does it affect gameplay?" The answer is not as clear cut as you might think. Below is a list of games that have a morality system some are more clear cut then others. However, i am going to detail the Fallout 3 morality system.

Games with some type of morality system:

• Fallout 3
• Fallout New vegas
• Starwars Knights of the Old Republic
• Starwars Knights of the Old Republic 2: Sith Lords
• Infamous
• Infamous 2

Basic information about the game

Fallout 3 is a role playing game that is set in Washington DC after a nuclear attack(hence the name Fallout). During the attacks several people hid in various places throughout the area. You take of the role of a wander who has been living in and underground vault for years now. (Warning next part will contain a plot spoiler for those who haven't played the game). The reason you leaave the vault is to find your father who has a mysterious past that you have to unravel while playing.

Morality System

As the gamer plays through Fallout 3 You make choices along the way.  These choices made within the game affect the player in a number of ways. (listed below) If a player happens to have extreme karma one way or the other, it can lead to multiple endings of a game. To quote a section of text from tvtropes.org "To undermine the concept even further, games with a Karma Meter often include a Golden Snitch decision that will heavily push you towards (or even lock you permanently in) one extreme of the morality gauge regardless of your actions up to that point. This means that in a game with Multiple Endings, your ending is decided more by that one single choice rather than an accumulation of all of your deeds and misdeeds."  As tvtropes.org explains this Golden Snitch "A competition involving a series of events or activities, in which the final round counts for a disproportionately large percent of the team's total score — and in fiction, will tend to be worth more than all previous events combined. Thus, whoever wins the final round earns enough points to win the entire match, regardless of just about everything else that happened before it."

Ways choices affect the game:

• Choices affect how plot npcs treat the player
• Choices often lead to one extreme side of the karma meter.
• Choices sometimes lead to a grey area where there is no real karma affect

References: 

1. Karma Meter - Television Tropes & Idioms . (n.d.). Home Page - Television Tropes & Idioms . Retrieved October 28, 2011, from http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/KarmaMeter 
2. san, a. (. (n.d.). Golden Snitch - Television Tropes & Idioms . Home Page - Television Tropes & Idioms . Retrieved October 28, 2011, from http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GoldenSnitch 

History of Karma Systems

There's only been a few games that have any notable karma system in them.  A karma system can sometimes be called a reputation system fro the Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing games (MMORPG).  MMORPGs like World of Warcraft will call the non-playable character (NPC) groups factions.  As well call your karma rep or reputation.  When your actions please the faction u game rep or positive karma.  when you r actions displease the faction you lose rep or gain negative karma. 

The two most noteable game karma systems are Infamous and Fallout 3.  I will detail each game in a later post.  Infamous basic plot is about a man named Cole.  He is a carrier for a some company in a city the game doesnt detail any of that.  one day he is requested to deliver a package and its a mysterious object that he is instructed to open and infuses him with electrical powers.  The way the karma system works is if you use your powers to help the city or nselfish reasons you gamin karma the max positve karma is Champion.  on the contrayery if you use your powers for evil or selfish reasons you gain negative karma upt to the Infamous rank. 

Fallout 3's is more extensive but its basiclly good and evil deeds gain respective karma, the Fallout 3 post will detail it better.

Karma systems are a way to engage the player into a moral choice and can enhance the game play

intro blog

This blog is about karma systems in games.  there are many variations of the karma system or morality system in games. research has shown that the average gamer likes to keep track of how their choices in game affect the game itself.  while not an essential part of game, the karma systems add to the game.  Karma systems are not always needed in game but just make it interesting. there are two games specifically i will explore to explain karma systems. these games are Infamous and Fallout 3.  I will try to gie a brief description of the game and plot as is relevant to karma systems. Enjoy the blog