There's a new <a target=_blank href=http://www.idlethumbs.net/display.php?id=32>interview[/url] at <a target=_blank href=http://www.idlethumbs.net/>Idle Thumbs[/url] with Chris Bateman, one of the developers of the Slovakian cRPG <a target=_blank href=http://www.cult.3dpeople.de/>Kult: Heretic Kingdoms[/url]. Here's a bit about moral choices in the game:

• What does it mean to say that morality is a central gameplay feature? Usually when people say this, they mean the game expresses a simple Zoroastrian philosophy where there is "good" and "evil" and you can just pick which stereotype you want to be. Now I realise this five thousand year philosophy is embedded in our culture, having influenced Judaism, Christianity and so forth, and I do believe that some stories benefit from having these clear cut lines.
  
  However, the world of fantasy writing moved beyond this simplistic approach in the fifties, sixties and seventies with the work of Fritz Leiber and Mike Moorcock, the latter of whom has been a big influence on my work. Mike has said that he believes in tangible good and evil, but he writes from a more complex moral stance because real life situations are never as simple as space opera. The result is fantasy stories which challenge the reader, rather than light fluffy adventures.
  
  Unfortunately, most game writing is not as advanced — often for very sound commercial reasons. Trying to do anything fancy with a first-person shooter story is largely a waste of time (although, there is potential...). But fantasy RPG fans love a good tale, and most players are literate and intelligent people. With this in mind, we wanted to create a story with a genuine moral dimension.
  
  What this means is that there is not a 'good' or 'evil' way of doing things, and there are no 'good guys' and 'bad guys'. There are merely people and situations and you are in the middle of it. You can choose how to react – and you must live with the consequences. I suppose I could make a parallel with Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke which is a classic fantasy story, but with genuinely human characters – not just fantasy stereotypes.

You can read the rest of the interview <a target=_blank href=http://www.idlethumbs.net/display.php?id=32>here[/url].