Hi all o7
Aforemention, for those who don't know what Ludonarrative dissonance is, there are lots of very compelling articles and videos online. For those who aren't interested I'll sum it up as best I can in a sentence or two, but please remember there's a LOT more to it than just this.
Ludonarrative dissonance is the term given to the confliction within a player's mind during a moral or questionable situation in a game. Examples include financial gain at the cost of others, missions which involve killing innocents, and purposeful manipulation and degradation of another in-game character for the sake of orders or personal gain.
Moving on
When I started playing the game I did a LOT of research into the major powers. The Imperials seemed almost Utopian focussing on honour, and financial status being determined by personal acts rather than corporate success. When I was grinding Imperial ranks I did everything I could to see things from their perspective. Imperial slavery (by law at least) is more like community service, with benefits and good treatment as standard. Having the wrath of the Empire come down on you was almost always because of an immoral or disrespectful act you had performed rather than words on paper telling you what you can and cannot do. I even somewhat forgave their clear disregard for sentient life during the Empire's founding, seeing as the rarity of intelligent species was taken for granted by all of humanity. Pair that with the Empress at the time wanting to promote peace (her brother quickly killed her off and forced his power upon the people), I couldn't blame the Empire for their ancestor's actions hundreds of years after the fact.
I spent my whole time grinding overlooking, forgiving, and trying to understand Imperial Society. But my last rank-up mission for Duke has torn me once again. It was an Imperial Navy hit contract, and the target's last words were "I die free". It's stuck with me since it happened two days ago, and I'm racking my brain over what his perspective would have been. Could he have been trying to support his family by the actions the took? Could he have been dishonoured for having a debt and chose not to sell himself into slavery? Could he have been a ruthless criminal that had escaped custody? I will never know, and it really digs at me that I ended his journey.
Combined with everything else I have experienced with the Empire, I can't bring myself to reward my endeavours with the purchase of a Cutter. I have the money, I have the rank, and I sure as hell have the desire. But what are the grounds that it was earned upon, and what would it stand for? At this point, I am seriously considering going through the grind all over again for the Federation to get myself a Corvette instead of making the purchase.
I realise that the Federation has it's fair share of corrupt officials and cooperate greed, and arguably it's no more justifiable. But what are your thoughts on the entire subject? Do you let games get to you when faced with choices like this? How much does it affect you, if at all? And why do you have that opinion?
As a side note, I'd love to hear what others would do in my current situation! :L
