[SpiritWarrior]

Well, I think that it's all relative in a sense. I feel like we're getting a little too hypersensitive in this debate about what is and is not influential in a game. Choosing the "evil" side in many of todays games isn't regarded as taboo, in fact it is encouraged and expected by gamers and develepors alike in the industry. The horde in WoW, the villian in City of Villains, the bad kid in Fable or even the evil alignment in BG2 or NWN's. Many of us will recall that the third dialogue options in our favourite D&D games were usually the "criminal" or "evil" choices. Just from playing NWN2 today I was presented with a dialogue option that read "You die now" and it had the words "Slit his throat" in asterix. If I were RPing an evil character I would have chosen that option (I wasn't it just so happens), but it has no bearing on my own actions. It's worth noting that tons of us here on IW have played these games and still do.

So, while I agree with many of the points being made, and do advocate that the system is needing a total rework, we also need to carry with us a healthy degree of realistic discernment whilst we continue this debate. The kind that seperates fiction from real life, and the actions that may follow it.