My experience with Fallout 3 is mostly watching my older brother play it, but I was always intrigued with how it worked because it had a very in-depth system of morality to me. You could choose to be good or evil, and this brings in an important element. Usually we play the hero, but the reward for doing so beyond completing quests and getting the expected reward became normal after a while and the gratitude is lost on us. By giving us not only the possibility of being evil, but the choice, we are given an entirely new way to play the game and progress through the story.
Doing the right thing is no longer the only thing you can do, and so you can harbour some degree of pride in your actions. The karma system in the game rewards and shapes the player's choices. Being evil and selfish can often work to your own ends in the short term but in the long run, it may mean making many enemies and consequences.
There are other games which use a similar system such as Fable, whilst in other, more recent titles, Elder Scrolls game Skyrim simply gives you the option to kill anyone, anywhere, at any time - steal from anyone or anything and there are only consequences if you get caught.
I will likely look at Fallout 3 as an example game to use as well. It was an influential game for me, and I think it still holds it's own as a good game even today. It raises the idea of playing the good guy or the bad guy in the game and what it adds to gameplay, or what it speaks of the player if they choose to be good or evil. Does it reflect their inner desire or nature? Or is it simply fun to be a little bad, for once? Isn't being the good guy when you have the choice to even more important than being the good guy when it is the only option as it has been in so many other games?
Those are the types of questions I wish to discuss with Fallout 3 as an example.
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