Moral Confusion- Like RPGs, Like MMORPGs

I've spent the last few days playing Star Wars: The Old Republic (TOR). I'm about half way to the level cap. So far- fun game play, does a good job making your character look heroic (at least compared to other RPGs), and the 'all voice interaction' pulls you into storie lines many would likely pass over if they were given in the tradition text.

But like too many modern RPG gamers, the developers of TOR are in need of a moral compass. Here's some of the stuff I've ran into playing a Jedi Knight on the 'good' side after visiting but three worlds...

You get Light Side (i.e. good guy points, determined and awarded based upon decisions you make in the game's conversation trees) for the following:

1. Aiding uniformed soldiers of the republic in an clear act of desertion. Things are bad you see, and well... things are bad you see. As for the civilians these guys were supposed to be guarding, wish them good luck, hope they die before being eaten alive.
2. Thief from a corporation. They sent an entire research team, paid for all the equipment and manpower for a multiple year project- and you basically decide that they don't deserve a return on their money (or even breakeven) because 'medicine should be for everyone' and they would... what? Charge a market price thus giving them a excellent reason to get it out on the market to be brought? Instead the Jedi will deal with it, as if they have time given that the best they can do is send one guy out to deal with the worst things in ages (i.e. you)...  good luck with that.
3. Love is bad, leads to the Dark Side you know. Lucas had a real miss of a divorce he wrote Love == Evil into the setting for the prequels as some sort of payback.
4. Thief of Government Supplies. Seems that the Republic doesn't have enough medical supplies to deal with their own injuries and the civilian population as well. Rather than working out a sharing plan, or pulling Jedi strings to get more aid sent, or just paying for the supplies yourself- you steal from the military and give all of it to the civilians because there are kids involved. I wonder how many soldiers sent to defend those same civilians died? I wound how many more kids die because their wasn't enough troops to defend them?
5. Assist a Jedi AI to train evil force wielders who freaking eat people... because some day they'll learn better if the AI keeps working at it. Might take uncounted years, but the AI will live long enough (yes, it say this in the game). Meanwhile all those people getting eaten? Tough Luck. But you were tasty.

Now you can disgree with some of the above (sometimes it doesn't make a different in the story however). But you'll get Dark Side points for doing so.

Often the game is basically a Left-Wing nut case day dream. With sometimes veiled (sometimes not) shots against:

• Israel, just share the land stupid and it wil all work out.
• The military, when they're not running refugees through mine fields for kicks- they're skimming supplies to live high on the hog (remember, this is the Republic I'm talking about) and ignoring the basics of COIN operations (i.e. help your friendly civilians).
• Corporations (making money is evil and heartless)

Sometimes it doesn't think there are good guys. The Government is corrupt in almost every dealing you have with it. And that's the good guys again... one almost thinks the Empire is better- at least they're honest about their evil.

Sometimes it's just confused. The monsters are thinking creatures is a constant theme so far, "all we need do is talk to them... old, go kill 40 of them for the following rewards.."


Such a nice game (game play and visuals). Such a lack of ethical and moral sense. And such a hate on for the Republic.