Light, Dark and Grey?

This is something that got me thinking the other day. Generally there are only 2 factions in most games (WoW, WAR, CoH etc) and it seems like a KOTOR MMO game will go this way too (Light and Dark side of the force) but what if, just what if there was a third faction: Neutral?

On second thoughts, I dont like the term Neutral for my 3rd faction - it implies they're passive, so I'll use Grey for the purpose of my imaginary idea.

The light side are generally here to bring peace and unity to the galaxy, the dark side is trying to rule with an iron fist but the grey faction is out for themselves. They have no cares for the light side nor for the dark. It might consist of bounty hunters, illegal traders and gamblers, and any races that just dont care for the affairs of others like Tusken Raiders or Jawas. I'm sure there are a load of people out there who would love to play as a Jawa!

I dont know if you'd start off on a faction from the very beginning or if you would have to strive to work towards one and I'm not entirely sure how you would strive towards a faction that is by their very nature selfish?

Maybe these grey area races would simply be represented by a reputation system (in a simlar, but hopefully better manner as WoW) where the more you do for them, the more they like you and conversely the more you are against them, the more aggressive they become towards you.

So I just thought I'd throw this idea out there to see what you thought. It's probably never going to happen in the KOTOR universe and it may very well be a good thing, but hey, that's what blogging is for - to allow me to say whatever is on my mind! Go Jawas!

What attracts someone to the Light or Dark side?

With this question, I dont mean the actual characters, I mean the players - us. Why do some people love to play as the good guys, fighting for justice and honour and others (like myself) love to play as the bad guys who find it amusing to torture small (in game) creatures? Obviously this is a pretty big decision in the KOTOR world as it determines your entire story arc. You had different crew members and a different ending depending on whether you chose the light side or dark side of the force.

Like I said in a previous post, I hope that we all start off on the same footing (as a neutral character) and through our decisions we end up on a different faction. So my idea is that you don't chose your faction when you create your character (like Age of Conan or Tabula Rasa) but eventually end up on a faction (in the same way as WoW or CoH/CoV) i.e. a clear divide of who is on your side and who isnt. Now as far as I'm aware, this "evolving" onto a faction hasnt been done before (correct me if you know a good example of this). I think it would work really well.

So what makes someone want to play as the good guy? I think they want to be the hero. They want to be like the heroes from all the millions of stories, movies, comics etc that they idolize and they want others to idolize them. Fortune and fame (selfish reasons) might drive some others but mainly it's because they want to be the next Superman or Luke Skywalker. Doing what is right for the good of the world / galaxy. How satisfying it must be to be sent on a mission to thwart a bad guy and beat him down / kill him / or just lock him up for the rest of his miserable unworthy life.

OK, I must admit, I found it really hard to write that last paragraph. My skin is crawling just reading it back to myself. I hate the goody goodies. They're so smarmy and just. I cant describe the number of times I've wanted Lex Luthor to shoot Superman with a Kryptonite bullet or just to be on the safe side, throw him in a Kryptonite tipped man-size blender.

So why do I want to play as the bad guy? Why did I go through both KOTORs insulting everyone and destroying anyone that got in my way? Why did I revel when instead of converting a dark jedi back to the light side, did I pursuade them to join me as my apprentice? Well partly for me it's the break from the norm. There are very few movies/games/books where the bad guys win and it gets old. I hate it that you work out the ending in the first 10 minutes of a film because the good guy is bound to win. Why wont someone make a film where the bad guy is triumpant at the end, ruling over the world as an evil tyrant? Now there's a film I'd go to see!

For others, it's simply the break from reality. In their everyday lives they are good people, acting the way society wants them to act, helping grannies across the road etc. I think that's why the GTA series has done so well. It's a completely "normal" city with buildings, cars, police and pedestrians but it allows you to do whatever the hell you want! And if that means telling the guy in the car who just gave you the one finger salute what you really think of him, then you are able to do so however you'd like.

I currently play as a Dark Templar in Age of Conan so by my characters very nature, he's meant to be dark and sadistic. Although when I'm talking to an NPC and I'm given a choice, if I chose the evil way, it hinders the storyline, sometimes making me fail the quest. I want to know what my characters life will be like if I choose the evil way and the KOTOR series allows me to do that.

I don't want to be idolized as a hero, I want to be feared and worshiped as a tyrant and Dark Lord. I can't wait to force choke, lightning and destroy the Jedi in my path.