Why the moral structure of Tyranny makes it an interesting RPG
Tyranny makes a big deal about having players work for the villain, but that doesn't necessarily mean morality is stripped away from gameplay--we examine how.
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Obsidian Entertainment's Tyranny is a role-playing game where you start the game working for the ultimate evil, but despite that, it's maybe one of the few games this year that's taken an interesting take on morality. As players work their way through the game's quest, the lack of a clear moral compass puts players in a more reactive decision-making mode, and sometimes gives them more tools to navigate decisions that impact characters in the world then a clear good/evil system.
And it does it all with mechanics and aesthetics that were popular in the 1990s. To figure out how, we sat down and streamed the game to explore these systems and talked with our audience about what's changed in the isometric RPG genre.
It was a fun converastion, and you can watch the whole thing above. And while you're at it, be sure to subscribe to Gamasutra's Twitch channel and catch up with our conversation about procedural design last week with Moon Hunters lead designer Tanya Short.
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