i usually start out good, and then i stop caring about doing favors and end up being a bad ass for the rest of the game.. it's way more fun to walk around and destroy everyone..

fable 2 was a prime example.. i started out the epitome of good, and then about 2/3 through the game, i just didn't care anymore.. and after i took out fairfax, i went through all the towns slaughtering people..

anyone else do the same?

That's a shame, I've tried getting neutral karma in games, but all that ever means is balancing "good" and "bad" acts instead of actually ever having neutral options. So ultimately there is never a "neutral" story path to take, which is pretty disappointing.

Fallout 3 has this ridiculous Perk which gave you speech bonuses if you remained at neutral Karma. However the game is very binary with its choices, just like inFAMOUS with the exception that Sucker Punch didn't bother with a neutral Karma system. I remember when I was collecting the trophies for bad good and neutral karma, I leveled up just before the required level for the trophy. Then I checked my karma-level and adjusted it up/down respectively by drowning bums in pure water or stealing Three-Dog's kitchen-appliances while he was sleeping. That's not very immersive is it? :-P

I like the fact of a neutral Karma system because it's the most objective standpoint one can take in a quest, instead of the sometimes over the top goody too-shoes or evil approaches. But I think the main problem in videogames is that the middle road never rewards the player as much as the extremes do, so maybe if devs changed that more players would choose to become more neutral in their playstyle

I've never bothered with it for the simple reason that there are rarely any benefits to it. Sure Fallout 3 let you get special perks and companions, but nothing that wasn't countered by a perk for evil or good.

I think neutral karma will work when a game comes out that actively tries to make it work and make it useful, and well succeeds at it.

Funny i have played Jade Empire about fifty bajillion times, same for both fables. But i have NEVER played neutral karma. I never found it as fun as the extremes.

Achievement unlocked > Fence Sitter

As far as Fallout (the only game I've ever tried neutrality in) goes, I went through a game as good first, then bad and only then did I try out the neutral karma option (if there even is one, which there isn't for a lot of quests). I think the neutral path is nice to have, but no one ever really gives you a neutral option. You can do something nice, you can be a prick, but the neutral options usually consist of not doing anything.

While it's nice to have, I never thought it was much fun. I won't miss it in this.

Hey, as long as you paid for the game, you might as well play the entire game including every path taken. If there's a good and bad ending for the games, I'll play it twice to get both of them.

How can you be neutral? How can there be a neutral decision? By not intervening??

1) Save people from the gang -good
2) Slaughter the people along with the gang -bad
3) Watch the gang slaughter the people? - neutral?? sounds bad to me
4) Watch the gang slaughter the other gang -boring

Being Neutral in Suffering:ties that binds give us Zero extra abilities.
So,why bother :D

I'm not saying that everything has to be black and white, good or bad but how can there be a neutral choice? I believe in the middle path method, but most of the things we do have good and/or bad implications.

I stayed fairly neutral in a few games because of either indecisiveness or because there was a reason to do so. But in a game like Infamous, I think I'd want to be either really good or really bad... so maybe the lack of neutral BS will be good.

After all, how many "neutral" decisions do superheros really face?

I'm usually good, an only good. KOTOR was the only game I played as both.

I have to agree with themizarkshow; I doubt an openworld sandbox game is going to feature a robust enough system that really allows for a full moral spectrum. You're playing the game to use your powers, so you will end up using your powers for either good or evil.

RPGs such as KotOR, Mass Effect, Oblivion, etc have much deeper consequences as well as a far more varied selection of choices themselves.

I'm a good guy.

That's an interesting question.

For me it depends on the game but I try to be neutral sometimes. Which usually involves the "no BS" dialogue option. Being neutral though is mostly fine for dialogue and most option but when big choices come along where it's clear cut that there is no neutral ground then you have to make the choice and can't remain Neutral (kinda like real life in fact). And unless the plot is really well written or you have a very good reason, it's hard to justify nuking a city only to save a village an hour later....

That said in Fable I was good because the world was so friendly and fun it just felt right.
In KotOR I always play Sith first but I've noticed that the games seem to be made for a specific alignment. The first one seemed tailored for Dark Side whereas the Sith Lords was underwhelming as dark and better as light.
In Mass Effect I was mostly neutral-good. I played with the military theme in mind.
In Planescape Torment I was mostly Neutral as it was possible for most of the game.

anywho yeah I like neutral but it needs to be very well supported in the game to work.

Again, it's just a lack of imagination. Morality games only offer lawful good and baby eating as choices, mixing those two randomly doesn't really make sense emotionally.

I find it difficult, in general, not to play a saint in a game.

Playing an evil (or even neutral) character in a game takes an active effort on my part. My natural tendency is to go rushing off to save the children or pull cats out of trees to help people, frequently for no reward. I don't mind a morally grey path, but I find it to be less rewarding (psychologically.)

I liked Mass Effect's choice of "Renegade" or "Paragon" routes. It changed the standard good/evil choice into a lawful/chaotic choice, which was lots of fun for me.

I always go good out of habit.