Though we’ve certainly come quite a long way from the days of the arcade where a speaking character was a luxury, games today retain elements that can be traced back to the golden days of gaming. Yes, you still find characters who never (or rarely) speak. Yes, these characters do not speak so that you may live vicariously through them. You speak for them. And in some cases, you’ll choose what “they’re” saying, but is it really them speaking? And how much control do you really have over a set narrative when you have limited control over what they’re “really” saying? Are they simply a vehicle for designers to skip over an entire step?

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A simple choice can change your life forever. For instance, you may selfishly choose to drive drunk and end someone’s life, or yours. You could easily choose to get a ride home and not risk wrecking or endangering someone’s health. Of course, those are choices that can be made with dire outcomes. Gaming is slowly but surely introducing the same kinds of decisions. But are we ready? Are they being implemented correctly? And how do we feel about choosing “right” versus “wrong?”

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Recently I read an interview on WoW.com with a mother of a child that has Asperger’s Syndrome. She talked about how she allowed her 8-year-old son to play the popular MMORPG World of Warcraft for 30 minutes in the evening as long as he didn’t interact or chat with anyone he didn’t know. In an MMORPG, not interacting with others takes away most of the intent of playing the game in the first place, and the game’s ESRB rating is Teen. Why on earth would he want to play the game in the first place, and why would his mother want to spend $15 a month for only part of the experience?

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Opinions. Everyone’s got ‘em. Especially the staff of Spawn Kill. And we know every single one of you wants to share your own as well. So we’ve put together a way that you can give us your two cents — you know, other than leaving a comment or getting in touch with us in some other manner. Every Wednesday, we’ll be bringing you a hot topic that’s been cracked wide open for discussion. Your job is to load up and deliver your best opinions on the subject at hand in Spawn Kill’s Agree to Disagree column.

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Opinions. Everyone’s got ‘em. Especially the staff of Spawn Kill. And we know every single one of you wants to share your own as well. So we’ve put together a way that you can give us your two cents — you know, other than leaving a comment or getting in touch with us in some other manner. Every Friday, we’ll be bringing you a hot topic that’s been cracked wide open for discussion. Your job is to load up and deliver your best opinions on the subject at hand in Spawn Kill’s Agree to Disagree column.

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Opinions. Everyone’s got ‘em. Especially the zany sexy staff of Spawn Kill. And we know every single one of you wants to share your own as well. So we’ve put together a way that you can give us your two cents — you know, other than leaving a comment or getting in touch with us in some other manner. Every Friday, we’ll be bringing you a hot topic that’s been cracked wide open for discussion. Your job is to load up and deliver your best opinions on the subject at hand in Spawn Kill’s Agree to Disagree column.

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Opinions. Everyone’s got ‘em. Especially the zany staff of Spawn Kill. And we know every single one of you wants to share your own as well. So we’ve put together a way that you can give us your two cents — you know, other than leaving a comment or getting in touch with us in some other manner. Every Friday, we’ll be bringing you a hot topic that’s been cracked wide open for discussion. Your job is to load up and deliver your best opinions on the subject at hand in Spawn Kill’s Agree to Disagree column.

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Opinions. Everyone’s got ‘em. Especially the zany staff of Spawn Kill. And we know every single one of you wants to share your own as well. So we’ve put together a way that you can give us your two cents — you know, other than leaving a comment or getting in touch with us in some other manner. Every Friday, we’ll be bringing you a hot topic that’s been cracked wide open for discussion. Your job is to load up and deliver your best opinions on the subject at hand in Spawn Kill’s Agree to Disagree column.

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