It always seemed to me like a Paragon Shepard's decisions were ethically sound with the potential to go disastrously wrong, whereas a Renegade Shepard's were always tactically sound but would likely weigh pretty heavily on his mind afterwards. An obvious example of the former would be releasing the Rachni Queen, and one of the latter would be handing Legion over to Cerberus.
The point I'm trying to drive home is that who gets a happy/sad/bittersweet ending should probably depend on a combination of 2 things: their war assets, and their demonstrated ability to stick to their convictions (so yeah, their Karma meter). It sends a very appropriate message where war is concerned: half measures are doomed to failure. And it *does* make sense in context. Let's take the issue of the genophage as an example.
An almost exclusively Paragon Shepard would've left the Krogan with: repaired physiology and strong male & female leadership in the form of Wrex & Eve. With that leadership intact and sufficient goodwill from the various races of the galaxy, it's quite likely the Krogan could adapt to and thrive within the civilized galaxy at large. Of course, they *are* still Krogan, and a sudden expansion is always possible...
Contrarily, a Renegade shep would've left the Krogan... well, extinct in all probability. With their key leaders gone and an inability to repopulate following the Reaper war in which the Krogan served as vanguard, it's pretty likely that whichever Krogan are left standing at the end of the firefight are part of the final generation of their species. Hard on Shepard's conscience? Definitely. He befriended more than a few Krogan over the course of his career, and even met one who was downright coordial! (Anyone else remember Mr. Thax's representative?) Never the less though, the Krogan threat in this scenario is done. They fade away following the war, and there's that much more room in the galaxy for mankind.
Either scenario has a downside (potential war, the loss of genetic diversity), but where either Shepard is concerned it was worth it since their convictions were proven right. Paragon Shepard gets to know that with proper guidance the Krogan could have a real future, even if it's one that requires compromise on the part of other civilizations. And Renegade Shepard gets to know that he ended the possibility of the worst case scenario ever happening, even though that certainty cost him.
The disastrous scenario (as I see it) would be in the case of a Shepard who was wishy washy on the issue. If you ultimately cured the genophage because you lost your nerve (I'm obligated to keep this spoiler free, but for those who've made it past Tuchanka you know what I mean), but Wrex didn't survive Virmire nor did Eve? Then you've unleashed the Krogan on the galaxy with no reliable leader to prevent them from expanding immediately or going to war with the Salarians & Turians in revenge for past wrongs. And god forbid, if you also spared the Rachni Queen? If the two species went to war again it could be disastrous. They could wipe themselves out or lay waste to whole systems if tensions escalated enough.
It's not a complete guide for how to go about representing the consequences of player's decisions, but it's all I could think of at the moment. Thoughts?
Modifié par Overule, 22 mars 2012 - 02:15 .
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