After Reset - Post-Funding Update #15

The Alignment
First and foremost, while most apocalyptic games are primarily adult fiction/entertainment, we are aiming for a very mature setting that doesn't hold back purely for the sake of a weaker ESRB rating. While we intend to reserve a sense of tastefulness (no pun intended) when dealing with sensitive subjects like rape, cannibalism, etc., we won't exclude them or downplay their severity, but rather provide a realistic cause and effect system that simulates reality.

Second, real characters that have their own belief systems, wants, desires, and experiences, are best represented in shades of grey. Real people are not black-and-white. The same sheriff that exists to enforce the law might be tempted to break it in the service a truer or purer justice, but he also might be tempted to take a bribe with a baby on the way and a past-due mortgage. Our goal is not to indoctrinate, but to provide a flexible and realistic system that punishes and rewards players in a way that is logical, one that certainly reflects on the same social systems that we live in, but in an apocalyptic setting.

Third, a character’s alignment is not meant to be static. A good story will always challenge your beliefs, which in turn requires you to demonstrate wisdom in a specific context, and your character (as well as NPCs, companions, etc.) will evolve with you.

Finally, we want all of our players to judge for themselves, and it's hard to do that if your actions are being abstractly labeled by the game as good or evil. Instead, your companions will respond negatively to actions and decisions you make that simply disagree with their own perspectives, and positively if they do agree. There are very few, if any, moral absolutes in the real world, and all of them have to be considered in context. In most cases, acceptable behavior in a society is based off a collaborative agreement rather than logic, the rule of law, or religion.

Click to expand...