Deep Thoughts, pt 1

Mmkay, anybody here ever heard of Fable? If you haven't, I pity you. It's some of the most fun you can have with your clothes on (unless you do a lot of gaming in the nude). Pretty good Action/Adventure game, set in a Fantasy world. The thing I love about it is the Personality/Alignment system. Every little choice you make affects whether you're evil or good, naughty or nice. Known for beating on civilians? People will run from you in terror. Defended a village under siege by bandits? Townsfolk will cheer and whistle as you pass. Wear dark and creepy clothes? Girls won't respond to your advances. Eat the wrong kinds of foods? You'll get fat.

It's only a game, but I can't help but think deep thoughts about how very similar that is to real life. We are shaped, affected, by every single little choice we make. Should you eat baked chicken or fried zucchini? Do you replace the toilet paper when you use it up? Do you go out of your way to be nice to somebody, or snicker and tell them how horrible they look in that color? When a baby starts crying on a plane, do you shrug it off or glare daggers at the parents?

Sure, villagers probably won't go running in terror from you, and children probably won't cheer and collect dolls in your image, but I can't deny that Fable is, in some respects, so very real. So much of us is made up of all our 'little' choices.