feotakahari

There’s a quest in Dungeon Siege 3 where you have to decide a case of owner’s rights vs. squatter’s rights, based on two contradictory laws that were passed at different times for different reasons. I thought it through and decided the goal should be to keep both laws in effect. If I ruled in favor of the owner, it would essentially invalidate any future squatter’s case, but if I ruled in favor of the squatter, the law the owner cited would still apply in some situations, just not this one.

Then I remembered it’s a video game, and the options are “the owner gets the land,” “the squatter gets the land,” or “make them co-own it.” There’s no “philosophize about precedents” option, because the character isn’t me, and philosophizing isn’t something they’re programmed to do. Making my own choices and playing a nuanced character is for tabletop games.