It seems only natural that someone who abides by the rules would continue to do so no matter the consequences. If approached by anyone, even a friend, about going against the rules, they would refuse the offer; and if it was a serious breaking of rules, may even report their friend to the proper authorities.

I am one such person. At least, when it comes to playing Dragon Age: Origins.

I recently picked up Dragon Age: Origins, not only because Jason Wilson wrote a well-written review praising the game (that did help), but also because I'm a fan of BioWare games. Each game that BioWare creates is rich in detail, story, and character development; a fact I'm sure most of you already know. But also know this -- so far, Dragon Age is no exception.

I haven't had much time to really sink my teeth into the game, and I won't bore you with too many details, but my character is a female Elf Mage with sass. She's loyal to the Circle, a group of mages residing in the Circle Tower -- meaning, she abides by the rules laid out before her. So when she was approached by her friend who feared he was going to be made tranquil (think lobotomy, but for mages) and asked her to break the rules by helping him escape, the answer was simple: No.

I ratted my friend out to my superior and figured he would deal with the situation. After all, that's what being a higher-up means, right? Dealing with things no one else wants to.

My friend's also in love with a girl, one that he's forbidden to be romantically entangled with, so she's in on it too. But my superior already knows about their "secret" love and wants me to catch them red-handed trying to escape. It's the only way she, the love interest, will be punished as well.

They want to break the rules, I want to abide by them. They will both be put to death for trying to escape, and they will know that I set them up. I'm leading them by the hand to their doom.

But now I'm having second thoughts. Before it was just me telling on my friend for breaking the rules, but now I'm walking around, battling my way to the set-up (their demise), and I'm asking myself, Is this really what they deserve? My friend doesn't want to become a vegetable, is that so wrong? He loves a girl he's not supposed to and now she's going to be punished too -- what am I doing?

These kind of choices seem so black and white, but then you get involved and it's many shades of gray. And this is exactly what makes the story so engaging. Like I said previously, I've barely played the game, but I'm already deeply engrossed in not only my character (fiery, red-headed justice-bringer!), but these two love-birds and their plight. 

I had the option to let them know about my betrayal, but I stuck by my guns and let them walk into the trap. And I'm glad. I made a choice at the beginning of this and I stuck with it, despite feeling that perhaps this wasn't the right choice after all.  

BioWare, more so than ever, shows just how incredibly talented they are at telling stories that envelop the player in the game world. My game has just started, but my choices have obviously affected future events in the game. And, true to BioWare fashion, this trap didn't exactly go as planned.

That's okay, because now I can't wait to see what happens; and next time, I may stray from my inital reaction to the situation, especially after I have more than just "they're breaking the rules" to go on.

Then again, I do enjoy following the rules.