History Main / SelectiveCondemnation

** At the start of the game, just before [[OpeningTheSandbox you leave the Vault]], you are condemned by Amata if you kill the Overseer. This is justified because the Overseer is her father. However, in the process of getting from your room to him, you are likely to have killed multiple armed guards - you know, ''people both of you have known just as long as you have the Overseer''.

* In ''[[VideoGame/NintendoWars Advance Wars: Dual Strike]]'', the BigBad Von Bolt dares you to shoot him in order to stop his evil scheme, claiming it would [[IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim make you as bad as he is.]] This in spite of the hundreds, possibly thousands, of enemy units you've killed and allied units destroyed under your command to get this far. Not to mention the deaths that would be caused if he did succeed. Bear in mind that you ''can'' say "Yes", in which case Jake basically points out the above and shoots his life-support device.

* ''[[TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade Vampire: The Masquerade -- Redemption]]'' consists mainly of the ever-pious Christof cutting a swath of violence through one dungeon after another. He invariably says something along the lines of "can't we work this out peacefully?" upon reaching the boss. Y'know, because ''we're all God's children''... except for those of us whose names happen to be "[[{{Mooks}} Setite]]".

* At the end of ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'', you have the option of sparing the life of Colonel Autumn, TheDragon whose only shown redeeming feature is that he doesn't want to use the modified FEV, who shot a defenseless female scientist just to encourage the rest of the team, and who willfully ordered the soldiers at Raven's Rock to attack you even after his ''superior'' had ordered them to stand down so he could talk to you. Meanwhile you don't spare a single thought for every drugged-up raider, every feral ghoul, every supermutant and every Enclave soldier following his Colonel's order that you've shot, burned, stabbed and vaporised over the course of the game.

* Characters in ''VideoGame/VampireTheMasqueradeBloodlines'' lose [[KarmaMeter Humanity]] when they kill people, representing the SanitySlippage and slow LossOfIdentity that come with denying their better nature and listening to the Beast within them -- unless they're in a combat zone, then they can murder as many people as they want with no consequences. Jack [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] it by saying that "self-defense is the best part of being human!"

This trope is related to MoralDissonance and WhatMeasureIsAMook. VillainsDoTheDirtyWork, where the character is conveniently spared from having to make such a decision because a different villain kills the person. Also compare AMillionIsAStatistic.

* At the end of the movie ''Film/{{Equilibrium}}'', the BigBad ([=Vice-Counsel DuPont=]) argues that protagonist John Preston cannot kill him, as doing so would be murder, something that should be reprehensible to the hero now that he can feel emotions. [=DuPont=] seems to be conveniently forgetting the 60 or so men Preston just slaughtered to get to him, a dozen or so of whom are laying dead ''right at his feet''. Unfortunately for him, the argument doesn't work.
** Similar to some other examples, there is a difference between killing people who are actively trying to kill you and shooting an unarmed person begging for their life.

* Your VoiceWithAnInternetConnection in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' gets very upset if you massacre animals (even attack dogs ''that are attacking you''), but none of them bats an eye if you kill guards, even if you [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential do something horrible]] to them. The BigBad however ''doesn't'' ignore it, Liquid claiming that Snake enjoys the killing, and [[HannibalLecture calls him out for this]] near the end of the game. Snake claims that Liquid's plot to catapult the world into a chaotic, war-torn state is insane; Liquid argues that it was their father's dream to create a world where soldiers are respected. Snake claims he doesn't want that world, and Liquid counters by [[NotSoDifferent pointing out most of both FOXHOUND and the Genome Army were killed by Snake]], presumably intended to make the player think about their actions.

* Many ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' players bear a grudge against TheEmpire for trying to behead them at the start of the game, on the basis that they were merely ''suspected'' to be a Stormcloak soldier. Should you actually join the Stormcloaks, you can then become a high-ranking officer and waltz into Solitude wearing your Stormcloak officer armor [[UnusuallyUninterestingSight with nobody batting an eye over it]]. Though you'll still get in trouble [[RealityEnsues should you brag about it]] [[TooDumbToLive in front of the guard's captain]]...

* At the end of the movie ''Film/{{Equilibrium}}'', the BigBad ([=Vice-Counsel DuPont=]) argues that protagonist John Preston cannot kill him, as doing so would be murder, something that should be reprehensible to the hero now that he can feel emotions. [=DuPont=] seems to be conveniently forgetting the 60 or so men Preston just slaughtered to get to him, a dozen or so of whom are laying dead ''right at his feet''. Unfortunately for him, the argument doesn't work.
** Similar to some other examples, there is a difference between killing people who are actively trying to kill you and shooting an unarmed person begging for their life.

* At the end of ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'', you have to option of sparing the life of Colonel Autumn, TheDragon whose only shown redeeming feature is that he doesn't want to use the modified FEV, who shot a defenseless female scientist just to encourage the rest of the team, and who willfully ordered the soldiers at Raven's Rock to attack you even after his ''superior'' had ordered them to stand down so he could talk to you. Meanwhile you don't spare a single thought for every drugged-up raider, every feral ghoul, every supermutant and every Enclave soldier following his Colonel's order that you've shot, burned, stabbed and vaporised over the course of the game.

* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'' [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1987 Vol 2]] & [[ComicBook/WonderWoman2007 Vol 3]]: A couple of writers used the fact that heroes like Batman and Superman were condemning Wondy for killing Max Lord, who was mind controlling Superman as a weapon at the time, while having previously said nothing when she killed Medusa on international television to point out hypocrisy in the superhero community, but most played it straight by treating Max's death as some kind of horrific entirely unjustified murder while ignoring what happened to Medusa.

* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'': A couple of writers used the fact that heroes like Batman and Superman were condemning Wondy for killing Max Lord, who was mind controlling Superman as a weapon at the time, while having previously said nothing when she killed Medusa on international television to point out hypocrisy in the superhero community, but most played it straight by treating Max's death as some kind of horrific entirely unjustified murder while ignoring what happened to Medusa.

** PlayedForLaughs with the BonusBoss, [[spoiler:So Sorry]], though. If you kill him, you are specifically told that it won't spoil your True Pacifist ending because "[[ButtMonkey you didn't kill anyone important]]".

This trope is related to MoralDissonance. VillainsDoTheDirtyWork, where the character is conveniently spared from having to make such a decision because a different villain kills the person. Also compare AMillionIsAStatistic.

Mainly a videogame trope due to GameplayAndStorySegregation. This is where one specific death/murder is treated as far more dire than the others, despite the circumstances meaning there should be little difference from others considering the [[AMillionIsAStatistic countless people whom you brutally killed before]], especially as you probably [[TheJoysOfTorturingMooks enjoyed torturing them, too]].

* A recurring issue in ''VideoGame/BioshockInfinite''; in cutscenes, Booker and Elizabeth react to violence and death like you would realistically expect them to (Elizabeth is horrified by it, while Booker only uses it as a last resort), and both of them are disgusted by Comstock’s murderous actions. In ''gameplay'' on the other hand, they not only show barely any reaction to the carnage but will slaughter hundreds upon hundreds of cops and rebels alike. By the end, they’ve arguably killed far more people than Comstock ever managed to, yet in-story they never seem to get used to it like you’d expect.

* A recurring issue in ''VideoGame/BioshockInfinite''; in cutscenes, Booker and Elizabeth react to violence and death like you would realistically expect them to (Elizabeth is horrified by it, while Booker only uses it as a last resort), and both of them are disgusted by Comstock’s murderous actions. In ''gameplay'' on the other hand, they not only show barely any reaction to the carnage and will slaughter hundreds upon hundreds of cops and rebels alike. By the end, they’ve arguably killed far more people than Comstock ever managed to, yet in-story they never seem to get used to it like you’d expect.

* Fallout: New Vegas has an example of this, in its Honest Hearts DLC. In the game, it's generally considered "good" to kill particularly evil characters. However, when Joshua Graham is about to execute the very evil Salt-Upon-Wounds, he's considered very close to JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope. This ''would'' be downplayed (as Salt-Upon-Wounds is basically defenseless in that moment), but ultimately played straight because of how the game's karma-system works. Sniping a raider who hasn't even seen you yet is hardly self-defense, and you may even get moments where the enemy is unarmed and simply tries to run from you (or worse, crouch down in terror and beg for their lives). It's still considered acceptable to kill them, turning this into a BrokenAesop.

This trope is related to MoralDissonance. Compare BigDamnVillains, where the character is conveniently spared from having to make such a decision because a different villain kills the person. Also compare AMillionIsAStatistic.

* ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou'': Neku and Beat must kill at least a dozen {{Red Shirt}}s in the third week. [[spoiler:ALL the Reapers are brainwashed by O-pins, except one lucky bastard who missed the memo requiring him to wear his.]] Yet Beat and Neku only spare the three that are identified [=NPCs=], 777, Usuki, and Kariya. When Neku suggests that they erase the latter two he says something along the lines of 'we can't kill them because they're BrainwashedAndCrazy'. Especially egregious because Uzuki and Kariya were the only Non-Game Master Reapers actively trying to erase them at any point in the game, while the rest just made you buy stuff or fight Noise. Even if it took them till Day 6 to realise that the Reapers were brainwashed, on Day seven he goes back to erasing hapless {{Red Shirt}}s (though the Red Shirts in question were all of the Harrier (player-erasing) variety rather than Support (fetch-quest-assigning) variety).

** Used in a ridiculous way in the original ''VideoGame/{{Fable|I}}''. Generally, you get good Karma Points for killing bandits and monsters, the explanation obviously being that you rid society of evil and that they can't do any more harm. However you get Evil Karma Points for killing the Bandit Chief Twinblade. Sure, he has surrendered, but it's not like you redeemed him or anything, and leaving him alive would just lead to him eventually doing more evil. Even worse when remembering one of the quests you DO get good alignment for revolves around helping the Bowerstone guards drag a bandit prisoner up the hill to be beheaded as he cries and screams and begs for mercy (once you are within sight of the bloodstained chopping block in a cutscene).

* Characters in ''VideoGame/VampireTheMasqueradeBloodlines'' lose [[KarmaMeter Humanity]] when they kill people, representing the SanitySlippage and slow LossOfIdentity that come with denying their better nature and listening to the Beast within them -- unless they're in a combat zone, then they can murder as many people as they want with no consequences.

* A recurring issue in ''VideoGame/BioshockInfinite''; in cutscenes, Booker and Elizabeth react to violence and death like you would realistically expect them to (Elizabeth is horrified by it, while Booker only uses it as a last resort), and both of them are disgusted by Comstock’s murderous actions. In ''gameplay'' on the other hand, they not only show barely any reaction to the carnage and will slaughter hundreds upon hundreds of cops and rebels alike. By the end, they’ve arguably killed far more people than Comstock ever managed to, yet in-story they never seem to get used to it like you’d expect.
* "So, rape huh. A fun and...dare I say it, enjoyable experience." A critic named Guerilla Gamer with Australian magazine PC Powerplay begins a rant as thus, saying how violence is okay, language is okay, sex, pornography, horror, drugs, glorifying criminal activity, ect he is perfectly okay with, But a game on rape crosses even his infamously liberal line. He then proceeds to address that he can't discuss it or he'll look like a hypocrite. His response? "Just watch me," and tears apart the idea of this as a game gimmick.

* A recurring issue in ''VideoGame/BioshockInfinite''; in cutscenes, Booker and Elizabeth react to violence and death like you would realistically expect them to (Elizabeth is horrified by it, while Booker only uses it as a last resort), and both of them are disgusted by Comstock’s murderous actions. In ''gameplay'' on the other hand, they not only show barely any reaction to the carnage and will slaughter hundreds upon hundreds of cops and rebels alike. By the end, they’ve arguably killed far more people than Comstock ever managed to, yet in-story they never seem to get used to it like you’d expect.