Just this last thing and this is a pretty controversial post(don't read if you don't want to):
IF for example, the game has children or people being abused or has some very heavy moral situations, please... let us ask or find out why! I don't like it if a game designer shoves a situation down my throat and forces me to accept everything as it is. First impressions are never final and never always right. I prefer being able to make amends than slicing everything that's in my path. It doesn't have to employ threatening but also true persuasion.
Therefore, I’d like such situations to be framed around “having good judgement” if you’re looking for a positive outcome. And also, for the game to include some hints… like talking to the right people will let you know what’s going on, while talking to the wrong people might alert certain parties. And depending on your investigating style and skills, you could look at the rooms for signs of violence or if you've medical skills, offer to do a check-up on the person like using a doll so a child can point at the place where it hurts.
Also, abuse is usually a very touchy situation: a relationship of the play of power so it's often two or even more parties involved.
For example: a man might be beaten up daily by his wife 'cos she suffers from mental and other forms of frustrations at work. After some time, to get back at her, he might use something which is important to her, to retaliate like money, her children from previous relationship, jewellery which was inherited from her parents, etc.
And even though he hates the humiliation, he starts to enjoy and look forward to the violence and then perhaps he becomes a thug or starts inflicting injuries upon himself. (I've heard that research has determined that 'cos the brain areas which release chemicals for violence and sexual pleasure are really close, so the brain sometimes confuses the “chemicals” if the violence is too brutal ‘cos it can’t deal with the brutality.)
Therefore, the question isn't "who's right or wrong" but rather, how can I resolve this situation? How can I attain understanding of this situation? And also, given how the gravity of such scenarios, I'd like the player to be punished severely if they choose options that'd likely make the situation worse.
For example: if you threaten a person who's already mentally unstable, she might snap and actually attack you or the people around her. Or even go on a massacre which even though you might be RPing as a baddie, it could have severe repercussions for you. Like what if she murders an important merchant you rely on for business? But either way, there should be some hints from the learning curves so the player can't complain about that they were hit by the consequences.
Or if you make a pass at someone who just suffered a rape ordeal or make fun of him/her sexually, she could try to kill herself later or just isolate herself in her house for months to years.
And note: if a person has just been at the ordeal of a rape/attempted rape, he/she would be unlikely to offer to sleep with you. I don’t buy any of this “every woman/man wants to throw themselves at hero” crap.
Such situations have long-lasting repercussions but bear in mind severe psychological effects are unlikely to manifest themselves overnight. It usually takes weeks to months to even years for such things to occur. For example: there's Annabelle Cheong who turned into a hardcore porno star after she was raped years ago. And there’s this person I know who was raped by an uncle and turned into a sex-maniac. And there're those who turn into torturers and executioners 'cos they were badly beaten/raped as a kid and also grew up in really violent circumstances where they watched people die by the minute and people selling drugs.
Then there’re those who get addicted to porn after a rape while some might become a priest or something. And this is horrible but some people just keep returning to the rapist and it becomes a horrifying cycle of abuse and violence ‘cos in a really “sick” way, the brain can’t break free from reliving the experience.