I've beaten the first two games many times with a good karma character and only a few times as an evil karma character. Usually, whenever I play a good karma character, I limit the actions that give me bad karma. I don't dig up graves, join the slavers, or do any of the evil quests. I also won't do things such as taking the money in the Modoc wishing well. A truly good karma character won't become a berserker, childkiller, slaver, or gravedigger because in my opinion, those are all evil titles.

From what I've learned through experience, it's better as an evil character to start off neutral, keeping your karma above zero so that certain people still give you quests as they won't do so if you have negative karma. You can recruit Sulik and Cassidy together with Vic to help with early quests for experience as long as you don't gain too much bad karma or become a berserker or childkiller. Then once you intend to start collecting large amounts of bad karma, you can get rid of good karma character selling them into slavey or extracting their brains at SAD for massive amounts of karma loss on the latter. It's also easier to gain access to Vault 13 if you have positive karma and are not a slaver, berserker, or childkiller. Gaining too much bad karma early in the game makes you a target for bounty hunters who at that point in the game are too much of a challenge to take down or survive.

But personally, due to all the opportunities to gain karma, especially through random encounters with enemies that are always hostile no matter what your karma level is, it's practically impossible to gain enough evil karma to gain the rank of Demon Spawn unless you go on a killing spree, wiping out towns and settlements. In Klamath alone, even if you rustle the brahmin, you can negate all that karma loss from saving Tor,and then gain massive positive karma from having Sulik's debt forgiven.

In 3 and New Vegas, there is a limit on how high or low karma can go. It can't go above 1000 or below -1000.

I'm starting to wonder if there is even a point to making a pure goody two-shoes karma character. An evil character can still gain karma as part of the story, such as blowing up the Military Base or Cathedral, or for good equipment such as joining the Brotherhood of Steel. A good karma character at 1000 in 3 or New Vegas won't gain anything from further karma gains.

Has anyone ever played a game where you try to be both good and bad, while ending with either one at the very end of the game? Is there a point to making a truly good karma character who shuns negative karma actions? What exactly is the point of karma?

Ever watch Amazon's Fallout TV series? It's an interesting take of Good vs Evil in the world after a fallout.

Good vs Evil I think is very subjective in a post nuclear world or at least that's what I believe. I mean it's a fight for survival in a world with limited resources and a world where such things as morals and ethics sorta fall off tot he side of the road. Ofc, if you are with family or friends, I'd like to think you'll do your best to keep them alive.

I think the only reason a Vault dweller can be considered a goody two-shoes is because they were sheltered from the violence and corruption of the post-fallout world. It's an unforgiving world now, with much more chaos than order.

The TV series (which I thought was pretty decent) shows where the main character tries to do good things (and be good) even after some seriously bad events, but ends up sliding a bit more towards neutral. It's a harsh world, where even the villain may end up an ally unexpectedly. It also showed that you can't truly define what a villain is, as each had a story that lead to their current state. The supposed good people, also had a twist to their story.

So, I think it's ok to try play a goody two-shoes, but the reality and necessity of the world may force the character to rethink their idea of Good vs Evil. Sometimes an evil act may be needed from even a Good character in order to see the next sunrise again.

As to that last question.

I think the Karma system is not a very good system for games. Since players tend to play games without worrying too much about the actions they take in these games. Playing behind a screen sort of divorces us from the actual reality of the things we do in games.

As to games, the Witcher EE is a pretty good game where decisions have consequences and choosing one side or the other can avoid one conflict with one, while earning the enmity of another. And yes, you can have a neutral ending in that game.

I personally don't like Karma in games, though the Fallout games did it ok. They are still classics and some of my favorite games of all time. I don't know if there's a point to it or not, but it certainly forces you to make a choice.

When I play games, I try to keep it simple, I try not to kill NPCs unless they attempt to harm me first or other violent actions unless a quest (or location) leads me to a hostile encounter.

I've also tried to avoid things like stealing (or pickpocketing) in games, but damn, the developers sure put some of the best stuff sometimes in peoples pockets or houses lol. It's like they're trying their best to tempt us to the dark side (Star Wars!) haha.

If we ever get a full immersion VR version of Fallout in MMO, then Karma may indeed have a role to play. What goes around, comes around. Right? Or maybe "You reap what you sow" or something like that lol.
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In 3, Karma determines which companions you can get and whether you get attacked by Talon Company squads or the Regulators.

In New Vegas, Karma determines which level 50 perk you qualify for. Cass is the only companion with a problem with you if you have evil karma. The ending for the victorious faction at the end of the game changes depending on your karma.

Because you gain lots of karma from killing feral ghouls, fiends, and Powder Gangers, it's even harder to maintain neutral or evil karma, especially if you want Ain't Like That Now or Just Lucky I'm Alive. You'd have to go on a killing spree, steal lots of stuff, or hack lots of owned terminals to get enough karma for the perk you want. There are mods that disable the karma gain from killing fiends, feral ghouls, and Powder Gangers though.