Player Morality in Video Games
One of the most common ethical thought experiments is the trolley problem. It presents scenarios intended to generate internal conflict and reveal a person’s underlying moral reasoning. Imagine yourself standing near a joystick, watching a trolley speed towards a crossing. Five poor souls were trapped in one lane and almost died. There was one person who was also trapped in another lane. The point of contention depends on how morally sound our intervention is. Do we pull the lever, change the direction of the trolley, and sacrifice one person in the other lane, or do we just stand by and let the trolley take the lives of five? The decision forces people to consider the limits of consequentialism vs. inaction as well as the ethical consequences of intentionally hurting someone.
As a philosophical exercise exploring the foundations of human morality, the trolley problem has conceptual roots that date back to the early 1900s. Basic ideas in moral psychology have guided the research of scholars in this field for the past century. New variations of the trolley problem have emerged as technological advances have changed human wisdom. Interestingly, video games have become a rich source for popular media to investigate moral and ethical issues. The trolley problem is given a fresh and interesting interpretation in such a case, requiring players to solve complex puzzles and consider the complexities of right and wrong.
Video games are more than just entertainment; they have developed into interactive media that can reveal hidden aspects of human psychology. They serve as immersive play areas where users traverse complex storylines and confront morally dubious situations. Thanks to the process, researchers gain salient insight into how people make decisions when faced with difficult moral choices. Scholars may be able to explain how people process decisions morally and identify the cognitive mechanisms underlying moral reasoning by examining the choices players make in regulated gaming environments.
The idea of player morality in video games is an interesting area of study. Two separate but related lines of inquiry can be taken from the complex problem. Initially, it is important to investigate the possibility that game mechanics may serve as a means of moral indoctrination. Video games have the power to shape player behavior by implementing well-designed systems of rewards and punishments. It shapes players’ perceptions of right and wrong in cyberspace and raises interesting questions regarding the possibility that video games can support or conflict with existing moral fabrics.
Second, it is important to consider a person’s innate desire for moral behavior. Chris Avellone presents a positive viewpoint, suggesting that most players essentially want to have their morals straight. When given the opportunity in a virtual environment, they are interested in making constructive changes. It shows how video games can provide a safe, consequence-free environment for players to examine their moral compass and make meaningful ethical decisions.
Among the role-playing game (RPG) genre, games such as Fallout: New Vegas and Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (designed by Avellone), were praised for their complex player agent systems. They force players to solve difficult moral conundrums by presenting various moral conundrums throughout the story. The decisions made by the player characters influence the course of the story in addition to shaping their identity and moral compass. However, Avellone is not the only writer of a player-driven storytelling style. It has expanded into a fundamental RPG mechanic over the past 20 years, often taking the form of an alignment system or morality meter that dynamically tracks a player’s ethical tendencies.
According to Avellone, there was a time in gaming history when choosing an “evil” or bad path had an unfavorable impact. The result can be a real failure, a crash at the end of the game, or the player missing most of the desired content. He argues that players are conditioned by the conventional. Avellone suggests that the conditioning encourages players to take the “good” path primarily to increase their engagement in the game overall.
Video games have become powerful storytelling tools, with moral decisions that force players to consider difficult moral conundrums. Such decisions can have a significant impact on the story and the player’s character or may seem unimportant at first.
Video Games as Moral Decision-Making Tools
Two famous examples serve to highlight the idea. First of all, at the end of Super Metroid, players are faced with a very difficult choice. After exploring the planet Zebes and relying on a species of animal-like Metroid for survival, players are forced to decide between fleeing the planet or destroying themselves to save the remaining Metroids. The seemingly insignificant decision has a big impact because it makes players consider the possible impact of their choices and cope with themes of self-preservation and loyalty.
In the second game, BioShock explores moral ambiguity even further. Gamers take on the role of Jack, a man thrown into the underwater city of Rapture. They meet the Little Sisters here, young girls who have undergone genetic modification to accumulate a powerful substance known as ADAM. The game offers players a difficult decision to make: rescue the Little Sisters (which is a more challenging route with delayed rewards) or harvest them for instant ADAM upgrades (sacrificing their innocence for personal gain). Players are forced to examine their moral compass and consider the value of their power in the face of possible harm to others as a result of their choices.
The illustration highlights the increasing importance of moral decisions in video games. Games can go beyond simple entertainment and become thought-provoking experiences that test our moral beliefs by presenting players with decisions for which there are no clear answers.
The lines separating “good” and “bad” decisions are increasingly blurred in today’s video game narratives. Such tends to pose increasingly difficult moral conundrums for players, many of whom have no clear “right” answer. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is a good illustration of that, as it places the protagonist in several morally difficult situations with no clear way to proceed.
Mel MacCoubrey places a strong emphasis on player choices in games being determined by context; it is a conscious effort to promote deeper narrative engagement. According to MacCoubrey, the decisions trumped a rough moral dichotomy. Although some solutions follow traditional real-world morality (which states that saving a life is better than taking it), the design philosophy aims to escape such black-and-white situations. The story team deliberately created a scenario where telling the truth (which is generally considered a noble endeavor) could have adverse repercussions. Due to the complexity, players are forced to consider the impact of their choices more carefully within a dynamic narrative network and understand that the decisions depend on specific contexts and characters.
The enormous amount of real-world time required to painstakingly design and construct branching narratives is one of the biggest obstacles in the development of complex ethical issues in video games. Avellone emphasized the difficulty by saying, “Adding dark options and ensuring they are robust replacements often requires tripling the project’s design resources.” As Avellone eloquently puts it, “The financial constraints of most projects prevent their implementation. Therefore, those who choose bad roads often have a worse experience because good roads usually receive the most development attention, whereas good roads evil gets less attention.”
The Cyclical Nature of Player Morality
When trying to separate the moral foundations of player behavior, the cyclical dynamics present a challenging causality problem. Is there a clear demand from players for “good” story paths that drives game developers to prioritize their creation, or do players simply show a preference for morally good choices as a result of the long-term conditioning effects provided by video games to them?
Many game developers engage in the painstaking practice of collecting and analyzing statistics regarding player interactions with their games to improve the design and user experience of their work. They can learn more about player behavior and identify patterns and insights that might otherwise go unnoticed thanks to a data-driven approach.
The data presented by MacCoubrey show a statistically significant trend toward cooperative behavior. It is evident from the observation that individuals show a higher tendency to choose the “altruistic option” over the “mercenary option.” It is consistent with established psychological theories, such as social norms theory, which states that people are encouraged to follow prosocial norms in social situations.
However, the decision-making process seems complicated. Although there is a general tendency to choose the “friendlier” option over the “aggressive” option, the data shows that when presented with a neutral option, behavior changes. Participants appear to be returning to a more balanced, almost random (“50/50”) selection process. It implies that how choices are formulated and the perception of their emotional valence can have a major impact on how decisions are made, and cooperation will be favored when choices are categorized.
To truly understand the underlying mechanisms, more research is needed. MacCoubrey’s research results show how emotional cues and neutral stimuli interact to influence human decision-making. Future research might examine the mental processes involved when subjects are faced with neutral choices. Do they become less motivated under such circumstances, or do they weigh the pros and cons more carefully? In the bargain, investigating the influence of the cultural environment and personal personality characteristics on recorded decision-making patterns can yield in-depth information.
Intratextual analysis of the game data interestingly supports the statement. After carefully breaking down the data into taxonomies labeled “lies versus truth” and “friendly versus aggressive,” two striking patterns became apparent. It is statistically significant that market participants favor options labeled “good.” Such a trend is measurable, as more than 60% of decisions fall within the group, while only 30% of “lying” and “aggressive” decisions do the same. On the other hand, information regarding the “logical versus emotional” classification shows a more complex distribution. Players’ choices were almost evenly split in the cases, indicating that when the factors are taken into consideration, decision-making becomes more balanced.
Early in the game, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey presents a morally challenging situation, according to MacCoubrey. The main character tells the story of a family who are victims of a deadly epidemic. Frightened and misinformed about public safety, a local priest called for their immediate execution. Apart from being sick, the family did not do anything illegal. Players are forced to make difficult choices: stand up for marginalized families and defend them, or ignore their plight. It’s interesting to note that most players choose to support their families, according to MacCoubrey. Even though the results appear correct, there are undesirable impacts. Inadvertently, the player helps the plague spread across the island by saving his family.
The scenario is a prime example of how moral ambiguity is used in video game stories. There is no simple solution offered to players. While it is a noble endeavor, protecting the innocent can have dire consequences. The large number of people who make decisions to keep their families together highlights the innate capacity for empathy and compassion within each person. Nonetheless, the storyline results from the decision forcing players to acknowledge the unintended consequences of their choices. Such encounters provocatively explore ethical issues and also become important plot points.
Can Video Games Increase Empathy?
Researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison started work on a new video game called Crystals of Kaydor. The project was inspired by a growing question: can well-designed video games trigger increased empathy in high school students? The researchers conducted a controlled study lasting two weeks to look at the theory. The participants are organized into several groups with specific objectives. While one group played Crystals of Kaydor, another group played Bastion from Supergiant Games, which is available for purchase. The research produced some very interesting results. According to the data, video games intended to foster “better empathy” can induce “behaviorally relevant functional neural changes” in teens in just six hours of play.
The Benefits of Exploring Morality Through Video Games
Video games benefit as a platform to test oneself by creating a simulated environment with negotiable consequences. In the world of gaming, players are given the freedom to explore various aspects of their identity by taking on personalities or acting in ways that are unrealistic or even impossible in the real world. Nicole Lazzaro (president of video game consulting firm XEODesign) agrees, highlighting how games are dynamic and adapting to a rapidly changing society. Lazzaro argued that the immoral game was shallow and uninteresting.
Avellone presents a positive view, implying that there may be an innate desire among players to engage in constructive behavior in games. Although this is not always the case, he emphasized that most players prefer to act morally when making decisions in cyberspace. It fits with his background as a player, where he highly values moral behavior.
Bibliography
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- Heussner, T., Finley, T. K., Hepler, J. B., & Lemay, A. (2015). The game narrative toolbox. Routledge.
- Noejovich, S. (2019). Crystals of Kaydor: Using Videogames to Develop Empathy In Adolescents. Wisconsin Engineer Magazine.
- Shanley, P. (2019). Morality in Games: Are Players Prone to Good Or Evil Choices?. The Hollywood Reporter.
- Thomson, J. (1985). The trolley problem.