Moral Dilemmas in Computer Games

Abstract

Introduction Some of the most popular recent computer games have used morality as a marketing strategy, promising that players’ moral choices would critically affect the game experience.1 Although many of these games have been criticized for proposing shallow dilemmas that do not reflect the ethical possibilities of aesthetic expression, morality nevertheless is a topic that professional game designers increasingly feel the need to address.2 This paper addresses the question of the design of ethical game-based experiences, arguing that developers should focus on presenting players with ill-defined problems that demand ethical thinking and creative engagement as part of the gameplay experience. Taking concepts from design research and philosophical ethics, this paper postulates that game designers have approached morality in games as a tame problem, formalizing decision-making through finite, solvable, computable puzzles.3 This approach has proven commercially successful but aesthetically unsatisfying because it encapsulates the process of ethical thinking in the context of gameplay dynamics, which are not necessarily related to the moral nature of players.4 This paper starts with a brief definition of gameplay and ethical gameplay in the context of single-player games. The purpose is to understand what ethical gameplay is and how it has been implemented in computer games. The next section discusses the concept of wicked problems, focusing on how design thinking and moral practices relate. The third section elaborates on why wicked problems can be used for creating ethical gameplay, and the article closes with a short reflection on the implications for game design. These arguments are illustrated with the critical analysis of existing computer games using the terminology of ethics and design research. This analysis is based on the author’s individual experience as a player—a method recognized as a fruitful approach in game studies.5 The theoretical findings in this paper have been presented and discussed with individual professional game designers. They have also been used in game development 1 Examples include 2K Marin/Digital Extremes/2K China/Arkane Studios, Bioshock 2 (2K Games, 2010); Quantic Dream, Fahrenheit (Atari, 2005); Quantic Dream, Heavy Rain (Sony Computer Entertainment, 2010); Obsidian Entertainment, Fallout: New Vegas (Bethesda Softworks, 2010); Lionhead Studios, Fable (Microsoft Game Studios, 2004); Irrational Games,Bioshock (2K Games, 2007); and Bethesda Game Studios, Fallout 3 (Bethesda Softworks/ ZeniMax Media, 2008). 2 For analyses and critiques of the games, see Miguel Sicart, The Ethics of Computer Games (Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2009); and Jose Zagal, “Ethically Notable Videogames: Moral Dilemmas and Gameplay,” (2009) http:// facsrv.cs.depaul.edu/~jzagal/Papers/ Zagal-EthicallyNotableVideogames.pdf (accessed February 27, 2012). Morality and aesthetics are addressed in: Wayne Booth, The Company We Keep: An Ethics of Fiction (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1988); and Elisabeth Schellekens, Aesthetics and Morality (New York: Continuum, 2007). For explorations of the possibilities in game design, see Raph Koster, A Theory of Fun for Game Design (Scottsdale, AZ: Paraglyph Press, 2005); Jonathan Blow, “Design Reboot,” (presented at the Montreal Indie Game Summit, November 27, 2007), http://braid-game.com/ news/?p=129 (accessed June 30, 2012); and Richard Rouse III, “Seven Ways a Video Game Can Be Moral,” (presented at the Game Developers Conference 2011, March 2, 2011). 3 Richard Coyne, “Wicked Problems Revisited,” Design Studies 26, no. 1 (2005), 5-17.