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Virtual Morality Gives Pause For Thought

Posted by simoniker on from the gonna-find-out-who's-naughty-or-nice dept.

Thanks to Globeandmail.com for their article discussing deeper storylines and more complex moral choices for a maturing videogame audience. They cite a forum post from a KOTOR player lamenting: "Being evil is addictive and I find myself in situations where my conscience kicks in and it's difficult for me to do the bad thing", and the article claims this "...represents a new generation of sophisticated electronic games, created for a maturing and rapidly expanding audience, that are transforming gaming consoles from an adolescent diversion into a mainstream entertainment medium with artistic integrity and a social conscience." Is it justified to feel guilty about being evil within a videogame?

1 of 68 comments (clear)

  1. eh? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Is it justified to feel guilty about being evil within a videogame?

    Is it justified to feel aroused when looking at a picture of a naked woman? Is it justified to feel hungry when thinking about a hamburger? Is it justified to feel angry about something that happened in a movie?

    Yes of course it is! The REASON that movies (and video games, etc) are popular is because they let you "drop your guard" for a little bit. they let you feel emotions or experiences that you don't usually. If you didn't feel emotions like this, you wouldn't be human.. the same part of your brain is involved either way.

    Of course it's a problem when somebody confuses "fantasy" with "reality" but I'll admit those are pretty fuzzy lines. We all live in a sort of fantasy world anyway, or more precisely, a subset of reality.

    If this fellow feels bad about being evil in a game, then he has two choices: 1) don't be evil in the game, or 2) explore your feelings and self-understanding through being evil in the game. It could be frightening, exciting, and perhaps enlightening. You don't get those changes in the real world.