We are lucky as gamers. Our pastime keeps on evolving and maturing at a rapid pace. It becomes more immersive by the year. With games becoming so much more immersive, could the impact of the ethical choices we make in-game begin to affect us on an ever deeper level?
Recent titles from the ever popular Bioware have taken this mechanic to heart, and have tried desperately to inject advanced moral juxtaposition into their games. But for the most part this has been a rather binary affair. Mass Effect and Dragon Age give the player control over many moral and ethical choices in an attempt to create connection to the game world. This gives weight to the story and characters; it creates an emotional bond between the gamer and his choices; a very powerful tool indeed.
There are other titles that spring to mind along this vein. Games like inFamous, Fable, and my personal favourite, Heavy Rain. Of those only Heavy Rain really manages a sterling job in this regard. It creates a very solid connection between choice and the impact of those choices.
While playing Heavy Rain I often recall myself becoming uncontrollably anxious and jittery while working my way through the decisions and scenarios that the game threw at me. These kinds of choices would often have far reaching consequences throughout these games, and seemingly, they have reach into the image we hold about ourselves.
Can these moral systems possibly be taken even further? Would gamers want such an intense experience in their games? Personally I would relish the chance, but it seems many gamers feel that making the hard or “evil” choices reflect badly on them on a personal level.
Based on that I then began noticing that numerous people found it challenging to go down the “evil” path since it would often conflict with their ethics or beliefs. So why is this? One often hears the adage touted within our community – “It’s just a game”. So, should it really matter? Well perhaps – but maybe it is more than just a simple game to some people.
As games become ever more realistic and mature some of the choices we are presented with are becoming so vivid and well conceived that often it is not simply just a black and white matter, but rather shades of gray. Now this can surely put strain on one’s beliefs, given the right set of circumstances. Sometimes a game is not just a game; sometimes it can speak volumes to and about us.
There are certainly a plethora of possible reasons motivating this reaction; such as one’s upbringing, personal beliefs, and society’s constraints. There is a good reason why so many stories in literature, movies and such are based around a hero archetype. Humans relate to it, and most of us strive to be this way in our gaming experiences. However there are some that feel the need to do otherwise. They could feel the need to harass, the need to challenge and agitate. In my experience they tend to be the younger crowd, rebelling and pushing their concepts / boundaries on the world. Perhaps the same ideas mentioned (upbringing, society and such) have a similar impact.
Well, after all that psycho-babble, let us get back to the games themselves. Which games do you think have managed to challenge your ethics, morals and beliefs? I know many Role-playing Games use these systems along with many Sandbox titles. Even some First Person Shooters have gotten in on the action in a very light fashion. Games such as Bioshock introduce the Little Sister’s mechanic forcing the player to make an ethical choice.
Would many of you be willing to play something that truly challenges you, not just in the conventional ways, but also emotionally and spiritually? Share your thoughts in the forums.
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