The Axis of Good and Evil

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Author(s): Jonathan Melenson (Aptify, USA)
Copyright: 2011
Pages: 15
Source title: Designing Games for Ethics: Models, Techniques and Frameworks
Source Author(s)/Editor(s): Karen Schrier (Marist College, USA)and David Gibson (University of Vermont, USA)
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-60960-120-1.ch004

Keywords: Information Science Reference / Media & Communications / Multimedia Technology

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Abstract

Many games classify player decisions as either “good” or “evil.” This ignores the full range of moral behavior exhibited in real life and creates a false dichotomy: morally gray actions are overlooked or forced into one category or the other. The way actions are assigned to each category is subjective and biased toward the developers’ own moral beliefs. The result is a system that fails to capture ethical nuance and take morality seriously. This chapter examines how a good-and-evil moral framework compromises gameplay, and then proposes a solution.

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