Lydia The Pack Mule—Morality in Video Games

Out of all the characters I've terrorised in my lengthy and violent Skyrim campaign, perhaps the greatest victims were my loyal companions. Sacrificing companions for better loot or running away to let them fend off enemies by themselves was just another day in Tamriel. So when I actually felt a pang of guilt while Fus Ro Dah-ing Lydia off a hill for the umpteenth time, I had stumbled upon a defining concept of modern gaming: morality.

Morality in video games has had more than its fair share of publicity, with everyone from soccer moms to politicians questioning the ethics of developers that they believe are desensitising a whole generation with their violent games. While these allegations are reactionary and dumb, they have led developers to experiment with a player's perspective of right and wrong and accountability of actions, leading to what is now the moral choice, a staple in most games. The moral choice in video games has become so revolutionary that Peter Rauch, an MIT graduate, wrote his thesis on it.

Video games as a medium have always been defined by player control over events. But most games had predetermined stories where the player's role was to just drive the plot forward rather than change it. Implementing morality gave the player more control to influence the story through their own choices and was considered a huge step forward. But morality itself is a complex and constantly evolving concept, leading developers to make some lackluster mechanics.

A good example is Infamous. You'd think that having godlike electricity powers would make for interesting moral dilemmas about the consequences of what you do. Nope! In the morality system of Infamous, you're either Jesus or you're Hitler, there's no in-between. Another example of bad morality are the quick-timed event choices you get in most game endings these days. In Far Cry 3's ending, you have to suddenly make a choice that's clearly forked into “good” and “bad”, completely ignoring that you were a mass-murdering maniac for most of the game. Regarding this, Rauch writes, “Games right now seem to be stuck in a place where the consequences of player actions are entirely predictable, and take effect either immediately or at the very end of the game.”

RPG games like the Elder Scrolls and Witcher series on the other hand, have got it right. The choices made in these games are mostly morally ambiguous, neither black nor white. The games don't force emotions or morals down your throats and your actions are defined by what you think is necessary and how that makes you feel afterwards-no emotional manipulation necessary. The Witcher series especially is terrific since the various choices you make in-game aren't as simple as being good or bad, and the even the smallest decisions can lead to a tangible change in the world around you in ways you might not expect- the most realistic depiction of morality as you can get.

Ironically enough, a study led by Matthew Grizzard, an assistant professor at the University of Buffalo's Communications Department has found that playing violent games can actually lead to the players' experiencing a heightened sense of moral sensitivity. So the next time you're playing as a raging lunatic, it's probably making you a better person. Just let that sink in.