Chapter 6 Killswitch Engage: Ethics in Game Design
In: Culture at Play: How Video Games Influence and Replicate Our WorldSearch for other papers by Armin Lippitz in
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Abstract
Videogames are ‘ethical objects’ (Sicart, 2009, 4) and therefore constitute an excellent medium through which to teach users about ethics and ethical behaviour. Specifically, the interactive nature of videogames makes them effectively more powerful for immersive and emotionally engaging experiences (Sylvester, 2013; Sicart, 2013). As a result, the impact of ethically or morally questionable choices in a game is increased. This leads to the question of how such choices can be incorporated in videogames, and in which ways ethically or morally questionable choices can affect players? Crucial elements for meaningful choices are agency and significant feedback, so the ‘rigidity’ or ‘elasticity’ (Schallegger, 2016, p. 43–44) of a game’s system plays an important role. To what degree, however, does the game’s design influence players’ decisions? Put another way, how are game designers pushing their players into certain directions or actions, and how much leeway are the players given to push back? Additionally, it is important to consider how game designers invite people to make ethical decisions and teach players about ethical behaviour. To answer these questions, I conducted an in-depth analysis of Life is Strange (Dontnod Entertainment, 2015) focusing on design elements which have the potential to elicit ethically cognizant responses and consider the degree of elasticity in the game’s system with regard to moral and ethical choices, and their impact. I will show how the developers of Life is Strange purposefully disrupt players’ immersion to maximise emotional impact and invite critical reflection on moral and ethical decisions.