Episode 10 Moral Choices in Games

Moral Choices in Games

Hi and welcome to Experience Points by University XP.

On Experience Points we explore different ways we can learn from games.

I’m your host Dave Eng from games-based learning by University XP.

Find out more at www.universityxp.com

On today’s episode we’ll cover Moral Choices in Games.

There are many types of games available for people to play and enjoy.

One of the most familiar and heartwarming ones are narrative driven games.

These are games where the player often plays the protagonist.

Here, you play as a single avatar.

You explore the world and different paths in the story.

If you’ve ever read the “Choose your own adventure” type of books then you know what I’m talking about.

As the character, you interact with and make decisions as you move through the world.

When reading the book your turn to page –whatever- in order to see what happens.

The Black Mirror movie: Banderstanch is a modern day application of this idea and the concept of branching narratives.

Those branching narratives represent the directions that players can go in once they make a decision.

The results – or sometimes consequences - of those decisions then inform the player what will happen next.

This type of interaction, this creativity, is critical for games.

Making those decisions (no matter how small) are what give players agency.

Agency is there so that players can continue to engage and play.

Designers have been using this formula for years to create interesting situations and scenarios for players.

But, there are some limitations to this format and structure.

What if you don’t want to make a decision at this point?

Or: what if you don’t like ANY of the decisions offered.

Can you pass? Can you make a non-decision? Sometimes the answer is yes.

But most of the time the answer is no.

You MUST make a decision to continue to follow the narrative and find out wherever your decision leads.

Let’s talk about a moral path in decision making

Perhaps one of the most interesting and widely recognized adaptations of this narrative gaming format is Telltale’s The Walking Dead series.

Here, players play a protagonist - Lee Everett - who makes decisions.

The consequences of those decisions are far reaching.

They can affect what happens to the player during the next scene or maybe hours later into the game.

This is a type of visceral, emergent, and pervasive feedback.

It’s all combined with excellent production value and theme.

It’s what has made this series so critically iconic.

Those choices that affect player interactions further down the line?

They are a vital piece of feedback that all players experience.

When in the “magic circle,” players can choose to make whatever decisions they like.

Sometimes these decisions have no bearing on the game at all.

But, other times they affect the emotional state of the player.

One of my most memorable experiences with these types of decisions was choosing actions and factions in the Fallout series.

I was given the agency and the ability to choose actions that might align my character with one faction or the other.

The effects of which may lead to negative consequences.

I remember my first play through of Fallout and my burning desire to align myself with the Brotherhood of Steel.

If you’ve never played before, then the Brotherhood of Steel is a futuristic, paramilitary organization who held the secrets to Power Armor.

Later on in a play through of Fallout 3 I actively avoided Caesar’s Legion because I despised their use and justification of slavery.

I found it abhorrent.

So much so that my character actively hunted down anyone from that faction.

To this day, I never chose to ally myself with the Legion.

But why haven’t I done this?

What moral message is the designer is sending to the player here?

I know that I could align myself with the Legion and it would have had no affect on my personal physical being.

But in the world of Fallout I knew that wanted to exhibit the same moral stance that I had in real life.

Scenarios like these are great.

That’s because it allows games to teach players similarly to the way that movies inform their viewers.

Though demonstration of settings, characters, intent, and outcomes.

But when it comes to games, players also have the option to make choices.

Those choices form the branching narrative.

That narrative allows them to see the outcomes of their decisions.

That is something that movies traditionally couldn’t do.

But a weakness here is in player choice.

Is there a “wrong” choice that a player can make?

In a game of strategy?

Where the objective for all players is to win?

Then yes, players can make the wrong choice.

But in narrative based games?

“Wrong” is subjective.

Take one of my favorite board games: Endeavor: Age of Sail.

It’s a strategy game that takes place during the great age of sail.

Here, European countries are colonizing continents.

They’re also capitalizing on resources found around the world.

One of the choices that a player can make is to invest in slavery.

Investing in slavery can be a very significant strategic choice.

It gives the player a BIG production advantage which helps them to win in the end.

But there is one drawback.

If enough players invest in slavery then a card can be draw that abolishes slavery.

That gives players who invested in slavery negative points.

But every game that I’ve played so far?

No one has invested in slavery cards.

There is a distinct advantage to doing so.

But the players I’ve spoken with found it distasteful.

They would rather find another route to win.

What can this game and its decisions do to inform students about history and human development?

Why might someone pass up a lucrative opportunity based on… principle?

Not all games are trying to teach you a moral lesson.

But some out there are.

There are some whose designs are so devious that….

you haven’t even discovered that you’ve learned something.

I hope you found this episode useful.

If you’d like to learn more, then a great place to start is with my free course on gamification.

You can sign up for it at www.universityxp.com/gamification

You can also get a full transcript of this episode including links to references in the description or show notes.

Thanks for joining me!

Again, I’m your host Dave Eng from games-based learning by University XP.

On Experience Points we explore different ways we can learn from games.

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Game on!

References

Slashcev, A. (2019, April 29). Stop teaching the player. Let him teach the game. Retrieved May 3, 2019, from https://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/AntonSlashcev/20190429/341591/Stop_teaching_the_player_Let_him_teach_the_game.php