The Moral Cost of Video Games

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Well, at least they’re not harping on the violence anymore. Christian Science Monitor, perhaps perceiving that that trope has run its course, offers a rather novel critique of our beloved hobby- the lack of consequences.

But what games conspicuously lack is moral consequence. Once you’ve killed someone, stolen something, or blown up a building, that’s usually the end of it – you’ll rarely get to see the emotional impact of your actions on the characters around you.

Every bit of mayhem becomes just another item on a video-game to-do list. Games ignore moral consequence and emotional nuance to focus on the purely visceral. There are only two types of decisions you can really make: the strategically correct one or the strategically incorrect one. There is no “right” or “wrong” – only success or failure.

Get the full story here.

Author: vonderhaar

What's there to say about me? I'm just your average gamer, suckered by a childhood spent with my nose buried in the latest EGM into dreaming that I could turn my favorite hobby into a livelihood. If the dream doesn't end up becoming reality, I've got an interest in philosophy, political science, economics, and sociology that will hopefully land me a job somewhere in academia.

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