Morals, Ethics and Spirituality in Video Games

Islands of the Caliph » Devlog
2 years ago by Schmidt Workshops
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In order to help me make decisions on how this game will actually work, I wrote up an article on some of the things that inspired it.  Playing games that had unique systems of morality and spiritual content were a big influence in my youth.  I've always wanted to create similar systems, but Islands of the Caliph is my first actual foray into this area.  

Read my article on Morals, Ethics and Spirituality in Video Games here: https://www.indiedb.com/games/islands-of-the-caliph/news/morals-ethics-and-spirituality-in-video-games

I hope you will share your thoughts about this issue, or share the article with anyone who you think might be interested.  Thanks!

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Islands of the Caliph

Old School RPG based on Medieval Middle-Eastern folklore and Islamic Spiritual Tradition.

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Diogo Costa2 years ago (1 edit) (+1)

The flipside of the whole "The artist who endeavors to enforce a lesson, becomes a preacher; and the artist who tries by hint and suggestion to enforce the immoral, becomes a pander." is the fact that when there is no "lesson", you are just accepting and reinforcing the status quo. One example is Dragon Age: Inquisition, in which the actions of the main character are extremely questionable, but unchangeable (particularly the romancing of character who treat you as "my Lord" and the whole "Freemen of the Dales" thing).

Most games, ultimately, have moral content, whether or not it is acknowledged. It is fine to focus on mechanics and just accept the ethical status quo, but the opposite is also valuable, if done tactfully.


Fallout (the first, maybe second) is one of my favourite games dealing with choice and consequence, beyond Ultima. Also, the game Open Sorcery: Sea++ is extremely good at it. Sometimes the "good" action simply requires a bit more work to find.


Anyway. The game is looking really good, looking forward to it.

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Schmidt Workshops2 years ago(-1)

That is an excellent point.  I think this came out of the limitations of the early days of game design.  Not that Dragon Age could not have included more player choice, but consider something like Space Invaders.  You were given a simple role - to shoot down invading aliens - with no in-game option to do anything else.  This approach led to people, players and devs included, to assume the player did not really need to question what they were doing.  

It took an additional effort and thought to create an environment where the player could choose a different approach.  Imagine a game like Space Invaders where you could attempt to negotiate with the aliens :)  It's a lot of extra code to allow for something like that.  I just love that some developers were thinking that far ahead and making that extra effort...

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Diogo Costa2 years ago(+1)

I'll just mention the game Traitor, by Jonas Kyratzes, which I've recently replayed.

It is an example of a game that has no choice whatsoever, but is still a moral take on an otherwise simple and generic shmup.

So morality can play a role even without choice - but, of course, games are interactive and the possibility of choice is one of the thing that only games can do as a medium, so it's a more important avenue to explore, imo.

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Schmidt Workshops2 years ago(-1)

I agree there. I think most games actually present you with an implied moral imperative.  Like the space invaders example, they just don't give you any option.  Doom is also a good example.  Of course you have to stop the demons from invading earth at all costs, right?  It's even invoking religious themes.

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