1. Dr Malcolm Ryan, Dr Paul Formosa, Dr Dan Staines
GCAP Conference, 2020
Four lenses for designing morally
engaging games
Lessons from moral psychology
9. Our research
Formosa, P., Ryan, M., & Staines, D. (2016). Papers, Please and the systemic approach to
engaging ethical expertise in videogames. Ethics and Information Technology, 18(3), 211-
225.
Ryan, M., Staines, D., & Formosa, P. (2017). Focus, sensitivity, judgement, action:
Four lenses for designing morally engaging games. Transactions of DiGRA 2 (3),
143-173.
Staines, D., Consalvo, M., Stangeby, A., & Pedraça, S. (2019). State of play: Video games and
moral engagement. Journal of Gaming & Virtual Worlds, 11(3), 271-288.
Staines, D., Formosa, P., & Ryan, M. (2019). Morality play: A model for developing games
of moral expertise. Games and Culture, 14(4), 410-429.
10. Ethics in games
Ethics in game production
Ethics in play
• Player / Player
• Player / Game
11. Hedonic vs Eudaimonic pleasure
A tale of two zombie shooters
Left 4 Dead
Valve
The Walking Dead
Telltale Games
12. Four component model
James Rest (1983)
Four broad categories of cognitive/affective capabilities:
1. Moral Focus
2. Moral Sensitivity
3. Moral Judgement
4. Moral Action
13. Components as Lenses
“Good game design happens when you view your
game from as many perspectives as possible. I refer
to these perspectives as lenses, because each one is a
way of viewing your design.”
Jesse Schell, The Art of Game Design:
A Book of Lenses (2015)
14. The Lens of Moral Judgment
How does the player choose what to do?
Design challenges:
• Temptations vs Dilemmas
• Ethical continuity
• Aggregation of choices
Fallout 3
Bethesda Softworks
15. The Lens of Moral Judgment
How does the player choose what to do?
Questions to Consider:
• What kind of moral choices are you asking the player to make? Are they temptations or
dilemmas?
• What codes and ethical norms can players rely on to help them make moral
judgements? Do they ever conflict?
• How is the process of making a moral judgement represented?
• How difficult to understand and resolve are the moral dilemmas the player encounters?
16. The Lens of Moral Action
How does the player put their choices into effect?
Design challenges:
• Choosing vs Doing
• Danger, resolve, bravery
• Social skills, leadership, empathy
Undertale
Toby Fox
17. The Lens of Moral Action
How does the player put their choices into effect?
Questions to Consider:
• Is a moral problem solved once a choice is made, or does the player have to put it into
action?
• How difficult is it for the player to achieve what they want?
• What skills are needed to do the job?
• Does moral action require persistence? Is it costly?
• Is there opportunity for the player to back out of their choice?
18. The Lens of Moral Focus
Why is morality a priority to the player?
Design challenges:
• Reactive vs Reflective play
• Give the player a morally identity
• Humanising characters
• Providing feedback to invite reflection
• Morality meters
• NPC response
Darkest Dungeon
Red Hook Studios
19. The Lens of Moral Focus
Why is morality a priority to the player?
Questions to Consider:
• What motivates the player to treat moral decisions as moral decisions, and not
instrumentally?
• Are players encouraged to role-play a moral identity?
• Are players given opportunities to reflect on their behaviour?
• How are the consequences of moral choices represented?
• What do they say about the importance of morality in the game world?
20. The Lens of Moral Sensitivity
How does the player recognise moral significance?
Design challenges:
• Subtlety vs Signposting
• Scripting vs Systems
• Engaging empathy
Firewatch
Campo Santo
21. The Lens of Moral Sensitivity
How does the player recognise moral significance?
Questions to Consider:
• How is moral content presented to the player?
• How can the player express their moral agency?
• How are NPCs presented? Do they have personalities and perspectives with which the
player can empathise?
• Are there elements in the game that might cue the player to dehumanise other
characters?