Everescape: A Meta-Ethical Analysis of the Player’s Morality Through Immersive Gameplay

• Main Authors: Ferrer, Alexis Mavis S., Limkakeng, Denise Keara L., Tan, Belle Elizabeth S.
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2022
• Subjects: heroes; villains; ethics; video games; perspectives; Arts and Humanities; Game Design; Philosophy
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/conf_shsrescon/2022/arts_da/4; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1108&context=conf_shsrescon
• Institution: De La Salle University

For the longest time, the concept of heroes and villains has been treated as opposites. Despite this, many actions taken by both are usually of equal morality, especially in video games, as they exist as two sides of one coin. This study attempts to find the application of game design that influences a player's perspective toward protagonists and antagonists. It also aims to find the extent to which a player can disconnect from normative morality within the world of a video game and how it may affect their perceptions of morality. Finally, it aims to find how the avatar absolves the player of their actions in video games. To achieve these goals, the authors used content analysis as well as comprehensive literature reviews to study past works and games to understand the reasoning behind the issue as well as deepen their understanding. From the findings, “Everescape” was created as a game that emphasizes the lack of difference in the actions of protagonists and antagonists. It aims to highlight the use of normative ethics in a video game world to justify the player's actions under the name of “heroism”.