Morality of Video Games


Moksha
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The morality of video games has been a topic of discussion since the advent of Doom.

My current question is one of preparation for the release of Bethesda Software's Fallout 3: Las Vegas. What should I do when they present the devil's snare of gambling in this New Vegas? Should I eschew it and stick to the more acceptable way of killing and looting to make my way in post apocolyptia, or should I also shoot the gamblers?

Any suggestions?

:huh:

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If it's poker or card games, I'd say it isn't gambling but a game of skill and knowledge. Good players will come out ahead while bad players will lose. If it's slot machines or lottery tickets, I'd say it's gambling with a less than 50% chance of ever winning. There is a lot of violence in fall out 3. Is gambling so bad compared to this? That's just my two cents.

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Stick with the advice of the Brethren. Don't play it if it offends the spirit in any way. I know some people treat M rated games like R rated movies, and just don't play them regardless of whatever amazing reviews they get.

Quoted for truth.

Friends, video games can be a very, very effective snare and tool of the devil- especially if you have an addictive personality. The whole industry is moving to a darker and darker place, as well- if they're still popular within 5 years, you could be seeing some absolutely horrible things happening on the more popular games. Already nudity, bloody violence, debauchery, and atheistic themes are rampant and popular.

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Oh no, not another one of these threads...

I'll just copy my opinion over from the one in the Youth forum.

First, violence.

It depends wholly on the nature of the violence, not how graphic it is, considering you're not squeamish and can stand up to such things while taking in a good message. If the nature of the violence has to do with a noble cause, such as rightful self-defense or the nature of war, I see no problem with it. However, if the violence involves senseless, mindless killing of either people or animals without a greater noble purpose (defeating evil, fighting war for good or as a historical teaching purpose, etc), then it has to go. This includes games such as Grand Theft Auto and Manhunt. Also, some try to say that the violence is ok when there is no blood or no humans involved. I suggest they check out a game called Naughty Bear which was just released. The game is predicated on retaliative killing, the only difference is that the victims are living teddy bears. I was as equally shocked by that as Grand Theft Auto.

Now, to give a good example. I own a J-RPG called Tales of the Abyss. It's a wonderful game, based on saving the world and defeating evil caused by warped ideologies. Some other underlying themes are personal identity crisis, and treating all human beings equally with kindness and compassion regardless of their circumstances. There is, however, killings of humans in that game. However, we must take into context what the killings represent, and for what reason they take place. The game takes special care to explain the value of human life and the nature of war, how soldiers put their lives on the line to defend the ideals that they believe are right, and why lethal self-defense is sometimes a necessity when reasoning with your opponent isn't an option. There is a specific scene in which the protagonist, Luke, has never had to kill before, and he is put in a position where instead of knocking out the soldiers as per what happens prior to this moment in the game, and he must kill the soldier instead. He is traumatized by it, and the other members of the party who are either soldiers or are familiar with the idea of necessary violence tell him to step aside if he isn't comfortable with killing people who would seek to kill him to support their ideals. Eventually, Luke comes to the knowledge that the ideals the party shares are unmistakably the correct ones, and that life must be taken since no reasoning can be had.

Another example was with Tear, the female protagonist. Her brother, Van, is the main antagonist of the game. Throughout the plot is her constant struggle of having to come to terms with battling her brother to the death in order to save the world, because she loves him so. Not once did she fault her brother for being wrong, instead, she forgives him and continuously tries to convince him otherwise. Through this, it's taught that we must love and forgive our enemies who commit violence against us when they seek to kill in the name of false ideals.

Second, nudity.

No amount of nudity should ever be allowed. If there is revealing attire, there are ways we can change it. Sometimes, the game creators give us costumes. If this isn't available, we can choose to look away from the character in question who is sporting an inappropriate outfit. Modesty applies in fiction as much as it does in reality.

Third, profanity and sexual innuendo.

If you can censor it, then you're in the clear. Mute the TV, cover the subtitles, do whatever you need to. Fortunately for me, in most of the games I play which happen to be thick story-driven RPGs, you can skip dialogue with questionable content.

For the second and third points, if there is ever so much nudity or profanity or innuendo that censoring it interferes with either your experience or the overall message that the game is trying to bring, I suggest you take the game back or sell it to someone else. It's obviously doing no good for you in that case. This same concept can be applied with music, movies, and various other forms of media.

I find it rather silly that people choose to reject good brought by a larger story because they're too lazy to censor out a few seconds of bad. When we censor things, it shows that we choose to accept the good and not recognize the bad as ever being there. I think that what we choose to remember is what's truly important. In heaven, we will remember the good from all our experiences and memories in this life, and all the small little bad memories that may have accompanied them will be gone.

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Aside from my previous thoughts, I'd say no to any form of gambling, in-game or out of game when it involves any type of actual wager. If you have to earn something to make up for the gamble, even if it's digital, then you shouldn't be doing it.

Edited by PrinceofLight2000
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The morality of video games has been a topic of discussion since the advent of Doom.

My current question is one of preparation for the release of Bethesda Software's Fallout 3: Las Vegas. What should I do when they present the devil's snare of gambling in this New Vegas? Should I eschew it and stick to the more acceptable way of killing and looting to make my way in post apocolyptia, or should I also shoot the gamblers?

Any suggestions?

:huh:

So you don't play the 'do everything good' as if it were really you put in that situation? I know I do, I play all choice determined RPGs that way, I just choose the closest option or choice I'd choose in realife, which also has you grind more for exp n loot. But it also 'feels good'

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As are religious themes and themes of morality.

SPOILERS. HORDES OF SPOILERS.

Ready?

Good.

In Bioshock, the best ending you can get is where you die old and loved, surrounded by your family. You're a good father.

In Dante's Inferno, one man who believed himself a hero comes face to face with the fact that he is a terrible sinner. He has to learn to forgive the past in order to come to terms with what he is.

In Dead Rising 2, the narrative is about being a good father in a world gone crazy.

Video games are, like most media, made towards the lowest common denominator. They are neither especially worse nor better.

Quoted for truth.

Friends, video games can be a very, very effective snare and tool of the devil- especially if you have an addictive personality. The whole industry is moving to a darker and darker place, as well- if they're still popular within 5 years, you could be seeing some absolutely horrible things happening on the more popular games. Already nudity, bloody violence, debauchery, and atheistic themes are rampant and popular.

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You've played it?

No, but I'm really excited about it. I've been following it for several years, now. ;)

Zombie games are my thing.

Chuck Greene has a daughter. That daughter is infected. The game is about Chuck trying to keep his daughter in a drug that holds the infection at bay that has to be administered every hour.

And the drug is really rare. I will miss Frank, but I'm okay with that as a narrative.

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No, but I'm really excited about it. I've been following it for several years, now. ;)

Zombie games are my thing.

Chuck Greene has a daughter. That daughter is infected. The game is about Chuck trying to keep his daughter in a drug that holds the infection at bay that has to be administered every hour.

And the drug is really rare. I will miss Frank, but I'm okay with that as a narrative.

I'm the same. DR is perhaps one of my all-time fav games. Who'd have thought a Zombie game could be so charming?

I hope DR2 doesn't lose that appeal that the first had.

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So you don't play the 'do everything good' as if it were really you put in that situation? I know I do, I play all choice determined RPGs that way, I just choose the closest option or choice I'd choose in realife, which also has you grind more for exp n loot. But it also 'feels good'

In Fallout 3, I always play as the wasteland's one true messiah. I hand out plenty of purified water to those who are thirsty and in need of salvation. I tithe on a regular basis. I only shoot the bad guys and sometimes just sneak around them instead. I just can't bring myself to play as the villain, although I have on occasion pilfered some teddy bears to bring to the baby.

Even when I refrain from killing, I still get the brushoff from Amata. So true to real life.

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You really need to play Final Fantasy 11, or FFXI. We even have whole social/mission/quest groups dedicated to the players who don't want to listen or participate in profanity or other stuff :D

Final Fantasy in general doesn't have all that much profanity, and usually you can skip the dialogue that contains it. If not, I just mute the TV momentarily because I never watch the subtitles. ;)

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