Robert Geraci’s work has been featured here previously (just one example here. He has a very interesting essay in Religion Dispatches titled “A STAR WARS VIDEOGAME INVITES PLAYERS TO THE DARK SIDE.” The essay provides a scientific analysis of the ethical choices players make when involved in the Star Wars: The Old Republic videogame. Some excerpts:
But before the newest trilogy of films could offer a hero’s quest and a chance of redemption to a new generation, the Star Wars franchise hit a snag in its moral status. Recently, the videogame Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR) prompted a debate over torture, the killing of innocents, and the role-playing of evil.
When video games invite players to the Dark Side, does this affect their thoughts or behavior in reality?
A little later he writes:
The article suggested that players behaved badly within SWTOR, and that this bad behavior might have effects outside the game. Gamers, on the other hand, criticized the article for giving too much weight to the consequences of what is, essentially, a fantasy.
Whether violent videogames influence behavior is an important, and hotly debated, question. But in this case it seemed premature: no one on either side asked what players actually do in the game, or what they really believe. So we did.
Check out the essay for some interesting scientific analysis of videogames and ethical decision making.
For past related posts at TheoFantastique visit these links:
http://www.theofantastique.com/2009/04/23/resident-evil-5-homicide-with-impunity-and-racism/
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