The brief: Summary

The brief: Response

It is so important to discuss ethics in games so that they don't promote unethical messages, such as vandalism, revenge, or bullying, as these messages could end up getting applied to the real world by its players, especially when the games target audience is younger viewers as they are more impressionable. This is why the games industry always discusses what ethics/attitudes are shown in the game before assigning an age rating as older players have a stronger sense of right and wrong and aren't going to apply what they play in the real world. 

Why is it important to discuss ethics in games? - Example of ethical games

The problem with ethics is that they are different for everybody, either due to religious/cultural differences, economics, availability of resources, etc... This can cause a conflict of interest between different parties, and make it difficult to create a peaceful society, that provides equity. In games ethics have to be considered in the designing process, as different places around the world have different cultures, traditions and laws, as a result games have to be considerate to these differences, and subconsciously teach others about positive ethics, that are all inclusive to everyone. 

The problem with ethics - Examples in games and social media

Ethics refer to the moral compass, it’s different for everyone. In society there is a set of universal rules that everyone abides by, but might not necessarily believe in, this includes legal documents like the law, and human rights act. Some examples of good ethics are respecting others, forgiveness and selflessness, examples of bad ethics include stereotypes, racisms and sexism. Ethics are a controversial topic because of different cultural traditions, and nationality often contradict each other, an example of this is in America, when Trump was in power, he forced transgender students to stop using the toilet that correspond with the gender they identify as, resulting in people who were already being targeted by bullies, to be singled out even more. Demographics are smaller groups that people have been divided into, such as race, marriage, sex, etc… These are used as the groupings for target audiences for TV shows, media and video games. Games are a powerful media platform, as lots of people play games, and there are multiple ways to access them, making it easy to spread ideas and educate people. Games can be used to educate people in multiple different ways, like different cultures/times (games are rarely set in modern society or this era, no one wants to play a real life simulators, as games are a form of escapism), right and wrong (morale compass and the law), or enhance children’s learning experiences (by teaching them new thing while still making them fun, or teaching people in a different way to that of a school), etc… Games can create awareness for thing that can be overlooked by society or mainstream media, such as: physical and/or mental disabilities, social issues (like discrimination, poverty, or crime), or political controversy. The issue I decided to focus on was sexism, it is an issue that has directly impacted people all over the world and people I know personally in my everyday life.

Games impact people’s ethics in the real world, they can be good or bad. One example is Candy Crush because of monetization and their exploitation of addiction. Once you reach level 181 (at this point the player already has an addiction to the game) you can access the piggy bank and can collect coins for completing levels which are stored it. These are used to buy tools to help you beat levels. If you don’t break the bank, it becomes incredibly hard to progress. When the piggy bank has been broken another one forms and fills up which you have to pay to break, creating an endless cycle where the game takes your money, since there is a break, the player doesn’t realize how much they have spent. Horizon Zero Dawn also sheds some light on social problems. It creates awareness for victimization using Aloy, no one who knows where she comes from and ostracize her for it, while showing the player how it makes Aloy feel and how it has impacted her, and why it is wrong to treat people this way. It is not the only ethical issue this game has tackled, Sony didn’t want Aloy to be a girl, they didn’t think people would want to purchase a game with a female lead, until the game developers fought back, won and kept Aloy as a girl. Horizon Zero Dawn is now one of PlayStation 4’s bestselling games (1.). This is a classic representation of sexism, it shows that high-ups and marketing teams (at Sony) don’t believe women are strong leader, only 36.9% of leadership roles in 2022, are filled by women globally (2.). Finally, an example of an educational game is Duolingo. It teaches people different languages, by tricking their mind into think that it is a game, by earning XP and make them want to play the game. It allows people to learn in an unconventional way, while still having fun, and allows people to form a global community (3.).

I chose sexism as my ethical issue and why it still exists today as well as how negative backlash is influenced by how awareness for sexism is portrayed by the media. The reason I had the option for the player to be either a male or female character, this is because females are generally the people most associated with sexism and it is still a big issue, an example of this is being refused medical treatment because they are of child bearing age (4.), but that doesn’t mean that the issue doesn’t exist for men, an example of this that abuse or assault against them is taken far less seriously than if it is committed against a women, as they are supposed to be strong and fearless, but not only that it is covered far less by the media. Sexism has been covered in multiple documentary’s, TV shows and the news, but it mostly covers sexism against women (although it is still a massive issue and shouldn’t be overlooked), such as the Sarah Everard case, while they almost completely ignore men, it is only really covered in media that isn’t as viewed by the public, such as books (5.).

In conclusion I will use all that I have learnt to create an ethical game. I will use demographics as my target audience groups. The game will to try and teach them what sexism is, how it starts, and to not let it stop you from achieving your goals. I will also use this knowledge to make sure that my game isn’t diminishing the importance other ethical problems and make sure that I cover all problem associated with it instead of focusing on one specific area. Most importantly I will make sure my game is still fun to play.

Part 1: 1000-word equivalent report - Final product - Harvard references

My ethical game addresses the issue of the sexism. This is because we are generally taught as a civilization that sexism is an issue that has been solved but that there are still a lot of people out there who still have an outdated view of how a woman or man should act. In reality this is still a huge problem, but the issues concerning it have changed. People don’t generally notice it happening now, because it is more of a subconscious issue as people know that it is wrong but due to societies teachings these biases still exist in the way people speak and act although they don’t necessarily support it or realize they are doing it. These biases are so hard to identify and tackle because it is such a common thing and quite inconspicuous and an extremely hard thing to prove, especially in a court of law.

This problem is mostly associated with women, due to women’s rights being violated for so long, as they didn’t have the same rights as men until women’s rights were recognized, but that doesn’t mean that this problem still doesn’t exist, or that it does exist for men as well, it just hasn’t been as talked by the media as much. This is also an issue for people who don’t consider themselves to be in either of these categories, this is a result of the fact that most people are taught about only the two genders you can be born into, and not taught about the others, such as agender (this means that they lack gender, or they don’t feel as if they identify with either). Generally, people uneducated in this matter (although to clarify not all people do this) tend to subconsciously examine other people’s behavior and decide which gender they most identify with (when this shouldn’t be the case as your gender doesn’t define you as a person), based on the stereotypical views of a man being strong and reserved and woman being motherly and emotional (although this is not primarily their fault, as they haven’t been taught any different, although they could make an effort to learn about it themselves). This all links back to the out-of-date stereotypical view of a man and woman, as this is where the problem started from in the first place, as this wasn’t addressed when views changed and (rightly so) decided that a man and women can do anything the other can do and there is no pre-set personality depending on what gender your born into, the only thing that makes you a man or woman in the eyes of the law is the reproductive organs your born with, until you decide otherwise.

My idea! - High concept

2D, adventure, action, puzzle, strategy, story mode, unique characters, multi-choice, personalized, mobile, console, PC.

My idea! - Unique selling points

Comparative games - Cult of the Lamb

This game requires you to build a cult like following by interacting with other NPCs. These NPCs aid you in your tasks and/or you can also sacrifice them to claim their items and XP both of these help you to level up. Its narrative is about a cute little lamb that has been revived and possessed by a god-like being called “The One Who Waits”, you must repay your debt to them by converting NPCs into loyal followers.

The game require player to make explorations into the 5 surrounding regions to defeat enemies and bring more NPCs into your fold and convince them to follow the “The One Who Waits”. These 5 environments include items (like weapons, and resources), and enemies either as rival players, non-believers or vicious animals, they allow you to save other players and give you a chance to convert them into believers. Players can be assigned tasks at their base, these include things like gathering resources, improving buildings or doing rituals.

My game takes and alter some of the game mechanics used in the Cult of the Lamb, mainly the idea of creating a following, although for different reasons, to progress in the game and delegate tasks, it also has a 2D art style like the this game but with more of a demonic, gothic look to it.

Comparative games - Choose your own adventure books

These books are the main inspiration for my game as the player blindly chooses the story, their actions and choices directly impact the story (its quite a unique concept) it results in a personalised gaming experience. Every book is written in the 2nd person, the reader is always the protagonist, and their role in the story varies in one book you could be a race car driver, whilst in another the reader could end up being a hiker. The age of the character the reader plays as changes from book to book, but one thing remains constant the character is always gender and race neutral. After a few pages of reading in each book the reader is confronted with 2 or 3 choices, this results in a huge range of different endings and further options, in the early titles there was as many as 44 different endings in the first few volumes published. My game is heavily inspired by these books as the main feature of the game is that you pretty much choose the how the whole plot of the story plays out (although it is themed) to reach the ending(s).

Comparative games - Mad world: age of darkness

This game has a varying length depending on how strategic the player is and what they chose to do in the game, but generally it is reasonably long as it is an educational game, players will get board of it after a while, but not only that, if an adolescents is playing this in school they will only have a limited amount of time to complete the game. On the other hand the game can’t be to short or nothing interesting will be able to happen in it.

Summarized Narrative/plot - Female character

The female characters arch is that they are of high social standing but wish to become a warrior and leader who fight monsters no matter if they are human or not, but hit obstacle at every turn because as a women she should not want fight. In their role as a lady of a high, noble house, their only purpose in life is to be married off to create alliances or as an appeasement gift and that there role and life is defined by their partner. The way of completing this characters arch is by gaining political and social standing, gathering allies, increasing your physical attributes (, like strength, speed, stealth, etc…) and gathering more skills, if they are to achieve their goal then they are going to need the skills to survive training, and in contests of strength and skill or in a political race to gather supporters, against people trying to oppress them back into the traditional role. 

Summarized Narrative/plot - Male character

The majority of the environment that appear in my game are inside of a medieval castle and the grounds around it, like stables, and training grounds. As my game is set in medieval times and both characters are members of high society so the place they would most commonly be seen in is castles and large manor houses, or posh establishment around the city. 

Environments - Main interior locations

The rooms inside the castle consist of libraries, ball rooms, training rooms, court rooms, giant dinning rooms, chambers, throne rooms, well kept and adorned with expensive metals, crystals, gems, portraits, and exquisitely crafted furniture that would take a life time to make, servants, butlers and maid moseying about everywhere. If you’re lucky you might even find a secret room long forgotten and abandoned.

Environments - Main outdoor locations

The grounds include diverse gardens filled with flowers, statues, training dummies, birds, horses, expensive stone and fountains. Anything nobles can use to show off their wealth to others.

Environments - Other possible locations

Target audience - Ages

Controls - Console

I want the controls of my game to mimic the control layouts of other games, this way the player will have an instant sense of familiarity with my game and allow them to already know how to use basic actions of how to use the controller, as no one bothers to read the manuals for the game. 

Controls - PC/Desktop

Objectives - Short term

1. Gather loot and support, that will increase you influence, power and allow you to pursue your objectives,

2. Gain XP and unlock more skills.

Objectives - Mid term

1. Increase your level,

2. Complete the chapters of the game,

3. Gather more support and create a following.

Objectives - Long term

Game mechanics - Items

Items include things like weapons and books. These can be found, bought or given to you. Weapons are used for training and fighting, you can find a few lying around through out the game they can also be upgraded. On the other hand books can be used to secretly communicate with your followers, learn new skill or useful information, the best books are found in the old forgotten libraries spread through out the capital, some involve you to solve puzzles and mysteries to find the, but these books are quite often the better ones. 

Game mechanics - Stamina & health bars

Stamina and health bars mainly come into the game when the character is engaging in combat, stamina decreases when skills are used, while health decreases when the player is injured. Stamina can also decrease depending on how many NPCs’ you confront and talk to, so make sure you choose your battles physical and verbal wisely, be strategic.

Game mechanics - NPC's

Your relationships with NPCs’ in the game are very important. You need to be able to spread your message of gender equality and stereotypes or it is incredible hard to complete the game. NPCs’ can also help you complete your objectives, by doing simple ones for you, giving you items that may be useful, or increasing your following without your aid so you can go off and do other tasks and give you small tasks of their own. They can also give you clue about how to move on, or how to find the multiple secret endings in the game, as well as teach you more skills. 

Game mechanics - Skills

The layout of the game will be a basic one that doesn’t obscure the image on the screen otherwise by keeping all the information the player needs in the corners of the screen. These include things like the health and stamina bar, what your currently holding, your current objectives.

The are two ways in which the levels of the game work, as you need to level up yourself as well as your allies, and complete the chapters (levels) of the game (This is for both the male and female character).

Levels - Level up

You can increase your own level by gathering allies so that you can influence society views/beliefs, and by gathering items like books, weapons, etc.. that can be used to complete your objectives and bring people to your side. Some chapters involve communicating between NPCs more than gathering items and vice versa, it depends on what the player decides to do but your choices can make chapter and completing the game more difficult. Skills can also level up your character, or you can be given them by levelling up, these can aid you in combat by giving you more fighting moves, or by increasing the amount of people the NPCs that can convert to your side without your intervention. 

Levels - Game story chapters

Depending on what the player decides to do in the game they will gain access to different objectives, areas and items. Although if a player makes a choice that they can’t move on from the will be able to backtrack to their previous major story point and take a different road to progress in the game. If a player takes a certain path and reaches a point that the cant move on or turn around from then they may uncover a secret ending (there are a few hidden through out the game). 

The aim of the game is to make the right choice to gain power and support to overcome sexist stereotypes so that you can complete the characters goal in life. It is a chose your own adventure sort of game, that a sort of open world maze, you can go and do whatever you want but there is a set path you are supposed (the maze is a way of showing how a persons mind work in a physical form) although you don’t have to. Some of the choices a player makes can make the game harder or easier to beat and some take you to a metaphorical or literal dead end but there is always a way to go back and alter your course, unless you discover a secret ending. 

Game overview - Summary