Playing a better me

What is it about?

This article is an exploration of players’ understandings of games that offer moral dilemmas in order to explore player choice in tandem with game mechanics. We investigate how game structures, including the presence of choice, a game’s length, and avatar presentation, push players in particular ways and also how players use those systems for their own ends. We explore how players ‘‘rehearse their ethos’’ through gameplay and how they are continually pushing back against the magic circle. It is based on two-dozen semi-structured interviews with players conducted in 2012. It illustrates that there are no clear-cut answers—game structures, including nar- ratives, character designs, length, or save systems, can push players to act in certain ways that may or may not align with their own beliefs and goals.

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Why is it important?

Players respond to moral choices in games in a variety of ways, but some of those ways are shaped by the game itself - its length, its save system, use of meters, and the like. We try to untangle how those elements also inform player approaches to choice and morality.

Perspectives