I'm very excited to see that the field of moral and ethical development in games is going strong these days and there are a number of excellent ventures and groups in the field. But from my perspective as a teacher and game developer, I've long thought that moral and ethical development are some of the hardest frontiers for games to cross - and I don't credit these games with doing much for my development in those areas.

Personally, I credit Civilization II with teaching me more about history than any class I ever took in school. This sadly happened many times before I learned the art of better hunting, better strategies to cross rivers, and a bit more about the actual Oregon Trail. In the game, the consequence of a poor decision led to the death of my family. Oregon Trail, which proudly premiered on the Apple IIE in 1981, was a very popular title in my elementary school computer lab. But can complicated moral and ethical choices really be facilitated via a game? Fortunately, decisions are at the crux of most game dynamics and not surprisingly game designers have seen games as a vehicle to improve all sorts of decisions. When making our toughest decisions, our own moral and ethical development plays a significant role. Where to put the block? Forge ahead or play it safe and risk losing people to starvation?Įven before the advent of gaming, we've faced some pretty dire decisions as a species.

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