Get it?

Today I’m writing this blog post to ask Destructoid what I think is an interesting question. I’ve been pondering lately, mostly because of my Psychological and Social Effects of Games class, what, if any, moral standards do video games impose on their players? Is it even possible for video games to influence a player’s moral compass? Or do players bring their own moral backgrounds with them through the game?

Honestly, if you were to ask me, I’d say it’s a little bit of both. It is impossible and a bit silly to claim that games like Grand Theft Auto and God of War don’t require a certain moral code (or lack thereof) to see them through to completion. However, just because a lack of morality is on display doesn’t mean that the player is automatically picking up on that and is changing as a person as a result. It isn’t necessarily Grand Theft Auto teaching us that if you kill a hooker after sex you get your money back.

For example, I had my mother play Grand Theft Auto once, if only to show her that the game isn’t full of sex, blood and chaos unless you wanted it to be. Her GTA experience was rather short, she drove around for awhile, obeying all the traffic laws and quickly got bored and quit. So you see, my mother didn’t pick up the game and suddenly lose all of her god fearing, Christian values, in fact, she brought those values into the game!

This is why it is my opinion that the moral code that gamers develop for video games is made up of two parts. The first part is their morality in real life and the second part is the moral code that the video game requires for you to complete it. If at any point, the game’s required moral code conflicts too deeply with the gamer’s real life moral code, he or she will likely decide that the game is not for them.

So what are your thoughts on the issue? Can games affect your real life moral compass? Can you think of a specific game where this has happened to you? I’m interested to find out.