I need help with my Ethics In Games class!

Hey guys! I'm in a class called Ethics in Video Games and Cinema, and I have a project for that class where I have to create a survey of ethical scenarios that appear in games, and present how people answer (don't worry, it's entirely anonymous). I figured, where is a better place to post my survey than on my favorite website about video games?!

It shouldn't take you any more than 5 minutes, and they're all scenarios taken out of popular games (Infamous, Mass Effect 2, and Walking Dead specifically), so you've probably actually answered at least one of these questions before. Thanks in advance, guys!

Here's the survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/9CM63ZH

Noticed a few of you answered already! That was quick! Thanks guys!

Done duder.

@joshthebear: Thanks man! Appreciate it

That was neat.

@blu3v3nom07: Glad you thought So! Thanks for the help

I've got about half of the responses I need already! Thanks guys! If just a few more of you could lend a hand, I'll be all done

I don't remember what I did to the Geth, but I do remember what choices I made in the other games... They weren't "good" choices...

And I hate those how many hours a week do you play games type questions... It really swings wildly week to week. I never know what to answer.

@pyromagnestir: Yeah, I know what you mean. Personally, for me it could range from just a few hours to 10 or 15. I just wanted to get a general feeling of how familiar my respondents were with video game tropes.

Thanks for responding!

Done.

@pr1mus: Thanks duder!

Okie-dokie.

@panvixyl: Thanks! Appreciate it!

The first two scenarios piss me off to no end whenever someone sticks them in a game. The first one especially so. Just throwin that out there.

@aykay_47: For sure. Especially with how poorly it plays out in Infamous

Thanks for taking the time to respond, though!

Spoilers! LOL.

@jrinswand: Yea, I was thinking about putting a spoiler warning in there, but these games are kinda old, I didn't think it was an issue.

Sorry if I spoiled something, but thanks for helping out!

@aykay_47 said:

I played through Infamous with a roommate, and we decided to save the doctors because we just really hated the girlfriend character. And we were playing as an evil character, and we were bummed that saving the doctors is the light side choice, because we actually had very malicious intentions, even if the end result was beneficial to the survivors on the island.

At least in The Walking Dead, when they finally put you in a situation to kill a character you may or may not have been annoyed by, that character is usually in a very weak, helpless state, and you feel like a complete dick for killing them/leaving them to die.

The Walking Dead is not old. The last episode only came out three months ago. I don't really care, though. I was just kidding.

I think he picked a good section from The Walking Dead, because while it's still an interesting ethical dilemma, it has really no bearing on the greater outcome of the episode or anyone's attitude toward you, and it doesn't spoil anything significant that happens to a primary character. That bit is almost entirely self-contained, and it only gets mentioned once or twice afterwards.

I wouldn't worry about it. You picked an early, ultimately non-plot essential dilemma. People will have their feathers ruffled regardless. Ethics!

Thanks everyone! You guys were a great help!

Also, I hope I didn't spoil a game for anyone. I hoped that listing the games mentioned would keep people from seeing things they didn't want to see. Still, my bad! I should have been more explicit about warning you guys

Would have helped you out if my iPad could let me hit the radio buttons. Sorry duder.

uhh never mind got it to work now.

Making it only 5 questions helped make it easy to answer. Admittedly if it was 10 questions or more it would felt more of a chore. So good on ya!

Done.

Just wish I could do an Ethics in Video Games class.

Done, sounds like a fun class btw.

Short and sweet!

Needs the "Did x because I needed the renegade/paragon points" answer.

my responses would vary greatly depending on what kind of a mood i was in, how much i was enjoying the game, and what attitude i had adopted for that character. i don't bring a moral code with me into games, i usually see the point of these kinds of choices as being to free you from ethical responsibility, to give you the opportunity to enjoy being bad if you want. but i only really do that about half the time, so..., sorry, i couldn't answer the survey.

Maybe you could mark next to the link that it's Spoilers, as people may not see that you mentioned these are taken from specific games. (especially a recent one)

Anyway, I answered it. Good luck!

I thought this was going to be about ethics in the gaming industry, but that survey was rad. Your class sounds super fun.

While I did complete the survey, I agree that my decisions vary greatly from game to game and day to day. That's the cool thing about games though... you can role play as a morally bankrupt character in one while being a saint in another. I hope next gen we see more games that allow choices with consequences that are a little deeper than, for example, those in Infamous.

Done.

You should probably note that your survey's only really useful for determining most people's 'first' playthrough. A lot of people do a lawful good as their first, and then a chaotic evil as their second. I did all the options for the first two questions at some time or another (I haven't played the Walking Dead yet, but I'll do all those too when I get it.)

Anything for a fellow duder. Done.