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Diversity and inclusion in video games has made great strides, but we can do better. We can be even more diverse and even more welcoming for marginalized minorities and welcome even more people into our favorite hobby.
How? Moral diversity.
Moral diversity is nothing new. For decades, games have let players alter or even disable the gore and blood in their games. Some games even let you turn off the profanity and nudity. Many games offer moral choices directly in gameplay, which lets the player choose which course of action the character should take. Some games, especially multiplayer games, allow you to play as the "bad guys", such as Nazis, bank-robbers, or terrorists.
Would you tell someone who chooses to use these options that they should be forced to see blood and guts, hear profanity, or see nudity? Do you look down on someone who does a "Renegade" run in Mass Effect, or a "Genocide run" in Undertale? No! Because you recognize that people have different morals than you do. You are being tolerant and accepting, and you are a good person.
Some people belong to religions where they cannot view those things. Isn't part of diversity and inclusion being tolerant of people's religions?
Game developers are already including forms of religious and moral diversity in AAA titles, such as Spiderman 2 (2023), where a side-mission involving a gay character is changed, and the LGBT flags are removed for the Saudi Arabia version, allowing thousands of Muslims and Middle-easterners to enjoy the game. Many games made in Japan or Korea are censored to cover up exposed skin when the game comes to the west. We even see it in movies where black characters are erased entirely from posters.
So why not have even more options for moral diversity in games?
Here are some ways that games can be made more diverse and inclusive:
- Options to turn off blood, gore, profanity, and nudity.
- Options to disable LGBT pride flags, special pronouns, or depictions of homosexuality or transgenderism.
- Options to disable, mute, or fully cover-up women
- Options to disable miscegenation, or to enforce apartheid/segregation
- Options to change the ethnicity or allegiances of the protagonist, allies, or enemies.
- Options to change "Body Type A/B" to "Male" and "Female".
Those are just a few ideas! Let's collect more and add them to the list
Q: But it's WRONG to give people the option to erase my gender/sexuality/skin color
A: Moral diversity means that you do not have a monopoly on what is right and wrong. It means you allow other people to have their own views, just as you are allowed to have yours. If you don't want to use the option, great! Don't use it.
Q: But my views are objectively right!
A: Moral diversity means that nobody is objectively right. You know who else thought that their views were objectively right? Hitler.
Are you saying you want to be like Hitler?
Q: But don't we need to have shared moral values in order to function as a society?
A: Not necessarily! For example, look at how immigration in the prosperous western countries is doing. These countries open their arms wide to people of all sorts, and they are allowed to bring their cultures and customs with them. They're doing just fine and everyone is happy.
Q: But people are taking their backwards views and actively harming people because of them! Don't we have a responsibility to stop that?
A: If you see someone harming others, call the police. Video games are not the cause of physical violence, and this has been proven in many studies.
I'd love to hear your thoughts!
How? Moral diversity.
Moral diversity is nothing new. For decades, games have let players alter or even disable the gore and blood in their games. Some games even let you turn off the profanity and nudity. Many games offer moral choices directly in gameplay, which lets the player choose which course of action the character should take. Some games, especially multiplayer games, allow you to play as the "bad guys", such as Nazis, bank-robbers, or terrorists.
Would you tell someone who chooses to use these options that they should be forced to see blood and guts, hear profanity, or see nudity? Do you look down on someone who does a "Renegade" run in Mass Effect, or a "Genocide run" in Undertale? No! Because you recognize that people have different morals than you do. You are being tolerant and accepting, and you are a good person.
Some people belong to religions where they cannot view those things. Isn't part of diversity and inclusion being tolerant of people's religions?
Game developers are already including forms of religious and moral diversity in AAA titles, such as Spiderman 2 (2023), where a side-mission involving a gay character is changed, and the LGBT flags are removed for the Saudi Arabia version, allowing thousands of Muslims and Middle-easterners to enjoy the game. Many games made in Japan or Korea are censored to cover up exposed skin when the game comes to the west. We even see it in movies where black characters are erased entirely from posters.
So why not have even more options for moral diversity in games?
Here are some ways that games can be made more diverse and inclusive:
- Options to turn off blood, gore, profanity, and nudity.
- Options to disable LGBT pride flags, special pronouns, or depictions of homosexuality or transgenderism.
- Options to disable, mute, or fully cover-up women
- Options to disable miscegenation, or to enforce apartheid/segregation
- Options to change the ethnicity or allegiances of the protagonist, allies, or enemies.
- Options to change "Body Type A/B" to "Male" and "Female".
Those are just a few ideas! Let's collect more and add them to the list
Q: But it's WRONG to give people the option to erase my gender/sexuality/skin color
A: Moral diversity means that you do not have a monopoly on what is right and wrong. It means you allow other people to have their own views, just as you are allowed to have yours. If you don't want to use the option, great! Don't use it.
Q: But my views are objectively right!
A: Moral diversity means that nobody is objectively right. You know who else thought that their views were objectively right? Hitler.
Are you saying you want to be like Hitler?
Q: But don't we need to have shared moral values in order to function as a society?
A: Not necessarily! For example, look at how immigration in the prosperous western countries is doing. These countries open their arms wide to people of all sorts, and they are allowed to bring their cultures and customs with them. They're doing just fine and everyone is happy.
Q: But people are taking their backwards views and actively harming people because of them! Don't we have a responsibility to stop that?
A: If you see someone harming others, call the police. Video games are not the cause of physical violence, and this has been proven in many studies.
I'd love to hear your thoughts!
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