A Video Game with a Moral Vision

I cannot, of course, endorse anything sight unseen, but I have to say that this December 2010 Nintendo Wii game looks especially interesting:

Epic Mickey

Epic Mickey: “A hands-on demo of Warren Spector’s ambitious Epic Mickey revealed that the paint/thinner mechanic allows not just the ability to manipulate (very) specific parts of the game’s environment, but use them to make moral choices in what looks to be a more mature interpersonal relationship sub-plot of the game. While the main antagonist of the game is the Phantom Blot, the nearly forgotten Disney character of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit appears to play a wild card role. The Wasteland is Oswald’s world, one he created to sooth his hurt feelings over his half-brother’s (Mickey’s) success and his own plummet into oblivion, and while he may learn to accept Mickey’s help in saving it, when Oswald finds out that it was Mickey’s fault the Blot was released, it’ll be Mickey’s behavior that determines if they reconcile. Either way, from the opening scene of an evil doctor trying to suck Mickey’s heart out of his chest with a series of pointy objects, the nightmare inducing classic Disney style will be in place for this game’s Holiday 2010 release for the Wii” [italics added].

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This looks very promising, and if the description is accurate, the inclusion of a subplot that affects the game’s ending is a good way to build a game that includes morality.  (It reminds me of the way that Bioshock included moral choices in its depiction of a world ruled by an intense and unquestioning adherence to Ayn Rand’s objectivism).

I’ll definitely be looking to stuff Epic Mickey in somebody’s stocking.

(HT: Newsarama)

Author

  • Eric Pavlat

    Eric Pavlat is a convert from Unitarian Universalism who entered the Church in 1996. He lives in Maryland with his wife and six children. He is also a perpetually professed Lay Dominican in St. Pius V Pro-Chapter, located in Catonsville, MD. He founded Democrats for Life of Maryland, Inc., in 2004, served one term as president, and stayed on the board of directors until 2010. He now considers himself more a Distributist than anything else. Eric teaches 10th grade honors and special education students in English literature, composition, and grammar at his alma mater, Parkdale High School.

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