Ethical Considerations
After brainstorming game ideas, I was left thinking that some of these concepts can be taken in a negative way. Making a game that involves themes such as, mental health, extreme one sided relationships, stalking, online personality, and harm done to others, can sometimes leave a sour taste in a player’s mouth, if done in poor fashion.
Here, I will be doing research into the ethical considerations of making games surrounding parasocial relationships and my ideas.
In general
First thing I would like to talk about is that sometimes the ideologies that I want to bring awareness to, can reinforce or inspire those same harmful behaviours that I want to bring to light. Here are some things that I should be mindful of:
Detailing into this subject is a double edged sword
The more specific I get with this theme, I risk explaining how harmful actions work- dumbed down, it means that getting into specifics, becomes instructions for some. Even if my intentions are to critique these bad actors, there are some members of my audience that this game may inspire them to act negatively towards online figures if they have a bad mental state.
Further stigmatising mental health
Mental health although isn’t the main aspect of some of these games, parasocial relationships and mental health are closely tied to each other. As a result, this theme needs to be approached with care and responsibility. In a game involving an online, one-sided relationship and using psychological struggles as one of the main mechanics, there comes the risk of also exploiting events that have occurred in real life. By representing these experiences poorly, it can reinforce negative stereotypes, romanticize these relationships / struggles, and possibly suggest that these events are used as entertainment rather than an issue that needs to be taken into serious consideration.
The culture around PSR
Parasocial relationships are common online and can increasingly become unhealthy, especially when everything slowly becomes online. They become unhealthy when an online figure unknowingly encourages parasocial interaction and emotional dependency. As the developer of concepts that involve themes such as parasocial relationships, it’s imperative that criticism is pointed out in the gameplay. Without criticising these relationships, there’s a risk of normalising tis obsession.
Mitigating these risks (from the perspective of both victim and perpetrator)
- Write narratives where I point out how themes can be seen as problematic rather than a desirable outcome
- Design mechanics where it doesn’t rewards players for unethical or obsessive actions
- Design mechanics highlighting the consequences and actions of players if they do happen to choose an undesirable path
- Inform players of the sensitive themes beforehand
- Write a clear content warning before the game starts or in the description of the game
- When creating these games, constantly review these design and narrative choices through an ethical mindset
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