Research on Morals and Ethicals Issues in VR Games - A Case Study of Religious Worship Video Game

With intense and fearsome emotions from horror games, video game players resonate with the video game or the character, adding depth and immersion to the gaming experience. However, these emotions sometimes lead to psychological distress and lingering effects even after the game ends. A female gamer, Jordan Belamire, described the feeling of being abused and afraid of sexual harassment in virtual reality (VR) games as being violated in real life. The morals and ethics in video games have been rarely discussed though players often struggle with guilt or remorse after engaging in morally ambiguous actions within a game. Most players do not see video games as a judgment-free zone, yet the minority develops moral disengagement tendencies, leading to deviant behaviors. With the advancement of electronic devices, VR systems provide players with a heightened sense of realism compared to traditional PC screen games, allowing them to immerse themselves in virtual worlds that mimic reality. However, as the gaming experience becomes more realistic, players become aware of the moral and ethical issues and intensified emotional experiences evoked within the games. Therefore, we researched morals and ethics in games, specifically centered around religious worship using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) emotion scale as a measurement tool. A 3D game scenario with intense emotional experiences related to “religious worship” was created and presented to participants on PC screens and VR headset gaming platforms. Differences among participants in cognitive recognition and reaction times in observing and interacting were observed with positive and negative emotional experiences of in-game morals and ethics after gameplay.