Moral Choices in Video Games: The Problem of Problem Solving

In Star Trek: The Next Generation - "Thine Own Self," ship counselor Deanna Troi decides to take the test for becoming a higher-ranking officer of the starship Enterprise. She is required to solve a simulated disaster that would destroy the entire ship and its hundreds of civilian inhabitants.
The problem is a leak in the warp-plasma shaft, which leads to a devastating explosion when left unfixed. The shaft is flooded with radiation, however; any person who directly patches the leak will have no chance of survival afterwards.

So Deanna assumes there must be some logistical way to bypass the leak. She tries everything she can think of: switching to auxiliary control, modifying the EM power inverter, ejecting antimatter storage containers - each solution leading to the complete destruction of the Enterprise without fail.
Convinced that she is missing something, Deanna studies the ship's manuals for hours, and takes the test three more times. She traps herself in her problem-solving mindset, too afraid to notice that one possibility that nags at her subconscious - sending a crewmate into the shaft.

In Deus Ex: Human Revolution - The Missing Link, player-controlled Adam Jensen finds himself in a facility being flooded with toxic gas. There are two main sections: one contains cells full of oppressed prisoners, while the other contains a small population of scientists - scientists who could provide evidence that would crush an evil corporation.

Jensen climbs down a ladder that leads to a control room, but he can only use it to redirect the gas into one part of the facility - he can save the scientists or the prisoners. So the player finds himself faced with a clear moral choice - he will have to consider which option is best for society, which respects individual life more, which serves the most justice.

But if the player stops this train of thought and climbs back up the ladder, he will notice a network of pipes running throughout the facility. And if he follows the pipes, behind walls and through vents, he will find an obscured entrance. Behind it lies a valve that regulates the flow of the toxic gas - destroying it stops the flow entirely, saving both the prisoners and the scientists.

This is what Deanna is afraid of in "Thine Own Self". Behind the veil of logistics and technical solutions lies a philosophical, moral dilemma - can she kill one person to save hundreds? But what if she starts worrying about that problem too soon? What if during the few minutes that she spends deliberating morality, she misses the one unnoticed factor, hiding away behind a corner - the one piece that could solve the problem and save everyone?

It is a scary reality of making moral decisions - that you could start too early, and miss the solution hiding in front of you. That maybe you should keep problem solving until the very end, even if a moral choice leads to the better outcome.

And it would be nice if more games tapped into this fear. When presenting a moral choice to the player, many games do not leave any flexibility, any way to check untied loose ends. In most cases, the player is pulled from the world entirely - the action pauses, and the two choices get mapped to their respective shoulder buttons.

Even when players are left in control, they rarely get any chance to believe that they missed something, that they need to work with the game's mechanics for just a bit longer before making their choice. Take the infamous Mass Effect 3, where three empty branching paths represent the game's ending decision. The only possible, "non-moral" stone left unturned is spinning Commander Shepard around in circles, or making him shoot at the sky.

Mass Effect 3′s ending and other choices like it are missing the vital hints that make fear of morality real - the freedom to explore unexplored areas on a map, the ability to search for those few missing audio logs, curious leads in the environment, small story issues that were never quite resolved.
"Thine Own Self" shows us why unresolved loose ends and looming, untested possibilities are so important to making moral choices realistic. Because making a moral choice is not only about noticing a moral dilemma, or having one presented to you; it is about having the volition to leave the technical world and accept the decision - to give up on trying to save everyone. As Troi's superior tells her after she passes the test: "you considered all of your options, you tried every alternative, and then you made the hard choice."

Alex Rinaldi is a writer for Think-Entertainment, a website devoted to a thought-driven approach to popular media.

You can read similar pieces about storytelling in films, video games, television, and writing - and its cultural impact - at http://www.think-entertainment.net

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Montages Are About to Hit the Fan - So Here's Some Tips to Get Yours Noticed

With the Ps4 and Xbox One hitting the markets with gusto it's easy to lose sight of a few things that will have a profound impact on the gaming community. What am I talking about? Montages, Frag Videos, those awesome five minutes of watching skilled players rip apart the gaming community with sick headshots and other kills to music that we love.

Now I'm not saying every video that gets out there is rockstar quality. In actual fact, there's a lot of failures out there. But everyone needs a starting point, and the field is about to be leveled... well in a few updates at least.

When montages first started hitting YouTube they made jaws drop, eyes got crossed and made gamers drool for days on end. But what was the main issue? Capture Cards for the PC were like 200$, and external PVR devices were near double that. Over the years prices have gone down. Hell if you go to Amazon right now you could pick up a Used Hauppauge HD PVR 2 Gaming Edition for around $110 (That includes shipping) where the new out of the box ones at retail stores are between $130-200. That is if you can find a HD PVR at the retail store that works with a PS3 or XboX 360, most stores will direct you to the Bell/Rogers or whatever else cable company you have in your area HD PVR having NO CLUE about what you're looking for.

With the new systems, that won't be needed anymore. Sony and Microsoft have both put the PVR ability into the console. Now, I won't say this is flawless (Sony has already stated that the PVR ability needs a patch that will be released at a later date to function. Xbox One is stating "limited PVR capabilities" which basically means they don't want to comment on what it lacks) but this is all technicalities to anyone who sees the forest for the trees. Gamers are not slow indaviduals, you can bet that there will be a work around of some sort, or something along those lines to get you your desired result.

Now, I said back up there that "there's a lot of failures out there." Well, that's mainly because of a lack of knowledge. You can't simply chop your video, add some music, and call it a day. Well... You could do that, but then you'll end up wasting your time on a video that will barely blip on YouTube... and we all know you want the world to see how awesome your skills are.

What I recommend is watching a boat load of Montages. Find the ones with the most views study it. Then, adfter your eyes and ears have had so many joygasims you can barely contain yourself start recording yourself.

Hey, Johnny Hotshot, 2 hours of recording is not gonna cut it. I mean seriously, in 2 hours of gameplay you might have three or four really awesome games where you can get a couple of seconds of video. Yeah, I said it, a couple of seconds. You're going to want a day or two of gameplay, just remember the maps you did awesome on and skimming through the footage won't be a problem.

Awesome, you got your clips, and your music, but what should you use to make the video? For first timers... Windows Movie Maker... seriously, but don't expect AMAZING results. This will get you familiar with what goes into making a montage. "But Swoop, I want an Epic Montage!" well then, Sony Vegas Pro is your answer. But that's NOT cheap, it could cost you anywhere from $200-$600. A step down would be Corel's VideoStudio or Sony Movie Studio (They tend to be around $50-$100 depending on which one you buy) after you get that, spend some time learning it, go on YouTube, find some tutorials, play around with it.

After all this is said and done, your montage is ready to go, the world will see how awesome you are!

I'm giving you an example of one of my first videos I created. The quality suffered, but that was because of the method I used to capture the game clips. Some of you might remember that you could upload a clip from Black Ops to YouTube, limited to about 30 seconds however. So, I did just that, uploaded to YouTube, downloaded from YouTube. The quality took a hit big time, but these were my first steps, and I'll admit I'm still working on my skills editing, but you have to start somewhere right?

So now it's all a question of when, and will you sit back and simply watch the movies? Or will you be the start of one of your own?

Swoopster out.

http://www.theinformedgamer.com

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How to Use Giants Effectively in Clash of Clans

In my opinion, Giants are currently the best troops in Clash of Clans for many reasons. One reason is because Giants can fill the tank role better than Barbarians because they have a lot more health and thus they are less vulnerable to splash attack from Mortars and Wizard Towers. They are also effective on the map because they prioritize targeting a defensive building which means by using Giants you can focus on neutralizing the enemy's defensive power as fast as possible. Moreover, Giants are also well-known for their excellent uses to distract and soak up hits for their comrades.
One effective raiding strategy can be utilized using a combination of few Giants and lots of Archers. First, deploy Giants to distract all the defensive buildings attack focus and then quickly drop Archers near the attacking tower to destroy them. This strategy, when used correctly, can easily wipe out an entire base and ended up rewarding you with a 3-star victory.

Giants had been proven to be very useful when combined with Wall breakers and Goblins. This strategy works great when used on a heavily fortified base with lots of resources available. First, just like the previous tactic, deploy Giants to distract all the defensive buildings and then drop the Wall breakers right near the column of walls you want to breach. You just need to make sure that any defensive towers in the vicinity had their focus on the Giants because Wall breakers are so fragile. Once the walls have been breached, quickly release all the offensive units like Barbarians or Archers to destroy the defensive towers and Goblins to steal the resources.

There is also another famous raiding strategy using a combination of lots of Giants and 2 healers. This strategy will work in almost all types of bases. Basically, you just need to spam all the Giants you have on the map, preferably close to each other, and then when the Giants start to get focus fired by the adjacent defensive building, you deploy the 2 healers about 5 tiles behind the group of Giants. This strategy works because most of the time the 2 healers, will heal back all the damage that has been done to the group of Giants in front of them. Given enough time, those Giants could wipe out a well-fortified enemy base with only few casualties. However, you have to be careful when employing this strategy because an Air Defense can 2-shotted your healer unit from afar and also be wary of the spring traps that could kill your Giants in an instant.

Hi there, If you want more useful tips and tricks for Clash of Clans, then visit my website at http://www.iphonegametips.com. It's full of strategy and tactics you need to know to get the winning edge for playing Clash of Clans. I will try to update the site daily, so make sure you visit it regularly. Thanks and have fun reading!

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Which Tier-1 Troops I Should Upgrade First in Clash of Clans?

Many of you Clash of Clans players may get confused on which troops to upgrade first when you had finished the construction of your laboratory. My answer is simple, archers upgrade should be your first priority when doing upgrades. Why? Because archers are more valuable in the long run especially if you are a very active Clash of Clans players who likes to raid and make someone else's base turn to rubble. There are 3 reasons why archer is your highest priority troops to upgrade.

First, archer has the best attacking power compared to barbarians or goblins. You might wondering why because not only archer has the lowest health but it also has the lowest damage per second (dps) attack power compared to barbs or goblins. That's because archer has one attack ability that the others don't, and it's called ranged attack ability. This means that archers have a better opportunity to hit those defensive buildings such as cannons or towers regardless of wall protections. Try to compare that with barbarians which need to breakthrough the wall first before they can get to anything.

Second, archer doesn't pick targets. Unlike goblins which prioritize the resource buildings when attacking, the archers hit anything on their sight (including walls unfortunately). This gives archers a better chance to wipe out a base compared to goblins that is picky because resource storages often placed deep within the base and fully protected. Don't get me wrong here, goblins are the best troop if your only concern is to steal resources. However, you cannot deploy goblins without the assistance of other troops such as barbs or giants because they will get crushed easily. On the other hand, an army consists of 100% archers will definitely able to take out any base with decent protections and even sometimes reward you with 3 stars!

Third, archers are an excellent Clan Castle troops. The most popular requested troops for Clan Castle at the moment is archer for obvious reasons. Archers ability to hit from afar is already dangerous and now try to put archers inside a dozen of strong, protective walls. The result is you will get a group of army that can attack an enemy without having to fear of getting hit back. It's a deadly combination!
A note to consider is that it may be very effective to deploy a full army of archers for a low level Town Hall base (1 to 5). However, once you hit a level 6 to above Town Hall level base you might want to combine archers with other troops such as giants or wallbreakers.

Hi there,
If you want more useful tips and tricks for playing Clash of Clans, then visit my website at http://www.iphonegametips.com. It's full of strategy and tactics you need to know to get the winning edge in Clash of Clans. I will try to update the site daily, so make sure you visit it regularly.
Thanks and have fun reading!

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Still Waiting For Valkyrie Profile 3

How long has it been since we heard "Nibuleng Valesti"? A lot of us are still waiting for a new installment for the series, yes there was Covenant of the Plume for the Nintendo DS but most of us were waiting for a new title on the new generation consoles. The story of Lenneth and Silmeria have been told and the most valid character that would be next is Hrist. Though the ending of Valkyrie Profile 2 was left in shambles, we still want to know what kind of life Hrist had, how she became ruthless and heartless towards humans.

The story line of the series made us play at the edge of our seats as the events grew more and more intense, so intense that you could almost feel Lenneth's sadness in Valkyrie Profile. The ending of the first game left a lot of holes so that a second game would be necessary to fill in those holes likewise the ending of the sequel also had a lot of mysteries and cliffhangers that a lot of people would want to know and see. Who knew that a game which was solely based on Norse mythology can be so interesting and fun to have.

If we were to have a new game in the series namely Valkyrie Profile 3, we would all be happy as long as it remained true to itself like it's predecessors. Imagine playing this in glorious high-definition with the current gaming consoles we have now is such a nice thought to have join this with in-depth gaming customization and battle phase, then you my friend have a high quality game at your hand. If the third game would be created and developed, it would quench the thirst of the fans of the series around the world.

The waiting is still on as we hang on to what the game series has given us. All those emotions we shared with them, all the anguish and despair, up to now we still could feel it. We still hope for the best that Square-Enix and Tri-Ace would still keep the series alive and running and still sticking to its roots. As of now, we are all ready to take control of the last Goddess who govern fate, Hrist Valkyrie, on how her story unfolds. Nevertheless, we could all say that the next installment of the game is still worth the wait.

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The Nintendo DS and Its Storage Devices

In today's world, gaming consoles are one of the best-selling gadgets. During 1972, with the introduction of the foremost console, the world changed forever! Nintendo, which has been in business since 1977, is one of the leading manufacturers of gaming consoles worldwide. The initial editions of such consoles lacked the portability feature. But with the changing times, portable gaming consoles were introduced. An excellent example of such console is the Nintendo DS, introduced in 2004.

To afford portability, the DS was designed to have a far less weight than the normal consoles. Therefor, it couldn't have any inbuilt storage device. As a result, external storage devices, called flashcards, need to be inserted into the device to save the content. The device comes with slots for these cards.

There are different kinds of storage cards, each with her respective features.
Different cards need to be used for diverse models of DS device. Of those, R4 is the most frequently used card. It enjoys a wide popularity among the users of Nintendo DS. The R4 cards come in different editions, depending on the edition of the Nintendo DS device. These are the original DS model, the DS Lite model, the DSi XL model, the DSi model plus the most recent Nintendo 3DS.
The original R4 DS cards can only be used on the original DS and DS Lite models. These are not compatible with other models of Nintendo DS that include the Dsi XL, Dsi, and 3DS. Though these would work with the DS Lite and DS models, it's not desirable to do so. The R4 3DS card is meant for the most modern Nintendo console, the 3DS model. This card too may be used for rest of the models, but one should refrain from such a use.

The availability of so many cards probably makes you wonder which one you should use! All these models have nearly the same look, but they don't work with all the consoles. It is important to point out here that none of these cards works on its own. Each R4 card requires an appropriate micro SD memory card which stores the operational files for its functioning. None of the R4 cards would work in the absence of a memory card. The bigger is the storage capacity of a memory card, the more data it can store without the necessity to delete some of the already stored data. For regular users, a 2GB memory card offers a fairly adequate amount of storage, but professional users will find 4GB or 8GB micro SD cards more fitting.

In case you prefer having a preconfigured R4 card that already contains the latest software on its memory card, you'll need to buy an R4 card having a memory card, because otherwise you won't be able to include the needed software, meaning that you'll have to download and get the newest software for that card.

If you are looking to buy a R4i Gold 3DS Card or a R4i 3DS Card, you can find them both on our website, along with some great prices. Visit us today!

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The World Of Resident Evil On The PlayStation 1

Once the game starts, you are thrown into a world full of horror, suspense and puzzle solving. Naturally you start off with a standard handgun and a combat knife to defend yourself from the zombie horde. There are a lot of zombies in the game, you need not kill all of them for your purpose is to survive. Ammunition is scarce and you need to search every nook and cranny of the room if there are any hidden ammo available, corpses sometimes carry valuable ammo also.

The inventory system lets you carry only a handful of items so bring only the necessary items you need, though there are trunks scattered around the map where you can put the items you find along the way, this also means that you have to backtrack to some of the locations and have to encounter more zombies again. Backtracking is essential in the first 3 installations of the game because of the puzzle system they have and meeting more zombies is just inevitable. Herbs and First aid sprays are scattered at various places so keep an eye on them for they are the only means for you to heal your wounds.

In the first game you were given the choice which character scenario you want to pick whether it was Jill Valentine or Chris Redfield. The story starts off where your team was chased by zombie dogs inside the deep wilderness of the forest and somehow end up inside the mansion, this is where the horror truly starts. We all remember clearly the fear we felt when the very first zombie of the series turned his head with mouth smudged in flesh and blood towards the protagonist of the game. The controls of the game were at first hard to handle, the movement, the aiming, all of it was part of the game's survival system.

After the events that took place in the first game, the sequel namely Resident Evil 2, Let's you take control of either one of the two protagonists, each one having also a different scenario than the other. You were given the option of choosing between Leon Scott Kennedy, a rookie cop that starts his first day of job battling zombies or Claire Redfield, sister of Chris Redfield from the first game. Resident Evil 2 was the same as the original one but the graphics were better and the ambiance was darker and much more scarier. This game introduced various new monsters such as the Licker. Don't worry about the new monsters here because a wide array of weapons are introduced to battle them to level the playing fields.

When Resident Evil 2 was released, a lot of people were already expecting a third installation and they weren't disappointed because a couple of years after the second game, Resident Evil 3: Nemesis came out. This third game in the series made a lot of changes such as the return of Jill Valentine, inclusion of the 180 degree turn, the timed dodge, bullet creation and a Bio Organic Weapon (B.O.W.) named Nemesis that is seemingly always chasing you around. Resident Evil 3: Nemesis was a masterpiece blending old and new traits of the series and after this, a lot more installation in the series was made for the new generation consoles showing just how massively popular the series is. Even as we speak right now, a new game in the series might just already be in development.

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