The Gamer's Dilemma: Navigating Morality in Virtual Worlds, with Dr. Tom Montefiore

Many of us enjoy video games, immersing ourselves in rich virtual worlds where we can perform actions that would be unthinkable in reality. We might slay dragons, topple empires, or even engage in virtual theft and violence, often without a second thought. But are there ethical lines that we should not cross in these digital spaces? What happens when virtual actions mirror morally reprehensible acts in the real world? Does anything go here, or can morality get a grip even in virtual spaces. These issues are central to what has become known as the "Gamer's Dilemma." While it’s a topic that can be difficult to discuss, touching on sensitive issues, exploring it is crucial for understanding the ethics of our interactions with increasingly realistic virtual environments. Join host Professor Paul Formosa and guest Dr. Tom Montefiore as they discuss the Gamer’s Dilemma.

We discuss several of Tom’s papers, including the following:

-              Montefiore, T., & Formosa, P. (2022). Resisting the Gamer’s Dilemma. Ethics and Information Technology, 24(3), 31. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10676-022-09655-w

-              Formosa, P., Montefiore, T., Ghasemi, O., & McEwan, M. (2023). An empirical investigation of the Gamer’s Dilemma: A mixed methods study of whether the dilemma exists. Behaviour & Information Technology. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0144929X.2023.2178837

-              Montefiore, T., & Formosa, P. (2023). Crossing the Fictional Line: Moral Graveness, the Gamer’s Dilemma, and the Paradox of Fictionally Going Too Far. Philosophy & Technology, 36(3), 58. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13347-023-00660-5

-              Montefiore, T., Formosa, P., & Polito, V. (2024). Extending the Gamer’s Dilemma: Empirically investigating the paradox of fictionally going too far across media. Philosophical Psychology, 0(0), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/09515089.2024.2354432

-              Montefiore, T., & Formosa, P. (2025). Dark Patterns Meet the Gamer’s Dilemma: Contrasting Morally Objectionable Content with Systems in Video Games. Games and Culture, 15554120251319173. https://doi.org/10.1177/15554120251319173