Game thinking from Adam Clare

Category: PhilosophyPage 2 of 17

Introducing Dr. Trolley and their Trolley Problem

Dr. Trolley’s Problem trailer

This video game tests your moral fortitude. Dr. Trolley’s Problem brings the classic philosophical quandaries of The Trolley Problem to life and asks you to make life or death decisions on the fly. Explore your moral fiber in ways you never imagined (or asked for)! I’ve created 50 situations that are all based on the famous trolley problem, with more coming.

I’ve been working on the game for some time and it’s finally ready for the world. Well, sort of ready. We’re launching the game on Steam Early Access to make sure that all the situations are understandable and work fine.

Inspiration

I’m always interested in the intersection of philosophy and games, and in particular, the trolley problem. It’s been attempted before by the likes of MIT in their creation of the Moral Machine, which I don’t think is a fun way to reach people (it is good though). My hopes with Dr. Trolley’s Problem can reach people through entertaining gameplay in a way that the more serious moral machine (and others) simulations cannot.

Many of the situations in the game are based on research into the philosophical thought experiment first postulated by Philippa Foot back in 1967. Amongst other sources, I read the excellent book Would You Kill the Fat Man? by David Edmonds. I highly recommend it since it is filled with a ton of variations of the original problem; plus it has great analysis on each one. Edmonds also co-hosts my favourite philosophy podcast, Philosophy Bites.

trolley problem cop or robber
What would you do in this situation?

Dr. Trolley’s problem is available for both Mac and PC. If everything goes to plan the game will be available on even more platforms in the future! Imagine taking the trolley problem anywhere you go…

Don’t worry this is only a game.

What are you waiting for? Get the game now:

Get To Know Marshall McLuhan

Marshall McLuhan was a very influential thinker who changed the way we think about media at large. He argued that the medium is the message when it comes to understanding popular culture. If you grew up in Canada you may remember this Heritage Minute:

McLuhan was a visionary and here all I hope do to is get you interested in learning more about him and his thinking. In the first week back in class he came up twice with one of my classes looking directly at his work. Due to many students asking for more information, here is a very quick look into McLuhan and his impact on media, culture, and humanity.

The term “the global village” was coined by McLuhan and has been used ever since to describe the interconnectedness of the planet thanks to technology. His impact was large and you can get a good idea of the complexity of his thinking and its impact in the documentary below.
The documentary, This is Marshall McLuhan: The Medium is the Massage, is a great introduction to the thinking of McLuhan.

If you’re interred in hearing more from McLuhan, you can check out and the McLuhan Program in Culture and Technology at the University of Toronto (check out their events). And here is giving a great interview on ABC:

Part 1
“A baseball game without an audience would be a rehearsal only.”

Part 2
“Participation in replay is a form of pattern recognition that is new in new media.”

part 3
He uses the word Orient so much I think he should’ve read some Edward Said.

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