Reality is a Game

Game thinking from Adam Clare

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Compare Your Morals in Dr. Trolley’s Problem

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On 07/09/2022

In Business, Philosophy, Video Games

Stats displayed in the trolley problem game

 

Over at Wero we just launched a BIG update to our trolley problem game: Dr. Trolley’s Problem!

You can now compare what you think is the “correct” decision to thousands of other players. Are they wrong? Are you wrong? You can now see stats on decisions you make in-game. We want to know which ones players agreed on and which ones generated differences in opinion.

We also added more problems for you to address! 20 new dilemmas which will get you thinking what should I do? More moral problems! We’ve added more scenarios where you have to make tough choices about what’s right and what’s wrong, so that we can keep expanding on this aspect of gameplay and give you more difficult decisions to make.

This is something I wanted in the game since it was pushed out the door back in 2019, yes the game is that old and we still updated it.

Developer Commentary

Games from Ontario Steam promotional image of trolley problem game

This update to the trolley problem game is timed with Games From Ontario Steam Sale. There are over  TK games and companies participating- check them all out!

As part of the promotion of Ontario made games I’ll be streaming Dr. Trolley’s Problem while providing commentary. Joining me on the first stream will be the programmer who built the stats system. 

Tune into our Steam broadcast to hear about the making of the game and the real world situations that influenced the trolley problems in the game!

 We’ll be live on Steam at the times below to play Dr. Trolley’s Problem. Follow Wero on Twitter for a reminder.

September 7th at 5pm EST

September 12th at 3pm EST

Honestly, just check Steam everyday from the 7th to the 14th to check out some great games made in Ontario. There’ll be deals and streams all week!

I’ll be hosting two bonus streams about another game Sept. 12 5pm and 13th at 4pm (more on that later).

Data Collection Privacy

We also care about privacy, so we had to build our own custom system to track all the trolley problems. 

We’re committed to making sure that our trolley problem game is as safe and secure as possible—we don’t track or store any personal information about our users. Only you see your decisions and how you compare to others. When you make a decision it’s recorded anonymously without any data attached to you.

If you’re interested in this we’ll talk about it on the first stream.


Play the Trolley Problem Now!

 

 

Introducing Dr. Trolley and their Trolley Problem

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On 25/04/2019

In Philosophy, Video Games

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:

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