Gamer self-perception of moral choices in Dishonored: a study of morality system gameplay in South Africa

Gamers’ perceptions of their own morality and the morality-based choices that they make in-game have been under-explored to date. An emic perspective of the context of morality-system gameplay proved valuable in providing a thick, rich description of this social phenomenon. The game Dishonored was selected for this research study due to the simplistic morality-system integral to its core mechanics and storytelling engine. Dishonored is a first-person, stealth action-adventure video game developed by Arkane Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks in 2012.