Is Betrayal in EVE Online Unethical?

Is Betrayal in EVE Online Unethical?

Ian Gregory Brooks

EVE Art by Rixx Javix.

Abstract

Betrayal is common in EVE Online. While not all gameplay based on deception is wrong, betraying a genuine friendship is wrong in any context. While some neo-Aristotelians have argued that perfect friendship is impossible online, it is possible for imperfect people to become Aristotelian character-friends even across imperfect communications channels. Good people are disposed to form friendships when they spend large amounts of time with others; people who make a hobby of feigning friendship are displaying bad character. While the possibility of betrayal does make EVE more interesting as a test of social skills for all players, that does not justify the actions of those who choose to betray.

Keywords

EVE Online, game studies, ethics, neo-Aristotelian, betrayal, friendship

Full Text: PDF [Archive.org-Backup]


DOI: https://doi.org/10.4101/jvwr.v10i3.7259

About the Journal

The full website for the Journal of Virtual Worlds Research can be found at: http://jvwresearch.org

Journal of Virtual Worlds Research Vol 10, No 3 (2017): EVE Online

Licence: CC_BY_NC_ND_US

This special issue in the Journal of Virtual Worlds Research highlights the ways that EVE scholarship has matured. A sub-discipline within a sub-discipline, writing about EVE no longer focuses just on what makes this particular MMOG so different to the more mainstream online games and virtual worlds, but now describes in fascinating depth the elements of this virtual world that have taken 15 years of play to develop. As guest editors, we are excited to share this collection as these five articles exemplify the contributions that EVE Online scholarship will continue to make long into the future.