Dwarf Fortress > DF General Discussion
Is playing dwarf fortress ethical?
Zaphod:
DF is just about the deepest simulation I've ever seen any where.
I don't need to describe how deep it goes, we all know. So I'll get straight to the point.
Is it ethical to simulate an entire world, with history, wars, people with feelings and so on then just to wipe the world and start over.
Are our dorfs simply philosophical zombies? Are they aware of what happens to them?
Is there a difference between being truly sentient and just being programmed to think you are?
Side note: I just binged on this season of Black Mirror, this seasons theme is how being a simulated being is a horrible existential nightmare. And it made me think alot about my dorfs.
KittyTac:
The characters aren't sentient or alive. They can't think. They're just data. They're nothing. Killing things in DF is perfectly fine.
PlumpHelmetMan:
I'm inclined to agree with KittyTac. DF is an incredibly detailed fantasy world simulator and that's a large part of the reason it's such an amazing and entertaining game, but going into an existential crisis over its ethical ramifications is quite frankly ludicrous. It is and always will be just a game, regardless of how complex it gets.
Ekaton:
Since they can’t actually think, just act according to numbers, are incapable of feeling anything, and not present physically any moral questions are moot.
Zaphod:
But can not the same arguments be made about us?
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