Morality of Angry Birds

I almost hate to admit it, but I love to play Angry Birds. On the surface, the game seems to be the very straight-forward killer-type. The goal is to fling birds at pigs in order to kill them. In the end, everyone dies.However is we think about the different aspects of morality as discussed in the Ted Talk we can see the expanse of the moral compass in the game.

Care/Harm- This game focuses almost solely on harm. The objective is the take the allotted amount of birds and fling them at the pigs. The harder the birds hit the pigs, the more likely the chance they die. There are obstacles that prevent direct contact with the pigs, so the birds will hit other objects and die themselves. They also die when they hit the pigs.

Fairness/reciprocity- There is not much fairness in this game. Firstly, there are different kinds of birds. Each possesses a special skill or talent which allows them to hit the pigs easier. For example, there are birds that can accelerate speed, birds that split into other, smaller birds, and birds that explode. The game gives the player three to five birds to start out with, but the player does not get to choose which kinds of birds nor the order in which he/she can throw them. Therefore, there is less fairness between the player and the computer. The game is very computer-based, mostly left up to chance.

Loyalty/in-group- this set of morals is not really applicable to this game. it is generally every man for himself, and there is one man.

Authority/respect- The question of authority and respect apply in this game when there are the greater sized pigs and pigs in armor They are more difficult to kill, therefore have a more dominating pretense in the game. It feels like they have more authority because the player has to work harder to challenge them. In regards to respect, the player gains respect as he/she progresses and advances in the game. The player’s score goes up and other players have to ability to view each others’ scores. In this way, players with higher scores also have authority.

Sanctity/purity- These elements, too, are not highly relevant in the game unless one sees the act of murder as impure– in which case, there are high levels in impurity in Angry Birds.

Therefore, the overarching goals of this game are to kill, to achieve, and to gain respect and authority.

 

 

Leave a Reply