Games are not without moral responsibility, says Dishonored dev

Dishonored developer and Roxlou Games founder Joe Houston wrote a post via Rock, Paper, Shotgun, saying that game violence doesn't cause real world violence, but "does little to prevent it."

Houston writes in response to a previous story on Rock, Paper, Shotgun concerning gaming violence. According to Houston, developers must deal with the tricky situation of whether a game might or might not teach violent action.

"A moral code in a game, oftentimes encoded unintentionally by its designers, is unavoidable," Houston said. "And when a game becomes more effective at evoking emotion (due to player choice), it also gains a higher level of social responsibility. It's a double edged sword, and one that must be wielded with care."

According to Houston, gamers and developers become blinded to conversation on gaming violence by a fear of censorship and miss out on creative solutions.

"Developers have a responsibility to answer that demand with games that engage the player with meaningful choices, additional freedom and ultimately greater personal responsibility."