One topic we’ve latched onto in considering games and morality is the idea of scaffolding moral decision-making and also instigating moral reflection on those decisions.

The Door Game comes quite close to providing an ideal type of this kind of game. I won’t spoil the game — it’s something you can play in a few minutes (or in hours, if you choose) — but essentially you are participating in a very stripped-down self-experiment. The game presents a single moment of self-reflection at the end in a simple, static screen, and yet if the player takes it seriously, it could be quite profound.

The game, by the way, is part of the message and marketing of the book Predictably Irrational, and it worked for me; I’ve got the book on my Amazon shopping list.

Update: More on irrational option-preservation.

– Gene Koo