In Star Trek: The Next Generation – “Thine Own Self”, the ship’s advisor Deanna Troi decides to take the test to become a senior officer on the starship Enterprise. She must solve a simulated disaster that would destroy the entire ship and its hundreds of civilian inhabitants.

The problem is a leak in the warp plasma shaft, which leads to a devastating explosion when left unrepaired. However, the well is awash with radiation; Anyone who directly repairs the leak will have no chance of surviving afterward.

So Deanna assumes that there must be some logistical way to prevent the leak. He tries everything he can think of: switch to auxiliary control, modify EM power inverter, eject antimatter storage containers; each solution leads to the complete destruction of the Enterprise without fail.

Convinced that something is missing, Deanna studies the ship’s manuals for hours and takes the test three more times. She catches herself in her problem-solving mindset, too scared to realize that nagging possibility in her subconscious: sending a crewmate down the well.

In Deus Ex: Human Revolution – The Missing Link, Adam Jensen, controlled by the player, finds himself in a facility flooded with toxic gas. There are two main sections: one contains cells filled with oppressed prisoners, while the other contains a small population of scientists – scientists who could provide evidence that would crush an evil corporation.

Jensen goes down a ladder that leads to a control room, but he can only use it to redirect the gas to one part of the facility – he can save the scientists or the prisoners. So the player is faced with a clear moral choice: he will have to consider which option is the best for society, which one respects individual life the most, which is the best option for justice.

But if the player stops this train of thought and climbs the ladder again, they will notice a network of pipes running through the facility. And if you follow the pipes, behind the walls and through the vents, you will find a darkened entrance. Behind it is a valve that regulates the flow of the toxic gas; destroying it stops the flow completely, saving both the prisoners and the scientists.

This is what Deanna is afraid of in “Thine Own Self”. Behind the veil of logistical and technical solutions lies a moral and philosophical dilemma: can you kill one person to save hundreds? But what if you start worrying about that problem too soon? What if during the few minutes you spend deliberating on morality, you overlook the factor that goes unnoticed, hiding behind a corner, the only piece that could solve the problem and save everyone?

It’s a terrifying reality of making moral decisions – that you could start too early and lose the solution that’s lurking in front of you. That maybe you should keep solving problems to the end, even if a moral choice leads to a better outcome.

And it would be nice if more games took advantage of this fear. By presenting a moral choice to the player, many games leave no flexibility, no way to check loose ends. In most cases, the player is removed from the world entirely: the action stops and the two options are assigned to their respective side buttons.

Even when players are in control, they rarely get a chance to believe that they missed something, that they need to work with the mechanics of the game a bit more before making a decision. Take the infamous Mass Effect 3, where three empty branch paths represent the game’s final decision. The only possible “non-moral” stone left unturned is spinning Commander Shepard in circles or causing him to shoot into the sky.

The ending of Mass Effect 3 and other options like this lack the vital clues that make the fear of morality real: the freedom to explore unexplored areas on a map, the ability to search for those few missing audio records, clues. curious in the environment, little problems of the story that were never fully resolved.

“Thine Own Self” shows us why unresolved loose ends and looming and untested possibilities are so important in making moral choices realistic. Because making a moral choice is not just about realizing a moral dilemma or being presented with one; it’s about having the will to leave the technical world and accept the decision: stop trying to save everyone. As Troi’s superior tells him after passing the test: “You considered all your options, tried all the alternatives and then made the difficult decision.”