Wednesday 7 November, 2018

Dear diary,

I went to Paris! Not really. Agent 47 went to Paris to take out Viktor Novikov and Dalia Margolis They are the Sanguine’s CEOs who also double as the ringleaders of IAGO. Fun right? Mostly. First I had to get set up. See, before the mission truly starts you’re given the opportunity to choose your weapons, attire, starting location, and a few other things. Nothing really unethical about it, but it’s a fun mechanic for the game. Anyway, on to the game! I started out at the opening of a grand estate where a fashion event is being held. I apparently had an invite, likely forged, so I got in without having to sneak. Once in I was able to locate my targets easily enough, but then I had to find a way to get them isolated.

Cue famous person! I guess there’s a famous bald model at the event who I get to subdue and impersonate. Yay me! Oh, and with that act we can add impersonation or identity theft to the list of unethical issues. So I find the guy, take him out, dump him in the lake, then go get my makeup done. Because yes, ever Hitman needs makeup before they kill people. Actually I needed it for the catwalk, but details details. Once I make my 15 second appearance and get my little achieve I’m off to go a murdering! Now for someone who explored the estate prior to all this, I was able to find an invitation for the secret IAGO trade happening on the second floor. I’m not sure if it was useful considering my disguise, but I was able to get to my target easily either way. Then with a quick snap of the neck I was off to deal with the other one.

Now before I continue I feel I must remark on the numerous ways this game gives you to kill someone. You literally can use anything at your disposal, such as: scissors, wrench, gun, cord, your hands, and even a large set of lights. Gruesome right? In light of the fact that this game is a killing game, it isn’t terribly too surprising though. Normal hitman would use anything they could to get the job done, so this is just portraying authenticity. When considering ethics, however, one might say it’s a bit much. Nevertheless, dropping a very large set of lights on the second target is exactly how I managed to kill him. Was it over done? Yes. Did I get an achievement for it? Yes. Did I get caught? No. I was still wearing my previous disguise, so I didn’t have any issues actually getting back out of the estate. It was literally one and done.

With the Paris mission complete and my previous two entries done, I’ve got to say that I’m a little disappointed in Hitman. The game itself is everything I’d heard it would be, but I thought there would be a bit more controversy regarding the gameplay. Sure it had blood, dirty deeds, and scandalous lies. It even had an assortment of choices for you’re murdering needs. Yet, despite all this, I feel like it’s missing something. A big bang or shocking turn of events. Maybe I just want 47 to be more evil than he already is. Who knows. What I do know is that ethically this game has issues. Not as many as I thought it would, but enough to give the public a reason to keep it out of the hands of children. We wouldn’t want the little tykes learning how to murder, after all, would we?

Current missions complete, a dozen more to go,

Kia

Great job! Your game log was, as always, a pleasure to read. At one point you point out the wide variety of ways to kill in the game, as well as the extremity of some of them (such as the lights) you mention that “one might say it’s a bit much.” Are different methods of killing more ethical than others? What defines the ethicality of one method over another? Your thoughts about Agent 47 being used (consensually?) were also quite interesting. Kant has a lot of specific thoughts about the ethicality of using someone as a means to an end instead of as an “end” in and of itself, but how does that dynamic change when the person is willing to be used as a means? Or even in the extreme case of Agent 47, what if his “end desire” is to be used as a means? Does Kantianism break down if someone wants to be used? And on the note of Agent 47 being used, if he’s a tool for murder where does the ethical fault lie for the murders? That is, is being a hitman more, less, or equally unethical when compared to the act of hiring a hitman? Is it ethically better, worse, or the same to hire a hitman instead of killing someone yourself? Is it ethically better, worse, or the same to get get paid to kill someone you don’t know than to kill someone for personal motives? Does your answer to that last question change if instead of a Hitman it was applied to a soldier? If so, where do you draw the moral distinction?

You don’t have to address any of these questions in your OPA, but if you don’t know what to write about they’re interesting questions you could turn to for ideas.