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A jam submission

Aristotelian Development & DeductionView project page

Develop your character's character in this tabletop game based on Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics.
Submitted by ClutchFumble (@clutchfumble) — 19 hours, 22 minutes before the deadline
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Aristotelian Development & Deduction's itch.io page

Results

CriteriaRankScore*Raw Score
Popular winner#15.0005.000
Runner-up#2n/an/a

Ranked from 2 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.

What work(s) of philosophy does your piece take as its primary source(s)?
Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics

Please tell us about your piece.
Roleplaying games, traditionally, have built-in systems for character progression. It may take the form of leveling system where the character gains new abilities or improve their mastery of certain skills, but the underlying commonality is character improvement. The development of one’s character, in another sense, was also a concern of ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle.

In Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle talks about “eudaimonia”, sometimes translated as happiness of human flourishing. To live a good life, one must be virtuous. To do this, a person must act with the rational part of the soul in accordance with virtue. Aristotle identifies ten virtues of character that one must master in order for one to live one’s best life.

This game attempts to blend the two concepts of character development by creating a game system where the player attempts to achieve a virtuous state by establishing habits and gaining practical wisdom from each scenario they encounter.

What other sources have you used in your piece?
https://drive.google.com/file/d/11cFHP9aFctluE2y8oY_b9ZVzkZ9Y2s02/view?usp=share_link

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Comments

Jam JudgeSubmitted

This is really clever and creative. The roles of ignorance and chance are very well incorporated into the game, showing how crucial habit and experience are to achieving virtue. The addition of extra non-Aristotelian game modes was also superb. Thanks for your piece!

Jam JudgeSubmitted

This game has really got me thinking about how virtue and its development might be quantified and simulated in a game format. Considering the relation between virtue and flourishing, for example, I wonder whether it could be adapted such that one's lifespan could be extended through a mastery of the virtues. 

I'm finding it difficult to grasp how the elements of chance and deduction are reconciled; how how can one verify that a given action meets the third criteria for the development of virtue, "They must not arrive at this roll via chance" (p. 5)?  Is this tension between moral luck and intentionality reflective of Aristotle's own ethics, with its simultaneous recognition of reason and embodied habit as essential elements of virtue?

Thanks for sharing!

Developer

Thank you for taking a look at my submission!

Mechanically speaking, at the start of the game, the action rolls will largely be determined by chance, since the only control over the result the player has comes from the two numbers the player selected as their starting knowledge. But, by having two numbers at their disposal, it allows the players to always have their roll fall within a certain area. Re-rolls are gained if the player is able to have their action roll fall within the same area as the determined mean.  With a little luck and strategy, the player will be able to stockpile re-rolls to narrow the range of their rolls and increase the chance that a given action roll will result in the correct result. Also, if an action roll does hit the determined mean by chance, the player will still benefit from this result, it just won’t count towards “mastery” of a virtuous act.

In regard to the basis on Nicomachean Ethics, the notion of starting out with little knowledge is supposed to represent the notion that life experience is necessary to become virtuous. Because things in the real world are messy, one needs to be able to determine the relevant factors in a given scenario and act as the situation calls for. So, starting out, the young character does not have as much life experience to draw on when accessing a given situation, but over time they gain an understanding of the world and are more able to act virtuously. Of course, just living longer and experiencing more things does not necessarily mean one will be more virtuous, but as a conceit for the game, we have to assume that the characters are striving to become virtuous.

For a quicker, or perhaps more balanced game, the Determiner of the Mean could decide on granting the players extra starting knowledge at the beginning, or at certain milestones to keep the game moving. 

Host (1 edit)

Hi, there! It should become possible for you to vote once you click this link.

Please give only one 5-star rating to a single project -- that is, please vote only once, for your very favorite project, that isn't your own. This is to ensure that the popular winner doesn't go to the project that happens to be rated the most times.

Voting will close when the counter on the jam page reaches zero, at 23:59/11:59PM CET/GMT+1 on December 12th, 2022! Your vote will not be made public until the full results for the competition are announced on December 15th on the jam page and on the jam community board.

While you can only vote for one submission, please leave as many comments as you like on all the submissions that strike your fancy! This goes for anyone who entered the jam or who stumbles upon it on the site, even if they didn't submit anything or can't vote! It'd be wonderful to get some good discussions going. If you're not sure where to start with evaluating projects, I've prepared a list of questions to ask yourself as you explore and reflect upon your experiences with each one here. I hope they're helpful to you!

As always, if you have any questions, please either reply to this message or post on the jam's FAQ here. Thank you!