IMHO the use of a bird (or any other animal) as a subject for this kind of experience is extremely wrong and morally harmful for the player. We don't know what a bird feels and wants, and even if in some cases ending their life would be beneficial (as not to feel pain anymore), many player could misunderstand the meaning behind this and feel entitled to choose between life and death of an animal.
An anthropomorphous being or a human would have been better, in my opinion.
I hope I explained my thought well enough.
That's a very good point, and I agree.
I used the dying bird as a metaphor because it's a fairly common thing that everyone has probably encountered at some point in their lives, it's a ?mundane? picture. I never thought about the possible misunderstanding that using it as a metaphor can lead to, and I feel very strongly that having the ability to reason doesn't give you the right to rationalize animals feelings, but at the same time.... I would make a choice if I encountered this situation irl again. But I guess that would make for another game!
Thank you for your comment!❤︎