Living in the Age of Innocence

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Skyrim), despite its liberal violence, does not allow depicted children to die, by fault of the player's character (or avatar), NPCs (non-player characters) or the environment. Because of this, a player going by the name of Kharmah published a mod, 'Killable Children', on the Steam Workshop that disposes of this restriction. Needless to say, this caused quite a controversy, with supporters of its release pointing out improved realism and freedom for the player, and others raising morals and ethics against it.

The ingame killing of children, with the special status their real-life counterparts enjoy, is a contentious issue for many computer game developers, who are well concerned about their business and social standing. In forming an opinion on it, two matters should be considered:

1. Whether the killing of real-life children is unethical
2. Whether the killing of ingame children raises material real-life consequences.

Especially heinous
Almost anyone of sound mind would agree that killing a fellow human being is immoral. In reaching that conclusion, it may be raised that life is sacred, that every human being has a natural right to it from birth, that every member of Homo sapiens has a duty to further the species, or that one's automatic dignity and self-worth is to be respected. Indeed, virtually all governments on Earth outlaw homicidal acts, be it murder, manslaughter or (in many cases) assisting in suicide. With unnatural adult death depicted so frequently in print, cinematographic film and computer games and that of children rather rare, one may wonder what makes the latter an exception.

To Commit a Crime

In The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Skyrim) (and probably other computer games in that title), depending on the situation, a certain action may or may not be considered a crime:

• Picking an item up may or may not be considered theft.
• Attacking an actor may or may not be considered assault.
• Killing an actor may or may not be considered murder.

Except in cases with bugs (such as livestock's being able to report crimes), is there any rhyme or reason as to when a crime is recognised? Considering real-life positive law, there may well be.

Law of nature vs. law of the people
In real-life jurisprudence, any given law may be given authority by any of two sources:

• Natural law, which is the law as set by nature and comprehended by reason and justice. If a given law does not possess the authority of natural law, it simply does not feel just or right for it to be enforced. Such a sense of unjustness is strong for people with a developed sense of ethics.
• Positive law, which is the law given authority by the institution of government. If a citizen violates a law with this authority, they can be punished by the government (e.g. fine, imprisonment); where a law does not possess this authority, the government will simply refuse to enforce it, even if a citizen violates such a law.