Michael Rosado

GGS
Jun 2010
Final Thesis
Mass Effect 2 Educates Players About the Immorality of Ethnic
Cleansing and Genocide
Mass Effect 2 is the second installment to Biowares Mass Effect
series. It is an Adventure/Role Playing Game set in the year 2185.
Following the conclusion of the first Mass Effect, Shepard and his
ship, the Normandy, are dispatched to wipe out any further Geth
resistance. During the patrol in space, the Normandy is attacked by an
unknown ship. Most of the crew escapes the Normandy, but Shepard is
killed. Fortunately, Shepard's body is retrieved and is revived by
Cerberus, a pro-human organization that is at odds with the Alliance,
whom Shepard was a part of. Two years later, Shepard learns from the
Illusive Man, the leader of Cerberus, that numerous human colonies are
vanishing, but the latter does not know why. After Shepard visits a
colony that was recently attacked by these unknown belligerents, he
learns that the belligerents are in fact Collectors, the same species
that was behind the downing of the Normandy. Attacking the Collectors
home world would be suicide. In response to this growing threat posed
by the Collectors, Shepard creates a team made up of former squad
members from the first Mass Effect as well as of new recruits.
However, Shepard also must make the proper preparations necessary to
confront the Collectors with the fewest casualties possible.1
When compared to Mass Effect 2s predecessor, Mass Effect, the role
playing element has been stripped down to a much simpler system and
the game exhibits more similarities to a First Person Shooter than a
role playing game.
An FPS is a type of computer game in which the
player aims and shoots at targets, and the graphics displayed are seen
from the viewpoint of the shooter.2
Despite the games large FPS content, there is definitely
evidence of an interactive fiction which would constitute a role
playing game. A role playing game is a game in which participants
adopt the roles of imaginary characters in an adventure under
the direction of a game Master.3 The term is actually a misnomer when
it comes to computerized role playing games (RPGs) because the player
1 Sam. (2010). IMDB.com. Retrieved Jun 19, 2011, from IMDB:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1540125/plotsummary

2 first-person shooter. Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridges

10th Edition. (n.d.). Retrieved Jun 20, 2011, from Dictionary.com:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/first-person%20shooter
3 role playing game. Dictionary.com Unabridged. (n.d.). Retrieved Jun 20,
2011, from Dictionary.com: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/role
%20playing%20game

Michael Rosado
GGS
Jun 2010
Final Thesis
does not have the opportunity to act out his or her characters role,
rather, the player assumes the identity of the character created by
the writers of the development team and makes decisions based on that
characters role in the fiction. The game master is replaced by the
computer which inflexibly enforces the set of rules the fictional
world is laid out in.
Video games represent a new medium for art. They are works created
from the imagination of individuals. Their sole purpose is to
entertain. However, at a DC conference in 2009, Will Wright, the
creator of Sim City, stated that he felt designers are actually more
responsible for furthering the medium than pleasing the players when
creating games. [He called video games an] infant medium that
needed to be nurtured. Meaning, that while developers can continue
to make games fun, they should also take on social responsibility.
Wright summed up the argument best, stating that showcasing the worst
in games is actually the best way to affect change in people. He noted
that, historically, social change through media almost always comes
from cautionary tales. In many of the city planning documents he'd
read (likely as research for Sim City) were notes of concern that
certain proposals might turn the city into Blade Runner. Moby Dick,
written in 1851, can be seen as a warning against Nazi Germany (many
good men following a charismatic, but obsessed mad man). People want
their books, movies and games to "represent states we want society to
avoid."4
On March 29, 2011 Gamasutra reported that L.A. Noire would be part of
the official selection at the Tribeca Film Festival.
This made the
game the first to be honored at a film festival. The game was in a
category labeled as Transmedia. This label is defined as being a
movie with some other medium involved in this case a controller.
L.A. Noir is not a game in the true sense of the word, but rather more
of an interactive movie. The goal of the game is to solve mysteries
which take place in an alternate 1940s Los Angeles. The reason L.A.
Noire is not a game, but rather a narrative, is that story unfolds in
relatively the same manner regardless of the players input. In fact,
missions deemed too difficult by the player can be skipped.
The ability to blur the line between game and movie highlights
the similarities between the two mediums. Movies have had the time to
mature within our various cultures and are now viewed as works of art.
These works of art have the power to affect social awareness through
their narratives and, as Wright stated, represent states we want to
avoid. Although, the one difference that remains is that movies are
passive, allowing the viewer to relate to what they are seeing, but
does not allow for interaction. Transmedia has the ability to allow
4 IGN. (2009, Mar 27). Retrieved Jun 20, 2011, from GDC 09: Do Games Shape
Society?: http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/967/967424p1.html

Michael Rosado
GGS
Jun 2010
Final Thesis
the viewer to interact, but so far, has little effect on the overall
outcome of the story.
One goal of an RPG is to have ones avatar / protagonist improve
in skill. This is done within the framework of the games narrative.
In the case of the Role Playing Game, the narrative is there to
support the rules of the game by providing an elaborate, fictitious
world. However, unlike transmedia, RPGs are immersive and the
decision a player makes with his / her character can affect the
outcome of the game and have serious repercussions, some of which, as
in the case of Mass Effect 2, can be morally assessable.
I believe that Bioware is making the attempt to advance the video
game medium by presenting a message in Mass Effect2. The message is
that ethnic cleansing and genocide is immoral. While the subject may
seem obvious to most in American society, the subject is not widely
spoken about and receives very little media coverage. Acts of
genocide have been recognized by the United Nations nine times [in the
20th] century. These examples include the purge of Armenians by the
Turks beginning in 1915, Jews killed in the Ukraine in the late 1910's
as well as during the Nazi regime, Cambodians under the Khmer Rouge in
the 1970's, Bosnian Muslims in the former Yugoslavia early this
decade, and the slaughter of the Tutsi minority by the Hutu majority
in Rwanda in 1994.5 While genocide is globally recognized as a crime
against humanity, ethnic cleansing is not. Genocide is the
deliberate and systematic extermination of a national, racial,
political, or cultural group.6 Ethnic cleansing is the elimination of
an unwanted ethnic group or groups from a society, as by genocide or
forced emigration.7
The statement is made through the use of Mass Effect 2s rich world
and characters. Five characters represent the immorality of ethnic
cleansing and genocide. These characters use emotional and logical
arguments to make the player create a moral assessment. Three of the
five characters each are genetically pure examples of their race.
There is Morinth the Asari, Miranda, the human, and Grunt, the Krogan.
The fourth individual is Mordin the Salarian. While he is not an
example of the purity of his race, he represents those who fear the
5 Becker, K. (n.d.). MUNFW.org. Retrieved Jun 19, 2011, from Genocide and
Ethnic Cleansing: http://www.munfw.org/archive/50th/4th1.htm

6 Dictionary.com Unabridged. (n.d.). Retrieved Jun 21, 2011, from genocide:

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/genocide

7 Dictionary.com Unabridged. (n.d.). Retrieved Jun 21, 2011, from

ethnic cleansing:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ethnic+cleansing

Michael Rosado
GGS
Jun 2010
Final Thesis
expansion of another, namely the Krogans, and is partly responsible
for deliberately culling their numbers. The fifth is Legion. He is a
machine that uses logic to weigh the variables and gives the player
the opportunity to make his own decision.
Because Mass Effect 2 is a role playing game, there are several
side quests the player may embark on. Each character has an
individual story arc. While recruiting members for his team, Shepard
recruits Samara, an Asari. Samaras side quest involves Shepard in
her goal of hunting down a serial killer. We come to find out that
the serial killer is her own daughter. Her daughter, Morinth, is the
result of Asari Asari mating. The results of such unions are
referred to as "purebloods", a great insult among Asari. Asari frown
upon same species conception, since genetic traits and cultural
insight is gained from mating outside their species. Morinth suffers
from a rare genetic defect known as Ardat-Yakshi, which makes Asari
destroy the partner's mind during melding. Unfortunately she is
addicted to the killing, which is why her mother has been hunting her.
It is Morinths genetic purity that makes her dangerous.
Mirandas origins are a little different. She is the product of
genetic manipulation. Her father, in his quest for power, had her and
her twin sister created out of his own DNA. Both had been modified to
be exceptional examples of human perfection. Because Miranda is
human, it is easy to identify with her. She shows us the emotional
impact being created in such a way has. While she may be considered
perfect, she tells Shepard in a conversation that she feels that none
of her accomplishments matter. Her skills were given to her, not
earned. She remains bitter towards her father for even attempting to
expand his dynasty in such a manner. To make sure her father could
not exert his influence, she ran away as soon as she was able to,
joining Cerberus, and she helped her sister go into hiding, keeping
them both away from their fathers influence. Both Miranda and
Morinth attempt to highlight pitfalls of genetic purity.
Grunt is another individual who is genetically pure. He was
created in a lab with the use of unethical medical practices by an
obsessed scientist. He brings to mind the question; do the ends
justify the means? Grunt is the result of a desperate attempt to save
his race. The Krogan are suffering from a disease called the
Genophage. The genophage was originally a biological weapon created
by the Salarians. It introduced a genetic mutation in the Krogan
genome that reduced the probability of viable pregnancies. It was
created as a response to Krogan expansion. After centuries of the
affliction, the Krogan are doomed to extinction.
The fourth member of Shepards team Id like to mention
Solus. While he is not an example of genetic perfection, he
directly linked to a later modification of the Genophage and
player to start thinking about the morality of genocide. If

is Mordin
is
gets the
the

Michael Rosado
GGS
Jun 2010
Final Thesis
player chooses to have a conversation with Mordin while on the
Normandy, Mordin presents the argument that the ends justify the
means. The Krogan could not be allowed to expand their territories
because it would lead to war. The player then has the opportunity to
agree or disagree, which has an effect on their Renegade / Paragon
meter.
The player may choose to go on a side mission where Mordin found
out a former assistant of his, Maelon, has been captured by the
Krogans and needs to be rescued. While on the mission, he learns that
Maelon was captured by Clan Weyrloc and is being held captive. Inside
the Weyrloc base he soon discovers that the clan needed Maelon's work
to create a cure for the Genophage. This entailed brutal
experimentation on kidnapped subjects. One of the test subjects,
however, was a female Krogan who voluntarily underwent the tests in
the hopes of becoming fertile. Her corpse is found by Mordin in a lab
and serves as a grim reminder of the lives he shattered through the
genophage modification project. In many ways he has led to the
desperate acts of the Krogan. Again, the player is forced to make the
moral assessment of whether or not the ends justify the means.
Late in the game another character is encountered. It is a Geth
unit, which is later named Legion. The Geth are a collective of
machines with Virtual Intelligence created by the Quarians. About 300
years prior the Geth rebelled against the Quarians causing the
Quarians to abandon their homeworld. The Geth were present in Mass
Effect and were enemies of humanity. However, this Geth seems
different and Shepard has the opportunity to take it onboard the
Normandy.
If Shepard keeps the Geth unit we learn that not all Geth are the
same. There is another faction of Geth labeled the Heretics which
follow the Reapers. Those are the Geth that fought humanity in the
first Mass Effect. The Geth and Heretics have different philosophies
and are not able to coexist. The Heretics view the old machines
(the Reapers) as gods, where the Geth do not. In response to this
schism, the Geth allowed the Heretics to leave and go about on their
own. But it is discovered that the Heretics are creating a virus to
force the rest of the Geth to join them. I would consider this ethnic
cleansing through assimilation. Instead of destroying or relocating
the Geth, the Heretics are imposing their own beliefs upon them, thus
destroying their philosophy and way of existence.
If Shepard recruits Legion, they have the option of going on a
side mission to stop the Heretics from launching the virus. During
that mission Legion discovers that the virus can be repurposed and the
heretics can either be destroyed or can be reintegrated into the Geth
collective. This is the apex where all of the messages about ethnic
cleansing and genocide converge. The player is presented with a moral
choice. Should Shepard destroy the Heretics and be guilty of

Michael Rosado
GGS
Jun 2010
Final Thesis
genocide? Or should the Heretics be peacefully reintegrated and have
Shepard be guilty of ethnic cleansing? By forcing the player to make
such a decision, it forces him to assess his own morality. When I
played, I had a hard time with this decision. By trying to figure out
which was the better decision, I came to realize that no matter what,
I was destroying a species. The outcome of the decision will not be
immediately apparent, and probably wont be until Mass Effect 3.
Video Games are an art form. As such, they have the power to
convey powerful messages to those who play them. In an attempt to
further evolve the video game medium, Mass Effect 2 brings the
delicate subjects of Ethnic Cleansing and Genocide to light in a
creative way. After presenting the subject, it gives the player the
opportunity to form their own morality. I feel the end result will
bring more media attention to the topic in the real world and an end
to the practice in future generations.

Michael Rosado
GGS
Jun 2010
Final Thesis

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Michael Rosado
GGS
Jun 2010
Final Thesis
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