Ethics of Virtual Reality Applications in Computer Game Production

A current trend in the gaming industry is to provide more realistic and believable looking animation. To support this, motion capture has been used to create such animation. Lately, immersive virtual environments have been further developed and can be used to support motion capture actors with their work. Using immersive virtual environments as work environments has already been explored, but no ethical analysis or applied ethical code has been provided for such situations. In this paper, we investigate the ethical implications of introducing a highly immersive virtual environment for motion capture acting and discuss under which circumstances it is ethically justified to place an actor in such an environment. Moreover, we provide an overview of research in computer games ethics, ethics for virtual realities and acting, as well as an investigation of potential moral and ethical issues in motion capture. Finally, a discussion shall help in finding an ethical consensus within the field of motion capture and for related situations.