Interactive Story Game on Software Engineering Ethics
Ethical Dilemmas is a narrative-based game that introduces students to real-world ethical challenges in software engineering. Players follow Rose, a software engineer, through a week in the workplace as she encounters dilemmas related to confidentiality, professional responsibility, communication with clients, and corporate integrity. Each decision influences the storyline and leads to one of several possible endings.
Episodes
The game contains six episodes:
- Episodes 1-5: Each episode represents a day at work (Monday to Friday) where Rose faces new dilemmas.
- Episode 6: A branching ending based on cumulative choices throughout the week.
Value for Players
Playing Ethical Dilemmas helps students:
- Apply ethical reasoning in realistic scenarios
- Understand the consequences of everyday professional decisions
- Practice judgment under uncertainty
- Recognize ethical dimensions of common software engineering tasks
How to Play
Platform: Mobile (iOS & Android)
Steps:
- Download the Episode app from the App Store or Google Play.
- Search for “Ethical_Dilemmas”, or open directly via: https://www.episodeinteractive.com/s/6429627363229696
- Each episode requires one “pass”; free passes refresh automatically.
- No purchases are required; we recommend waiting for free passes to refresh.
Instructiosn for Educators
Educators can embed Ethical Dilemmas within a software engineering course, probably related to lectures on ethics or on professional responsibility. The game works well as a pre-class activity to help students identify ethical issues, or as a post-lecture exercise to reinforce theoretical frameworks. After gameplay, the educators could organize reflective discussions, ask students to compare alternate story paths, or relate the dilemmas to industry case studies. Short reflections, debates, or group analyses help deepen student understanding of ethical decision-making.