I'm not sure I agree. I think games can be a good way to explore the way you apply your morals. You can choose to be a jerk or not, be kind or be a monster --

I'm not sure I agree. I think games can be a good way to explore the way you apply your morals. You can choose to be a jerk or not, be kind or be a monster -- and since the consequences don't matter, it might even be a truer test. When I recently re-played Deus Ex (Human revolution), you can choose to play the game in a pretty much pacifist way. I didn't do that, but at the same time I didn't go laying a trail of carnage through the city, killing the police, etc. The game puts you in situations where you usually have a choice about your actions -- I can sneak around (harder), I can kill the guard, I can kill the police officer, etc. I had no problem killing the mercenaries that would shoot me if they saw me, but after killing an NPC police officer (in frustration after setting off alarms), I felt compelled to do it again until I could master doing nonlethal takedowns, or knock them out with a sedative dart. I don't think this is a matter of having a problem separating fantasy and reality. Rather, it's a lens to look at our own behavior and feelings about violence. I have no problem shooting other players in the face in a game like Call of Duty or Counter-Strike (which is effectively paintball), but I get deeply disturbed at the idea of killing (or spawning + harvesting?) non-hostile NPCs in games like Minecraft or Deus Ex.