[SERIOUS DISCUSSION] Playing as an Impostor in Among Us is sinful

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PolycarpOfSmyrna

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Ok, so as a disclaimer, I’m playing this game constantly these last few days, but despite that, think this discussion is a pretty interesting idea. So, for those who are not aware, Among Us is a viral mobile and PC game at the moment around an uninformed majority x informed minority, kinda like Mafia, Werewolf, and this kind of game. The informed minority (the impostors) need to kill enough of the uninformed majority (the crewmates of the ship) to win the game, while the crewmates need to either vote the impostors out in discussions rounds or finish their tasks to fix the ship. This is a very brief summary of the game here, but basically, the impostors are usually required to lie during the discussions rounds and in general, be under the disguise of another crewmate as they play the game. So, here’s what I propose: from what both St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us about lies, what is described there pretty much fits what takes place in Among Us. It is not a “simulation of a lie”; it’s an actual lie, and you actually want to fool the crewmates. It is not out of jest either, because lies out of jest are obviously seen as such, and thus have no intention to fool or mislead anyone. As far as I’ve thought this, according to Catholic moral theology on lying (which is not actually an ended debate), lying on Among Us is sinful but, given circumstances, could be reduced to the lesser of venial sins. So, I was wondering if you guys from this forum could make a case for Among Us in light of the Church moral theology (or even despite that) and maybe get in some secular philosophy in the debate too, to see if there are at least theoretically ways around that. Or if you agree with what I present and would add more. Let’s see how this goes.
 
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Does everyone involved know it is a game of pretend?
 
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If everyone knows lying is part of the game then lying in the game is not a sin. No more than hiding in hiding seek is a form of deception.
 
I tend to look at lying as denying somebody of the truth that they are due. It solves those supposedly tricky moral situations (Are there Jews hidden in there?) and covers also omission of the truth (I didn’t lie, I just didn’t tell everything you needed to know.)

In the case of the game, the others players are not due this truth, so no sin.

This is purely my view, not necessarily the churches view.
 
RhodesianSon said:
If everyone knows lying is part of the game then lying in the game is not a sin. No more than hiding in hiding seek is a form of deception.
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Or attending or being in a play.

Both audience and actors are well aware that it is just a fellow pretending to be Hamlet Prince of Denmark on stage, that you are not really literally IN a castle in Denmark, and that all.rhose lifeless looking bodies on stage at the end are not actually dead.

If everyone is in on the pretence and there is no intent to truly deceive anybody, then there is no moral harm.
 
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I think the key to making the case for the game could be there, but let me stress it a bit more. While this is a game of pretend, not all aspects of the game are substantially pretending. For instance, when an Impostor kills a crewmate in a round, no one is actually dead (and some goes for the party-game variations of this, like Mafia), it’s just a play-pretend. However, when you are lying, you are actually lying, you are not play-pretending to be lying. If we go by that route, the fact that everyone previously agreed and is fully aware of the game would merely decrease the moral invalidity of the lying act, not necessarily end it.
 
Everyone knows, however, there is an impostor and that impostor will lie to keep their identity. You are pretending to be a murderous imposter who will stick to their goal no matter the cost. Lying is part of the act.
 
It is a view that I particularly like, and one that has been argued, if I’m not mistaken, to make the cut for in the CCC, but was not actually added.

St. Augustine in one of his books, I don’t remember which, tells us about a saintly bishop that was hiding a man being looked by romans. When the romans found the bishop and asked where the man was, he replied that he simply would not reveal the location of the man. These guards tortured him and eventually brought the bishop to the emperor. The emperor, however, was so impressed by how virtuous the bishop was that he let him go and forgot the debt or crime the other man had. St. Augustine used this example to make the case for his view on lying.
 
PolycarpOfSmyrna said:
I think the key to making the case for the game could be there, but let me stress it a bit more. While this is a game of pretend, not all aspects of the game are substantially pretending. For instance, when an Impostor kills a crewmate in a round, no one is actually dead (and some goes for the party-game variations of this, like Mafia), it’s just a play-pretend. However, when you are lying, you are actually lying, you are not play-pretending to be lying. If we go by that route, the fact that everyone previously agreed and is fully aware of the game would merely decrease the moral invalidity of the lying act, not necessarily end it.
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Again, part of many card games is the art of ‘bluff’ - pretending you have a good hand when you have a bad one, or vice versa, in order to win. Likewise some sports- a footballer may fake that they are.throwing or kicking in a particular direction but end up sending the ball elsewhere.

These things are part of the agreed rules of the game.that everyone knows beforehand.

I fail to see how telling someone an untruth with their consent could possibly.be a sin. Isn’t that what we all do when we produce or consume fiction?
 
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I can’t tell if this is a serious question. But no, playing hide and seek or a hand of poker is not a sin.
 
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I think the viewpoint I shared also is more in line with the commandment not to steal (since there is no explicit commandment not to lie -false witness touches on it but I don’t think completely). If we see lying as depriving someone of something that belongs to them, truth, then it becomes a matter of theft. If someone is not owed the truth, in a game, unjust law etc then depriving them of it would not be lying.

Once again, just my own musings, not necessarily church teaching. Haven’t really run it past my theologian friends/wife or done any research on it.
 
We can then also assess the gravity of the lie as we would assess the gravity of theft.
 
This sort of question comes up every year or two, so allow me to copy an answer I posted four years ago:

I would argue that the game does not involve lying at all, because there is neither assertion nor deception. The first player makes a proposition (“Accept or reject my statement, which may be either true or false”), not an assertion (“My statement is true”). Both he and the other player understand that the statement may be either true or false, and they understand that the veracity of statements is intended to be unpredictable. Those are the underlying truths of the game, which neither player can deny. Therefore there is no deception, only game play.
 
Wait until you hear about the game “2 Truths 1 Lie”
 
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Two Truths and a Lie is even less deceptive than most “liar” games. You have the additional clue that exactly one statement is false. That is an underlying truth of the game.

Also, the way that game is usually played, it builds understanding and friendship by the truths that are revealed, and the “lies” are always exposed, revealing a third truth in short order. That is good.
 
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I know. My comment was sarcastic. I do not agree with the OP premise.
 
I laughed out loud when I saw this post because I have been playing this game with my siblings and their spouses. They’re all so into it and love the deception and I just don’t care enough to try to deceive. It feels strange to me haha. And I am a huge GAMER lol

I actually do understand where the OP is coming from. I don’t think it’s sinful… but intentionally being deceitful, even in a game, seems odd to me. It’s not just a person saying “I’m not the imposter”. It’s a person Having to tell multiple falsehoods constantly. I’m still laughing so hard though because of how bad I am at trying to be deceptive.
 
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