1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910456099703321

Autore

Sicart Miguel <1978->

Titolo

The ethics of computer games / / Miguel Sicart

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cambridge, Massachusetts : , : MIT Press, , c2009

[Piscataqay, New Jersey] : , : IEEE Xplore, , [2011]

ISBN

1-282-24014-5

9786612240140

0-262-25513-8

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (273 p.)

Disciplina

175

Soggetti

Video games - Moral and ethical aspects

Video games - Philosophy

Electronic books.

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Computer games as designed ethical systems -- Players as moral beings -- The ethics of computer games -- Applying ethics : case studies -- Unethical game content and effect studies : a critical ethical reading -- The ethics of game design.

Sommario/riassunto

Despite the emergence of computer games as a dominant cultural industry (and the accompanying emergence of computer games as the subject of scholarly research), we know little or nothing about the ethics of computer games. Considerations of the morality of computer games seldom go beyond intermittent portrayals of them in the mass media as training devices for teenage serial killers. In this first scholarly exploration of the subject, Miguel Sicart addresses broader issues about the ethics of games, the ethics of playing the games, and the ethical responsibilities of game designers. He argues that computer games are ethical objects, that computer game players are ethical agents, and that the ethics of computer games should be seen as a complex network of responsibilities and moral duties. Players should not be considered passive amoral creatures; they reflect, relate, and create with ethical minds. The games they play are ethical systems, with rules that create gameworlds with values at play. Drawing on



concepts from philosophy and game studies, Sicart proposes a framework for analyzing the ethics of computer games as both designed objects and player experiences. After presenting his core theoretical arguments and offering a general theory for understanding computer game ethics, Sicart offers case studies examining single-player games (using Bioshock as an example), multiplayer games (illustrated by Defcon), and online gameworlds (illustrated by World of Warcraft) from an ethical perspective. He explores issues raised by unethical content in computer games and its possible effect on players and offers a synthesis of design theory and ethics that could be used as both analytical tool and inspiration in the creation of ethical gameplay.