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Henry Jenkins quote February 13, 2008

Posted by nutheadgreg in Gaming ethics.
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I have found a useful quote from the work of Henry Jenkins, it features in his book Fans, Bloggers, Gamers. This is going to be of use in the introduction section.

“We turn to violent entertainment for the same reason moral reformers turn toward apocalyptic rhetoric-because it gives us a sense of order in a world that otherwise can seem totally chaotic. We fantasize about a lot of things we’d never want to do in real life, and through fantasy we bring those impulses momentarily under control. What is bad about a lot of games isn’t that they are violent but that they trivialize violence. They tell us little about our inner demons because they fall back too quickly on tried-and-true formulas. Without fail, the works that moral reformers cite are not the ones that are formulaic but those that are thematically rich or formally innovative. It is as if the reformers responded to the work’s own provocation to think about the meaning of violence, but were determined to shut down that process before it ever gets started”

In this Jenkins demonstrates how violent games get a bad press, he suggests that the trivial manner that violence is used in games is the problem. This can be linked back to Brands ideas on game ethics surrounding violence, as in some video games such as Counterstrike you are rewarded for killing both a terrorist or a counter terrorist this blurring in what Jenkins is refering to when he suggests that bad games trivialize violence. This becomes all the more confusing when you consider that fact that Counterstrike is still the most popular online FPS game, however just becase a game is popular, its not necessarily a good game.

The second theme running through this is the moral reformers (parents, mass media, government officials) are only looking at violence through the view of sensation, and moral panic. They do not look below the surface, as a result their issues do not get resolved.

Rambling Brand: Video Game Ethics: Part Four-Sex January 15, 2008

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Here is the conclusion to the posts about Rambling Brands ideas surrounding ethics in video games, I know it has been a long break but now its time to get down to it.

The main crux of Brands ideas surround the ethics of sex in video games relates to the idea that there is not a great deal of actual intercourse within video games. But he draws a distiction between two different types of games that deal with sex, firstly are those games which feature sex, and then sex games, that are intirely focused around the act. An example of a game of this nature is Sex Tetris, or Naruto Girl, these aren’t particularly advance games, and are programmed in Flash, so aren’t that anotomically correct.

However, I am only interested in games that feature sex or sexual reference, examples of these are Duke Nukem, GTA, Leisure Suit Larry, these are also listed by Brand in his blog post. He suggests that monogamy doesn’t exist in video games that feuture sex, this demonstrated in Leisure Suit Larry as the aim of the game is to bed as many girls as possible, also in GTA: Vice City and onwards you have six main girlfriends available. As for the act of sex in these sorts of games there is not a great deal, the exception to this is LSL as the main aim of the game is to have sex, however the private parts are blacked out. In GTA thing are done in a less in your face manner, when you hire a prostitute, the only thing that symbolises the act is the bouncing of the car (seems to me like a stereotype borrowed from the realms of film and tv).

This is a breif explantion of Brands ideas on this issue, I will not focus on this in my dissertation so I don’t need to take it any further.

Here is the link to the original post:

http://brandg.blogspot.com/2004/11/video-game-ethics-part-four-sex.html

Rambling Brand: Video Game Ethics: Part 3 – Lying December 4, 2007

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From this post it seems that lying within games doesn’t really exist to the extent that you might expect, it is infact a rarity. Lying can only feature in games that ask the player questions, as a result a number of genres can be eliminated from the debate. Effectively ruling out racing, sports, action, and god games.

Acording to Brand, there are a number questions base arround four themes that make lying – to some extent – possible. Firstly are those which relate to gameflow altering questions. These are questions depending on a binary (one of two choices) answer, either of which opens up a different route. To me however I don’t understand how it allows for not telling the truth. I face the same probelm with the third question which relates to inventory questions, in that a NPC (non-player character) will ask you to gather something, or go on a mission. If you go back to the character claiming that you have done that task / aquired the item, when you haven’t. However, the NPC will then say that it isn’t in your inventory. Thus as a result, means that you cannot lie and get away with it.

On the other hand the other two question options do to some extent allow for lying. The first one is concerned with storytelling, Brand explains that this usually comes in the form of multiple choice questions. This is often a feature within RPGs (Role-Playing Games) such as Dragonfable, Final Fantasy, Adventure quest etc. However, the lying or more appriopriate non-truth telling, often comes in the form of a riddle from a NPC. In that you ask a question, and the NPC doesn’t give you a straight answer, but this is neither a truth or a lie. The final set of questions relate around moral issues, in that if you lie then this has an effect upon your characters development. Brand gives the examples of Fable, in which if you lie, your morality bar moves towards the evil side; and Star Wars: The Knights of the Old Republic, where lying results your character drifting into the dark side. This is also the case in a game know as Huygen’s Disclosure, in that if you are considered to be telling a lie by the Alien leader, you are killed instantly on the spot.

This demostrates that lying does exist in games, but it is on a quite basic and crude level. Some developers have chosen a useful way of integrating it into games, where lying can affect the gamers experience, and sometimes become their demise. Brand concludes on the issue stating that “Why are there so few games that allow lying? Because it’s not good gameplay” and to some extent this is true as the majority of gamers do not want to be ethical, as video games aim to escape the grasps of reality including morals.

Here is the link to the original blog post:

http://brandg.blogspot.com/2004/11/video-game-ethics-part-three-lying.html

Rambling Brand: Video Game Ethics: Part Two – Theft November 20, 2007

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In this post the author is discusing the concept of theft within computer games. The ethical aspects of this concept only apply to a few games, but somTe of the ideas can be transferred into other games. He explains that the idea of theft in games originated from an in game featured known as an inventory. It enabled the in game character to store items that had been acquired throughout the game.

This featured in a number of 2d platform games, it is possibly most commonly associated with the vastly popular Tomb Raider games from Eidos. In this game the objective is to prevent precious and powerful artifacts from falling into the wrong hands. You have to negotiate a number of different tombs located over the globe, in which you have to kill and steal keys and codes off henchmen who are preventing your progression through the game. Thisi concept of being able to steal in video games, added a new dimension to gameing.

The idea of theft is not just limited to adventure games though, Brand demonstrates that it is also present within action games too. He explains that ‘carrots’ are used to attract the player to steal, these come in the form of weapon upgrades, healt packs, armour etc. These features area an itegral part toany modern action or shhoooter game. In some resepcts though you are not really stealing, ryou area aquiring things that have beeen left lying around on the floor. However, this raises the ethical issue of what is actujally considered as stealling??? In games such as Grand Theft Auto it is a lot more clear cut, in tehat you can steal cars and go and get them sprayed so the police will not recognised the stolen vechicle. One of the missions also required you to go to a rival gangs headquarters and steal some vital information.

It seems to me that stealing within games is a feature used sparingly, and brand suggests that “it seems that, ethically, this issue is considered a non-issue by most games (you don’t hear about any court cases where a defendant says that he learned to steal by playing Thief).”

Here is the link to the original blog post:

http://brandg.blogspot.com/2004/11/video-game-ethics-part-two-theft.html

Rambling Brand: Video Game Ethics: Part One – Death November 17, 2007

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In this blog post the author deals with death in video games, he based this ideas upon Manhunt and Grand Theft Auto San-Andreas. He sets out the article by explaining the ethical conflict relating to death that is present within GTA: SA. In one mission he describes a situation where the character is asked to burn down a rival gangs house. Once this is on fire someone is screaming from a upstairs window, the player has to go and rescues here from the fire the gamer has created. This is the only character that is rescued out of the house, the others are left to burn. This demonstrates a complex ethical conflict within the game, that can often seem confusing to the player.

He suggests that 90% of all the games made involve murder, even those as simple as Mario and Space Invaders contain it. However, these games were based on sprites as characters (16×16 pixel beings), and the player was able to distance themselves from the ideas of killing. According to the authors in current games with high advanced 3d characters and lush environments the player has more difficulty distancing them-self from the heinous act of killing. With high vicerol and graphic was of dispatching people, such as the use of the plastic bag in Manhunt. This view has been taken up and applied by Rockstar to their games.

The author goes on to explain that other developers get over the problems of killing by disguising how it takes place, or making it seem morally right in the situation. This is often done by dehumanising the characters you murder by turning them into zombies or monsters, possibly the most popular though is to turn them into aliens. In this players don’t think of death in the same way, or don’t pay as much significance to the act of murder.

The post is concluded by a moral dilemma operationalised in the examples of the games of Mario World and Manhunt. One is where the character casually kills for the extra hundred points and the second is the character vicerally kills to protect his own life. He suggests that niether is less morally correct, they are both the same as each is concerned with murder.

To me this arguement that is structured in the form of a blog post demostrates how games have been constructed around the notion of killing and murder. This is to the extent that if it were taken out of the game, it would undermine the whole playing experience.

Here is the link to the original blog post:

http://brandg.blogspot.com/2004/11/video-game-ethics-part-one-death.html

Morality Play – Creating Ethics in Video Games November 12, 2007

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The author of the article describes himself as a New Media Developer, he explains the pitfalls of the moral structure within specific games. Within the article he suggests that a number of games have fallen short in a number of measures in terms of their moral development. He explains the areas in which the development of such moral structures in games are lacking.

The first area is described as ‘Consistency’, in that players are rewarded for one deed and then aren’t rewarded for the opposite. Grand Theft Auto Vice City is an example where players are rewarded for “wrongs” like stealing cars, shooting gangs etc. but are not rewarded of “rights” like sticking to the speed limit on the roads, or driving the ambulance that features in the game.

The second problem is ‘Cause and Effect’, when a player commits a certain action or crime they should suffer for it. When playing GTA Vice City you can steal a car and not receive any punishment for it.

The next issue is relates to something know as ‘NPC Actions’, this stands for non-player character. I that if you draw a gun the people around the character who are not involved in the game play should react. This reaction however, does feature in GTA 3, as when you open fire in the street the NPC’s run away screaming and shouting. This only features in a few games though, so it can still be classified as a problem.

Another problem relates to the ‘Memory’ of the NPC’s who your character interacts with. He suggests that if you have mistreated a character at some point in the game, then when you see the same character later in the game then that character should fear and not trust you. This is has only just started to permeate into video games, with the release of Bio-Shock a few months ago.

The fifth problem relates to the lack of ethical ‘Alternatives’. The author explains that some games may require you to do things without having an alternative option. He uses the example of Deus Ex: Invisible War, where the only way to succeed in the game is through lying and deceit.

Finally is the issue of moral ‘Conflict’, in that it should be introduced into games. The player should have two specific routes that they can choose to follow through the game. Each choice should have different consequences.

This set of guidelines in some respect are rather presriptive, however some of the suggestions are good, and I think that some have already been integrated into more recent games. I do also believe that there are other qualities in games that are not related to ethics like teamwork.

Here is the link to the original article: http://www.adamjthompson.com/thought/CreatingEthics.pdf

Playing a “Good” Game: A Philosophical Approach to Understanding the Morality of Games October 23, 2007

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This article by Ren Reynolds on the IGDA (International Game Developers Association), uses Grand Theft Auto 3 as an example to demonstrate how a game can be described as good or bad. He aims from the outset to stray away from the notion gamic/graphical quality, that guides whether a game is good or not. He focuses on whether the game is ethically good or bad. This is a result of the political or pressure groups ‘charging’ a game with being corrupting, immoral, and evil.

The first parts of the article are concerned with two polar points of view, one is a consequential and the other deontological. These are theories from normative ethics, thus aim to be rational and self consistent. However once one route is chosen points within the debate can only be derived from within that theoretical sphere.

The author looked at Grand Theft Auto 3 from the consquentialist postion, and he suggests that pleasure the game provides, far outweighs its potential harm. When looking at it from a deontological position he explains that the game, could not be considered as Immoral. However this idea according to Reynolds is open to a wider societal debate about games and the freedom of speech, which could place the game and others like it in a less clear cut postion. The final area of ethics that is exemplified is related to virtue ethics, in which you decided to do something based upon the vitues/morals it encompases. From this aspect Reynolds would play GTA, but suggests that if Socrates was still around he would not play such a game. As under his paradigm of vitue he would argue that the game is immoral.

I believe that the final area of vitue ethics for me, is a good way to look at a game from a philisophical point of view. This is due to the fact that I am making a conscious decission, based on my moral understanding and reasoning, and therefore I am being active as a member of the gaming audience.

Here is the link to the original article: http://www.igda.org/articles/rreynolds_ethics.php

Religion and Ethics Newsweekly article and video October 21, 2007

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This article looks at the ideas surround the debate on whether games contain values, it dicusses the advantages and disadvantages of games as a entertainment. The video is just a motion picture version of the article that is written on the website, there a link to it embedded in the site. This 8 minute video looks at the debate from the perspective of the teenage gamer, the parent, the religious figure and the video games expert.

From the exert of the teenage boys it seems apparent that they would never actually shoot someone in reality and explain that he is able to differentiate between the game values and societal values. Henry Jenkins, is the video games expert. He explains that video games have the ability to make the game feel a sense of guilt, and suggests that games should/do allow players to reflect upon their actions.

The childs parent had seen him playing violent games on the console, she explains about the content and expresses her concerns towards the content and the impact it is having on her son. The religious figure is Daphne White, she is the figurehead of a group know as the Lion and Lamb project. White suggests that not many games teach anything constructive or productive or of “any value a parent would approve of”.

This article is a typical example of the debate I will be demostrating, it shows the polation within the debate, but I think the only opinion that counts is that of the gamer. Henry Jenkins is a gamer and lecuturer, he uses them to teach his students. He demostrates that the sphere of gaming allows his students to think outside of normal realms of the stereotypical classroom environment.

Here is the link to the original article: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week639/cover.html

Subject related articles October 17, 2007

Posted by nutheadgreg in Gaming ethics.
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Having spend some itime travelling through the realms of Google Scollar, I have tracked down a number of articles that are an extremely close match to what I am/have been looking for. One such article relates to the issues of carrying out a study with the field of computer game values/ethics. See http://spilforskning.dk/gameapproaches/GameApproaches2.pdf for more information.

Over the next few days I will be reviewing the resources I have gathered up to now, in order to collate the information into a useable form within my literature review.

Video Game Ethics October 4, 2007

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Having consulted my research adviser I have realised that the question I was wanting to answer was too vague, also I had fallen short in realising the complexities involved when researching issues of violence imitation from computer games. It was suggested to me that perhaps it would be better to look at gaming from the angle of moral philosophy. From this it was decided that I should get to grips with the basics of ethics. I found a very useful website http://caae.phil.cmu.edu/Cavalier/80130/ which features an on-line guide to Ethics and Moral Philosophy.

Within the subject there are three predominant areas: Metaethics, Normative Ethics and Applied Ethics. The first is concerned with the nature of ethics and discussing different ways of approaching it. It aims to show the limitations of moral philosophy and ethical thinking. The discipline of Normative Ethics is predominantly interested in determining what should be contained and what should feature in the moral behaviour of humankind. The third and final paradigm deals with moral issues that may occur within a specific situation/realm. It aims to apply ethical thinking to a specific situation where issues may need to be discussed. This area will be the predominant focus of my research as I aim to apply moral philosophy onto the structure of video games. Having glanced through a number of journal databases, there seems quite a rich source of information dealing with the issue of ethics in gaming.