Social and contextual issues of CG

1
Social and contextual issues of CG

• MITJA KOTOMAJ
• Thames Valley University,
• Faculty of the Arts
• Interactive game play week 06

2
Todays topics

• This lecture discusses social and contextual
  issues of CG in following dimensions
• Censorship Violence
• Addiction to games
• Mental and physical health
• Positive aspects of games
• Games can teach
• Diplomatic games 
• Gender - Women in games conference 2005

3
Violence Censorship

• Violence is Sword of Damocles of CG industry.
• Censorship auto censorship anti censorship.
• David Cronenberg interview about auto censorship
• http//www.igda.org/Forums/showthread.php?s52408f
  8d755129e641eec293e4c919ffthreadid18671
• Movies Crash (1996), Videodrome (1983), ExistenZ
  (1999), A History of Violence (2005)

4
Violence Censorship

• David Cronenberg
• "As an artist, one is not a citizen of society.
  An artist is bound to explore every aspect of
  human experience, the darkest corners- not
  necessarily-- but if that is where one is led,
  that's where one must go. You cannot worry about
  what the structure of your own particular segment
  of society considers bad behavior, good behavior
  good exploration, bad exploration. So, at the
  time you're being an artist, you're not a
  citizen. You have, in fact, no social
  responsibility whatsoever.
• http//www.igda.org/Forums/showthread.php?s52408f
  8d755129e641eec293e4c919ffthreadid18671

5
Violence Censorship

• David Cronenberg
• When I write, I must not censor my own imagery or
  connections. I must not worry about what critics
  will say, what leftists will say, what
  environmentalists will say. I must ignore all
  that. If I listen to all these voices I will be
  paralyzed, because none of this can be resolved.
  I have to go back to the voice that spoke before
  all these structures were imposed on it, and let
  it speak these terrible truths. By being
  irresponsible I will be responsible." -- David
  Cronenberg, Mondo 2000
• http//www.igda.org/Forums/showthread.php?s52408f
  8d755129e641eec293e4c919ffthreadid18671

6
Violent video games and real-life violence

• 2000 USA Health department produced a review of
  the possible link between violent video games and
  real-life violence.
• 25 reports of scientific studies were identified
  at three age groups
• preschool and elementary school children
• middle and high school students
• and college students and young adults.
• (7 to 9 studies per age group)

7
Violent video games and real-life violence

• Study concludes
• At present the research evidence is not
  supportive of a major public concern that violent
  video games lead to real-life violence. However,
  this conclusion might change as more research is
  conducted on more recent and increasingly violent
  and realistic games.

8
Violent video games and real-life violence

• Preschool/elementary school children (ages 4-8)
• Research indicates (3 out of 4 studies) that
  preschool and early elementary school children
  show increased aggression or aggressive play
  immediately after playing a video game with
  aggressive content.
• Report questions experimental designs
  (providing strong evidence of causality) and the
  realistic outcome measure (behavioral
  observations during free-play),
• studies did not provide evidence that harm was
  inflicted as a result of the aggression, or
  assess whether there were any long-term effects.

9
Violent video games and real-life violence

• Middle and high school students.
• Research indicates that at this time it is not
  known whether violent video games have
  detrimental, positive, or no consistent effects
  on aggression in this age group.
• (1 experimental study showed no effect 8 others
  had varying findings)
• 3 studies looked into whether more aggressive
  boys are more likely to prefer violent video
  games.
• Results were mixed 1 study found the predicted
  association, 1 found no association, and 1 found
  the reverse pattern (boys who preferred
  non-violent games scored high on a measure of
  delinquency and boys who preferred violent games
  did not.)

10
Violent video games and real-life violence

• College students and young adults.
• Studies showed mixed results.
• 1 of 4 experimental studies of self-rated hostile
  mood after violent video game play, only two
  showed increased hostile mood.
• 1 of 4 studies using other measures of hostility
  / aggression, only 1 showed an association
  between hostility/aggressions and video game
  play.
• Because of these mixed results, this research
  indicates that at this time it is not known
  whether video game play affects aggression or
  hostility in this age group.

11
Violent video games and real-life violence

• Major limitations of the current research
  include
• Lack of experimental studies addressing whether
  playing violent video games causes increased
  aggressive behavior in teenagers or young adults
  
• Lack of studies addressing whether individuals
  with other risk factors for violence (e.g., a
  history of being abused) might have more negative
  responses to video game violence than other
  youth
• Lack of longer term measurements of behavior in
  young children.

12
Violent video games and real-life violence

• Summary
• findings from experimental studies indicates that
  playing violent video games may lead to increased
  aggression in young children immediately
  following play.
• additional well-designed, experimental
  studies are needed.
• with levels of violence that reflect games
  currently available to children.
• studies should focus on moderate to long term
  effects of playing violent video games among
  young children.
• more experimental studies for students in
  middle and high school.

13
Violence Censorship

• Games Censorship or Self Censorship?
• Anti-censorship http//www.igda.org/censorship/
• IGDA Position statement
• The IGDA opposes any effort that would treat
  digital games differently from other forms of art
  and creative expression. Digital games are an
  expressive medium worthy of the same respect, and
  protections, as movies, literature and other
  forms of art and entertainment.
• The IGDA fully stands behind voluntary, industry
  driven, content ratings that allow consumers to
  make informed purchasing/playing decisions for
  themselves and their families. Games are part of
  our cultural fabric and are enjoyed by diverse
  audiences.

14
Addiction to games

• www.Gameaddict.org.uk is a website dedicated to
  providing information to gamers on healthy gaming
  along with providing advice and support to those
  affected by gaming addiction.

15
Positive aspects of games

• Games can teach!
• Nesta - www.nesta.org.uk/
• Learning and Skills Development Agency
  www.lsda.org.uk
• Mitchell, A and Savill-Smith, C (2004). The Use
  of Computer and Video Games for Learning A
  Review of the Literature. Learning and Skills
  Development Agency Ultralab m-learning
• Games That Educate, Train, and Inform
• www.gamasutra.com/features/20051031/chen_01.shtml
  
• Diplomatic, negotiating and games a la How to
  save the world from poverty? 
• www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005
  /10/15/AR2005101500218_pf.html

16
Games can teach

• Learning and Skills Development Agency
• Mitchell, A and Savill-Smith, C (2004).
  www.lsda.org.uk
• How good computer games are? producers,
  parents, teachers, governments
• Many young people spend a significant amount of
  leisure time each week playing computer games
  (often 7 hours or more)
• Computer games have become for many children the
  chosen form of play
• Computer games might improve visual intelligence
  and reaction times
• Some complex computer games might incorporate as
  many as 36 important learning principles.
• Computer games are seductive and the challenge of
  wining the game is motivating.
• Frequent gaming help users to adjust to a
  computer-oriented society.

17
Games That Educate, Train, and Inform

• Dr. Mark Wiederhold, co-founder of the Virtual
  Reality Medical Center, states many uses of video
  games in modern medicine
• to distract patients during painful medical
  procedures.
• to improve rehabilitation.
• to improve motor skills.
• for therapeutic interventions.
• to teach doctor and nurses.
• to raise awareness of their health problems (ie.
  diabetes, asthma).
• www.gamasutra.com/features/20051031/chen_01.shtml

18
Games That Educate, Train, and Inform

• First CG that merged fitness and computer games
  was Konamis arcade game Dance Dance Revolution
  (DDR), (1991) re-released for console in 2001.
• HOSPITALS AND HEALTH CARE
• Hospitals experiment with alternatives to
  treatment and therapies.
• Integrating video games in treatment and recovery
  process.
• Video games as training tools for doctors and
  nurses.

19
Games That Educate.. Distraction Therapy

• How much pain a person experiences often depends
  on how much conscious attention the person gives
  to the pain signals?
• Video games and virtual reality (VR), with their
  ability to immerse the individual in a
  computer-generated environment, have been shown
  to be effective in focusing a patient's attention
  away from their medical treatment and the pain
  they are experiencing.
• Immersed in the world of the game, they are not
  as consciously aware of what is going on around
  them, and they miss a proportion of the pain
  signals.

20
Games That Educate.. Distraction Therapy

• Believe In Tomorrow Foundation (USA charity 1982)
• uses distraction as a pain management
  technique
• virtual reality immersion via headsets
• Anticipatory anxiety
• Children feel this more deeply than adults
• partnerships between Believe In Tomorrow
  Foundation and BreakAway Games (2005) resulted in
  a new study in the effectiveness of VR techniques.

21
Games That Educate Self-Management

• Self-management - key element in the treatment of
  chronic diseases (asthma and diabetes).
• patients adjust their lifestyle and habits to
  deal with the disease
• consequences could be health problems or even
  death.
• Watch, Discover, Think, and Act (2000), a
  computer game designed to enhance self-management
  skills and improve asthma outcomes in inner-city
  children with asthma.
• Packie Marlon, by ClickHealth, was designed to
  help children and teenagers with diabetes improve
  their diabetes self-management.

22
Games That Educate Self-Management

• Glucoboy (Guidance Interactive Healthcare, 2005)
  - a glucose meter that can be connected to a
  Nintendo GameBoy. As a reward for maintaining
  good blood sugar control, Glucoboy downloads
  video game programs into the GameBoy.
• Win the diabetes (2001-2005, Slovenian Diabetes
  society) awareness games for children and
  teenagers with diabetes.

23
Games That EducateHealth Education and Physical
Fitness

• EXERGAMING or EXERTAINMENT
• Games try to help players stay healthy
• nutrition,
• physical fitness,
• sexually transmitted diseases
• Squire's Quest
• Dance Dance Revolution (1991) RedOctanes
  Ignition Pad (2004)
• Sony EyeToy (2003) for the PlayStation 2

24
Games That EducateHealth Education and Physical
Fitness

• Squire's Quest medieval game from squire to
  full knight nutritional content of different
  foods (40 minutes per week in 5 weeks)
• Konami's Dance Dance Revolution (DDR), (1991) -
  video game that mixes physical activity with game
  play. DDR uses dance pad, with four panels, up,
  down, left, and right, arranged around where the
  player stands.
• RedOctanes Ignition Pad (top selling dance pad
  in 2004)
• Tanya Jessen, the campaign spokesperson, lost
  95 pounds (43 kg) by playing the Dance Dance
  Revolution).
• DDR is used in number of studies
• increases the metabolism and causes the body
  to burn more calories.
• examines the possibility of cutting claim
  costs from obesity and how exergaming products
  can help reduce childhood obesity.

25
Games That EducateHealth Education and Physical
Fitness

• With EyeToy for the PlayStation 2 there is an
  emerging market for new controllers and
  interfaces
• Cateye GameBike and the Reebok CyberRider for
  PlayStation 2 or Xbox (1200).
• QMotions baseball controller for console and
  PC.
• Other games that involved physical activity i.e.
  arcade games
• - Pedalling a bicycle (Prop Cycle, 1993)
• - Holding ski pole handles while standing on
  moveable skis (Alpine Racer, 1995)
• - Sega's Top Skater (1997) skateboard,
• - Namco's Final Furlong (1997) racehorse
  riding.

26
Diplomatic games How to save the world from
poverty?

• Carnegie Mellon University educational CG that
  explores the Mid-East conflict
• -- negotiating peace between Israelis and
  Palestinians.
• UN World Food Programme online game how to
  feed thousands of people on a fictitious island.
• MTV announced a contest for a video game that
  fights genocide in Darfur, Sudan.
• http//www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/artic
  le/2005/10/15/AR2005101500218_pf.html

27
Women in games conference 2005

• Conference looked into
• female representation
• female players
• female developers
• Ernest Adams Look back in high heels
• Ref
• http//www.womeningames.com/
• http//crystaltips.typepad.com/wonderland/2005/08/
  women_in_games_.html

28
Women in games conference 2005

• Female Representation
• woman as icon
• target of misogyny (hatred
  towards women)
• object/plaything
• damsel in distress
• sidekick/assistant
• evil opponent
• man with breasts e.g Lara Croft
  (is manish and does not engage in any female
  activities/behaviour does this breakdown gender
  boundaries or create man in women body for male
  audience?
• herself. This is also known as
  the fully self-realised woman she defines her
  role and is not defined by it. Her choices are
  governed by her character not gender. Doesnt
  give up feminity to advance her aims. Lots of
  examples from history Marie Curie, Rosalind
  Franklin, Margaret Thatcher. These women may
  struggle against stereotypes in pursuit of larger
  goal.

29
Women in games conference 2005

• Sheri Graner Ray, Gender and inclusive game
  design (book)
• Female Players
• Purple moon made games for girls but unsuccessful
  as market driven rather than being led by a
  vision. Free games on web attract 1000s of
  women. Women prefer character depth in games.
  Need to develop 3 dimensional characters in
  gaming thatll appeal to women.
• 0 dim characters atomic emotional states jump
  from hate to fear.
• 1 dim - such as bond girls
• 2 dim - 007 bond no
  conflicting emotions or emotional ambiguity
• 3 dim - neutrality, sympathy,
  antipathy and psychotherapy? Captain Aubrey in
  master and commander.
• http//pc.gamezone.com/news/05_28_04_01_01PM.htm

30
Women in games conference 2005

• Sheri Graner Ray, Gender and game design (book)
• Female DevelopersWomen bring new perspectives
  and values to the medium. prioritise and plan
• think of your audience not yourself and bring
  empathy to the job.
• Storytelling is mostly about people whereas games
  are mostly about things? Is this really true?
  Need to learn to make interactive drama such as
  Façade interactivestory.net is more about
  psychological engagement with a story.

31
Women in games conference 2005

• Elena Bertozzi
• Self-efficacy this is the idea that men are
  more likely to engage in techy activities and
  jump in women hang back if not confident.
•  
• T.L. Taylor http//www.itu.dk/people/tltaylor/
• Social network, domestic configurations,
  different between girls and women in their
  approaches needs to be considered.
• Identity are you a gamer first or is your
  gender first? The way we understand sex is
  socially constructed.

32
Women in games conference 2005

• Jennifer Jensen
• Its not about making better games for women. Keep
  games for M and F and keep those tensions there.
  Otherwise there are 2 types of games and no real
  engagement with gender issue. Were producing,
  co-producing and re-producing these findings and
  research. Need to start asking different
  questions.
• Girls dont have direct access to game playing,
  dont have primary access to tech access is
  re-mediated thro male relations.
• Cultural assumptions that females dont like
  aggressive games is not found true in research.
  Cant make judgements on likes and dislikes of
  females especially if they dont have opportunity
  to try these things out! So if girls already feel
  outside what is point of marketing to them?

33
Women in games conference 2005

• Aphra Kerr
• High level of risks/failure in games which is why
  companies stick to tried and established genres,
  sequels etc not a lot of new ideas in games
  industry in general mostly in-house teams
  rather than independent makers. 

34
Questions??

•