Computer Game Ethics

1
Computer Game Ethics

• José Diaz

2
Overview

• The Business
• Software Piracy
• Ratings / Censorship
• Game Content
• Violence in Gaming
• Gender Sexuality
• Social Affect
• Computer Game Addiction
• Privacy

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Definition of Computer Games

• Technological-recreational fantasy
  entertainment. This implies that the experience
  made playing a computer game happens on an
  abstract level. Although game players might
  identify themselves with characters they control,
  it is a virtual identity they temporarily adopt.
  This virtual identity exists in an intangible
  world that is not comparable to reality. game
  play is its own reward and is clearly
  distinguished from ordinary life. Therefore,
  real moral values and principles might not be
  applicable.

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Software Piracy

• Definition The illegal duplication of
  software for commercial or personal use.
• Computer Industry loses more than 11
  billion to software piracy every
  year.
• Considered a crime in many countries.
• Up to 5 years in jail and/or 250000 in fines in
  the U.S.

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Software Piracy

• Is piracy acceptable if the person wouldnt have
  ever actually bought the item?
• Is pirating / cracking a game ever ok? What about
  to replace a lost legal copy?
• Have you ever pirated software, and if so, what
  is your rationale for breaking the law? Is it any
  different than shoplifting?

6
Ratings and Censorship

• Entertaiment Software Ratings Board (ESBR) rates
  computer and video games in the U.S.
• Pan European Game Information (PEGI) rates
  computer and videogames in Europé.
• Not supported by law.
• ESBR rates over 1000 games per year.

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ESBR rating and content symbols
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ESBR rating and content symbols
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ESBR rating and content symbols

• Each of these ratings has a content description
  below it, containing more than 30 choices of
  descriptions from "Cartoon Violence" to "Strong
  Sexual Content" and everything in between.
  Content is allowed further permutations with the
  words "Mild" or "Strong" to describe each term.

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PEGI rating and content symbols
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Main purpose

• To help parents make informed decisions on buying
  interactive games. In other words both PEGI and
  ESRB are working for the protection and well
  being of children

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Violence in Gaming

• Anderson Bushman Exposure to violent games
• increases physiological arousal
• increases aggressive thoughts
• increases aggressive emotions
• increases aggressive actions
• decreases positive prosocial actions
• trains our youth in combat tactics needed for
  the revolution

13
Violence in Gaming

• Psychologist Jonathan Freedman, who reviewed over
  200 published studies, found that the impact of
  violence in videogames to aggressive behaviour
  was very small compared to other things.

14
Agression Experiments

• College student experiment
• Group A played a non-violent game
• Group B played a violent game
• Competitive reaction test afterwards
• Winner of each round delivers a loud noise
  blast at opponent, with a choice of volume and
  duration
• Group B delivered longer blasts than Group A
• Exposure to violent video games increases hostile
  attribution bias
• Those who interpret ambiguous social cues as
  being of hostile intent are more aggressive
• Children who play more violent video games are
  more likely to have a hostile attribution bias

15
Violence in Gaming

• Do game designers have social responsibilities to
  the users of their products?
• Should violence in computer and video games even
  be an issue, since we can see it so often in
  other, more popular mass media?

16
Gender Sexuality in Games

• 43 of people who play interactive games are
  women
• 47 of people who purchase computer games are men
  and 53 are women.
• 54 of people who purchase console games are men
  and 46 are women.

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Gender Sexuality in Games
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Gender Sexuality in Games

• Much of the debate about the good and ills of
  computer and video games center on children
• What moral and legal duty do game developers have
  to ensure that children cannot access the
  material that they create.
• Whats is appropiate? And what is not?
• Should games be rated according to their sexual
  content?

19
Game Addiction

• He even left Thanksgiving dinner before pie was
  served to come home and play.
• A post on EverQuest-Widows

20
Game Addiction

• My husband was doing an adventure when one of
  the players asked how much longer the adventure
  would take since his wife was in labor.
• When I came back home I asked my husband to come
  to bed with me because I needed some comfort and
  to process what had happened, especially since I
  just started my 8th month of pregnancy. You know
  what his answer was? I can't just leave my
  group, it's rude.

21
Game Addiction

• Symptoms of game addiction include falling
  behind in school and work and basically deferring
  everything else in your life so you can play.
• Compulsive playing tends to mask underlying
  problems such as depression, anger and low
  self-esteem, said the director of the Computer
  Addiction Studies Center, who said she was once
  hooked on computer solitaire.

22
Game Addiction

• Where is the line drawn between passion and
  addiction?
• What social responsibilities do game designers
  have to the users of their products?
• Make a game less addictive by making it boring?
• Should games known to be highly addictive come
  with warning labels?

23
Privacy

• MMPORGs, Web-based games, and even games
  requiring online registration all have access to
  your machine and any information you choose to
  offer.
• Organizations like Microsoft, and more recently
  the US Army, which have possible negative social
  connotations associated with them, have gotten
  involved in computer games.

24
Privacy Questions

• What data is ethical to collect without the
  users knowledge? To collect with consent?
• If the users gaming experience can be improved
  by collecting personal information, how much is
  harmless?