[game_edu] FW: New Book, The Ethics of Computer Games

[Martin Hagvall]

Congratulations!
 
On a related note, some of you might have missed that Brenda Brathwaite
featured in an Escapist online article discussing her new board game designs
about the slave trade, the holocaust, etc. Any thoughts? Is this direction a
welcome infusion of ethics and social context and/or does it risk
"politicizing and polarizing" games (and perhaps by extension, also game
education)?

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/conferences/tgc_2009/6021-TGC-
2009-How-a-Board-Game-Can-Make-You-Cry
 
 
__________________

Martin Hagvall
martin at hagvall.com
http://twitter.com/martinhagvall

 


________________________________

	From: game_edu-bounces at igda.org [mailto:game_edu-bounces at igda.org]
On Behalf Of S. Gold
	Sent: Monday, May 04, 2009 6:06 AM
	To: IGDA Game Education Listserv
	Subject: [game_edu] FW: New Book, The Ethics of Computer Games
	
	
	
	-- 
	Susan Gold
	Skype: tahoegold
	
	"To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that
is all." Oscar Wilde
	
	------ Forwarded Message
	From: Miguel Sicart <miguel at itu.dk>
	Date: Mon, 4 May 2009 11:39:10 +0200
	To: Miguel Sicart <miguel at itu.dk>
	Subject: New Book, The Ethics of Computer Games
	
	
	I am very happy to announce that my book , The Ethics of Computer
Games, is finally out there in the wild, for anyone to purchase. It's been a
long process, but it's finally here. And it feels good ...
	
	It ended up being quite a philosophy volume, but there are some case
studies, from Defcon to GTA IV, that makes the book a bit more digestible. I
am very interested in feedback and conversations on the book, so you know
where to find me ...
	
	Now, it's time to prepare the release party ... and see if I can get
the movie rights sold ;)
	
	Thank you all!
	
	
	Miguel
	
	
	////some information about the book [apologies for
cross-posting]////
	
	>> 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. > > Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/Ethics-Computer-Games-Miguel-Sicart/dp/0262012650/ref=
sr Amazon.co.uk:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ethics-Computer-Games-M-Sicart/dp/0262012650/ref=sr_
1_ MIT Press:
http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&tid=11758
	
	
	------ End of Forwarded Message