Ethics in Computer & Video Games
This is a meta-article on computer games and general ethics issues involved.
Contents
Ethics in computer games
Why should we care?
The virtual reality of games is worthy of ethical consideration, according to Edward H. Spence. Virtual environments possess many qualities that allow for dilemmas which must be considered when speaking of ethics. Some examples include virtual behavior, identity, and trust in virtual environments. Without well-defined policies designed to encourage desired types of behavior while discouraging others, the behavior of users in games becomes unpredictable and can lead to unfavorable behaviors such as virtual rape,griefing, and identity theft. These types of behavior have the potential to deter users from playing online games and cause information entropy within the world of gaming.
Applications
To address ethical problems, people have devised several solutions. In computer games, a code of ethics (Terms of Use) is commonly employed to address such issues as griefing and online cheating. Other people, like computer game theorist and researcher Miguel Sicart, suggest that it is not so much a system of regulation that is needed to enforce ethics in virtual environments, but, among other things, a feeling of personal responsibility and moral integrity by the players themselves.
Ethics in game development
In developing and advertising games, specific audiences are usually targeted, and to conform to ratings (Everyone, or Mature). If developers succeed in this goal, more people will prefer their product, bringing in more profit. If players play by the rules, then cheaters would not scare off everyone else, meaning more subscribers will sign up and play, more profit. So it is to developers' advantage to devise some sort of ethical guidelines.
Violence in games
It is fun to play a killer or a thief, to get a sense of the thrill of experience, even though in real life it carries a different meaning. One might ask: Is it ethical to play such games? Does that affect our sense of ethics in virtual and real life?
