game ethics

In this episode we explore some of the ethical issues related to kinks in video games – mostly adult ones.  How can games allow us to explore kinks?  What are some ethical pitfalls designers should consider?  How do issues like representation and consent fit in? 

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Kate Gray is a games writer and journalist with a specialist interest in portrayals of sex, sexuality, and relationships in video games. She is currently working on writing for several games, including one that's all about dating (but no sex. Well, implied sex). In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, whittling, and pottery, like a character out of Wind in the Willows.

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JOIN THE ETHICS AND VIDEO GAMES COMMUNITY:

- Follow/like/share us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube 

- Explore our website and check out our Video Games Ethics Resources Center: https://ethicsandvideogames.com

- If you're game to lend us your financial support, we'd love to have it and can definitely use it!  You can do that here: SUPPORT OUR PODCAST!

- Give us a review whereever you listen to podcasts

- If you've got an idea or an ethical issue involving video games that you think would make for a good podcast, please let us know! 

Contact us at ethicsandvideogames.com or email us at contact@ethicsandvideogames.com.  We’d love to hear from you!

Hosted by Shlomo Sher, Ph.D. and Andy Ashcraft

Production by Carmen Elena Mitchell

Music and graphics by Daniel Sher

How do players morally engage with games?  What can user experience research and moral psychology tell us about how players experience and think about ethical decisions in games?  We chat with philosopher Paul Formosa and Game Designer Malcolm Ryan about their collaborative ongoing research exploring these questions.

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Our guest for this episode are:

Paul Formosa is a Professor of Philosophy, Head of the Department of Philosophy, and Co-Director of the Centre for Agency, Values and Ethics at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. Paul has published widely on topics in moral and political philosophy, with a recent focus on the ethical issues raised by new technologies such as video games and AI. He also collaborates regularly with colleagues from a range of different disciplines outside of philosophy, one of whom is our other guest today, Malcolm Ryan!

Malcolm Ryan is Course Director of the Game Design and Development program in the School of Computing at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. Malcolm has published in game design, virtual reality and artificial intelligence. His current research focuses on how players make ethical decisions in video games, in collaboration with colleagues from philosophy, psychology and creative writing. He blogs about video game ethics research at MoralityPlay.org.

Their research together (which is what we’ll be talking about today) is founded in moral psychology and user experience (UX) research. They’re interested in how players engage morally with games, how they exercise their ethical thinking to make decisions in games and how they experience these kinds of decisions. The hope is that this research will lead to richer, more engaging ethical content in games both for entertainment and education.

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JOIN THE ETHICS AND VIDEO GAMES COMMUNITY:

- Follow/like/share us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube 

- Explore our website and check out our Video Games Ethics Resources Center: https://ethicsandvideogames.com

- If you're game to lend us your financial support, we'd love to have it and can definitely use it!  You can do that here: SUPPORT OUR PODCAST!

- Give us a review whereever you listen to podcasts

- If you've got an idea or an ethical issue involving video games that you think would make for a good podcast, please let us know! 

Contact us at ethicsandvideogames.com or email us at contact@ethicsandvideogames.com.  We’d love to hear from you!

Hosted by Shlomo Sher, Ph.D. and Andy Ashcraft

Production by Carmen Elena Mitchell

Music and graphics by Daniel Sher

Games are supposed to be fun and playing in a historical setting or replaying historical events can be really fun.  But when does the use of history become morally problematic by misrepresenting that history, leaving out alternative perspectives, or failing to communicate to the player when the game is or is not meant to be historically accurate?    

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Our guest for this episode is Dr. Bram De Ridder - a postdoctoral researcher in applied history at the University of Leuven, Belgium. He has performed extensive research into the topics of public and applied history, and has advised numerous organizations on how to better use the past. His research has also studied how game developers and gamers relate to the past, leading him to found Sunken Tower, a history and game design company.  Currently, he mainly plays Crusader Kings III, attempting to turn the Dukes of Brabant into the leading European power.

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JOIN THE ETHICS AND VIDEO GAMES COMMUNITY:

- Follow/like/share us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube 

- Explore our website and check out our Video Games Ethics Resources Center: https://ethicsandvideogames.com

- If you're game to lend us your financial support, we'd love to have it and can definitely use it!  You can do that here: SUPPORT OUR PODCAST!

- Give us a review whereever you listen to podcasts

- If you've got an idea or an ethical issue involving video games that you think would make for a good podcast, please let us know! 

Contact us at ethicsandvideogames.com or email us at contact@ethicsandvideogames.com.  We’d love to hear from you!

Hosted by Shlomo Sher, Ph.D. and Andy Ashcraft

Production by Carmen Elena Mitchell

Music and graphics by Daniel Sher

Video games have been accused of being addictive and making players more violent and sexist.  Studies have been cited that confirm these claims.  And politicians suggesting laws limiting what video games can do have referenced the “scientific consensus” on these issues. But how does good research on these topics actually work and what does it tell us about the connection between games, violence, addiction, and sexism?

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Our guest,Rachel Kowert, Ph.D, is a research psychologist and the Research Director of Take This. She is a world-renowned researcher on the uses and effects of digital games, including their impact on physical, social, and psychological well-being. An award-winning author, she has published a variety of books and scientific articles relating to the psychology of games and, more recently, the relationship between games and mental health specifically. Recently, she founded her YouTube channel Psychgeist, which serves to bridge the gap between moral panic and scientific knowledge on a variety of psychology and game-related topics.  In 2021, Dr. Kowert was chosen as a member of The Game Awards Future Class, representing the best and brightest of the future of video games. Dr. Kowert has been featured in various media outlets, including NPR, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, the Atlantic, Wired, and video game publications such as Kotaku and Polygon.

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JOIN THE ETHICS AND VIDEO GAMES COMMUNITY:

- Follow/like/share us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube 

- Explore our website and check out our Video Games Ethics Resources Center: https://ethicsandvideogames.com

- If you're game to lend us your financial support, we'd love to have it and can definitely use it!  You can do that here: SUPPORT OUR PODCAST!

- Give us a review whereever you listen to podcasts

- If you've got an idea or an ethical issue involving video games that you think would make for a good podcast, please let us know! 

Contact us at ethicsandvideogames.com or email us at contact@ethicsandvideogames.com.  We’d love to hear from you!

Hosted by Shlomo Sher, Ph.D. and Andy Ashcraft

Production by Carmen Elena Mitchell

Music and graphics by Daniel Sher