It Social and Ethical Iisu
1
Gordana Dodig-Crnkovic
Department of Computer Science and Engineering
Mälardalen University
2007
PROFESSIONAL ETHICS
IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
CDT409
GAME ETHICS
2
Video Game Violence
Ethical Issues
Based on: Kim Anttila & Thomas Larsson’s materials
3
Overview
An increasingly popular leisure activity
Examples of game violence
Research results on game violence
Effects on individuals and society
Ethical principles
Whose responsibility?
Family, society, game industry
Conclusions
4
An Increasingly Popular
Leisure Activity
In the U. S. the average 2 – 17 year old child play video games 7 hours a week.
Games in general can of course be beneficial. E.g. games can teach problem solving skills, and even be used as a tool in medical rehabilitation and habilitation.
We will only discuss violent video games!!!
Highly violent games are frequently found among the top 10 best-selling games 5
Game Violence Examples
Highly violent titles arrived in the 1990s
– E.g. Mortal Kombat (1993), Streetfighter, Wolfenstein 3D,
Doom
A recent example is Grand Theft Auto (GTA) III
– The game glorifies violence and crime and it degrades women. Activities include running over bystanders, driving prostitutes around town, beating people up, killing people, setting bombs, bribing the police. You can have sex with a prostitute and then kill her to get extra scores.
6
Game Violence Examples
– In Washington state, a law bill has been signed to ban sales of
e.g. GTA III to minors (anyone under 17).
“GTA III is a game so suffused with sadism that its considerable technical attributes are lost in a nihilistic realm that thumbs its nose at any sense of propriety or responsibility”
-- LA Times
7
Research on Game Violence
The body of research on the effects of exposure to violent video games is relatively limited:
– There seems to exist about 30 published studies.
– A majority of them indicate a
Gordana Dodig-Crnkovic
Department of Computer Science and Engineering
Mälardalen University
2007
PROFESSIONAL ETHICS
IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
CDT409
GAME ETHICS
2
Video Game Violence
Ethical Issues
Based on: Kim Anttila & Thomas Larsson’s materials
3
Overview
An increasingly popular leisure activity
Examples of game violence
Research results on game violence
Effects on individuals and society
Ethical principles
Whose responsibility?
Family, society, game industry
Conclusions
4
An Increasingly Popular
Leisure Activity
In the U. S. the average 2 – 17 year old child play video games 7 hours a week.
Games in general can of course be beneficial. E.g. games can teach problem solving skills, and even be used as a tool in medical rehabilitation and habilitation.
We will only discuss violent video games!!!
Highly violent games are frequently found among the top 10 best-selling games 5
Game Violence Examples
Highly violent titles arrived in the 1990s
– E.g. Mortal Kombat (1993), Streetfighter, Wolfenstein 3D,
Doom
A recent example is Grand Theft Auto (GTA) III
– The game glorifies violence and crime and it degrades women. Activities include running over bystanders, driving prostitutes around town, beating people up, killing people, setting bombs, bribing the police. You can have sex with a prostitute and then kill her to get extra scores.
6
Game Violence Examples
– In Washington state, a law bill has been signed to ban sales of
e.g. GTA III to minors (anyone under 17).
“GTA III is a game so suffused with sadism that its considerable technical attributes are lost in a nihilistic realm that thumbs its nose at any sense of propriety or responsibility”
-- LA Times
7
Research on Game Violence
The body of research on the effects of exposure to violent video games is relatively limited:
– There seems to exist about 30 published studies.
– A majority of them indicate a
References: ‰ Basic material: – MORAL PHILOSOPHY THROUGH THE AGES, James Fieser, Mayfield Publishing Company, 2001