SI 410 Ethics and Information Technology Week 14

SI 410 Ethics and Information Technology Week 14 b: Serious Games: A Marketplace for the Application of Ethical Design

SI 410 Combined Statistics LAST THURSDAY TODAY https: //si 410. herokuapp. com/notebooks/410%20 Media. Wiki%20 Analysis. ipynb 2 SI 410 Ethics and Information Technology Winter 2017

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Design of Ethical Games [Sicart] � Infosphere and game play � Ethical game play � Questions about possibilities 5 SI 410 Ethics and Information Technology Fall 2012

Context: Violence and Video Games � Computer games for children and adults in tension � Adult games have always emphasized competition and conflict as a central feature � Think chess, monopoly � For Miguel Sicart: ethics of games in context of “designed software systems that are experienced by moral agents” � Design inspirations for development of ethical gameplay within computer games 6 SI 410 Ethics and Information Technology Fall 2012

• Sicart, “Banality of Simulated Evil, ” 2009 Games as Infospheres (Systems) � A construction of rules and mechanics of the game, how they interact, and form behavioral patterns. � Floridi’s IE: moral action modeled as an information process: � Messages (M) invoked by agent (A) that brings a transformation of states directly affecting patient (P) � P responds to M with other changes or messages, “depending on how M is interpreted by P’s methods. ” � The act of playing a game is an act of agency within an infosphere. � Ethical values and agency in-game and through simulation. 7 SI 410 Ethics and Information Technology Fall 2012

• Sicart, “Banality of Simulated Evil, ” 2009 Gameplay Levels of Abstraction 8 SI 410 Ethics and Information Technology Fall 2012

• Sicart, “Banality of Simulated Evil, ” 2009 Miguel Sicart on Ethical Game Play � The outcome of designing the relations between the mechanical and semantic levels of abstraction � Most “ethical” games fail because they focus on capabilities and capacities at the mechanical level. � Ethical game play can exploit the tension between player as agent (avatar) within the gameworld and player as input provider for the “state machine”. 9 SI 410 Ethics and Information Technology Fall 2012

What is an Ethical Game? [Sicart 2013] � Gameplay is “performance oriented simulation, limited by rules and goals” � In most games, players think strategically (instrumentally), not morally. � Ethical gameplay – a pause – “a moment of hesitation in which the player is not applying social or strategic thinking to engage with the game. ” � Largely implemented through presentation of dilemmas. 10 SI 410 Ethics and Information Technology Winter 2017

A Moral Dilemma in a Pause Tempenny Tower quest: http: //fallout. wikia. com/wiki/Tenpenny_Tower_(quest) 11 SI 410 Ethics and Information Technology Winter 2017

Violent Games With Moral Lessons � Eve Online: http: //www. eveonline. com/ MMORPG; unscripted competition, warfare, politics � Free to play version released Nov 2016 � � Manhunt: http: //www. rockstargames. com/manhunt/ � Horror-survival through stealth executions � Def. Con: http: //www. introversion. co. uk/defcon/ Everybody dies; see who can lose the least � https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=-wn. ZX 8 o. R 4 d. Y � � GTA 4: http: //www. rockstargames. com/IV/ � 12 Sympathetic characters; empathetic tension SI 410 Ethics and Information Technology Fall 2012

• Sicart, “Banality of Simulated Evil, ” 2009 Miguel Sicart on Ethical Game Design � Create an ethically relevant game world. � Introduce ethics as important part of world (eg not Tetris or Mario). � Do not quantize your player’s actions: let them live in a world that reacts to their values. � World reacts to ethical choices. (e. g. , Manhunt) � Exploit the tension of being an ethical player. � Push the boundaries of ethical conventions while letting players exert full ethical agency. (e. g. , September 12 th, Shadow of the Colossus) � Insert other agents with constructivist capacities and possibilities. � Open to players creating and implementing their own values. (e. g. , Eve Online) � Challenge the poietic capacities of players, by expanding or constraining them. � 13 Limit ability to do what is wrong in the gameworld. (e. g. , SI 410 Ethics and Information Technology Fall 2012 Manhunt)

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“How Uber Uses Psychological Tricks to Push Its Drivers’ Buttons” NYTimes 4/2/17 https: //www. nytimes. com/interactive/2017/04/02/technology/uber-drivers-psychological-tricks. html? emc=eta 1 15 SI 410 Ethics and Information Technology Winter 2017

• Arquilla, Conflict, security and computer ethics, 2010. Conflict, security and computer ethics � Chapter 8: ethical implications of war technology [timely discussion in light of present-day and age-old conflicts ] � Computers in battle � Drones, dependency, and vulnerability � Ground war justified based on threat of escalation � Processing sensor data � Surveillance – is it even possible to find a balance between rights and security? � Cyberwar and strategic attack � Robert E. Lee: “It is a good thing that war is so terrible. Otherwise we should grow too fond of it. ” � Frederik Pohl (1981): solution to terrible war is to make things worse 16 Physical response to increasingly common virtual attacks SI 410 Ethics and Information Technology Winter 2017

Game Design Revolving Door NYTimes 10 Nov 12 17 SI 410 Ethics and Information Technology Winter 2017

• Lenoir, Military-Entertainment Complex, 2000. Military-Entertainment Complex � Nexus of computer simulation and virtual reality (35 year history) � Research-Entertainment Complex Visible realism, “physics” abstractions, 3 D data abstractions � Economic forces fuel the revolving door (Atari-NASA 1982) � Desire for fusion of digital and real preceded the full availability of technology (p. 305) � � Networks and simulation: SIMNET Selective functional fidelity, collective training, high environment -low display � Importance of government procurement processes � Battle simulation to arcade games to PC games (p. 322) � � Institute for Creative Technologies. http: //ict. usc. edu/ � I/ITSEC: http: //www. iitsec. org/Pages/default. aspx 18 SI 410 Ethics and Information Technology Winter 2017

A Working Definition – since 2004 � Adaptation of video game technologies for purposes other than pure entertainment. � Leverage engagement and motivation to transform learning. � Of interest to business, health care, military, education at all levels (K-12; undergraduate; graduate research) � Of interest to game industry as a extension of existing market. � “Serious games is defined only as that which the definer does!” [Sawyer-Smith, 2008] 19 SI 410 Ethics and Information Technology Winter 2017

More Definitions � “Entertainment games with non-entertainment goals” [Prenzky, 2010] � “Applied gaming” [Zyda, 2005] � “Games with a purpose” [Michael & Chen, 2006] � Deliver message, teach lesson, provide experience � Entertainment or purpose: which is primary? � What is fun? What is effective? � Success in accomplishing purpose may be most important [Marsh, 2011] 20 SI 410 Ethics and Information Technology Winter 2017

Scale of the Industry � Serious Game Market worth $5. 45 billion by 2020 � http: //www. marketsandmarkets. com/Market- Reports/serious-game-market-67640395. html � Core non-military industry, perhaps $450 million in US � Mc. Donalds Japan. $2. 2 million employee training game for Nintendo DS. � Hilton Hotels. Ultimate Team Play for PSP. 21 SI 410 Ethics and Information Technology Winter 2017

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Marsh Continuum [2011] 23 SI 410 Ethics and Information Technology Winter 2017

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References � Abt, Clark. C. Serious Games. New York, Viking Compass, 1970. � Brewer, Johannes & Bente, Gary. “Why so serious? Eludamos: Journal for Computer Game Culture 4 (1) (2010): 7 -24. � Marsh, Tim. “Serious games continuum: Between games for purpose and experiential environments for purpose. ” Entertainment Computing 2 (2011): 61 -68. � Sawyer, Ben & Smith, Peter. “Serious games taxonomy. ” 2008. � Susi, Tarja, et al. “Serious games – An overview. ” 2007. � Zyda, M. “From visual simulation to virtual reality to games. IEEE Computer, September 2005. 30 SI 410 Ethics and Information Technology Winter 2017