Games and Ethics: Theoretical and Empirical Approaches to Ethical Questions in Digital Game Cultures [1st ed.] 9783658281748, 9783658281755

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Digitale Kultur und Kommunikation

Maike Groen · Nina Kiel Angela Tillmann · André Weßel Editors

Games and Ethics Theoretical and Empirical Approaches to Ethical Questions in Digital Game Cultures

Digitale Kultur und Kommunikation Volume 7 Series Editors Kai-Uwe Hugger, Universität zu Köln, Köln, Germany Angela Tillmann, Fakultät 1, IMM, FH Köln, Köln, Germany Theo Hug, Universität Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria

Ein wesentliches Kennzeichen gegenwärtiger Gesellschaft ist das Ineinandergreifen von digitalem Medienwandel und fortdauernden sozialen, kulturellen und kommunikativen Transformationsprozessen. Die Buchreiche „Digitale Kultur und Kommunikation“ beleuchtet diesen Wandel aus sozialwissenschaftlicher Perspektive. Anhand ausgewählter interdisziplinärer theoretischer und empirischer Beiträge beschäftigt sich die Reihe mit der Frage, wie sich digitale Kultur und Kommunikation heute darstellt und welche Folgen daraus für die Individuen, das zwischenmenschliche Zusammenleben und die Gesellschaft erwachsen.

More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/10740

Maike Groen · Nina Kiel · Angela Tillmann · André Weßel Editors

Games and Ethics Theoretical and Empirical Approaches to Ethical Questions in Digital Game Cultures

Editors Maike Groen Köln, Germany

Nina Kiel Düsseldorf, Germany

Angela Tillmann Köln, Germany

André Weßel Köln, Germany

ISSN 2512-0719 ISSN 2512-0727 (electronic) Digitale Kultur und Kommunikation ISBN 978-3-658-28174-8 ISBN 978-3-658-28175-5 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-28175-5 © Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, part of Springer Nature 2020 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Responsible Editor: Stefanie Laux This Springer VS imprint is published by the registered company Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH part of Springer Nature. The registered company address is: Abraham-Lincoln-Str. 46, 65189 Wiesbaden, Germany

Contents

Ethical Questions in Digital Game Cultures—A Multi-Perspective View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Maike Groen, Nina Kiel, Angela Tillmann, and André Weßel

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Introductory Thoughts Homo Ludens Reloaded: The Ethics of Play in the Information Age . . . Miguel Sicart

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Ethical Dimensions of Digital Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Julian Lamers and Alexander Filipovi´c

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Societal and Political Discourses Gaming Addiction—Underdefined, Overestimated? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Robin Janzik, Lars-Ole Wehden, Felix Reer, and Thorsten Quandt Re-Figuring Innovation in Games: A Feminist Interventionist Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jennifer Jenson Gamification of Terror—Power Games as Liminal Spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . Sonia Fizek and Anne Dippel

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Challenges in Digital Spaces Digital Governmentality: Toxicity in Gaming Streams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Maike Groen

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Contents

Just 1e to Unlock This Guide! How and Why to Study Free-To-Play Game Cultures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ahmed Elmezeny The “Ultimate Empathy Machine” Revisited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jeffrey Wimmer

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Educational Approaches How Do We Teach Ethics and Empathy Through Games? . . . . . . . . . . . . Karen Schrier

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Are You Sure You Want to Do that? Teaching Values with Serious Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sonja Gabriel

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Digital Game Literacy—Potential, Challenges, and Ethical Implications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . André Weßel

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uMed: Your Choice—Conception of a Digital Game to Enhance Medical Ethics Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Johannes Katsarov, Nikola Biller-Andorno, Tobias Eichinger, David Schmocker, and Markus Christen

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Design Perspectives Using Digital Games for Sexual Education: Design Rules, Issues, and Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nina Kiel

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Autonomy, Heteronomy, and Representations of Illness in Digital Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Arno Görgen and Stefan H. Simond

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Contributors

Nikola Biller-Andorno Universität Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland Markus Christen Universität Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland Anne Dippel Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Jena, Germany Tobias Eichinger Universität Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland Ahmed Elmezeny Universität Augsburg, Augsburg, Germany Alexander Filipovi´c Hochschule für Philosophie München, München, Germany Sonia Fizek Technische Hochschule Köln, Köln, Germany Sonja Gabriel Kirchliche Pädagogische Hochschule Wien/Krems, Wien, Austria Maike Groen Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e. V. (DLR) – Projektträger, Bonn, Germany Arno Görgen Hochschule Der Künste Bern, Bern, Switzerland Robin Janzik Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Münster, Germany Jennifer Jenson University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada Johannes Katsarov Universität Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland Nina Kiel Ilustrationen, Game Design, Spielejournalismus, Düsseldorf, Germany Julian Lamers Hochschule für Philosophie München, München, Germany Thorsten Quandt Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Münster, Germany

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Contributors

Felix Reer Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Münster, Germany David Schmocker Universität Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland Karen Schrier Marist College, Poughkeepsie, NY, USA Miguel Sicart IT University of Copenhagen, København, Denmark Stefan H. Simond Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany Angela Tillmann Technische Hochschule Köln, Köln, Germany Lars-Ole Wehden Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Münster, Germany André Weßel Technische Hochschule Köln, Köln, Germany Jeffrey Wimmer Universität Augsburg, Augsburg, Germany

Ethical Questions in Digital Game Cultures—A Multi-Perspective View Maike Groen, Nina Kiel, Angela Tillmann, and André Weßel

With the present volume “Games and Ethics”, we editors would like to contribute to the discourse on ethical issues in the context of digital game culture and hopefully provide some new impulses. One of the basic premises of this book is that an increasing amount of time is spent on playing digital games in the everyday life of a likewise increasing number of people. A look at the example of Germany reveals that currently 42% of the population play digital games at least occasionally, 35% regularly (game 2019), and 63% of 12- to 19-year-olds play digital games daily or several times a week (mpfs 2020, p. 12). In other industrialized countries, an intensification and stabilization of gaming activities can be observed as well (see, e.g., Newzoo 2018; Pew Research Center 2018; Swedish Media Council 2016; The Nielsen Company 2018). This development is supported by an ongoing trend towards mobile gaming and the growing market share of casual and social games with comparatively simple user interfaces. In the future, innovations are expected in the areas of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality M. Groen (B) Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e. V. (DLR) – Projektträger, Bonn, Germany E-Mail: [email protected] N. Kiel Ilustrationen, Game Design, Spielejournalismus, Düsseldorf, Germany E-Mail: [email protected] A. Tillmann · A. Weßel Technische Hochschule Köln, Köln, Germany E-Mail: [email protected] A. Weßel E-Mail: [email protected] © Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, part of Springer Nature 2020 M. Groen et al. (eds.), Games and Ethics, Digitale Kultur und Kommunikation 7, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-28175-5_1

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(AR), where, for instance, the release of the mobile game Pokémon Go (Niantic 2016) managed to attract considerable attention in 2016. The game prompted players worldwide to gather in public places and offered augmented possibilities for reality perception. In public discourse, developments in gaming technology are discussed in a very controversial manner. The debates tend to focus on questions of gaming behavior (duration and intensity of play, respectful interaction, etc.), possible financial risks, potential health hazards and effects on aggressive behavior, new legislative and regulatory measures, and the protection of personal data and privacy. Some of the contributions collected in this book are based on a series of conferences that have been held at the TH Köln, titled “Clash of Realities – International Conference on the Art, Technology and Theory of Digital Games”, an international creative-scientific research conference on digital games, which focuses on questions of esthetic development, theoretical analysis and cultural mediation of digital games. The conference and the book are addressed to students, teachers and researchers in the fields of (media) pedagogy, game studies, and game design, as well as to agents within the field of game production.

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‘Right’ and ‘Wrong’ in the Digital Game Culture

With our focus on ethical questions in digital game worlds, we draw on a philosophical tradition of thought that encourages systematic and discursive reflection on ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ as well as on moral action, raising the question of general assessment criteria, methodological procedures or highest principles for the justification and criticism of rules of action – in other words, for “how people should act” (Fenner 2008, pp. 4 f.). The goal of the various philosophical approaches to ethics is to shape social action and social coexistence in such a way that a ‘good’ or ‘successful’ life for everyone is possible. However, even these definitions themselves are controversial and cannot be understood independently of their historical and cultural context—much like any ethical concept. Rather, societies in all historical eras have been and continue to be faced with the challenge of exchanging views about the principles of action and of justifying their ideas of ‘right’. With our intention to stimulate the discourse on ethical principles in the digital game culture, we follow José P. Zagal (2009) in adopting different ethical perspectives on digital game worlds. On the one hand, we will focus on the production and distribution process, i.e., the conditions under which games are developed, produced and marketed. Furthermore, from the point of view of an

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ethics of play, the question arises to what extent concepts such as fairness, social and self-responsibility on the part of the players enter into their gaming behavior. Another focus will lie on the game content itself and, consequently, on the representation of certain concepts and their interrelations, such as terror and power or illness and autonomy. In addition, the pedagogical application of digital games is an important subject in our work, as we endeavor to provide perspectives on the prerequisites, possible settings and potential outcomes of ethical gameplay in educational contexts. In this respect, it should be taken into account that in some popular genres, ethical reasoning and decision-making have become a significant part of the course of the game. In open-world role-playing games like The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt (CD Projekt RED 2015), for instance, players enjoy a considerable freedom of action and are frequently asked to make moral decisions. In the case of episodic adventures such as the Life Is Strange series (Deck Nine 2017/18; Dontnod Entertainment 2015, 2018/19), players are consistently given choices of various dialogue and action options within the framework of a rather linear plot and are explicitly required to deal with ethically relevant issues. Here, players encounter a system of values and norms inherent to the game which they do not simply adopt or apply in the sense of a linear logic of effect or consider with the aim of a possible maximization of their success, but which they may rather deliberate, question and appropriate. Thus, as described by Miguel Sicart, digital games not only contain moral-decision scenarios, but also represent ethical systems of varying complexity, which are produced, played, deliberated and discussed by human ethical agents—the designers, the players and others who are engaged in the discourse (Sicart 2009). Moreover, the digital game as a cultural artifact can be examined from an ethical standpoint. An example of such considerations is Through the Darkest of Times (Paintbucket 2019), the first uncensored game in Germany in which swastikas are depicted, which is remarkable considering that symbols of Nazi ideology had hitherto been forbidden in digital games. This was made possible through a legislative change in Germany in August 2019. The present volume attempts to account for several of these perspectives, supplemented by a philosophical approach on the ethics of play in the information age, a general introduction to ethical aspects of digital games and an outlook to the ethical challenges of new technologies such as AR and VR. It therefore comprises ethical questions concerning the development, production and distribution as well as the social and pedagogical handling of digital games, and explores the personal actions and responsibilities of the individual. It thus links questions of communicative and cultural change with questions of media pedagogy and media ethics.

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Mediatization—Media Competence—Media Ethics

With this book, we are hoping to enrich the discourse on social and cultural change, which includes a shift in communicative action in digital game worlds. One theory frequently drawn on to describe this shift is that of ‘mediatization’ (Krotz 2007; Hepp and Krotz 2014; Lundby 2014). It is assumed that increasingly complex forms of media communication are developing and that communication is taking place more frequently, longer, in more and more areas of life and in relation to an increasing number of topics related to media (Krotz 2001, p. 33). With regard to the digital game worlds, signs of this change can be found, for example, in the fact that the lines between game producers and consumers become increasingly blurred. With the help of new tools, games can be created more easily, and many games explicitly offer the players the possibility to create their own content in order to modify the game and the gaming experience. This also implies that a one-sided assignment of responsibility for toxic behavior cannot always be sustained since players have to be increasingly accountable for their own actions in and around games. This analysis draws on theories who proceed on the assumption of the ‘prosumer’, meaning that the Internet and the digitally networked infrastructure enable people to constantly switch between the roles of producer and recipient (Bruns 2008; Jenkins 2006), so that the boundaries between layperson and professional (Deuze 2007) are becoming increasingly blurred. Many players are part of a convergent culture in which they not only pursue their gaming interests and content, but also in online as well as offline communities, on video platforms, on live streaming channels, in social news forums, in the context of fan fiction, at conventions, events, etc. It is noticeable that game companies also actively seek the exchange with players, e.g., by specifically promoting youth cultural activities such as fast-drawing videos on video channels, comic strips and series on digital games or game zines and by asking players to participate in game tests and to give esthetic input on the ‘skins’, i.e., the appearance of the game characters. In some cases, they may even choose to publish underlying codes or create test environments for software in order to encourage players to modify the game content themselves. These results are then made available to the community free of charge. One of the most financially successful genres for years, the Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA), with examples such as League of Legends (Riot Games 2009), was created in a similar way. In the context of debates on media ethics, the developments described above call for ‘media literacy’ in international discourse and ‘media competence’ in the German-speaking countries. Although the terms follow partly different theoretical traditions, they have in common that they proceed on the assumption that everyone

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has the ability to develop media competence or media literacy, the development of which is to be encouraged through pedagogical action (Grafe 2011). The term ‘media literacy’ draws more strongly on the concept of pragmatism and, against the background of the demands of an information and knowledge society, outlines a modern demand for education (Grafe 2011). In the German-language discourse, the term ‘media competence’ is primarily linked to concepts of language theory and social criticism; here the focus is equally on formal and informal learning processes that involve the use of media. The reasonable and socially responsible subject who utilizes media in order to expand their own scope of orientation and action is at the center of the discourse on media competence (Baacke 1996). Media criticism, or responsible and ethical media action, pervades the concepts of media literacy and media competence as a normative principle. According to Douglas Kellner, a media-critical position is characterized, for example, by being able to analyze media codes and conventions, to criticize stereotypes, values and ideologies, and to interpret the manifold meanings and messages generated by media texts (Kellner 2002). For Dieter Baacke, media-critical action represents one of the four dimensions of media competence: media criticism, media knowledge, media use, and media creation. He defines media criticism as critical-analytical and ethically responsible action (Baacke 1996). However, the responsibility for media-related actions does not solely lie with the media users. In addition, their circumstances and the context in which mediacompetent and thus critical media action can or cannot unfold need to be taken into account, as well as the medium (and its creation as well as the content) itself.

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The ‘Circuit of Culture’ as a Framework for Discussions on Ethical Values

In order to be able to discuss the question of media ethics comprehensively at all relevant levels, we believe that the model of the ‘circuit of culture’, which was developed in the context of cultural studies by a group around Stuart Hall (Du Gay et al. 1997; Hall 1997), serves as a promising frame of reference. The starting point of the model is a comprehensive understanding of cultural products and a rejection of monocausal presumptions of effect and thus ultimately also of one-sided attributions of responsibility. Accordingly, in relation to the digital game world, not the individual gaming behavior or the individual game are to be considered, but the context of the digital game culture as a whole. Responsibility regarding questions of media ethics does therefore not rest one-sidedly

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with producers or consumers. Instead, the various interactions and political, economic and social power relations are taken into account. In its analysis of the relevant questions and problems, Cultural Studies promote a “radical contextualism” (Grossberg 1999, p. 264) and thus the idea of interpreting cultural texts and modes of action such as digital gaming exclusively within their respective context. Culture is understood as an ‘arena of contested meanings’, in which some positions are given more weight than others. These meanings are produced and circulated, or marginalized or excluded at various points in the circuit of culture. Therefore, a synopsis of such complex processes as ‘production’, ‘identity’, ‘representation’, ‘consumption’ and ‘regulation’ is needed in order to adequately classify the phenomena and different power formations in effect at all points of the circuit of culture (Hall 1997; Du Gay et al. 1997). Digital gaming presents itself as such a field of contested meanings, in which questions of ethics or responsibility may be analyzed with regard to the five aspects mentioned. A look at the example of ‘production’ reveals that if the industry targets a ‘male’ audience with its topics, and if the cornerstones of the content are primarily on action, excellence,1 and triumph, this often neglects stories or elements oriented towards relationship and community (cf. Klaus and Röser 1996), which consequently affects the participation of women in the digital game culture. According to constructivist theory formation, such producers participate in a social practice that co-creates and manifests gender imbalances and stereotypes and promotes exclusions. In the context of ‘production’, it is therefore important to critically reflect on the financial, technical and personnel possibilities as well as on ideological dependencies and the media content produced in general. While ‘production’ looks at possible reasons for the creation of specific content (e.g., lack of female* involvement), the level of ‘representation’ considers media as social practice and addresses questions of media representation and visibility. The assumption is not that what is shown merely reflects the world; rather, it is assumed within the framework of an equally constructivist understanding of representation that media presentations do not produce reality but rather ideas (e.g., of the ‘nature’ of men and women) and thus help to shape socio-cultural conceptions of femininity and masculinity. This level reflects that representations occur under certain historical conditions and in specific power constellations.

1 ‘Excellence’

refers to the highlighting of one’s own special abilities in relation to others. Unlike ‘distinction’, ‘excellence’ refers to a separation that requires an other in order to demonstrate one’s own superiority (Klaus and Röser 1996, p. 50, footnote).

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The aspect of ‘identity’ within the circuit of culture refers to the fact that it is through the examination of representations that people develop an understanding of the world and an idea of themselves. Cultural narratives, like the ones in digital games, provide a basis for identity by offering people specific (subject) positions, which they may (also partially) accept or dissociate themselves from. Digital games, too, provide narrative constructions from which players can draw and which they can integrate into their own identity construction. Cultural Studies also accentuates the importance of affective ties to certain positions and discourses, which make it difficult to adopt new positions. The fourth element in the circuit of culture is ‘consumption’, laying emphasis on the idea that consumption constitutes an active action as well. The group around Stuart Hall envisions active recipients, who participate in the construction of meaning and are thus productive in the communicative process itself. The recipient does not simply accept a transmitted message, but decodes it according to their own contexts, interests and needs. This fundamental assumption of a complex process of appropriation also corresponds to media socialization research in Germany, an integral part of media pedagogy (cf. Vollbrecht and Wegener 2010). The final aspect of the circuit of culture is ‘regulation’, examining the question how digital games are integrated into everyday practices, and how their use is regulated by institutions. Relevant questions include, for example, under which institutional or structural conditions digital games are distributed, and which attempts at administrative control they are subject to. It should also be taken into account here that mediatization is a global process, and that state authority is losing its legislative importance as national regulations and frameworks are reaching their limits. For instance, age recommendations can be easily circumvented by downloading digital games from foreign servers. At the same time, this means that the influence of global businesses is increasing and that market-oriented ideology is gaining in importance. One example are the so-called ‘free-to-play games’, which can often only be played free of charge if players accept certain limitations in comparison to paying players. If we combine a Cultural Studies approach with a media-ethical perspective, each element can be focused on and analyzed with regard to its conditions of action and its significance for the realization of ethically responsible or justifiable ideals. Taking into account the media-literacy concept or media competence model also raises the question to what extent digital games can contribute to expanding the individual scope for action and orientation. Within this discussion, it is necessary to consider all elements of the circuit.

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Structure of This Volume

This book aims to promote the theoretical and practical discussion of ethical issues in the digital game culture. The contributions with their individual foci on different aspects of the circuit of culture illuminate the cultural field of digital games from a quite comprehensive (media-)ethical perspective. As conference lectures from different years and disciplines, they vary in their approaches. Yet, in their diverse perspectives, they all make a valuable contribution to the promotion of ethical discourse in the digital game culture. The book thus seeks to provide an insight into current ethical debates in the field of digital gaming culture. We are aware that not all relevant questions can be addressed; rather, the book provides some central thoughts and impulses from a theoretical, empirical as well as professional and ethical perspective, which are worth pursuing in the future. Somewhat unusual is the relatively long period it took to write the book. This is partly due to the fact that it contains contributions from two “Clash-of-Realities” conferences, some of which have been updated and amended for the volume. We would like to thank the authors for their great commitment and patience during the editorial process. We would also like to express our gratitude to Chantal Bindrich and especially Dorthe Johannsen, whose careful attention to the formal guidelines at the end contributed greatly to the completion of the book.

References Baacke, D. (1996). Medienkompetenz – Begrifflichkeit und sozialer Wandel. In A. von Rein (Ed.), Medienkompetenz als Schlüsselbegriff (pp. 112–124). Bad Heilbrunn: Klinkhardt. Bruns, A. (2008): Blogs, Wikipedia, Second Life, and Beyond: From Production to Produsage. New York, NY: Peter Lang. Deuze, M. (2007). Media Work. Digital Media and Society Series. Cambridge: Polity Press. Du Gay, P., Hall, S., Janes, L., Madsen, A. K., Mackay, H., & Negus, K. (1997). Doing Cultural Studies: The Story of the Sony Walkman. London: Sage/The Open University. Fenner, D. (2008). Ethik. Tübingen/Basel: Francke. game – Verband der deutschen Gamesbranche. (2019). Jahresreport der deutschen Games-Branche 2019. https://www.game.de/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/game-Jahres report-2019_web.pdf. Retrieved: [11.03.2020]. Grafe, S. (2011). ‘media literacy’ und ‘media (literacy) education’ in den USA: ein Brückenschlag über den Atlantik. Medienpädagogik: Zeitschrift für Theorie und Praxis

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der der Medienbildung (20, pp. 59–80). doi: https://doi.org/10.21240/mpaed/20/2011. 09.13.X. Retrieved: [04.02.2020]. Grossberg, L. (1999). What’s Going on? Cultural Studies und Populärkultur. Wien: Turia + Kant. Hall, S. (1997). Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices. London: Sage/The Open University. Hepp, A., & Krotz, F. (2014). Mediatized Worlds. Culture and Society in a Media Age. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. Jenkins, H. (2006). Fans, Bloggers and Gamers: Exploring Participatory Culture. Essays on Participatory Culture. New York, NY: NYU Press. Kellner, D. (2002). New Media and New Literacies: Reconstructing Education for the New Millennium. In L. Lievrouw & S. Livingstone (Eds.), Handbook of New Media. Social Shaping and Consequences of ICTs (pp. 90–104). London: Sage. Klaus, E., & Röser, J. (1996). Fernsehen und Geschlecht. Geschlechtsgebundene Kommunikationsstile in der Medienrezeption und -produktion. In G. Marci-Boehncke, P. Werner & U. Wischermann (Eds.), BlickRichtung Frauen. Theorien und Methoden geschlechtsspezifischer Rezeptionsforschung (pp. 37–60). Weinheim: Deutscher Studien Verlag. Krotz, F. (2001). Die Mediatisierung des kommunikativen Handelns. Der Wandel von Alltag und sozialen Beziehungen, Kultur und Gesellschaft durch die Medien. Opladen: Westdeutscher Verlag. Krotz, F. (2007). Mediatisierung. Fallstudien zum Wandel der Kommunikation. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften. Lundby, K. (2014). Mediatization of Communication. Berlin: de Gruyter & Co. mpfs. (2020). JIM-Studie 2019. Jugend, Information, Medien. Basisuntersuchung zum Medienumgang 12- bis 19-Jähriger. Medienpädagogischer Forschungsverbund Südwest. https://www.mpfs.de/fileadmin/files/Studien/JIM/2019/JIM_2019.pdf. Retrieved: [09.04.2020]. Newzoo. (2018). 2018 Global Games Market Report. https://newzoo.com/insights/infogr aphics/. Retrieved: [15.01.2019]. Pew Research Center. (2018). Teens, Social Media & Technology 2018. https://assets. pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2018/05/31102617/PI_2018.05.31_Tee nsTech_FINAL.pdf. Retrieved: [15.01.2019]. Sicart, M. (2009). The Ethics of Computer Games. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Swedish Media Council. (2016). Kids & Media 2015. https://www.statensmedierad.se/ download/18.1957a5a61500017241926eb8/1443449362874/Kids-and-media-2015.pdf. Retrieved: [15.01.2019]. The Nielsen Company. (2018). U.S. Games 360 Report: 2018. https://www.nielsen.com/ content/corporate/us/en/insights/reports/2018/us-games-360-report-2018.html#. Retrieved: [15.01.2019]. Vollbrecht, R., & Wegener, C. (Eds.). (2010). Handbuch Mediensozialisation. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag. Zagal, J. P. (2009). Ethically Notable Videogames: Moral Dilemmas and Gameplay. In T. Krzywinska, H. W. Kennedy & B. Atkins (Eds.), Proceedings of the 2009 DiGRA International Conference: Breaking New Ground: Innovation in Games, Play, Practice

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Ludography League of Legends (Riot Games 2009, O: Riot Games) Life Is Strange (Square Enix 2015, O: Dontnod Entertainment) Life Is Strange 2 (Square Enix 2018/19, O: Dontnod Entertainment) Life Is Strange. Before the Storm (Square Enix 2017/18, O: Deck Nine) Pokémon Go (The Pokémon Company, Nintendo 2016, O: Niantic) The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt (Bandai Namco Games 2015, O: CD Projekt RED) Through the Darkest of Times (HANDY Games 2019, O: Paintbucket)

Introductory Thoughts

Homo Ludens Reloaded: The Ethics of Play in the Information Age Miguel Sicart

Abstract

This chapter proposes an understanding of the concept of homo ludens from a Philosophy of Information perspective. This chapter argues that players are moral agents who create worlds by playing. The creation of these worlds through play is analogous to what Huizinga described as a ludic drive. Therefore, this chapter proposes a perspective for studying the ethics of play through the lens of homo ludens-as-homo poieticus. The goal of this chapter is to suggest a constructivist ethics approach to the different play activities that have a role in shaping the cultures of the Information Age. Keywords

Virtue ethics • Constructivist ethics • Philosophy of information Videogames • Homo ludens • Homo poieticus

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Introduction

We live in the Information Age. Around us, our lives are processed, quantified, facilitated and complicated by myriads of computational processes, shaping new forms of computational culture. The Philosophy of Information (PI henceforth) describes how the information revolution has changed the world: “There are some people around the world who are already living hyperhistorically, in societies M. Sicart (B) IT University of Copenhagen, København, Denmark E-Mail: [email protected] © Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, part of Springer Nature 2020 M. Groen et al. (eds.), Games and Ethics, Digitale Kultur und Kommunikation 7, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-28175-5_2

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and environments where ICTs and their data-processing capabilities are not just important but essential conditions for the maintenance and any further development of societal welfare, personal well-being, and overall flourishing.” (Floridi 2014, Kindle loc. 252–254). In this article, I inquire into the ethical role of homo ludens (Huizinga 1992 [1938]) in the context of the Information Age. To do so, I will propose to consider the homo ludens as an instantiation of a broader conceptual category of ethical agency proposed by Floridi (2013, pp. 161–179): the homo poieticus. Homo poieticus is a creative, moral agent who inhabits the infosphere, an environment “constituted by the totality of information entities, including all agents – processes, their properties and mutual relations” (Floridi 1999). Describing the Huizingan ludic drive, the role of play in shaping culture, through the lens of homo ludens-as-homo poieticus can contribute to the formulation of new ethical challenges that emerge when playing in the Information Age. The goal of this article is to suggest a constructivist ethics approach to the activity of play. To achieve this goal, I establish a relation between play and Floridi’s concept of re-ontologization (Floridi 2013, pp. 6–8). This allows me to connect the concepts of homo ludens and homo poieticus, arguing that playing is creating a world in a process of re-ontologization that is analogous to the processes that computers perform in the world. These two arguments provide a foundation for a constructivist ethics of play in the Information Age, and it allows us to think through new ethical challenges in digital play.

2

Play and Re-Ontologization

If we want to understand the concept of homo ludens, we need to start from the concept of play. Since play defies formal definition (Sutton-Smith 1997), I will limit myself to providing an instrumental definition of play that allows me to engage with the ethics of homo ludens in hyperhistorical societes. This instrumental definition is phenomenological in nature since my interest lies in the playful experience of computational technologies. Accordingly, play can be defined as a way of organizing our experience of the world: “Summing up the formal characteristics of play we might call it a free activity standing quite consciously outside “ordinary” life as being “not serious”, but at the same time absorbing the player intensely and utterly. It is an activity connected with no material interest, and no profit can be gained by it. It proceeds within its own proper boundaries of time and space according to fixed rules and in an

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orderly manner. It promotes the formation of social groupings that tend to surround themselves with secrecy and to stress their difference from the common world by disguise or other means.” (Huizinga 1992, p. 13). In my own theory of play, I propose that play is a mode of being in the world that structures both reality and agency: “To play is to be in the world. Playing is a form of understanding what surrounds us and who we are, and a way of engaging with others. Play is a mode of being human.” (Sicart 2014, p. 1). Play’s structuring of reality and agency creates worlds that have their own purpose and seriousness (Henricks 2016). These are the encapsulated worlds of dollhouses and The Sims, of the beauty of a ball bouncing off a wall, of the pleasure of skateboarding downhill, of making Amazon’s voice-controller Artificial Intelligence assistant Alexa tell a joke. The worlds created by play are not worlds of productivity, defined by their end goals and results. The worlds of play have meaning on and of their own. Play is ultimately a free activity we voluntarily engage with (Caillois 2001 [1958]; Bogost 2016), an activity that is separate from the world. Games offer us good example of how play structures the world: The rules of a game like basketball tells us what to do, what not to do, and for how long we should do it. They also tell us what success means, and structure the social encounter (Goffman 1961) by dividing players into teams with relatively clear roles. But those are only the written rules of basketball. The pick-up games I play at my local court have slightly different rules, written and enforced by a community of players. For example, whoever scores keeps possession, which is the absolute opposite of the official rules of basketball. Rules are not inflexible procedures we need to follow but instructions that, when followed and voluntarily accepted, help define frames within which actions take place and have meaning. Rules are the negotiable boundaries of the temporary play-worlds. The following section provides a closer look at this process of world creation from the perspective of Information Ethics and the Philosophy of Information. Floridi argues that one of the unique capabilities of information technologies is their capacity to re-ontologize: “[R]e-ontologizing […] refer[s] to a very radical form of re-engineering, one that not only designs, constructs, or structures a system […] anew, but one that also fundamentally transforms its intrinsic nature, that is, its ontology or essence” (Floridi 2013, p. 6). For example, for those who use step trackers like Fitbit, a human step is not just a step; it is whatever can be calculated by their portable computer as a step. The human step has been re-ontologized, its nature redefined so it can become computable. That process of representation is similar to a process of creating a world: “[C]omputational model-building proceeds through the application of a repertoire of schemata, each

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of which joins a metaphor to a bit of mathematics that can be realized on a computer” (Agre 1997, p. 38). A similar process takes place when we play: We re-ontologize the world so we can give it a different meaning than the conventional one. This new play-world is open for expression, for pleasure, and for interrogation: “[…][P]lay is a rebellion against the forms and forces of the world. Players confront and challenge ‘claims’ coming from their own bodies, the environment, the social world, and culture. In those confrontations, they try to manage behavior their way.” (Henricks 2016, location 1451–1453). Playing is re-ontologizing the world with the purpose of appropriating it for expressive, personal reasons. For example, imagine being in a park on a Sunday with some friends. A person may be carrying a ball. The very act of carrying a ball allows them to see the park in a different way. But they can be bolder. They can gather four backpacks and place them on the grass, apart from each other, creating makeshift goals. They can drop the ball to the ground, and start playing soccer. They have just created a world, with the help of some props and the rules of a game. Let’s compare this with the vast expanses of a digital playground like Minecraft (Mojang 2011). Walking around in that world, collecting resources, building things—in other words: playing—constitutes the act of inhabiting a world created with the very logic of play at heart. Minecraft does not make any cultural sense whatsoever unless it is contemplated as a place for playful being and expression, a world created for us to play in. In that world, like in the park, we can conceive of different games to play, we can use the environment like a prop to structure our activity. Rules emerge from the context and our intentions and, critically, what the software allows us to do and what we can get the software to do, by playfully exploring its boundaries, like countless Minecraft users have done, looking for ways to create previously thought impossible contraptions. The capacity that play has to create worlds can be described as analogous to the capacity that computers have to re-ontologize the world. For computers to be able to act in the world, they need to be given a representation of the world in which they are deployed. And once they start acting in that world, they change it by their mere presence, they re-ontologize the world. Play creates worlds so we can experience them through a ludic lens, and those worlds are defined by their ludic purposes. In short: Both play and computation create worlds. In computers, humans recognize re-ontologizing capacities and consequently engage with them through the lens of another re-ontologizing process: play. In other words, we see computers as playful machines because we can see how they can create worlds. Play acts as a mode of making use of the re-ontologizing capacities of this technology. It is the relatedness of these two re-ontologization

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processes that makes the Information Age so attuned to the idea of playfulness. At the core of the Information Age, there is a homo ludens impulse to create worlds.

3

Ethics and Play Theory

The analysis of the ethics of homo ludens has been largely influenced by Huizinga’s insistence on situating play outside the domain of morality: “Play lies outside the antithesis of wisdom and folly, and equally outside those of truth and falsehood, good and evil” (Huizinga 1992, p. 6). For Huizinga, it is important to keep the integrity of the experience of play as a separated activity, even if that means creating an uneasy contradiction with the broader argument that play creates culture. Moral philosophers and play scholars (Dodig-Crnkovic and Larsson 2005; Henricks 2009) have addressed Huizinga’s original argument, allowing for the understanding of play as an activity within the domain of ethics. But the question is still problematic: If play is outside morality, is homo ludens a moral agent? And if play is outside ethics, what is the moral value and status of the culture it produces? I want to address these questions by situating the origin of the problem in Huizinga’s argument that play is a disinterested activity that produces nothing quantifiable and that is separate from real life. Huizinga’s definition of play allows us to observe how culture, in the form of the order prescribed by play, can emerge from that separateness. Sports philosophers have addressed the separateness of play and its autotelic nature as the central issues for the ethical analysis of play (Feezell 2006): The activity of play is separated from real life, but at the same time, playing can be a way of practicing virtues that have an impact on the moral development of human beings. From a classic virtue-ethics perspective, the values that are practiced while playing contribute to the development of our moral being, an argument resonant with Piaget’s constructivist theory (1997). This is what Brian Sutton-Smith (1997) defined as the rhetoric of play as progress play as a way of practicing and developing knowledge and skills. However, this approach has a limited scope. While the arguments work well when it comes to sports, which since ancient Greece have been considered morally positive social encounters (D’Angour 2013), they might not be appropriate for all the other manifestations of play that lack sports’ sociocultural recognition. I suggest expanding the sports virtue-ethics approach by a reconsideration of play

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and its relationship to the moral nature of homo ludens. This necessitates the reassessment of the very concept of play as separate from other activities. A plausible interpretation of Huizinga’s motives to remain so adamant about considering play ontologically separated from real life can be traced to the philosophical origins of his work. Huizinga’s understanding of structured, ordered play as a source of culture draws on the Enlightenment project, particularly Schiller’s interpretation of Kant. Schiller’s On the Aesthetic Education of Man (1794 [2012]) provides a classic evaluation of the importance of play: “(…) [I]n every condition of humanity it is precisely play, and play alone, that makes man complete” (p. 79). Homo ludens is an exploration of this idea: If play is what makes man a man, how is it manifested in culture? Or, how can we see culture itself as a manifestation of that play drive? Schiller references Kant (Kant 1790 [2001]; see also Laxton 2011), whose deeper analysis would exceed the scope of this paper. It should be noted, however, that play is related to Kantian esthetics by its nature as a non-productive experience that takes place in the experience of the sublime (Mallaband 2002). This play is a detached activity outside of the domain of productivity. For Huizinga, at the heart of modernity, there is a ludic drive based on the esthetic engagement with the world. Therefore, play ceases to be play when it is instrumentalized, which he defines as “false play”. To commodify the ludic, to transform it into a mere economic transaction or an expression of political ideas, is perverting play and its function in culture. Play creates culture as a function of its disinterestedness, as a result of its (Kantian) esthetic engagement with the world. This argument complicates the moral position of the concept of homo ludens since any attempt to do so would break the disinterested, separate, esthetic engagement with the world that constitutes the very essence of play. Play is paradoxical, but it should not be so to the extent that we cannot reflect upon its role in shaping the ethical behavior of those who play, or the moral impact of their actions. If we embrace play’s separateness as an non-negotiable ontological quality, then we also accept a paradoxical position: Play creates culture, but if play is outside morality, then the culture it creates is also outside the scope of moral scrutiny. For example, the Nazi regime used the Olympic Games to showcase their ideology and politics. By blurring the lines between play as ritual and the world outside the ritual, the Nazis wanted to project a powerful message in a way that might have guaranteed the validation of their arguments. Besides being a stage for displaying their organization power, the Olympics would be a constitution of the racial superiority of Aryans—a validation that would be objective and not polluted by politics or morals, as it would take place in the free and separate space

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of play. The rise of nationalist totalitarianism is one of the looming presences in Huizinga’s Homo Ludens, which I interpret as a response to the ludic element in the manifestations of these political programs. Huizinga attempted to assert the roots of modernity beyond the perverted nationalist visions that totalitarian regimes were defining. Huizinga saw the rise of fascism and understood that at least part of its success was connected to the industrialization and commodification of the ludic drive, from the Berlin Olympics to the marches and parades that defined public collective action (Adorno and Horkheimer 2010). For Huizinga, his contemporaries had perverted the ludic drive at the heart of modernity: “More and more the sad conclusion forces itself upon us that the play-element in culture has been on the wane ever since the 18th Century, when it was in full flower” (Huizinga 1992, p. 206; see also pp. 208–211). Another, more recent example could be seen in the modern production and consumption of fake news, which became so relevant after the results of the 2016 USA Presidential Election. Fake news are narratives produced and consumed under the esthetics and rhetoric of news, but based on rumors, fictions, and partisan politics rather than on fact and reflection (Berkowitz and Schwartz 2016; Khaldarova and Pantti 2016). While fake news cannot be explained exclusively as a play phenomenon, applying a play perspective can shed new light on the emergence of these phenomena and their distribution in computational culture. Social media can be interpreted as a play field with clear rules that can be exploited. Like Bakhtin’s carnival (Bakhtin 1984; Golumbia 2009), this fake news constructs an alternative world in which institutions are mocked. Unlike Bakhtin’s carnival, however, this news does not bring a critique of power but the rising of a conservative, unintellectual majority. This has eventually led some proponents of conspiracy theories to perceive fake news as an element of a great game,1 a puzzle that only the selected few, the ‘players’, can solve (Montola et al. 2009). That world is perceived as a game, partially because it emphasizes its separateness from the real world. And yet, it ends up configuring and affecting cultural and political discourses that have serious effects. Play theory is well-suited to address these phenomena from the perspective of the ludic: Caillois’ (2001) “excessive play” concept, or Schechner’s (1988) “dark play” account for the possibility that play can also be harmful, insulting, and dangerous. Geertz’s (1972) theories provide empirical insight into the darker sides of play, which have recently been very present in the shaping of the 1 “It

is like a giant game”, as cited in https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/pizzagatefrom-rumor-to-hashtag-to-gunfire-in-dc/2016/12/06/4c7def50-bbd4-11e6-94ac-3d3248401 06c_story.html?utm_term=.b9d3cb02ebba. Retrieved: [23.08.2017].

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online communities of players of digital games (Chess and Shaw 2015; Massanari 2017). However, all these works shy away from the admittedly complicated task of adopting an ethical approach to the problems created by play. Creating an order in the world by applying a play lens to it is what makes homo ludens a creator of culture. However, doing so without moral reflection leads to damaging cultures, like those that foster fake news or the “ambivalent internet” (Phillips and Milner 2017). This is a process of commodification and weaponization of play as an instrument for partisan or criminal purposes. Play can create worlds, and these worlds reflect the values of homo ludens. Therefore, one needs to inquire about the moral foundation of homo ludens: to understand the ethical challenges of a playful computational culture, and the ways in which we can intervene to analyze problems and effect change.

4

Homo Ludens and the Ethics of Re-Ontologization

Even though Huizinga considered play to be beyond the domain of morality, I argue that ethical theory can address the creative nature of homo ludens while embracing the paradoxical nature of play. Players exhibit moral behaviors and practice moral reasoning in very specific, sometimes unconventional ways (Sicart 2009). In this context, we need to start our inquiry from the perspective of play as a re-ontologizing activity that takes place in an infosphere, an environment defined by the interfacing of human and computational agencies. Play is a moral action because it re-ontologizes the world for the purpose of playing. Play creates encapsulated worlds through the use of rules, social norms, and mutually agreed goals, in order to achieve a (shared) pleasurable experience (Goffman 1961; Huizinga 1992; Henricks 2016). This process of appropriation is not morally neutral: Games and other play technologies have embedded values that affect the way the world is re-ontologized. At the same time, players have values they bring to the activity of play (Sicart 2009). Any ethical discourse about homo ludens needs to reflect the informational nature of being, the infosphere as the space in which informational agents live and thrive, and the creative, appropriative capacities of homo ludens. An ethical understanding of homo ludens needs to be flexible enough to allow for understanding how play reflects and interacts with the social structures in which it takes place. Given these requirements, I propose to adopt a constructivist approach to the ethics of homo ludens (Bynum 2006; Volkman 2010, 2013). Information Ethics (IE henceforth) provide a method (Floridi 2008) to address the complexities of

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ethical constructivism in human-computational networks. From an IE perspective, agents in the infosphere should proactively contribute to maintaining the informational balance of the infosphere: “By placing value in the infosphere and in the informational nature of entities, regarded ontologically as the primary, fundamental, and constituent element of our new element and its artificial agents, it is possible to elaborate a constructionist strategy that supports an ecopoietic approach” (Floridi 2013, pp. 178–179). The infosphere requires a constructivist ethics because it needs to be developed by all the informational agents that inhabit it: “[…] IE is an ethics addressed not just to ‘users’ of the world, but also to producers or demiurges, who are ‘divinely’ responsible for its creation and wellbeing” (Floridi 2013, p. 168). Human agents in the infosphere should behave as homo poieticus, stewards of the environment in which they thrive: “Homo poieticus concentrates not merely on the final result, but on the dynamic, on-going process through which the result is achieved. Homo poieticus is a demiurge, who takes care of reality, today conceptualized as the infosphere, to protect it and make it flourish” (Floridi 2013, p. 175). The examples of these processes range from the constructive engagement in online conversations, occasionally supported by technological tools (Sherrick and Hoewe 2018), to the importance of code commenting in open source projects as a way of distributing responsibility and ensuring the quality and integrity of the products (Arafat and Riehle 2009). I argue that this poietic nature is analogous to what homo ludens does when playing. Play worlds are encapsulated infospheres, model worlds in which rules and actions give purpose and consistency to the very existence of that world. To play by the rules, and to change those rules so all players are welcome and able to enjoy the pleasures of play (DeKoven 2013), is to act poietically in the world of play. Playing is poiesis: the creation of infospheres for playable pleasures. From the play activities guided by toys, such as make-believe and role-playing (Bateson 2000) to the coordinated efforts that result in e-Sports (Seo and Jung 2014), playing is a carefully balanced activity that proposes a world, gives it a consistency through rules and props, and bestows upon agents the responsibility of keeping that world alive. A radical example of this poiesis was documented in the groundbreaking work of game scholar Celia Pearce, who followed a community of players that re-created the communities of play they had forged in a shutdown videogame in other massively multiplayer games (Pearce 2009). That process of recreation shows the capacity of homo ludens to act creatively, poietically, as an integral part of playing: once the original game was shut down, the practices of

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play continued. To play is create, nurture, and sustain those practices, aided by game structures. Both homo poieticus and homo ludens possess creative agency. They are both models of constructivist beings, creators and preservers of worlds. Because of their central role in creating and preserving these worlds, we can see both homo ludens and homo poieticus as agents who should bear moral responsibility towards the world they inhabit and the agents they interact with. These values are not always positive: the worlds that GamerGate created and defended are based on discriminatory values. But seeing this process of world-creation from a lens of a constructivist ethics allows for the ethical critique and evaluation of the values on which these worlds are created. Both homo ludens and homo poieticus create and inhabit worlds with values, and uphold these values through their actions. This process is what Floridi defines as creative stewardship (Floridi 2013, p. 168). The homo poieticus is a steward of the values and informational integrity of the environment they inhabit. This defines its creative requirements: the capacity to protect and contribute to the infosphere. Multiplayer games, both online and offline, provide good examples of this: Communities of players tend to despise those who cheat, or worse, those “spoilsports” that break the agreed-upon, negotiated nature of the play experience (Consalvo 2007). Players tend to act together, finding balance and expression through play, and through that process, they develop and practice the virtues of that particular play experience. Similarly, homo ludens is responsible for the values that define the encapsulated world created when playing. As Goffman observed, many of the activities that we engage in when we play have to do with collectively negotiating the purpose of our actions while maintaining the integrity of the separated world in which we play: “Speaking more strictly, we can think of inhibitory rules that tell participants what they must not attend to and of facilitating rules that tell them what they may recognize” (Goffman 1961, p. 31). This is equivalent to the informational integrity of an infosphere. To play is to create and sustain an encapsulated infosphere. Homo ludens has creative stewardship of the worlds of play. This constructivist approach allows us to undertake the ethical inquiry into the way the play-worlds are constructed and the way players behave towards those play-worlds, all the other players, and the world in which those worlds occur. Part of the challenge of being a moral homo ludens is to learn to have creative stewardship over the play-worlds, while at the same time acknowledging that not everybody plays, thar rules can also rule-out because not everybody outside of those worlds wants to be a part of them. In this sense, I want to shift the importance of the separateness of play to the moral domain of the player: It is through action, through creative stewardship, that players need to make sense of

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the separate-but-connected relationship of play-worlds with the worlds in which they are instantiated. To play is also to be able to navigate, and act upon, the voluntariness of play, its separateness, and its autotelic nature. In the domain of computational culture, this approach can be used to provide an analytical framework to the study of several different kinds of phenomena, for example, Internet phenomena that with a hate-spreading agenda, from 8-chan to GamerGate, employ the esthetics and iconography of play to further their agenda. This is not to say that these are exclusively cultures of play: There are many lenses we can use to analyze them. But play is a productive and underused concept to explain these phenomena. These behaviors are given a plausible deniability of ethical responsibility by applying a popular appropriation of Huizinga’s notion of the separateness of play: “It’s just a game”. The argument of separateness for plausible deniability is not valid, as play is not an activity separate of the world, but an activity of world creation that demands ethical stewardship. Creating a world in which asymmetric, harmful relationships between agents are established (Phillips and Milner 2017) is an example of how homo ludens can use the play drive to create worlds of hatred that instrumentalize the sociotechnical affordances of computational machines. The deniability argument that “it’s just a game” or that “we’re just playing” is a renouncing of the creative- stewardship duties anybody who creates or acts in a play-world has. The worlds created by the ludic drive have a certain epistemic invulnerability: Because they are voluntary, and have their own purpose, they can sometimes seem to be impervious to critique: Play is “just” play. This is the scenario of childish vandalism that Floridi observes when critiquing homo ludens (Floridi 2013, p. 80). But we should not confuse the epistemic invulnerability of rules with the meaning and purpose of the worlds created through those rules. It is not in the rules, formal or informal, that we can find the ethics of play. All analysis of the ethics of play should focus on the poietic act of creating and maintaining an encapsulated world that is related to the world in which it is instantiated. An ethical homo ludens is in creative charge of the values that structure the reontologization process that creates the encapsulated play-world. Homo ludens is also in charge of upholding those values, and contributing to the experience of the ludic in a creative way. If we are to understand how homo ludens can act ethically in the Information Age, we need to address its poietic actions, and develop the kind of constructivist ethics that will allow us to better engage with this playworlds and the ways they affect computational culture. We also need to describe, and understand, what are the values that are at play in the creation of these worlds. Scholars like DeKoven (2013) have formulated a discourse on play that could be used to propose a list of values for the worlds created by homo ludens: community,

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fun, inclusion, … Similarly, Vallor’s (2016) cybervalues could be used to relate the play-worlds with the constructivist processes of homo poieticus. However, the project of specifying the values of play goes beyond the scope of this chapter, though it should be its natural continuation. I propose that the ethical analysis of homo ludens focuses on how to create worlds through play by specifying the values of those worlds, the values of the actions that can take place in that world, and the way they relate to the world in which they are instantiated. It is the moral duty of homo ludens to make these values public, to share them, to reflect upon them, and to ensure that they contribute to the well-being of every agent in the play-world. The re-ontologization process that creates the play-worlds should be seen also as a moral process, since it is the origin and foundation of the values upheld by homo ludens, the values that should lead to play as a mode of well-being in the worlds created by play.

5

Conclusions

This chapter proposes an initial sketch for the understanding of the ethics of homo ludens in the Information Age. So far, I have only superficially applied some general Information Ethics concepts, and I have not specified in detail which ethical theories can be applied to this project, besides an expansion of Virtue Ethics. However, I hope to have provided an insight into the ways play can be seen as a generator of cultural manifestations in the Information Age and established that the process of creating those manifestations is not exempt from ethical scrutiny. I have argued that if we look at the information from the perspective of play, we can understand cultural production as the result of a ludic drive. This is possible because both play and computers have a re-ontologization capacity: They change the nature of the world, in the case of play by creating an encapsulated play-world. The worlds created by play have an effect on the cultural discourses of the Information Age. Therefore, it is imperative to understand the ethics of homo ludens so we can address the challenges that this play drive creates in and for culture. I started this inquiry by arguing that homo ludens is a type of homo poieticus. This means that we could potentially develop a constructivist ethics of homo ludens that take into consideration the poietic and re-ontologizing capacity of the ludic drive. To play is to create worlds within this world, creating culture and human forms of expression. In our era of ubiquitous computer machines, addressing how the moral nature of homo ludens affects play-worlds is a crucial perspective. In that

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creative stewardship, the ethical role of homo ludens in the Information Age is defined.

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Floridi, L. (2014). The 4th Revolution: How the Infosphere is Reshaping Human Reality. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Geertz, C. (1972). Deep Play: Notes on the Balinese Cockfight. Indianapolis, IN: BobbsMerrill. Goffman, E. (1961). Encounters. Two Studies in the Sociology of Interaction. Indianapolis, IN: Bobbs-Merrill. Golumbia, D. (2009). Games Without Play. New Literary History, 40 (1), (pp. 179–204). Henricks, T. S. (2009). Orderly and Disorderly Play: A Comparison. American Journal of Play, 2, (pp. 12–40). Henricks, T. S. (2016). Play and the Human Condition. Chicago, IL: University of Illinois Press. Huizinga, J. (1992). Homo Ludens. A Study of the Play-Element in Culture. Boston, MA: Beacon Press. (Original work published 1938). Kant, I. (2001). The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Immanuel Kant: Critique of Judgement. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (Original work published 1793). Khaldarova, I., & Pantti, M. (2016). Fake News. Journalism Practice, 10 (7), (pp. 891– 901). Laxton, S. (2011). From Judgement to Process: The Modern Ludic Field. In D. J. Getsy (Ed.), Refiguring Modernism: From Diversion to Subversion. Games, Play, and Twentieth-Century Art (pp. 3–24). Philadelphia, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Press. Mallaband, P. (2002). Understanding Kant’s Distinction Between Free and Dependent Beauty. The Philosophical Quarterly, 52 (206), (pp. 66–81). Massanari, A. (2017). #Gamergate and The Fappening: How Reddit’s Algorithm, Governance, and Culture Support Toxic Technocultures. New Media & Society. 19 (3), (pp. 329–346). Montola, M., Stenros, J., & Waern, A. (2009). Pervasive Games: Theory and Design. London: Morgan Kaufmann Publishers. Pearce, C. (2009). Communities of Play. Emergent Cultures in Multiplayer Games and Virtual Worlds. Cambridge: The MIT Press. Phillips, W., & Milner, R. M. (2017). The Ambivalent Internet: Mischief, Oddity, and Antagonism Online. Cambridge: Polity. Piaget, J. (1997). The Moral Judgement of the Child. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster. Schechner, R. (1988). Playing. Play & Culture, 1, (pp. 3–19). Schiller, F. (2012). Dover Books on Western Philosophy: On the Aesthetic Education of Man. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications. (Original work published 1794) Seo, Y., & Jung, S.-U. (2014). Beyond Solitary Play in Computer Games: The Social Practices of eSports. Journal of Consumer Culture, 16 (3), (pp. 635–655). Sherrick, B., & Hoewe, J. (2018). The Effect of Explicit Online Comment Moderation on Three Spiral of Silence Outcomes. New Media & Society, 20 (2), (pp. 453–474). Sicart, M. (2009). The Ethics of Computer Games. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. Sicart, M. (2014). Play Matters. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. Sutton-Smith, B. (1997). The Ambiguity of Play. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Vallor, S. (2016). Technology and the Virtues: A Philosophical Guide to a Future Worth Wanting. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

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Volkman, R. (2010). Why Information Ethics Must Begin With Virtue Ethics. Metaphilosophy, 41 (3), (pp. 380–401). Volkman, R. (2013). Being a Good Computer Professional: The Advantages of Virtue Ethics in Computing. Professionalism in the Information and Communication Technology Industry, 3, (p. 109).

Ludography Minecraft (Mojang 2011, O: Mojang)

Ethical Dimensions of Digital Games Julian Lamers and Alexander Filipovi´c

Abstract

While spread and influence of digital games has increased significantly in recent years, they are still a rather new object of applied ethics. This article aims to address the subject out of the perspective of media ethics. To introduce such an ethics of digital games, the heterogeneity of the subject as well as the concept of entertainment in general need to be considered. After an entertainment-ethical approach will be outlined, moral problems as well as morally positive effects of digital games will be evaluated and summarized to offer a short and introductory overview of the ethical aspects of digital games.

1

Introduction

The often morally justified criticism of digital games is as old as the medium itself—since the 1970s, questions and worries about their potential dangers and behavioural effects gave rise to public as well as academic debates (cf. Karlsen 2015; see also Egli and Meyers 1984; Funk and Buchman 1995; Dill and Dill 1998). A special feature of the debate on digital games (also as a result of several terrible cases of excessive acts of violence in recent years and the question as to

J. Lamers (B) · A. Filipovi´c Hochschule für Philosophie München, München, Germany E-Mail: [email protected] A. Filipovi´c E-Mail: [email protected] © Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, part of Springer Nature 2020 M. Groen et al. (eds.), Games and Ethics, Digitale Kultur und Kommunikation 7, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-28175-5_3

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their causes) is, however, the argument repeatedly raised about the dubious affinity for the depiction of physical violence in digital games, which is believed to contribute to lowering the inhibition threshold for violence and to social brutalization in the real world. This accusation in turn encounters the vehement criticism of those who see their hobby as the supposed cause of all evil and criticize the one-sided confrontation with hostility rather than confrontation with a medium that has long since been established in society as a cultural asset. The latter can hardly be denied: in fact, games are an integral part of our modern culture. Approximately 40% of Germany’s population (34.3 million citizens in 2018) play digital games at least occasionally in their free time, while the average age of German computer players has risen to 36 (according to game – Verband der deutschen Games-Branche e. V. 2019). But despite the growing popularity, a moralized criticism of games remains. In this context, the discussion of problematic (and particularly violent) content, that is interpreted as morally questionable, comes into focus. Other forms of digital games such as economic or everyday simulations, casual games or learning games are largely ignored in these debates, although from an ethical perspective they can be as relevant as well. It is precisely in this context, however, that the indifference with which the medium is confronted is striking. Based on these brief comments on the moralized and sometimes undifferentiated debate, the question here is what the role of an ethics of digital games is and how it should proceed. The following considerations are to be understood as part of media ethics (see Funiok 2007; Filipovi´c 2016). Media ethics as a scholarly discipline is not satisfied with empirical research and description of moral rules in the field of media and public communication, but ventures to assess whether facts and actions are good and right in a moral sense and gives reasons for this. Thus, ethics does not moralize, but reflects on morals—with a systematic claim. Ethics is always about the question: What should we do? Thus, ethics always aims at the moral question of the right action. An “object” is thus interesting for ethics in terms of the actions it enables, facilitates, suggests, prevents, etc. The aim of media ethics is to reflect on the implicit moral action questions associated with the topic. Digital games are a new topic in media ethics and are only just beginning to be addressed. Media ethics, as the ethics of public communication, is primarily concerned with issues of journalism and strategic communication. However, various forms of entertainment also play a role in media ethics, such as films and other fictional media formats on television. From a systematic point of view, digital games therefore belong to the entertainment ethics sections of media ethics (cf. Filipovi´c and Franzetti 2018). Of course, such an ethics of digital games knows

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that their subject matter is heterogeneous and that the concept of entertainment also poses some problems. Nevertheless, from the perspective of media ethics, an entertainment-ethical approach seems important to us. After this is outlined in the second section, we evaluate the moral problems of digital games ethically in the third section. Since ethics always includes the consideration of which morally positive effects could be supported and strengthened, we will deal with these in the fourth section. The text ends with a short summary and an outlook.1 Our text has an introductory character and aims to give an overview of ethical aspects of digital games. Digital games as an object of applied ethics are still rather unknown territory.

2

Ethics of Digital Games: An Entertainment-Ethical Approach

We understand digital gaming as a leisure activity that is voluntary and that is experienced as an entertaining, i.e. not boring and miserable practice. Digital games thus have criteria that apply to entertainment (on this concept of entertainment see Früh 2003, p. 29, on digital games as a form of entertainment cf. Klimmt 2010). Entertaining activities, although pleasurable for those who are active in this way, are criticised from another side—for very different reasons. In fact, all forms of entertainment throughout history have been suspected of exerting a bad influence on the character formation and virtuousness of their audience. In this sense, games are only the latest form of entertainment art that has to deal with the accusation of moral corruption (Schulzke 2009). There seems to be a historical consensus that too much (media) entertainment has no positive effects neither for the individual nor for society. However, today nobody would come up with the idea of subjecting, for example, novels, undoubtedly an established component of entertainment media, to an ethical scrutiny or even of questioning the medium in general. Meanwhile, in the present context, screen-related and digital entertainment seems to be under special suspicion. For the question of how ethics can approach entertainment media, two different directions of criticism are particularly interesting, as presented by Thomas Hausmanninger (1999, pp. 3–5). The first type of entertainment criticism is generally based on the suspected moral instability of people and assumes that entertainment is responsible for a general decline in morals. This archetype of entertainment 1 This

article is based on previous work on the subject in the perspective of media ethics (especially Filipovi´c (2015, 2019)) and aims to supplement it.

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criticism can be traced back to the fourth century BC to Plato, who identified tragedies and comedies as the cause for the decay of morality and virtues. This form of critique assumes that entertainment has a negative potential to address the lower, instinctive layers of human character (Hausmanninger, p. 4). The second type of entertainment criticism, on the other hand, originates in criticism of the late capitalist “culture industry” by Horkheimer and Adorno. Within the framework of this critique, the entertainment media for the masses function as a central element of totalitarian socialization, as it takes place both in fascism as well as democracies under the influence of capitalism. Entertainment serves as an escape from (capitalist) society, whereby this escape is understood less as an escape from reality than as from the last thought of resistance (Horkheimer and Adorno 1995, p. 153). Although these two types of criticism are still popular in the critical approach to entertainment media today, it seems to be of little help for a constructive consideration to speak of moralizing terms such as “moral decay” and “flight from reality and social resistance”. Instead, the positive effects of entertainment must also be included. On the one hand, the individual experience of entertainment is, of course, an opportunity to free oneself from the burdens and worries of everyday life. However, this relief can by no means be equated per se with a flight from reality. After all, entertainment offers an individual space that can be used for reflection and for working on one’s own identity, support educational processes, serve as an invitation to empathy with others (Funiok 2007, p. 99), or offer the opportunity to playfully deal with systems of values. These effects are morally positive and desirable from an anthropological-ethical point of view, but at the same time they only represent possibilities that can be aspired to by producers and recipients of entertainment. A successful entertainment in this sense can only be realized by a use of media that is characterized by responsibility on the part of all involved actors and which, as it were, does justice to the legitimate (media-related) wishes and needs of the people. The legitimacy of entertainment (and of the need for it) results from the way in which it functions as an individual self-realization by relieving the individual of external, functional purposes (Hausmanninger 1999, p. 7). Such an ethic of media entertainment can now be made fruitful in various ways for an ethic of digital games. In general, the following can be stated at first: Above all, in the face of broad intellectual scepticism about entertainment offerings and digital games, it must be emphasised that, morally speaking, positive human possibilities lie in the pleasurable use of digital games. Negative and positive effects for individuals and society must be carefully reflected on ethically as described, because entertainment as entertainment is neither morally good nor

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bad. For this purpose, an ethics of media regulation with regulatory issues (such as the legal protection of minors) plays an equally important role as the reflection on the responsibility of actors. Actors in the field of digital games can be found on the production, distribution and reception side. On this last reception level, one can tie in with the user ethics or reception ethics, which the media ethicist and educator Rüdiger Funiok has made strong. If such an ethics of media use is transferred primarily pedagogically-ethically, the following convictions become important (cf. Rosenstock and Sura 2020; Rosenstock 2014; Ring and Funiok 2015; Filipovi´c 2019): Users must be taken seriously as autonomous subjects. In the case of young people, it will not be possible to develop their individual freedom through a preservative-educational attitude, but through encouraging support. The aim is to establish responsible capacity to act. A responsible use of the media and the regulation of one’s own needs require, for example, specific self-control skills. Such skills cannot be assumed from the outset. In this respect, it makes sense to develop suitable socialisation and educational processes and to expand competences specifically and systematically, e.g. through media competence efforts in (pre-)school and lifelong educational institutions and through the work of media institutions. Concretely related to digital games, such an ethical approach to use must take into account the specific character: For digital games differ from other entertainment media “above all in their specific aspects of interactivity, the immersion, accompanied by its special aesthetics and its mode of access via a virtual proxy”. Furthermore, the possibility of being able and having to actively act in simulated worlds should be mentioned. Among other things, this is one of the ways in which digital games unfold a “strong identification potential of the players with the actions of the game characters”. And beyond that “the characteristics of direct reward, the so-called flow experience and the design according to a level principle increased motivation factors” (Rosenstock and Sura 2020, p. 171).—All this vividly illustrates how computer games as entertainment media intensify usage and make responsible behaviour morally necessary in this context.

3

Considering Problems and Moral Issues of Digital Games

3.1

Gaming and Addiction—A Risk of Mental Disorder?

In scientific research it is still up to debate whether and when game addiction can be spoken of (see Janzik et al. in this vol.). In 2013, the American Psychiatric

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Association included “Internet Gaming Disorder” in its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), classifying excessive gaming as a mental disorder with reference to need for further research. From the specified criteria, ranging from preoccupation with gaming to having jeopardized a job or relationship due to it, at least five within one year are required for a diagnosis.2 A study published in 2017 reviewed these criteria and concluded that of a total of almost 19.000 respondents, of whom more than half said they had recently played online games, only 2.4% met five or more of the criteria and only 0.3 to 1.0% reported significant feelings of distress due to gaming (Przybylski et al. 2017). As a result, such classifications are viewed critically, as it risks to also pathologize normal behaviour, while the DSM-5 at the same time does not list other activities that equally entail addictive potential (Markey and Ferguson 2017), and carries the risk of diagnostic abuse at psychological and social cost (van Rooij et al. 2018, p. 6). Apparently, gaming disorder in this sense is not very common. Nor can it be said with certainty whether excessive gaming itself is a form of addiction or an expression of other diagnostically defined states (Ledder 2016, p. 271; Mößle et al. 2014, pp. 52–55). Either way, however, it cannot be denied that young people in particular spend considerable time playing digital games. Even if they are not necessarily addicted, excessive gaming can be an individual’s coping strategy in the face of other problems that may require attention.

3.2

In-Game Shops and User Mining

Digital games have enormous economic potential—in Germany, sales of games and hardware rose to 4.4 billion euro in 2018 (according to game – Verband der deutschen Games-Branche e. V. 2019). A remarkable share of this revenue is generated by in-game or in-app purchases, i.e. the purchase of virtual goods which extend the gaming experience. Other game publishers rely entirely on a free-to-play concept (see Elmezeny in this vol.), which basically allows everyone to play the game for free—with the option to buy e.g. game currency or premium time, which in some cases shorten otherwise frustratingly tedious uplevelling. The exploitation of the temptation to intensify the gaming experience, e.g. through the possibility of individualisation and instrumental improvement, and of the players’ attachment to the game seems particularly problematic, since especially young players, who may lack sufficient awareness for moderate and

2 See

also: https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/internet-gaming.

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responsible handling of their own resources, seem to invest real money into virtual goods more often compared to older players (cf. Lim and Seng 2011; Cai et al. 2019). Finally, the connection between user/usage mining and digital games must also be addressed. This aspect is not limited to the criticism of the fact that digital games are integrated into the surveillance arsenal of the NSA and other international intelligence agencies (Whitson and Simon 2014, pp. 310–313). In general, all problems of user data recording and their exploitation can also be identified in online games. In light of the ever-increasing number of gamers worldwide and the increasing online connection of consoles and devices, this poses a major problem of informational self-determination and state and entrepreneurial control over people.

3.3

Sexism, Discrimination and Worldviews

Undoubtedly, the huge range of digital games on offer also includes a variety of disgusting and repulsive content (cf. Verhovnik 2014, p. 311), which does not require any ethical expertise to be qualified as morally reprehensible. Far more problematic, however, is the constant as well as subversive recurrence of stereotypes and discrimination in games. For example, female game characters, who could function as positive identification figures, still are a rarity within the variety of digital game characters (cf. Lynch et al. 2016). Instead, an overrepresentation of white, male, non-disabled, middle-aged main characters (Ledder 2016, p. 273) can be observed. This seems paradoxical considering that in 2019 the gender distribution among German gamers is almost equal with 52% male and 48% female players (according to game – Verband der deutschen Games-Branche e. V. 2019). Furthermore, it appears that sexism still seems to be a phenomenon within some gaming communities as well as the games industry (see Theißl 2013; Wu 2014). Regarding the subversive forces of games, the aspect of conveyed worldviews is also relevant. The occasional cooperation of some developers with weapon manufacturers in order to accurately represent certain vehicles or weapons in games, and the publication of own ego-shooters by various militaries (i.e. America’s Army by the US-Army, or Glorious Mission by the Chinese People‘s Liberation Army) needs to be regarded critically. Other forms of digital games, such as economic and everyday simulations, seem unproblematic in this context, since their mostly non-violent contents might be considered as rather “harmless”—although a subversive mediation of worldviews can also be observed here,

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as many simulations focus one-sidedly on economic success (cf. Nagenborg 2006, p. 203).

3.4

In-Game Violence and Aggressive Behaviour

In the public debate, criticism of the trivializing and sometimes even glorifying depiction of violence in games is combined with the accusation that games are partly to blame for a generally lowered threshold for the use of violence. The assumption of a causal connection between virtual and real violence has so far been successfully maintained in public perception and is quickly adopted in the context of specific incidents of violence. The ensuing discussion about the link between violence in digital games and real-world-violence, often emotionally conducted by all sides, runs the risk of overshadowing potentially more crucial aspects concerning mental health and possible reasons for violent behaviour, especially in the case of young people (cf. Ferguson and Beresin 2017). Meanwhile, research on that topic has come to more differentiated conclusions so far: some studies have shown short-term effects of ludic violence on aggressive emotions of the player, while others have not (Ledder 2016, p. 272). Erica L. Neely suggests, however, that a single immoral action in a game is unlikely to have any effect on the moral character of the player, but a continuous repetition of such action may have (Neely 2019, p. 353). Further, for the differentiation between the virtual and the real world, the closeness to reality of a game is decisive (Neely 2019, pp. 351–352). The aspect of the subjectively perceptible demarcation between virtual world and real world might become even more a challenge in the future due to the progress in virtual reality technology (see Ess 2014, pp. 179–193). In addition, beyond of the focus on violent digital games, it should also be mentioned that non-violent digital games can also promote aggressive behaviour through the experience of frustration (cf. Verhovnik 2014, p. 309) and must therefore also be included in the discussion.

4

Considering Positive Effects of Gaming

4.1

Ethical Reflection Through Gaming—the Ludic Phronesis

Entertainment, at least in some forms, offers its recipients the opportunity to reflect on their own identity, social relationships and value systems, freed from the

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constraints of everyday life. However, as in the case of other entertainment media as well, it is necessary to clarify which contents can be described as relevant in this perspective, respectively which digital games can be described as ethically relevant objects. Miguel Sicart understands ethically relevant digital games initially as systems of rules in which certain moral values are embedded that require and reward certain actions (Sicart 2009, pp. 25–37). Accordingly, he defines a digital game as moral object, if its formal system of rules confront the player with ethical dilemmas, or raise ethical issues at least, and if it offers the opportunity to the player to relate to the simulated world in a certain way (Sicart 2009, pp. 48–57). In this sense, rather abstract game types such as puzzle games as Tetris or Candy Crush do not seem to be relevant in this context, as their gameplay-systems do not require any moral consideration on behalf of the player. On the other hand, games which offer complex formal systems and game worlds, i.e. role-playing games, ego-shooters or massive multiplayer online games, can be described as virtual places in which the confrontation with value systems is simulated. Therefore, such digital games are not only objects that can be ethically reflected upon, but also frameworks in which moral reflection itself is made possible. Seen in this light, the ethical responsibility for the nature of this framework and its implicit values lies with the game developers, while the ethical responsibility for dealing with these values within the limited openness of a game lies with the gamers themselves (Sicart 2009, p. 59). Sicart describes gaming as a process of subjectivation, in which the player-subject is created in the context of the game’s framework. This subject, however, is not limited to the game’s world, insofar as the player as a person already has a cultural background in the context of his real environment. In this sense, the player-subject is “only a subset of a cultural and moral being who voluntarily plays, bringing to the game a presence of culture and values that also affect the experience” (Sicart 2009, p. 63). Two of the characteristics of the player-subject deserve special mention: first, it exists in the respective game situation and regards it as a moral agent in the context of its own experience both as a player and as a person. Sicart understands the player-subject as a so-called body-subject which represents a certain embodiment of the player and establishes the connection between the subjectivity of the player within the game and his other subjectivities as a real person, while simultaneously providing the dividing line between them (Sicart 2009, p. 79). This connection makes it possible for a real person to appear as a player-subject and to differentiate between it and its real-world subjectivity. Secondly, the player-subject is bound to the game’s framework of rules and values and must take them seriously but does not follow the game events in a purely purposeful manner as a passive “moral-zombie”. Instead, as a moral agent,

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the player also reflects on the game and its rule system and is even able to expand it through his or her interaction with the game and with other players, e.g. if a player community consent about a certain behaviour within a game, i.e. camping in an ego shooter, to be undesirable or inacceptable in order to preserve a balanced game experience, even though this behaviour is not prohibited by the game’s rule system itself (Sicart 2009, pp. 33, 90–101). In summary, gaming and the associated creation of the player-subject implies, in a virtue-ethical sense, a formation of moral knowledge, considered as ludic phronesis (Sicart 2009, pp. 112–113). Sicart conceives of this emergence of the player-subject and his ludic phronesis as a Ludic Hermeneutic Circle, which combines the subjectivities of the playing individual and finally leads to the individual subject external to the game, which critically reflects on his or her actions in a game situation and learns to deal with specific moral challenges (Sicart 2009, pp. 116–123). This approach can also be viewed critically: Neely remarks that a player— while theoretically capable of—does not necessarily reflect on his or her actions and his or her role in the context of a game. Although at least adults possess a broader moral experience, it cannot be assumed that they are immune to the subversive influences of ludic action (Neely 2019, p. 352). More decisive, however, is how strongly the player can identify with his character and the game situation. The more the player sees himself represented in the game character, the more likely he or she is to act according to his or her moral knowledge and to avoid certain actions in the game situation that are considered as morally reprehensible (Neely 2019, p. 349). However, it remains undisputed that an ethical learning effect is possible through confrontation with moral dilemmas (cf. Wimmer 2014). Just as ethics classes work with dilemmas whose morally correct and good solution is not foreseeable from the outset, so it is possible to create decision-making game situations in which a moral dilemma becomes challenging. Though, the ethical value of such a ludic dilemma depends above all on the quality of the moral framework of a game. Often, supposed moral dilemmas in games can be solved relatively easily if the player can see through this framework and understands which decisions lead to the “ideal” outcome (Bosman 2019, p. 545). With the help of the save-loadfunction of digital games, the player is thus able to navigate through the game’s decision-making-system without using his own moral compass. Frank Bosman describes such pseudo-moral challenges as so-called tamed moral problems or semi-wicked problems (Bosman, pp. 550–556), which are transparent enough to make it obvious which decision can be considered as good or evil in the context of the game’s morality system and which therefore lead the player to a rather strategic choice by going through all possible results to select the desired outcome.

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Real wicked problems, on the other hand, are decision situations in which the player initially has no way of knowing in which way his decisions are evaluated in the overall context of the game and which decision is the right one. Due to the lack of insight into the moral framework of the game, the player is forced to deal ethically with the game situation. Super wicked problems, on the other hand, can be described as real moral dilemmas, insofar as none of their solutions allow to be described as right or wrong and no ideal solution of the problem can be determined in moral or narrative terms, i.e. the Tenpenny Tower-Quest in Fallout 3 (Bethesda Game Studios 2008) or also the Kaiden-or-Ashley-decision in Mass Effect (BioWare 2007) (cf. Bosman 2019, pp. 554–557). Precisely because such situations do not offer any moral teaching but leave it to the player to reflect and evaluate his or her actions and their consequences in the game world (see Schulzke 2009), they enable players to unfold their own convictions and experiences from their own moral personality external to the game and to test them in a ludic environment.

4.2

Learning by Playing

So far, it has been discussed on how digital games can be used to acquire moral knowledge and use it in a ludic situation. Apart from this, digital games have also established themselves in recent years as a suitable medium for learning as such: under the term gamification, i.e. the use of ludic elements in a context other than that of a game, in order to increase motivation by means of incentives such as collecting experience points or using ranking lists and to achieve better working or learning successes. Christian Dürnberger, for example, describes how playful elements—in contrast to information brochures and ethical essays—are far more successful in promoting desired behaviour. For example, it can have a positive effect on driving style if economical driving on the electronic dashboard is symbolized as a larger and greener plant, while wasteful driving leads to the plant withering (Dürnberger 2014, p. 232). In addition, so-called serious games, i.e. educational games whose purpose is beyond the entertainment aspect to impart specific knowledge, have established themselves in a wide variety. Other forms of games, such as political or city simulations, can convey a sense of complex political, economic and ecological contexts in a ludic way. The developers of the open-world action-adventure games Assassin’s Creed: Origins (Ubisoft Montreal 2017) and Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey (Ubisoft Quebec 2018) also offered another innovation when they added a so-called “Discovery Tour Mode” to their games, which transformed both game maps—freed from any narrative elements—into

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virtual open-air museums that allow the player to undertake guided historical tours through ancient Egypt or ancient Greece and to refresh his or her own historical knowledge. Undoubtedly, all these examples illustrate the value that digital games can have in terms of learning. As Jeffrey Wimmer and Markus Wiemker note, digital games, like other media, could be integrated more strongly into education and school curricula—i.e. within the framework of digital science classes or in regard to dealing with the ethical possibilities of the medium in ethics classes—in order to promote creative thinking and problem-solving skills (Wimmer and Wiemker 2017, p. 61). When implemented rationally, such an addition to the curricula could be reasonable and up-to-date and would make an important contribution to the urgently needed teaching of media skills to young people, but it also presupposes clarification about the present significance of the medium—also in the context of learning—to teachers as well as parents.

5

Conclusion

In our opinion, an ethics of digital gaming must above all take into account both the problems and the opportunities described. The spread of digital games and the influence of this entertainment genre, especially on young people, suggests an ethical reflection in itself. An ethics of digital games in the context of entertainment ethics is therefore a serious matter and requires careful, interdisciplinary reflection. An ethics of computer games would then have the task of freeing the discourse on digital games from the confrontation between concerned admonishers and enthusiastic fans and to judge it in the context of cultural change processes. All in all, however, it is our impression that an applied ethics of computer gaming has not yet been convincingly and systematically formed. There is still a lot of work to be done in this area, which depends above all on interdisciplinarity.

References Bosman, F. G. (2019). There Is No Solution! “Wicked Problems” in Digital Games. Games and Culture, (14 (5), pp. 543–559). doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/1555412017716603. Cai, J., Wohn, D. Y., & Freeman, G. (2019). Who Purchases and Why? Explaining Motivations for In-Game Purchasing in the Online Survival Game Fortnite. In Proceedings of the Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play, pp. 391–396.

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Ludography Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (Ubisoft 2018, O: Ubisoft Quebec) Assassin’s Creed Origins (Ubisoft 2017, O: Ubisoft Montreal) Fallout 3 (Bethesda Softworks 2008, O: Bethesda Game Studios) Mass Effect (Microsoft Game Studios 2007, O: BioWare)

Societal and Political Discourses

Gaming Addiction—Underdefined, Overestimated? Robin Janzik, Lars-Ole Wehden, Felix Reer, and Thorsten Quandt

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of the state of research on the problematic use of digital games to shed light on the highly debated question of whether gaming addiction exists. It traces the development of research from initial media reports on the negative side effects of gaming, to the early research done on its prevalence, and ultimately to the classification of the phenomenon in the manuals of the World Health Organization (ICD-11) and the American Psychiatric Association (DSM-5). Definitions, measurement instruments, results, and the quality of studies are critically evaluated. A particular focus lies on discussing issues within early works, how these challenges were overcome, and which problems still exist today. Finally, this paper outlines suggestions to improve future research and reliably assess the problematic use of digital games across nations and cultures.

R. Janzik (B) · L.-O. Wehden · F. Reer · T. Quandt Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Münster, Germany E-Mail: [email protected] L.-O. Wehden E-Mail: [email protected] F. Reer E-Mail: [email protected] T. Quandt E-Mail: [email protected] © Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, part of Springer Nature 2020 M. Groen et al. (eds.), Games and Ethics, Digitale Kultur und Kommunikation 7, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-28175-5_4

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Keywords

Internet gaming disorder • ICD-11 • DSM-5 • Gaming addiction Problematic game use

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Gaming Addiction—A Public Debate

When a 17-year-old Russian gamer, known only under his pseudonym Rustam, died from thrombosis, he had been playing the multiplayer online battle arena game Defense of the Ancients for a period of 22 days, taking only minimal breaks (McCrum 2015). Media reports mention similar incidents in which gamers died due to cardiac failure or exhaustion, such as cases in Taiwan (Hunt and Ng 2015) and the USA (USA Today 2017). After the death of Rustam, Pavel Astakhov, Children’s Rights Commissioner in Russia, made a statement citing his great concern: “It is important to follow what your kids are doing. […] A dependence on computer games is one of the biggest dangers for the kids nowadays.” (McCrum 2015) The existence of gaming addiction seems to be taken for granted-—despite being controversially discussed for more than three decades. Though such extreme cases have been considered the first pieces of evidence for the existence of a new type of addiction (e.g., Griffiths et al. 2012), no scientific consensus has yet been reached on whether disordered gaming constitutes a distinct form of addiction. The concept of gaming addiction deviates from a more traditional view of addictions, as it does not involve substance abuse (or drug use). This also applies to other types of behavioral addictions, which do not necessarily rely on a substance as the cause and object of the disorder. For example, when done in excess, using the Internet, watching TV, gambling, exercising, or having sex can also be considered to be behavioral addictions (Griffiths 2005) and have been discussed prior to problematic gaming. However, the latter has received an increasing level of attention. Because players are able to play without pausing and adolescents in particular are drawn to the activity, excessive gaming has been discussed as a public health risk (e.g., Griffiths et al. 2012). From that point on, not only have parents been worrying about their children’s future, but also health insurance companies and the medical sector have become involved in the discussion of problematic gaming (e.g., Torres-Rodríguez et al. 2018). A growing body of research paralleled this public debate to further investigate the effects digital games might have on people’s lives. Over time, two factions have emerged. Some scholars expressed criticism of defining problematic gaming as an addiction due to a weak scientific basis (e.g., van Rooij et al. 2018). Others

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appreciated the idea because it would allow potentially affected individuals better opportunities to seek help (e.g., Rumpf et al. 2018). When considering the varied interpretations on the state of research and the resulting debate, one question emerges: What are scientifically sound findings concerning the existence of gaming addiction? This paper first outlines initial research done on problematic gaming to demonstrate how these early works approached the topic and which problems they faced. The paper then discusses the current state of research with a focus on the World Health Organization’s and the American Psychiatric Association’s decisions to include Gaming Disorder and Internet Gaming Disorder, respectively, in their manuals and the influence this has had on subsequent studies. To conclude, the last section elaborates on the existence of gaming addiction, if what was found suffices this label, and the challenges of future research.

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A Short History of Gaming Addiction Research

Since the 1980s, there have been works that dealt with the negative effects of video games. Initially, these works were not concerned with addiction but with other side effects, such as epilepsy (Rushton 1981), joint problems (McCowan 1981), or the suppression of memories (Klein 1984). The first studies to examine addictive gaming behavior, however, did not have a clear understanding or definition of addiction itself. For example, Egli and Meyers (1984) used a set of ad-hoc items on different problematic aspects of game use (including the question how hard participants find it to stop a playing session) and came to the conclusion that about 10% of the examined sample showed some signs of compulsive use. Others argued that frequency and average time playing are key indicators for problematic gaming behavior (e.g., Selnow 1984). As the market for digital games became more differentiated and new platforms and games became available to a wider population, media interest increased and, with it, the amount of research on the negative side effects of gaming. While the 1980s were still dominated by explorative approaches, each of which had very different understandings of what may constitute gaming addiction, research in the 1990s contained the first attempts at a more sound, scientific definition and measurement. In this context, criteria from other behavioral addictions, such as gambling, were applied to the field of digital games. Despite these efforts to more validly measure gaming addiction, an assessment of the problem remained difficult. Griffiths and Hunt (1998) reported that a rather high prevalence rate of up to 19.9% of their adolescent UK sample was dependent on computer games.

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Other studies found still considerable but comparatively lower prevalence rates. For example, in their sample of secondary school children, Fisher (1994) found a prevalence rate of approximately 6% pathological “arcade video game players”. Phillips et al. (1995) looked in particular at children between the ages of 11 and 16 years and reported a similar prevalence of addictive use of 7.5% among players and 5.7% in the entire sample. At the beginning of the new millennium, online games were included as research objects. They were expected to have a higher addictive potential due to their prolonged playability (Griffiths et al. 2004). This addictive potential was particularly assumed due to the social gratifications multiplayer games can provide and the increased popularity of role-playing games, such as World of Warcraft. Social motives have become more important through online functions, and social game elements in particular are deemed to have a high potential for increasing addiction: on the one hand, they may compensate for possible social deficits in offline life, and on the other hand, integration into the game world can create a social obligation (e.g., Ducheneaut et al. 2006). Accordingly, studies on online games identified relatively high rates of problematic players. Again, different measurement instruments oriented towards the criteria of other behavioral addictions, such as gambling or problematic Internet use, were utilized. Wan and Chiou (2006) classified 46% of a sample of 177 Taiwanese adolescent MMORPG players as addicts. In a study by Charlton and Danworth (2007) that focused on MMORPG players of all age groups, 38.7% of the participants were classified as addicts. Grüsser et al. (2007) employed a larger sample of over 7000 gamers with a mean age of about 21 years and found that 11.9% of their sample met the criteria of addiction with respect to their gaming behavior. The development of valid scales and different criteria that can be applied to separate disordered gamers from the normal range have posed a problem over time. Unclear provisions have not allowed studies to be effectively compared. In some cases, players fell into the category of problematic behavior, but in others, they did not due to a particular cut-off point. Therefore, in 2009, Lemmens and colleagues proposed to establish stricter criteria. They suggested to only classify individuals as addicted if all measurement criteria were fulfilled; if more than half of the criteria were met, the usage behavior was considered merely problematic. This approach aimed at overcoming the rigid dichotomy of distinguishing between disordered and healthy players. Following this approach, Festl et al. (2013) found that only 0.2% of users in a large, representative sample met all criteria and 3.7% could be described as problematic users. Van Rooij et al. (2011) confirmed these low numbers and showed that only 1.5% of Dutch schoolchildren ages 13 to 16 could be classified as addicted to online games.

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Taken together, studies conducted in the eighties, nineties, and the first years of the new millennium were characterized by a large diversity in the measurement instruments used, which resulted in a high variance in the reported prevalence of problematic gaming. Across several countries, there was no consensus on how to reliably assess pathological playing patterns. The state of research on whether gaming addiction does exist merely provided fragmented results that indicated that, for problematic gaming to qualify as an addiction, common ground had to be found.

3

ICD-11 and DSM-5: The Current Situation

Until recently, neither the 10th edition of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD) by the World Health Organization (WHO 1992) nor the 4th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) by the American Psychiatric Association (APA 1994) included problematic gaming or any other media-related behavioral addictions. Therefore, one could indeed argue that, at least formally, gaming addiction did not exist. When the APA prepared a revised 5th version of the DSM to be published in 2013 (APA 2013), they assembled several workgroups to revise the manual and recommend improvements. The twelve members of one of these groups, the Substance Use Disorder Workgroup, were instructed to consider candidates for potential behavioral addictions, such as gambling, general Internet use, work, shopping, exercise, and Internet gaming, for inclusion into the DSM-5 (Petry et al. 2014). Through an extensive review of the existing research on each of those phenomena, the workgroup had to decide whether the existence of a gaming disorder could be proven in a scientifically sound way that warranted formal acknowledgment by its inclusion in the manual. The group ultimately decided to move gambling addiction to the substance-related and addictive disorder section of the DSM but denied formal acknowledgment of the other aforementioned problematic behaviors. They also voted to include Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) in the DSM section on Conditions for Further Study. This rather cautious step was justified by the workgroup based on 250 (empirical) publications that existed on the topic (Petry et al. 2014). With this decision, the DSM-5 provided the first formal description of disordered gaming and lent its support to the claim that gaming addiction exists. It defines IGD as the “[p]ersistent and recurrent use of the Internet to engage in games, often with other players, leading to clinically significant impairment or

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distress” (APA 2013, p. 795). Five or more of the following nine criteria must be met to diagnose IGD: (1) preoccupation with Internet games; (2) withdrawal symptoms when Internet gaming is taken away; (3) tolerance, in the form of the perceived need to spend increasing amounts of time engaged in Internet games; (4) unsuccessful attempts to control the participation in Internet games; (5) loss of interest in previous hobbies and entertainment as a result of, and with the exception of, Internet games; (6) continued excessive use of Internet games despite knowledge of psychosocial problems; (7) deception of family members, therapists, or others regarding the amount of Internet gaming; (8) use of Internet games to escape or relieve a negative mood; and (9) the jeopardization or loss of a significant relationship, job, or educational or career opportunity due to participation in Internet games. The DSM-5 also proposes cut-off points of 8 to 10 h of play per day, or 30 h per week, and describes long periods without food or sleep and a negligence of (offline) social relationships as negative outcomes caused by IGD. In accordance with the earlier findings (e.g., Lemmens et al. 2009), the DSM-5 distinguishes between mild, moderate, and severe IGD (APA 2013). The inclusion of IGD in the DSM has caused controversy. In particular, the nine criteria for diagnosis are criticized for various reasons. It has been argued that preoccupation is a normal as opposed to pathological behavior, as highly involved or professional gamers must spend time considering strategies or discussing new releases to stay competitive. It has also been argued that the need for deception depends on the social situation of the gamer and that giving up other activities for a new hobby can be normal (e.g., Griffiths et al. 2015; Kuss et al. 2016). Furthermore, Quandt (2017) argues that the DSM definition lacks a well-defined object the subject is meant to be addicted to. He asserts that it is unclear who decides what kind of behavior is normal and what is problematic. This line of argumentation is also put forward by Griffiths et al. (2015), who question the representativeness of the group of Petry et al. (2014), who previously claimed the DSM-5 approach was internationally consensual. More importantly, Griffiths et al. (2015) question IGD being an addiction. Nevertheless, after the formal inclusion of IGD into the DSM-5, new measurement instruments that closely adapt the nine DSM-5 criteria and also provide clearly defined (yet controversially discussed) cut-off criteria for research purposes have been developed and validated (e.g., Lemmens et al. 2015; Müller et al. 2014; Petry et al. 2014; Pontes and Griffiths 2015; Pontes et al. 2014; Rehbein et al. 2015). Studies using these DSM-based screening tools reported prevalence rates of, for example, 1.16% of German adolescents ages 13 to 18 classified with IGD (Rehbein et al. 2015); among individuals in the Netherlands ages 13 to 40, 4 to 5% classified as disordered gamers (Lemmens et al. 2015); and 5.3% of

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a sample of 1003 gamers from 57 countries also classified as disordered gamers (Pontes et al. 2014). These rates are much lower when compared to the previously reported, extremely high rates of up to approximately 40% of players classified as addicts (e.g., Wan and Chiou 2006; Charlton and Danworth 2007). Controversy on whether gaming addiction exists and should be formalized increased when the WHO decided to include Gaming Disorder (GD) as the first media-related behavioral disorder in their latest 11th revision of the ICD. The manual reads that the disorder is “characterized by a pattern of persistent or recurrent gaming behavior […], which may be online […] or offline, manifested by (1) impaired control over gaming (e.g., onset, frequency, intensity, duration, termination, context); (2) increasing priority given to gaming to the extent that gaming takes precedence over other life interests and daily activities; and (3) continuation or escalation of gaming despite the occurrence of negative consequences. The behavior pattern is of sufficient severity to result in significant impairment in personal, family, social, educational, occupational or other important areas of functioning”. Furthermore, “the pattern of gaming behavior may be continuous or episodic and recurrent” and is “normally evident over a period of at least 12 months in order for a diagnosis to be assigned, although the required duration may be shortened if all diagnostic requirements are met and symptoms are severe.” (WHO 2018) Critics of the rather short and unspecific description of symptoms, and the further formalization of problematic gaming in general (e.g., Aarseth et al. 2017; van Rooij et al. 2018), argue that these standards may lead to the stigmatization of healthy gamers by pathologizing normal behavior and that the criteria to diagnose GD are too closely derived from substance abuse and gambling. They further argue that the step could lead to an emergence of new behavioral disorders and point towards a rather weak scientific basis proving functional impairment as a result of excessive gaming (van Rooij et al. 2018). Those in favor of the inclusion argue that a formalization would facilitate patients’ access to professional and comparable treatment covered by health insurance plans, allow for increased and more comparable research on the topic, and increase the development of more already highly in-demand treatment facilities and professionals (Griffiths et al. 2017; Rumpf et al. 2018). The scientific discussion on this topic and on the question of whether or not such an addiction should be formalized is far from over. However, in both groups, there seems to be a minimal consensus that a small number of people are facing serious life problems as a result of excessive gaming (Griffiths et al. 2017).

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Does Gaming Addiction Exist? Challenges for Future Research

The body of gaming addiction research has grown substantially and provides knowledge on the prevalence of problematic gaming. However, the answer as to whether gaming addiction exists is more complex than implied by early research. There is a small number of gamers demonstrating serious problems, but the dramatic warnings of harm to children caused by gaming and the findings of high prevalence rates in early research cannot be substantiated in recent studies. According to the current state of research, there may be various reasons for this. On one hand, studies should be differentiated by the criteria they applied. While more recent studies distinguish between addicted users and users at risk of becoming addicted, this categorization did not exist during early research. In addition, differences may result from varied measurement instruments. While relatively high prevalence rates were reported with individually developed instruments (e.g., Charlton and Danworth 2007), rather low prevalence rates were found with measurements based on DSM or ICD criteria (e.g., Lemmens et al. 2015). Within this context, early research may have overestimated the prevalence of problematic use. The difficulty of answering the question as to whether gaming addiction exists is not only reflected in the historical development of the state of research. The lively academic debate on whether problematic use can be seen as an addiction and whether it requires classification in manuals also demonstrates a disagreement with regard to the question of this paper. Five problem areas illustrate points of contention. First, some scholars dispute that gaming addiction is defined as a behavioral disorder, as with GD in the ICD-11. They raise the question why gaming should be different from other activities people do in excess, such as social media use or work, and why gaming is the only activity listed in manuals (e.g., van Rooij et al. 2018). Second, there is an expanding body of literature on other types of problematic digital media use, such as social media (e.g., Pontes 2017) and smartphones (e.g., Hussain et al. 2017). Limited research has collected data on both problematic gaming and other media use to compare their prevalence rates and find connections. However, comparative studies have found moderate to strong correlations (e.g., Pontes 2017; Reer et al. 2019), and the prevalence of other forms of problematic use is fairly equal (e.g., Hussain et al. 2017). This leads to the question of whether problematic gaming is an independent disorder or whether it might show an overlap or comorbidity with other disorders. Third, problematic gaming is often dependent on the particular lifestyle of the subject

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and does not testify to high stability over time (e.g., Scharkow et al. 2014). Personal development plays a central role here, and problematic gaming is discussed not only as an independent disorder but also as a coping mechanism used to treat temporary problems, such as loneliness (Domahidi and Quandt 2015). Fourth, previous classifications of problematic gaming focus exclusively on symptoms (WHO 2018), according to the criteria on which they are based. This poses a problem because, though gaming addiction is meant to be an independent disorder, no specifics of the medium and the context are integrated. This raises the questions of which characteristics make a game addictive and which environments facilitate this process (Elliott et al. 2012). Fifth, the negative consequences of a clear classification have been ignored. It has been assumed that a fixed definition will help to develop therapeutic measures and support those affected. In fact, unaffected individuals could be mistakenly classified as addicted, which will provide additional costs within the healthcare system (Aarseth et al. 2017). In addition, it could be argued that players have been stigmatized, and the media handling of the issue has become more acute, because the label addiction can now be used. If policy is changed on the basis of this undifferentiated view, it would have to be revised with new findings. As far as research is concerned, Aarseth et al. (2017) argue that the WHO’s and the APA’s decisions may signify a change of thought. This would lead to more confirmatory studies and fewer explorative ones, when the latter would be urgently needed due to the opacity of the subject. Future studies face a number of challenges to better resolve the contradictions identified in the existing research. Consistent criteria are needed to measure problematic gaming. The WHO’s and the APA’s decision to include the disorder in their manuals may cause a tendency to use their criteria. However, there are still a number of scales in circulation that make comparative analyses difficult. Ideally, such criteria should also include references to the role of the game in identifying problematic behavior. At this point, it is not clear whether Pokémon is potentially different from Counter-Strike, for example. There is also a need for more robust studies. Representative and longitudinal studies are rarely conducted, as cross-sectional studies with self-selected samples dominate the field (e.g., Männikkö et al. 2017). However, only the former provide results that validate the problem. Due to the controversial nature of the topic, open science practices are equally important to ensure that certain standards are met, and results remain comparable. Furthermore, there is a need for clinical evaluations of problematic gaming. Survey studies are central to assessing how prevalent the phenomenon is in society. Nevertheless, it must be investigated whether the symptoms actually apply to individuals who are considered addicted and subsequently seek help

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in order to further develop criteria. Ultimately, it would also be appropriate to compare results from different countries to better identify cultural influences. In conclusion, further research is necessary to better understand problematic gaming habits. The field of research could be improved by making it clear how previous results were obtained, how classifications in certain manuals were decided, and by dedicating future investigations to the goal of providing scientifically sound and unbiased results. These efforts will hopefully result in a more definite answer to the question that guided this paper. However, a much-needed solution to these issues in research should at the same time offer assistance for those in need and refrain from stigmatizing the much larger group of healthy players.

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Re-Figuring Innovation in Games: A Feminist Interventionist Project Jennifer Jenson

Abstract

This paper reports on an ongoing, 5-year, international feminist intervention research project funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, “Re-Figuring Innovation in Games”. The project includes researchers, students, game designers, community members, and video game companies in Canada, the U.S., and the U.K. Its most fundamental goal has been to build an explicitly feminist coalition to intervene in the habitually hostile and misogynist cultures of making and playing digital games. To date, our collective work has involved examining the structural and cultural issues in play that continue to successfully marginalize, harass and exclude women and others from a highly lucrative technology industry. The paper will also focus on describing some of the interventions that effectively interrupt and reconfigure persistent patterns of inequality, and demonstrate how the international network is striving to realize local, and extra-local change.

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Background & Context

A very real challenge of the twenty-first century is the enduring inequity between men and women, especially in relation to the design, uptake and use of digital technologies, including digital games (Hill et al. 2010; Burrows 2013). Researching this persistent under-participation of women is of social, cultural and J. Jenson (B) University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada E-Mail: [email protected] © Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, part of Springer Nature 2020 M. Groen et al. (eds.), Games and Ethics, Digitale Kultur und Kommunikation 7, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-28175-5_5

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economic interest and importance. For example, companies in Canada and the United States that have more women in positions of power (corporate officers and/or boards of directors) outperform those who have few to no women (Gillis 2010). In late fall 2018, California, recognizing the deep structural inequities at all levels of pay, passed legislation that required all companies registered in California to have women on boards of directors (at least two on boards of 5, and 3 on boards of 6 or more) by 2021 (Stewart 2018). The digital games industry, like the technology sector in general, is and has been dominated by men for decades, and recent reports indicate that of those women who begin careers in technology, 56% eventually leave because of its inhospitable and often outright discriminatory culture. This is especially true in the games sector (Burrows 2013; Cain Miller 2014; Huhman 2012; McWhertor 2014; Snyder 2014). In the past few years, Google announced that it would work to fight “deep-set cultural biases and an insidious frat-house attitude that pervades the tech business” (Manjoo 2014), while other large tech companies like Facebook, Microsoft and Apple have explicitly stated that they will work to increase diversity in their workforce. All major digital game companies, however, have been silent on that issue, despite estimates that the number of women working in the games industry is around 21% (IGDA 2018). A contributing factor to the games industry’s gender imbalance and the consequent social and economic impact is that women, both those who play and those who make games, are routinely harassed and threatened both online and offline (Gray 2012; Griggs 2014; Jenson and de Castell 2013; Lee 2014; Plunkett 2012; Schreier 2014). Meanwhile, women have come to make up more than 45% of the total player market, if mobile and casual games are factored in, and surveys over the past few years have placed women’s mobile gameplay as high as 65% (Google Play 2017). To date, there are no empirical studies that focus on the deadlocked gender gap in games culture and its industries. The aim of this paper, then, is to overview a large, ongoing study of video game cultures and industries, funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. “Re-Figuring Innovation in Games” (ReFiG). As an international research project, we have collectively sought to re-configure and re-imagine how we can study videogame industries and cultures from an explicitly interventionist, intersectional feminist standpoint that explicitly approaches research through an ethics of care. In doing so, we have sought not just to document the paucity of women working in the games industry, but also to research how best to support their work, including how to ensure they can access the formal and informal educational opportunities required to develop the skills necessary for successful participation. We argue that it is through researching and supporting

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a critical mass of women, allies and partnerships that we can most meaningfully work to change what has become the status quo in game development and play: Women are harassed both in public and behind the scenes, and are subjected to a heinous range of threats, even rape and death (Pantozzi 2013; Schreier 2013). In mid-August 2014, Twitter, Reddit, YouTube, gaming websites and 4chan exploded with allegations of corruption in games journalism, naming the phenomenon “Gamergate” (see Twitter hashtag #Gamergate). At that time, nearly every major English news outlet and game-related journalistic website reported on “Gamergate” (Collins 2014; Dockterman 2014; Farokhmanesh 2014; Schulten 2014; Southey 2014; Stone 2014; Thier 2014; The Stream 2014; Weinberger 2014). Women in all capacities within the games industry, including critics, game players, game makers and journalists, were at the center of the controversy, and many received threats that, as games journalist Auerbach put it, were “so egregious” that a prominent female journalist (Jenn Frank) publicly announced that she would no longer be writing on games (Auerbach 2014a, 2014b). This situation further escalated into a public threat of a “massacre,” forcing games critic Anita Sarkeesian (Executive Director, Feminist Frequency) to cancel a public address at the University of Utah (Robertson 2014; Wingfield 2014).1 As caustic and hostile as game culture has become for women, exposed so publicly over the past 3 years (Jenson and de Castell 2013), it is now the largest entertainment industry worldwide (ESA 2018) and therefore represents vital opportunities for economic growth and cultural participation.

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Description of the Project

ReFiG has brought together post-secondary institutions, communities, non-profit organizations, digital games companies, academics, indie game designers, game journalists, and bloggers to conduct longitudinal research that documents, analyzes, interrupts and transforms inequitable conditions that reinforce traditional biases and impede innovation in games industry and culture. Our four specific research objectives and corresponding research themes are: 1. generating methodologies and tools that document and study gamer culture and games; 1 Using

Montreal Massacre shooter Marc Lepine’s name, as well as his words, the warning read: “Feminists have ruined my life and I will have my revenge” – chilling reminders of the obstacles women face to this day.

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2. catalyzing empirically driven research on the experiences and roles of women in the games industry; 3. studying, documenting and assessing informal educational opportunities for participation in digital game design and development; 4. locating, examining and reporting on policies and practices in formal game development programs that are successfully building and sustaining more equal participation by men and women, and documenting the impact of these programs on innovation, in the cultural as well as technological and economic spheres. In collaboration with an international group of researchers, students, community members, game designers and many others, we have sought ways to interrupt and reconfigure the longstanding patterns of female inequality and underrepresentation in the games industries and cultures. There is currently no research or project of this scale that takes up the challenge, through evidence-driven research, to intervene, to tackle the hostile and marginalized conditions of women in games. Working across these four research areas, and in collaboration with partners that have local, national and international ties, we have mobilized gendersensitive research methodologies to inform innovative and context-appropriate practices that promote active engagement between researchers, the games industry, community groups, and others in the sector. Key outputs have included the co-development of: an inclusivity toolkit specific to the games industry; curricula for game incubators and gender sensitive game programs; journalistic high-impact blogging; and scholarly presentations and publications.

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Theoretical Framework & Methodology

This project is grounded in two feminist approaches: intersectional theory and gender-based interventionist methodology. Feminist theory has a rich history of critically interrogating structural inequities that obstruct and marginalize women. Taking an “intersectional” theoretical approach to feminism means that while gender remains its primary lens, analysis must also be attuned to inequities that stem from ethnicity, class, sexualities, and abilities. Intersectional approaches understand that oppression is interlocking (Samuels and Ross-Sheriff 2008), and that gender as an analytic category is context-dependent and therefore tied to other sites of oppression (Hulko 2009). Methodologically, the feminist approach to

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research and innovation that we are taking can be best summarized as “interventionist”, aiming not only to document and analyze conditions of oppression and marginalization, but also to actively work to improve those conditions (Lather and Smithies 1997). Our integrative analytical tool for coordinating work across the partnership is Actor Network Theory (ANT), as developed and articulated in the field of Science and Technology Studies by Bruno Latour (1987, 1992, 2005), John Law (1994) and Michel Callon (1987). ANT defines ‘the social’—institutions, practices, and interactions—as the product of engagement and associations between human and non-human ‘actors’. As Latour (2005) insists in his introduction to ANT, agency is distributed across actors that co-constitute a network. Non-humans have been delegated the task of prescribing, framing, eliciting, and enabling certain forms of action, and prohibiting or discouraging others. Social scientific research, from an ANT perspective, is tasked with “re-assembling” the associations between human and non-human actors in a network so as to better map their interrelationships. As an “object-oriented sociology for object-oriented people” (Latour 2005, p. 74), ANT is particularly productive as a means of studying highly technologized networks of practice. It has been usefully applied to studies of digital play (Giddings and Kennedy 2008; Giddings 2007) to chart the co-relations of human and virtual agencies in games. In this project, we have examined both sides of the player/game relation: how the games configure the players and how, in turn, those who are making games configure economic relations of production. ANT makes it possible to document and trace the ways in which we are both shaping and are shaped by the technologies we use, and is one of the few theories that give technology a central ‘speaking role.’ The above approaches frame and direct the work that has been developed in each of the four thematic research areas. We describe those next, and in each section report on some of the research that has been accomplished to date.

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Thematic Research Areas

Our approach to this project has been through intersecting thematic research areas that have allowed us to study gender and other structural inequities for women in games, focusing our research efforts on four key areas of culture, industry, and both formal and informal education. Working collaboratively, and cutting across the four thematic research areas, ReFiG participating researchers, students and community members have identified a set of feminist principles and practices that guide this project, many of which will be familiar to feminist researchers, but

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Fig. 1 Research Areas

are worth elaborating on here. For instance, and without prioritization: (1) an interest in social change and for many of us, studying conditions (of women/others) in order to improve them; (2) locating yourself in the research—who you are and why you are you studying people, places, or objects; (3) co-creation of research outcomes and intersubjective relationships; (4) seeing participants as people, not data points; (5) prioritization of research that is interested in the advancement of folks who identify as women; (6) research that practices reciprocity; (7) transparency of expectations and outcomes; (8) respecting people’s right of refusal; (9) approaching research with an ethics of care; and (10) cultivating surprise in your research. What follows is a summary of the thematic research areas along with a brief, and certainly not complete overview of research conducted in those areas to date (see Fig. 1).

4.1

Research Area 1: Exploring the Culture of Games and Gameplay

In 2012, the darker side of digital games culture began to be exposed across the U.S., the U.K. and Canada as major news outlets turned public attention to the violent, vitriolic and misogynistic harassment women game players and critics face (Consalvo 2012; Jenson and de Castell 2013). In tandem, games themselves came under closer scrutiny, as critics began to take serious measure of the character and extent of representational concerns in large-budget, top-selling games—most prominent among these being the lack of central female characters (Williams et al. 2009), with the typical presentation of female characters being “damsels in distress” (Feminist Frequency 2013). In the rare examples of a female protagonist, she is likely to be presented as hyper-sexualized, as in the famous TOMB RAIDER series. The underlying premise of these critiques is that in perpetuating heteronormative stereotypes featuring dominating male central characters and sexualized and subordinate female ones, the games industry attracts and rewards

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its targeted male and heterosexual gamer audience for identifying with regressive forms of hegemonic masculinity that marginalize female gamers and designers alike. To date, we have documented the ‘ripple effects’ of gendered stereotypes from the representation of gender in games, the circulation of discriminatory discourse in online game-related forums, and documented debates and controversies within player communities. We have also conducted embedded research and collected data from hundreds of game developers at gaming events and hosted international symposia for industry and academics concerned about sustainability in games ecosystems. An extensive database documenting the reported conditions and experiences of women in the industry in Canada and the US is now being used to discover significant patterns of gender discrimination, and to crosscorrelate data on women’s routes into and career pathways within the industry. We have also produced a range of studies into the expansive cultures of game play, including the creation of an online resource chronicling the history of LGBTQ games (Shaw et al. 2019), the LGBTQ videogame archive (https://lgbtqgamearc hive.com/), ethnographies of women’s experiences in the emergent live streaming culture, participatory cultures in competitive gaming, and investigations into how masculinity manifests in play. Empirical findings in this thematic area have advanced theory about how and under what conditions women and minorities are able to participate with voice and visibility in games culture. Crucially, these findings also inform what needs to change to better support women and other minorities, and what specific methods and approaches might best support those changes.

4.2

Research Area 2: Documenting and Studying the Digital Games Industry

While there is much in the way of anecdotal evidence illustrating the relationship between misogyny and the exclusion of women from the gaming industry, no comprehensive studies either in Canada or internationally have adequately documented this problem. For example, it is still not clear how and in what ways the games industry is inhospitable towards women, implicitly or explicitly, even though the games industry has had a “#metoo” movement of sorts. In late November 2012, a Twitter hashtag, “#1reasonwhy” went viral in answer to the question of why there are not more women in the games industry. Responses revealed the scale and scope of sexual harassment, misogyny and discomfort experienced by women who work or have worked in the industry. However, there is very little academic research in Europe or North America that documents the gender-based issues raised in that viral twitter response, nor is there any data that provides a

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coherent picture either of what women’s roles are in the industry or of women’s remuneration in comparison to men’s. The industry-based data collected to date in North America and Europe is based on self-report from several surveys, one conducted by a game industry-focused group in the U.K. (UKIE), and the other by the International Game Developers Association (IGDA). These surveys report that approximately 18–22% of those working in the games industry identify as women (IGDA 2018). The 2017 IGDA survey also reported that many of those in the industry (both men and women) either experienced or witnessed harassment (IGDA 2018). This research area has documented and described, from an intersectional standpoint, the contemporary landscape of the games industry, through both workplace ethnographies and data collection on employment statistics, working conditions and differential promotion and pay rates in each of our partner countries (Canada, U.S., U.K). We continue to gather data on women working in games, and forging collaborations with industry insiders for policy development, particularly in Ontario, Quebec, and the UK. Collaborating with large-scale game studios has also been a significant part of this project, and we have had substantial success working with and placing embedded researchers in smaller studios, collaborative workspaces, industry festivals and events and within a coalition of indie game developers (see Whitson et al. 2018), as well as with teams working in emerging fields related to games in esports (Taylor 2016), transmedia, and VR production (Atkinson and Kennedy 2018; Harley 2019). Rather than looking exclusively at women working in game companies (de Castell and Skardzius 2019), we also mapped the vital role of women in the cultural and economic frameworks that drive the industry.

4.3

Research Area 3: Informal Learning Environments: Feminist Interventions

Informal learning environments, especially for adults, are invaluable sites for the acquisition of new skills and competencies (Engëstrom 2009; Knowles 1984; Marsick and Watkins 2001). One of the key outcomes of an earlier research project was the development of an explicitly feminist community-based infrastructure supporting the technological-skill development of women interested in entering the games industry, in Toronto, Montreal and the UK. The two non-profit organizations created during this earlier project (Dames Making Games, Toronto; Pixelles, Montreal) are still active (Harvey and Fisher 2016). These groups have helped women design and develop digital games, present newly developed games

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to the wider game development community, and support the entry of more women into industry jobs. The research in this theme has documented who participates in these kinds of non-formal game ‘incubator’ programs and why they do so, the curricula used, the means and methods of instruction (Evans 2018). Most importantly, it documents the outcomes for participants using these organizations to enter the larger games and new media industries, thereby identifying effective and sustainable approaches (Kennedy 2018). The methodological focus of this area is feminist intervention and impact assessment (Lather 1991; Rommes et al. 2012), which, as mentioned, works not just to analyze but also to positively change those conditions and to assess the impact of those changes. Examining grassroots and community efforts in the UK, US and Canada, including participant-led informal learning environments, has enabled the identification of potential and actual outcomes (both creative and economic) made possible by such initiatives, including pathways to employment, creative output, and community building. To date, we have also developed and piloted a manual for the creation and implementation of “community-based” game-focused programs, to be launched in early 2019. Partnerships have been productive in this area with a number of community organizations’ researchers collaborating in informal learning-program design, delivery, and impact assessment.

4.4

Research Area 4: Studying Inclusive Formal Learning and Educational Opportunities

This research area has gathered data from all university and college game programs in Canada, building a database of programs, diplomas, certificates, and exemplary courses. We have interviewed a large sample of instructors teaching in those programs about student demographics, completion rates, and equity policies, and we have begun a large-scale online survey of students and instructors in game and game related programs. An overview of post-secondary game programs in the US and UK are nearly complete. In the UK, we have conducted qualitative case studies of four higher education programs, including interviews with students and instructors as well as an analysis of policy, curriculum, and marketing materials (Harvey 2019). Provisional analyses identified key challenges to inclusivity in formal education, including the recruitment of women and other gender minorities, the lack of critical game literacy in game program curricula, and the domination of technology and business programs by male students, in comparison to less gender-stratified art and design programs. Simultaneously, our

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research reveals a number of successful initiatives encouraging female recruitment and retention, including active leadership and ‘ambassador’ roles.

5

So What? A Working Challenge as Conclusion

With an interventionist project of any size the challenge is, and has been, how to make conditions more habitable for women and other gender minorities. That is, what conditions will enable feminist work to make the kinds of interventions that result in positive change? The four thematic research areas we have described, and the work within them, are working towards that change. As an example, in the early days of 2019, the first exhibition of LGBTQ video games opened in Berlin (Thaddeus-Johns 2019). That exhibition is based on the partially funded ReFIG work by Adrienne Shaw at Temple University, who founded the LGBTQ videogame archive. The exhibition and the website both serve, we argue, as interventions into the culture of making and playing games, making a space for queer, nonbinary and other folks to come together around shared interests and shared content. More broadly we know from the scope and breadth of the work we have done, only briefly described here, that these small- and large-scale interventions can and do have a lasting impact on the lives of participants well beyond the event they participated in. Of course, the challenge in all of this work has been how to engage with the political climate of today, while still advancing the aims of the research. That has meant that some of what we have had to learn is to not retreat from difficult discussions, but to learn from our mistakes and indeed make it possible for people to make mistakes. Like with all good games, we have to build and sustain a place where people can try and fail, over and over, with some consequences, certainly, but always with a goal towards progression. We need to make room for failure and to be forgiven for our collective ignorance, but most importantly to be willing first and foremost to learn, to develop what Ivan Illich (1973) called “tools for conviviality.” Tools, he said foster conviviality “to the extent to which they can be easily used, by anybody, as often or as seldom as desired, for the accomplishment of a purpose chosen by the user” (Illich 1973, p. 35). That is, convivial tools or technologies are those that can be shared—are open-source—and are driven by the needs of the user, not the developer. We have been developing those convivial tools in this project, tools that might well help us attain, as Illich recovers the word from Aristotle, a kind of “graceful playfulness.” A key importance of this research is that it has been able to document the fact that the harassment of women, minorities and others is an ongoing issue in the

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games industry, and no matter how much both players and makers of games “love” their playing and making, it is not enough to combat the ongoing harassment (Jenson and de Castell 2018). We have also shown that while education might be somewhat of a barrier to entering into the games industry, it is certainly not the only one, and many women take up positions in the industry without having had any formal computer science training or formal training as game designers. And finally, we have shown, over time and in five separate locales (Brighton, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal and Bristol) how an interventionist approach to playing and making games, namely one that gives a safer space to women and girls to make and play on their own, creates opportunities for women to take up employment in the games industry, and for women and girls to skill up as players and makers, so they can participate in the largest and most influential creative industry of the twenty-first century. Finally, and it is worth repeating, that within all this work, we see time and time again the ways in which patriarchy operates structurally, placing limits on women and girls that they themselves and we ourselves do not always recognize. Acknowledgements This project has taken a herculean effort with much thanks going to Suzanne de Castell, Helen W. Kennedy, Nicholas Taylor and Emily Flynn-Jones for their fabulous support and willingness to “go big”. Thanks also to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Partnerships Grant program for funding support.

References Atkinson, S., & Kennedy, H. W. (2018). Extended Reality Ecosystems: Innovations in Creativity and Collaboration in the Theatrical Arts. Refractory: A Journal of Entertainment Media. https://refractory-journal.com/30-atkinson-kennedy/. Retrieved: [07.02.2020]. Auerbach, D. (2014a). Letter to a Young Male Gamer: Some Ground Rules to Keep in Mind in the Wake of an Ugly, Sexist Scandal. Slate. https://www.slate.com/articles/ technology/bitwise/2014/08/zoe_quinn_harassment_a_letter_to_a_young_male_gamer. html. Retrieved: [07.02.2020]. Auerbach, D. (2014b). Twitter Is Broken. Slate. https://www.slate.com/articles/tec hnology/technology/2014/10/twitter_is_broken_gamergate_proves_it.html. Retrieved: [07.02.2020]. Burrows, L. (2013). Women Remain Outsiders in Video Game Industry. Boston Globe. https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2013/01/27/women-remain-outsiders-videogame-industry/275JKqy3rFylT7TxgPmO3K/story.html. Retrieved: [07.02.2020]. Cain Miller, C. (2014). Technology’s Man Problem. The New York Times. https:// www.nytimes.com/2014/04/06/technology/technologys-man-problem.html. Retrieved: [07.02.2020].

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Harley, D. (2019). Palmer Lucky and the Rise of Contemporary Virtual Reality. Convergence. doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/1354856519860237. Harvey, A., & Fisher, S. (2016). Growing Pains: Intergenerational Feminisms in Digital Games. Feminist Media Studies, 16 (4), (pp. 648–662). Harvey, A. (2019). Becoming Gamesworkers: Diversity, Higher Education, and the Future of the Game Industry. Television and New Media, 20 (8), (pp. 756–766). Hill, C., Corbett, C., & St Rose, A. (2010). Why So Few? Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Washington: American Association of University Women. Huhman, H. R. (2012). STEM Fields and the Gender Gap: Where Are the Women? Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2012/06/20/stem-fields-and-thegender-gap-where-are-the-women/. Retrieved: [07.02.2020]. Hulko, W. (2009). The Time and Context Contingent Nature of Intersectionality and Interlocking Oppressions. Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work, (24 (1), pp. 44–55). doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/0886109908326814. IGDA. (2018). Weststar, J. , O-Meara, V., & Legault, M.-J. (Authors). Developer Satisfaction Survey, 2017. International Game Developers Association. https://s3-us-east2.amazonaws.com/igda-website/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/11143720/IGDA_DSS_ 2017_SummaryReport.pdf. Retrieved: [07.02.2020]. Illich, I. (1973). Tools for Conviviality. New York, NY: Harper and Row. Jenson, J., & de Castell, S. (2013). Tipping Points. Marginality, Misogyny and Videogames. Journal of Curriculum Theorizing, (29 (2), pp. 72–85). https://journal.jctonline. org/index.php/jct/article/view/474/pdf. Retrieved: [07.02.2020]. Jenson, J., & de Castell, S. (2018). “The Entrepreneurial Gamer: Regendering the Order of Play. Games and Culture, 13 (7), (pp. 728–746). Kennedy, H. W. (2018). Game Jam as Feminist Methodology: The Affective Labours of Intervention in the Ludic Economy. Games and Culture, 13 (3), (pp. 708–727). Knowles, M. (1984). Andragogy in Action. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Lather, P. (1991). Getting Smart: Feminist Research and Pedagogy With/in the Postmodern. New York, NY: Routledge. Lather, P., & Smithies, S. (1997). Troubling the Angels: Women Living With HIV/AIDS. Boulder: Westview/Harper Collins. Latour, B. (1987). Science in Action: How to Follow Scientists and Engineers Through Society. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Latour, B. (1992). Where Are the Missing Masses? The Sociology of a Few Mundane Artifacts. In E. Wiebe, W. E. Bijker & J. Law (Eds.), Shaping Technology/Building Society: Studies in Sociotechnical Change. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Latour, B. (2005). Reassembling the Social: An Introduction to Actor-Network Theory. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Law, J. (1994). Organizing Modernity. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. Lee, D. (2014). Zoe Quinn: Gamergate Must be Condemned. BBC News. https://www. bbc.com/news/technology-29821050. Retrieved: [07.02.2020]. Manjoo, F. (2014). Exposing Hidden Biases at Google to Improve Diversity. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/25/technology/exposing-hidden-biasesat-google-to-improve-diversity.html?_r=0. Retrieved: [07.02.2020].

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Marsick, V. J., & Watkins, K. E. (2001). Informal and Incidental Learning. New Directions in Adult and Continuing Education, (89, pp. 25–34). doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/ace.5. McWhertor, M. (2014). Fez Developer Polytron Hacked in Ongoing Game Developer Harassment Effort. Polygon. https://www.polygon.com/2014/8/22/6057317/fez-develo per-polytron-hacked-harassment. Retrieved: [07.02.2020]. Pantozzi, J. (2013). Microsoft Comments of Xbox Rape Joke Controversy at E3. The Mary Sue. https://www.themarysue.com/microsoft-reply-rape-comments/. Retrieved: [07.02.2020]. Plunkett, L. (2012). Here’s a Devastating Account of the Crap Women in the Games Business Have to Deal With. Kotaku. https://kotaku.com/5963528/heres-a-devastating-acc ount-of-the-crap-women-in-the-games-business-have-to-deal-with-in-2012. Retrieved: [07.02.2020]. Robertson, A. (2014). ‘Massacre’ Threaten Forces Anita Sarkeesian to Cancel University Talk. The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2014/10/14/6978809/utah-state-universityreceives-shooting-threat-for-anita-sarkeesian-visit. Retrieved: [07.02.2020]. Rommes, E., Bath, C., & Maass, S. (2012). Methods for Intervention: Gender Analysis and Feminist Design of ICT. Science, Technology & Human Values, (37 (6), pp. 653–662). doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/0162243912450343. Samuels, G. M., & Ross-Sheriff, F. (2008). Identity, Oppression and Power: Feminisms and Intersectionality Theory. Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work, (23 (1), pp. 5–10). doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/0886109907310475. Schreier, J. (2013). Microsoft’s Slow Response to Xbox Harassment Leaves One Woman Stunned. Kotaku. https://kotaku.com/microsofts-slow-response-to-xbox-harassment-lea ves-one-1139807887. Retrieved: [07.02.2020]. Schreier, J. (2014). Thousands Rally Online Against Gamergate. Kotaku. https://kotaku. com/thousands-rally-online-against-gamergate-1646500492. Retrieved: [07.02.2020]. Schulten, K. (2014). How Sexist Is the Gaming World? The New York Times. https://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/10/17/how-sexist-is-the-gaming-world. Retrieved: [07.02.2020]. Shaw, A., Lauteria, E. W., Yang, H., Persaud, C. J., & Cole, A. M. (2019). Counting Queerness in Games: Trends in LGBTQ Digital Game Representation 1985–2005. International Journal of Communication, 13, (pp. 1544–1569). Snyder, K. (2014). Why Women Leave Tech: It’s the Culture, Not Because ‘Math Is Hard’. Fortune. https://fortune.com/2014/10/02/women-leave-tech-culture/. Retrieved: [07.02.2020]. Southey, T. (2014). A Guide to the Ideas and Words of Gamergate. The Globe and Mail. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/columnists/a-guide-to-the-ideasand-words-of-gamergate/article21146512/. Retrieved: [07.02.2020]. Stewart, E. (2018). California Just Pass a Law Requiring More Women on Boards. It Matters, Even If It Fails. Vox. https://www.vox.com/2018/10/3/17924014/californiawomen-corporate-boards-jerry-brown. Retrieved: [07.02.2020]. Stone, J. (2014). Gamergate’s Vicious Right-Wing Swell Means There Can Be No Neutral Stance. The Guardian UK. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/oct/13/gam ergate-right-wing-no-neutral-stance. Retrieved: [07.02.2020].

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Taylor, N. T. (2016). Now You’re Playing With Audience Power: The Work of Watching Games. Critical Studies in Media Communication, (33 (4), pp. 293–301). doi: https:// doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/15295036.2016.1215481. Thaddeus-Johns, J. (2019). Sex Lives and Video Games: First Exhibition of LGBTQ Gaming History Opens in Berlin. The Guardian Online. https://www.theguardian.com/ games/2019/jan/04/rainbow-arcade-lgbtq-video-games-exhibition-world-of-warcraft-nin tendo-berlin?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other. Retrieved: [07.02.2020]. The Stream. (2014). #GamerGate: Misogyny and Corruption in the Gaming Community? Al Jazeera, The Stream. https://stream.aljazeera.com/story/201409032102-0024126. No longer available. Thier, D. (2014). #GamerGate Opponents Behind #StopGamerGate2014. Forbes. https:// www.forbes.com/sites/davidthier/2014/10/15/gamergate-opponents-rally-behind-stopga mergate2014/. Retrieved: [07.02.2020]. Weinberger, D. (2014). Why #Gamergate Won’t Go Away. CNN Online. https://www.cnn. com/2014/10/19/opinion/weinberger-gamergate/. Retrieved: [07.02.2020]. Whitson, J., Simon, B., & Parker, F. (2018). The Missing Producer: Rethinking Indie Cultural Production in Terms of Entrepreneurship, Relational Labour, and Sustainability. European Journal of Cultural Studies, (pp. 1–23). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10. 1177/1367549418810082. Retrieved: [07.02.2020]. Williams, D., Martins, N., Consalvo, M., & Ivory, I. (2009). The Virtual Census: Representations of Gender, Race and Age in Video Games. New Media and Society, 11 (5), (pp. 815–834). Wingfield, N. (2014). Feminist Critics of Video Games Face Threats in ‘GamerGate’ Campaign. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/16/technology/gamerg ate-women-video-game-threats-anita-sarkeesian.html. Retrieved: [07.02.2020].

Gamification of Terror—Power Games as Liminal Spaces Sonia Fizek and Anne Dippel

Abstract

Cases of domestic terrorism have increased in the last few years. Although executed in often remote locations worldwide, they share a lot of resemblances, the most striking ones of which have resulted in their recent gamified character as seen in achievement systems and first-person shooter esthetics. This chapter is an attempt to understand the so-called “gamification of terror” by looking for answers not in videogames per se but in their capacity to build communities, however destructive they might turn. The authors propose to see gamified acts of terror as dark rituals “played out” in liminal spaces to argue with the anthropologist Victor Turner. Keywords

Video games • Gamification • Violence • Rhetoric of power • Liminal space Ritual • Alt-right • Terrorism • Game studies • Play studies • Anthropology

•

“Computer games are a key part of the shared culture from which one can begin – as laborious as it is playful – the process of creating a reflective and critical approach to the times.” (Wark 2007). S. Fizek (B) Technische Hochschule Köln, Köln, Germany E-Mail: [email protected] A. Dippel Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Jena, Germany E-Mail: [email protected] © Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, part of Springer Nature 2020 M. Groen et al. (eds.), Games and Ethics, Digitale Kultur und Kommunikation 7, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-28175-5_6

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“Every type of cultural performance, including ritual, ceremony, carnival, theatre and poetry, is explanation and explication of life itself.” (Turner 1982, p. 13)

1

Gamifying Terror

October 9, 2019—An average noon in an Eastern German town of Halle (Saale). The city’s residents become witness to an attack in front of the synagogue’s closed door. After several failed attempts to enter the Jewish place of worship, the shooter leaves, killing a passer-by and a Kebab shop customer, and wounding a couple. August 3, 2019—A late morning in El Paso, USA. A gunman opens fire in a local Wal-Mart supermarket, killing eighteen people and wounding several others. March 15, 2019—Early afternoon in Christchurch, New Zealand. A heavily armed man enters a mosque and an Islamic center, leaving 51 people killed and 49 injured. Cases of domestic terrorism like the ones listed above have been repeatedly taking place in the last few years, reaching a peak in 2019. Although these acts have been committed in locations far apart from each other, several noticeable commonalities can be pointed out. They tend to be initiated by far-right and altright white male extremists, often referred to as “lone wolves” as they act outside of any direct and organized command structures. Many had been radicalized in an online ecosystem of right wing terror spread on user-moderated boards such as 4chan, 8chan or Gab.1 In addition to that, two other noteworthy aspects increasingly common to such acts become apparent: public head-counting of victims on anonymous news boards and live streaming of the attacks via head-mounted cameras (Mackintosh and Mezzofiore 2019). And it is those two phenomena that have brought video games back into the spotlight of infamy in a long-lasting discussion on their relationship to ethics and violence. This time, however, the public discourse has shifted from videogames per se to that of gamification, which explains the use of game dynamics in non-game scenarios (Deterding et al. 2011; Deterding and Walz 2015). Competition, achievement-centered logic and first-person perspective in displaying video recordings on live streaming platforms are presented by many publicists (Schiffer 2019; Mackintosh and Mezzofiore 2019, TAZ 2019) as the common key to understanding the recent right-wing terror attacks. 1 4Chan

and 8Chan are unregulated anonymous discussion boards. Gab can be described as an ultra-libertarian social media site. Amongst others, they have been attracting far-right propagandists (Davey and Ebner 2019).

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As inciting as it may be in theory, gamification provides only a partial answer. It can explain how the acts of terror are being carried out within the esthetics of video gaming. It cannot, however, address the core of the problem: Why are videogames discussed within the context of extremism in the first place, and what makes them such a “perfect” fit? Or, to ask with Mark Siemons, a columnist of the FAZ (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung), “Why would an anti-Semitic terrorist model his attacks on a first-person shooter videogame?” (Siemons 2019). This chapter is an invitation to explore the above questions and challenge the main line of argumentation in the ongoing discussions on the “gamification of terror”.2 Video recording and live streaming of the acts of terror as well as augmenting killing by turning it into virtual competition between anonymous radicalized news board users shed a new light on the discussion of the ethical dimension of play. We consider these esthetic and narrative aspects part of a strategy of spectacular entertainment framed within a global sociotechnical practice, partially drawing on the imagery of mainstream video gaming. Trivializing death and making it the object of a ludic spectacle require a careful analysis, one going beyond a direct videogame/violence cause-and-effect debate. The gamification of terror requires us to rethink not only the role of videogames or gamers in political extremism but, above all, forms of community and the infrastructure of the newly emerging alternative social platforms, which are providing a necessary space for the growth of the alt-right community as they serve as a host to many scattered, angry and, most importantly, scared white male individuals. It is within those computer-mediated spaces that a new form of community emerges and generates an alternative concept to the post-modern “public” (Habermas 1962) by exploring alternative forms of expression, in this case destructive to the societal body defined by modern constitutions and the equality of rights. Within the context of gamified terror, violence is not only gamified but, more importantly, ritualized and in effect staged as a mass-entertainment spectacle. Rhetorics of play as well as the anthropology of community and ritual offer an insightful starting point to understand the emerging place of videogames within the context of transnational right-wing extremism. We intend to bring two concepts in particular into the conversation: the rhetorics of power 2 It

is difficult to pinpoint the origin of the term. Gamification of extremism seems to have been brought to public attention for the first time in March 2019 after the mass shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand. In August 2019 the “phrases gamification of terror” and “gamification of terrorism” were widely used in international media in the aftermath of the El Paso mass shooting. Previously, the term “gamification” was employed within the context of American drone warfare (Pugliese 2017) and the ISIS game modification of the videogame Grand Theft Auto V (Rockstar Games 2013).

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by Brian Sutton-Smith (1997) and liminality by Victor Turner (1982). At this point we would also like to emphasize that the complexity of gamified terror can barely be explained within the modern framework and only partially within the post-modern one. Above all, in order to understand the dynamics behind this phenomenon, we need to acknowledge the crucial role digital media play in the formation of trans-national alt-right communities: not as mere tools but as co-agents, whose communication infrastructures foster the dynamics of radicalization. In this chapter we seek to illustrate how rhetorics of power and liminality can be employed to explain the phenomenon of gamified terror within the context of digital media. Our main argument is that alternative online social platforms (such as 4chan, 8chan or Gab) in combination with videogames esthetics create ritualized liminal spaces. Both rituals and games (often overlapping) have the capacity to open up liminal spaces, allowing individuals to go through a process known in anthropology as “rite de passage” (van Gennep 1960). Within liminal spaces reality is turned upside down, and the lines between fact and fiction become blurred. Visions of reality represented by the alt-right community and those who turn into domestic terrorists are inspired by fictitious conspiracy theories (Davey and Ebner 2019), often shared online in the form of memes or pseudo-documentary films produced by the members of that community. The acts of terror are turned into gamified spectacles, which resemble post 1990s documentary television (Koch 2019), fusing the immersive character of an audio-visual spectacle with a first-person shooter narrative structure often amplified by affective background music and accompanied by live commentary. By live-streaming the acts of terror on global platforms, the usually isolated individuals manage to exert an impact on the collective realities of their audience. The strategy is clear: Personalization and statistical comparability through pointsification, visualization through head-mounted cameras, dramatization through weaponization and emotional music, narrativization through letters claiming responsibility and chat comments, and a representation of planned and committed attacks in present tense, as well as authentication of reality through actual commitment of murder, traces of blood and in the end the will to kill and the wish to die a heroic death, even suicide—the last and most existential expression of free will a human being has. The narrative that holds the perpetrators together must be readable by anyone since the action is intended to have effect on a global scale.

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Play as Power

Human play is ambiguous (Sutton-Smith 1997). Contrary to its most popular connotations, it is not always pure, positive, good, or free of ideological bias. It can be cruel (Sutton-Smith 1997), dark (Mortensen et al. 2015) and violent, especially when related to competitive or agonistic play. Sutton-Smith argues that “understanding play primarily as contest reflects the wide-spread male rhetoric that favors the exaltation of combative power” (1997, p. 80). Combat is also inscribed into the etymology of play—the Anglo-Saxon plega denotes a game or sport but can also refer to a fight and battle. Apart from the ostensible motive (misogyny, evolutionism, anti-Semitism and anti-Islamism), the idea of competition is an additional moving cause for the recent gamified acts of terror. The assaulters often see themselves in direct competition with their predecessors. For instance, in a white nationalist manifesto posted online, the Halle attacker expressed his desire to “beat his high score”, the pronoun “his” referring to the Australian attacker responsible for Christchurch shootings in New Zealand (Mackintosh and Mezzofiore 2019). Also the far-right online community scores the performances of the shooters, placing them indirectly in competition with one another, which in turn inspires and encourages more attackers to join in the “ranks”, forming a community of sworn solitary partisans that appears to attract a cult-like following. Jacob Davey, a senior research fellow at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), a global counter-extremism organization, concludes in an interview for the CNN, “… people criticizing the attacker shows how these attacks have become gamified – their criticism was that his score wasn’t high enough. That’s the way these people think, that these attacks are to be consumed, scored and dissected like a video game” (Mackintosh and Mezzofiore 2019). The esthetic and narrative structure of the first-person shooter on the other hand reflect the power image of a heavily armed male figure well-trained and prepared for the successful completion of a mission. Within this context, to play is to fight. And to fight is to potentially win, to take over control, even at the expense of one’s own life. Games can offer the opportunity to come to terms with death, war or violence (Golstein 1998) and open up space for a variety of emotions (Bareither 2016). However, in the case of gamification of terror, the stakes are larger than the game itself, involving the lives of those who stand in the way of the armed terrorist. In popular discourse first-person shooter games tend to be conflated with all video games, disregarding the fact that violent competition does not constitute the only existing mode of digital play. For this reason we want to differentiate between video games in general and what we refer to as

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“power games”, which are characterized by control, combat and violence. It is an important point to make at the start of the discussion on games and terror in order not to equate videogames as such with violence, falling into a rhetorical trap set by the political discourse. Control, power and competition are traditionally important rhetorical tools for fascist ideologies in general and the alt-right community in particular, which considers violent action as an effective way to solve social tension (Butler 2020) and participates in an imagined ongoing evolutionary struggle of a survival of the fittest: “I can’t sit by and watch my people get slaughtered. Screw Your Optics. I am Going In”, posted the shooter responsible for the Pittsburgh synagogue attack on Gab social platform (Sacks 2018). The military first-person shooter esthetic strengthens the image of an allegedly endangered white supremacist “species” attempting to defend itself against extinction prophesied by white supremacist conspiracy theories, which could be subsumed under the banner of “The Great Replacement” (Davey and Ebner 2019). But the transnational extremist terror fueled by conspiracy theories would not have spread so quickly, had it not been for computer-mediated online spaces, which synthesize otherwise fragmented and scattered trans-national individuals into a community-like pattern.

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Online Platforms as Active Matter

Most of the alternative social networks, which have become the hotbeds of extremism and radicalism, ironically stage themselves as decentralized spaces standing in opposition to the status quo of big technology companies, the so-called “Big Tech” oligopoly represented by, for instance, Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google (Karabell 2020). Gab, a social media website established in 2017, claims to champion free speech, individual liberty and the free flow of information online: “At Gab, we believe that the future of online publishing is decentralized and open. We believe that users of social networks should be able to control their social media experience on their own terms, rather than the terms set down by Big Tech. Gab’s codebase is free and open-source, licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License version 3 (AGPL3).”3 It is at Gab where the Pittsburgh synagogue shooter of 2018 posted antiSemitic content and his terrorist manifesto. Since its launch, Gab has been attracting a considerable alt-right and extremist user base, which in the name of allegedly free speech propagates hate speech, abusing and misunderstanding 3 Gab

Social: https://not-develop.gab.com/about.

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the true notion of freedom of expression within democratic societies. As the authors of the report “The Violent Consequences of Mainstreamed Extremism” emphasize. “Far-right propagandists have used the entire new media ecosystem to promote the idea of a white genocide: they have been particularly active across unregulated imageboard threads on 8chan and 4chan, censorship-free discussion platforms like Voat and ultra-libertarian social media sites like Gab and Minds.” (Davey and Ebner 2019, p. 24) 4chan, an anonymous imageboard launched 16 years ago as a space for anime fans, has given its users even more freedom often associated with the early days of the World Wide Web. “On the Internet, nobody knows you’re a dog” goes the popular meme inspired by a cartoon caption published in 1993 on the pages of The New Yorker. Although originally conceptualized as a hub for Internet subculture and home to a plethora of themed boards, 4chan’s boards/new/ (news) later renamed to/pol/ (politically incorrect) started attracting racist and alt-right audiences. The website is often referred to as a cesspool of hate, with instances of hate speech increased by 40% since 2015 (Arthur 2019). The site has further interesting dynamics apart from user anonymity. It has no memory. 4Chan’s zero data retention feature means that content is not archived, making it difficult to trace after it has been posted unless someone saves the data at the moment of its being posted for later access (e.g., by taking a screenshot). Otherwise, older posts are simply replaced by newer threads. Similarly to 4chan, 8chan is animageboard attracting predominantly alt-right communities. Established in 2013 as an answer to a growing “surveillance” of content on 4chan, the website was supposed to re-instantiate free speech on the Internet. It has attracted posts linked to conspiracy theories and white supremacism, neo-Nazism, alt-right, as well as child pornography. In August 2019, 8chan rebranded itself to 8kun, following three mass shootings (Christchurch, New Zealand; Poway, California; El Paso, Texas), whose initiators used the website to share their manifestos. Also the shooter in Halle (Saale) was an active 8chan user. And although correlation does not imply causality, the significance of the above media channels within the context of gamified terror attacks should not be downplayed. Those platforms provide ample space for far-right extremist ideas to spread amongst growing follower base (Davey and Ebner 2019). Non-moderated social media platforms (such as 4chan, 8chan and Gab, among others) bring otherwise scattered alt-right users together, giving them the possibility to form coherent communities and realize their unfulfilled desires of belonging and wholeness in

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a fragmented globalized world. It is a bitter, if not a broken reality,4 in which the democratic right of freedom of speech and the right of anonymity designed for protecting members of a given civil society transform social spaces into echo chambers of alt-right extremism (subverted by racism, fascism, and misogyny) capable of rapidly polarizing and radicalizing more users. Individual users transform into members of a transnational counterculture flourishing in digital spaces such as 8chan. Here, they stage themselves as a revolutionary and liberating force opposing the global status quo, but above all, the democratic values, which paradoxically grant the existence of their “imagined community” (Anderson 1983) in the first place. The concept of the “imagined community” is crucial here as it places the medium in the center of the discussion. In his work on imagined communities, Benedict Anderson emphasizes the role of capitalized print media in the process of nation formation. It is with the introduction of the printing press and national print languages that otherwise dispersed local communities started forming their overarching identity by finding a common voice, he argues. The relationship between the sixteenth century print medium, its nineteenth century culmination point in the formation of nation states, and today’s networked digital media gives rise to an analogy that goes beyond mere rhetoric and stems from the materiality of the communication medium. Without the networked computer and the possibility to join a global conversation, in which every opinion may be potentially of an equal weight (an average citizen has access to the same communication channels as the head of state, e.g., Twitter), trans-national alt-right communities would not have the possibility to form on the same scale. Unlike the printing press, the networked computer has the capacity to turn each potential user into a messenger, while also speeding up the communication and re-instantiating the importance of image and sound as primary message carriers (e.g., Instagram, YouTube, live-streams, memes, etc.). 4chan and 8chan were originally established as imageboards, so each new post or discussion was supposed to be initiated with an image. Digital media, which rely primarily on visual and oral storytelling elements (Ong 1971), are putting an end to societies of letters initiated by the printing press, and with it, to a certain degree, to argumentation, the foundation of dialogue in democratic societies based on constitutional values, laws, commonly accepted scientific truths and secular social rules as opposed to beliefs, opinions, alternative truths and conspiracy theories.

4A

reference to Jane McGonigal’s book titled Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World (2010).

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Media should not be frowned upon as mere tools of communication but taken seriously as co-agents in discursive practices with a performativity of their own. In other words, online platforms such as 4Chan and 8Chan are neither pure cause nor pure effect of alt-right communities but should rather be understood as agoras amplifying the spectacles of gamified terror. Networked media are digital matter that matters (Barad 2003, p. 26) as much as the printing press in its contribution to the fall of monarchies and the formation of nation states.

4

Gamified Extremism as a Liminal Space

We draw on the anthropological concept of liminality to sketch the complexity of gamified terrorism initiated and embedded in digital media. Originally conceptualized within the framework of rituals in non-modern societies by the ethnographer Arnold van Gennep to understand ceremonies of rites of passage (van Gennep 1960), it was developed further by the Scottish anthropologist Victor Turner (1982). According to Turner, liminality demonstrates how community, or “communitas”, is built. Apart from ritual, play and games constitute an important part in Turner’s work on the liminal as they have the power to create the sense of belonging amongst members of a social group. We are arguing here that video game esthetics in combination with alt-right ideology propagated via online social platforms generate “liminal spaces”. In this specific framework, video games serve as community-building and mediatized rites of passage performed through ritualized modes of action. In the context of recent terror attacks, video games accompany the transition from a pre-ritual status of an anonymous alt-right user (“anon”) to an elevated (and usually existentially annihilated) status attained after a successful terrorist attack by generating the highest score (body count) possible. In other words, gamified acts of terror may be interpreted as “dark” (Ortner 2016) rituals performed by the members of the community, who, via the terror-driven rites of passage, change their status from “anons” to “heroes” recognized by their own community. To illustrate the applicability of the concept of liminality to the framework of this discussion, a look at the etymology of the word “liminal” will prove insightful. The Latin word limen signifies a threshold, something that remains in between different spaces, dividing and connecting them at the same time. To undergo a rite of passage means to cross a threshold in a ritual sense, turning symbolic meaning into physical effect. To undergo a liminal state means to transition from one state to another, usually involving an elevation of status, for example from childhood

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to adulthood. A classical case of a violent rite of passage is for example male circumcision in Judaism and Islam, turning the circumcised into a full member of the community (Derrida 1999). The symbolic and physical transition can be accompanied by a passage in space. It may be a literal crossing of a threshold separating two spaces, like in traditional European weddings when a husband carries his freshly wed wife over the threshold of their house. These spatial crossings and symbolical transitions from meaning to matter may also signify a passage from the virtual to the real space; from an online message board to a synagogue, a mosque, a street, or a supermarket. As Turner emphasizes, “the ritual subjects … undergo a ‘leveling’ process, in which signs of their pre-liminal status are destroyed and signs of their liminal non-status applied” (1982, p. 59). Those non-status signs may be signified by the absence of clothing, name or identity. In the virtual space of 8chan, the anonymous users refer to themselves as “anons”. It is only after a terrorist attack that the real name is revealed and becomes public. Liminality usually involves rituals that can be considered sacred spatiotemporal phenomena of community building. Games as fictitious and immersive spaces of play, suspended from reality, offer a ground for “communitas” (Hamayon 2016). The ludic dimension of gamified terrorism opens a ritualized space within the framework of which terrorists turn their bodies into political bodies occupying a public space, dominating it and restoring their control over it. Liminality may also involve subversive and ludic events, writes Turner (1982, p. 59). Within a liminal space, the existing structures are reversed or temporarily suspended. This change further strengthens the sense of “communitas”. The alt-righters employ the first-person shooter esthetics and other competitive elements of play as means of subverting the existing social status quo and introducing the so-called “anti-structure”, which in turn makes their community even more submerged in conspiracies. Expanding on that logic, we could say that an “anon” transforms into an anti “anti-hero, and through their act of “ending the game” they complete the imagery of social war. The terrorist wages war against every value that seems to have common consent in modern constitutions—equal rights, tolerance, freedom of religious and sexual choices, and no discrimination against women, People of Color and any other minority that does not fall into the category of the hegemonic dominant white male population. An anti “anti-hero” strengthens the realization of the community they pledge their allegiance to. Liminality seems to be characteristic of stable, cyclical and repetitive systems—in short: of non-modern societies (Latour 1993). As Turner emphasizes, contemporary societies (contemporary with his, i.e., pre-digital times), do not create “pockets of liminality” but operate within liminoid spaces. They lack the

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communal rhythms of non-modern societal structures and can therefore only create liminoid spaces. The major difference between the two lies in the concept of social obligation detached from a constitutional public. Whereas liminal situations in non-modern cultural aspects are obligatory (e.g., one has to go through communion as a child to become a full member of the Catholic community), liminoid situations do not require the same level of commitment. Theaters, carnival, modern film, or universities—in other words: institutions, traditions and media of modern and post-modern societies—are liminoid spaces with individual degrees of commitment. With the growing significance of networked media, we are witnessing the emergence of an era that is no longer defined solely by liminoid situations, but again liminal ones. Thus, the liminoid digital includes aspects of the liminal; aspects that create individualized visions of belonging as much as safe spaces of transitioning. Our contemporary digital societies then combine the liminal elements of non-modern societies with the liminoid ones characteristic of modern societies. Video games, similarly to rituals and myths, are usually perceived as an epiphenomenon of digital liminoidity. Gamification of terror complicates the modern-versus- non-modern distinction of liminality and liminoidity as it breaks the fictional and non-obligatory setting by turning from imagination to reality through the computer as the symbolic machine. In the world of existential being, the stakes are higher than the game itself. Gamified terrorism then may be described as a symptom of digital liminality: a liminal phenomenon within a liminoid framework of digital entertainment, which usually connotes a non-binding scenario. Within digital communication spaces or “digital matrices” (Hörl and Parisi 2013), however, the liminoid space thickens through emotionalized speech, especially communal hate speech or “excitable speech” (Butler 1997), creating frames of violence (Butler 2009) and pushing (psychologically vulnerable) members of society to perform pseudo rites of passage, turning words into action. In contemporary secular Western societies that have effectively rid themselves of traditional obligatory rites de passage, spaces like 4Chan accompanied with gamified mobilization techniques may be read as signs of how an online world is changing societies, reminiscent of the outdated concept of tribalism. The altright communities may force us to revive the analytical category of the “tribe” as a form of community, but in a non-classical and beyond-modern sense. These digital tribes are creating pockets of “communitas” in a fragmented and globalized world. Platforms such as 4Chan and 8Chan attract “free-floating” members of a society that did not have the chance to develop a stable sense of “communitas” within secular constitutional frameworks. It is not video games that make

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them change, but the digital liminal space of communication that creates pseudocommunitas and evokes a sense of belonging to a community of anti-society, with values, habitus, rituals and concepts much more appealing to those who might feel lonely amongst the physical presence of their immediate others. The liminal within gamified terror is a longing for and a performance of the non-modern social order. Perhaps it is also not coincidental that entertainment (live-streaming and video game esthetics) is central in staging the acts of terror. Victor Turner emphasizes the word entertain, derived from Old French entretenir meaning to “hold apart” that is to create a liminal space in which performances may take place (Turner 1982, p. 41). In other words, gamification of terror is a complex liminal phenomenon, one that plays with the elements of the familiar (games) only to defamiliarize them (as acts of ludic terror). It is “entertainment” in the most literal and gruesome of meanings. And it is a symptom of the networked computer era.

5

Video Games and Violence Revisited

It is not the first time that the alt-right has nested itself within the videogame culture. In 2014 a misogynist personal bullying incident developed into a fullyfledged harassment campaign referred to as the Gamergate controversy (Chess and Shaw 2015). An unspecified and dispersed group of male online users targeted several women in the video game industry with the aim to defend their own core gamer identity, which was allegedly endangered by “raging” feminists and “social justice warriors”. Gamergaters gathered amongst others on such social networks like 4chan, which a few years later would become a hotspot of altright ideology and “head-count competitions”. This might have contributed to the popular image of video games as sources of social violence and gamers as white male supremacists. Due to their interactive character and ever more refined realistic visual style, games (especially the first-person shooter genre) have been readily abused as examples of deviant media, directly responsible for crime. After increasingly more frequent mass shootings in the United States and a growing social plea to either restrict or ban access to guns, the old argument concerning violence allegedly caused by video games has vehemently reentered the public discourse. Politicians such as Donald Trump have dubbed videogames violent media and proclaimed their negative social impact (Draper 2019; Voytko 2019).

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Such statements may seem hypocritical at best, taking into consideration the fact that the US Army has been officially employing the medium of videogames to create a positive image of the soldier’s career and recruit new war talent. Games such as America’s Army (United States Army 2002) or one of the first military-themed games Tank (Kee Games 1974) frame their mechanics through wartime violence (Symonds 2012) and yet do not seem to cause as much public concern as they should. Also the German Bundeswehr uses videogame esthetics as a recruitment tool. The armed forces of Germany attend the Gamescom, the world’s largest video games trade fair, regularly as a host. Their posters adopt videogame esthetics and rhetoric by implementing such slogans as “Multiplayer at its best” or “Mehr Open World geht nicht” (trans. As open world as it gets), placed against a background of highly stylized military shots resembling blockbuster video game or film covers (Horizont 2018). Digitalized societies are exposed to what Robertson Allen calls cultural militarization (2017), a process “shaped by the economy of war, immersed in the interactive spectacles of conflict, and distracted by a pervasive overload of information” (2017, p. 11). The logic of gamified violence lies at the heart of military structures (ranking, badges, status), which often use digital technology as a distant tool trivializing and gamifying death. American drone warfare has been linked to videogames, for instance within the context of the so-called civil militarization, which “articulates the colonizing of civilian sites, practices and technologies by the military” (Pugliese 2016, p. 2017). Games and warfare co-exist in a mutual embrace, where the technology and esthetics of war and entertainment are constantly overlapping. Many games and toys of the past were also “deliberately designed for conflict oriented and violent play styles and themes. War toys are among the oldest examples of these” (Mäyrä 2015). Toy soldiers and miniature weapons were known already in antiquity (Golstein 1998). Strategic war games also have a long history preceding digital computers by centuries (von Hilgers 2012). Despite a historical connection between war and games, no study has been able to point to direct behavioral change caused by playing videogames. To extend the argument even further, “…after fifty years and more than five thousand studies, no one has established a clear connection between media violence and violence in the general population” (Karlsen 2014). That is not to say that the abundance of violence esthetics in media, including videogames, is not a major problem in contemporary societies. To look for a simplified cause-and-effect chain between the two, however, is to miss the point.

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Destruction by Connection

Games bring people together. Their communal aspect is encoded in the etymology of the word “game”. The Proto-Germanic prefix ga- means “together” and the stem -mann signifies “men” (stem -mann). The act of gamified terror distorts the social dimension of gaming for the purpose of disturbing a collective social order that is based on equal rights and tolerance, at the same time deriving its appeal from a strong sense of a transnational alt-right communal bond, standing in the long tradition of fascism, racism, misogyny, anti-Islamism, anti-Semitism, and evolutionism. The paradox here is that while an existing social order is diffracted, a trans-national extremist community is built. Videogames play an infamous role in this complex scenario. Their immersive narrative structure, ritualistic repetitive mechanics, and their community-building potential contribute to the formation of a digital ecosystem, in which extremism is given a chance to flourish. As we tried to argue in this text, “imaginary communities” formed over the networked social platforms regain a sense of control, a feeling of belonging, even an imagined vision of completed missions, all enhanced by the idea of competition and the first-person shooter esthetics. All those aspects grant alt-right ideologies a fitting narrative to confirm and share their Darwinist survival of the fittest narrative. Through competition (previously mentioned head-counting and bringing the terrorists into indirect competition with one another), dispersed alt-right users establish proximity. Comparison and competition add up to the sense of belonging and community in half-public spheres of the digital social platforms. Framing the acts of terror within videogames esthetics further dismantles acceptable social rules, which usually separate the world of make-believe from reality. In times of post-truth and fake news, however, fiction and facts are constantly superimposed, weaving a web of conspiracy theories rarely withstanding logical reasoning. Shared via unregulated and anonymous social media platforms, they quickly gain “truth” status, emerging from the misinterpretation of the idea of freedom of thought and speech. Videogames esthetics provide for a live-streamed entertainment distorting the presented reality within the framework usually reserved for fictitious scenarios. It is not videogames or game logics per se then that lead to violence. It is their capacity to create bonding via ritual, repetition and competition that is abused and distorted by human actors. Neither videogames nor the operational infrastructure of digital media may be summoned before the court. It is the human actors that are to be held accountable. Gamification of terror shows how play and gaming culture can be instrumentalized within the least expected contexts.

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Anonymous alt-right online users undergo mediatized rites of passage, some of which culminate in a liminal ritual enhanced by videogame esthetics. These bring the feeling of control over reality back and frame the acts of terror within a fictitious yet globally recognizable format. The terrorist acts alone but at the same time in the name of a collective, offering cultural sense and collective meaning to hypothetical claims of conspiratorial riotous assemblies formed, amongst other, on social platforms and in chat groups. Each social platform user can be understood in a not so far-fetched analogy with the concept of agent-based computer simulations of elementary particles (DeRaedt et al. 2014; Dippel and Warnke forthcoming). The users have their personal spin, a historical momentum, their individual emotional charge, as well as social, cultural, economical and national “mass” or “capital”, as Pierre Bourdieu sees it. It is the platform as such that polarizes and radicalizes those freewheeling individuals. The operational logic of social media turns a diffracted set of individuals into a coherent group, providing those who in their daily lives feel left behind with a new sense of belonging online. Perhaps gamified terror then embodies play at its most intoxicating, the opposite of fair, ethical and moral play; the kind of play which makes more sense in the context of war games and power games rather than videogames. The kind of play that paradoxically and ironically brings destruction by connection.

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Mackintosh, E., & Mezzofiore, G. (2019). How the Extreme Right Gamified Terror. CNN. https://edition.cnn.com/2019/10/10/europe/germany-synagogue-attack-ext remism-gamified-grm-intl/index.html. Retrieved: [25.11.2019]. Mäyr¨a, F. (2015). Little Evils: Subversive Uses of Children’s Games. In T. E. Mortensen, J. Linderoth & A. M. L. Brown (Eds.), The Dark Side of Game Play. Controversial Issues in Playful Environments (pp. 82–99). London: Routledge. McGonigal, J. (2010). Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World. London: Jonathan Cape. Mortensen, T. E., Linderoth, J., & Brown, A. M. L. (2015). The Dark Side of Game Play. Controversial Issues in Playful Environments. London: Routledge. Ong, W. J. (1971). Rhetoric, Romance, and Technology: Studies in the Interaction of Expression and Culture. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. Ortner, S. B. (2016). Dark Anthropology and its Others: Theory Since the Eighties. HAU: Journal of Ethnographic Theory, (06 (01), pp. 47–73). doi: https://doi.org/https://doi. org/10.14318/hau6.1.004. Pugliese, J. (2016). Drone Casino Mimesis: Telewarfare and Civil Militarization. Journal of Sociology, 52 (03). Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Pugliese, J. (2017). How Drones Are Gamifying War in America’s Casino Capital. USAPP—American Politics and Policy. https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2017/09/15/ how-drones-are-gamifying-war-in-americas-casino-capital. Retrieved: [25.11. 2019]. Sacks, B. (2018). The Alleged Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooter Legally Bought The Guns Used In The Massacre. BuzzFeed.News. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/ article/briannasacks/pittsburgh-synagogue-shooting-suspect-guns-purchased. Retrieved: [24.02.2020]. Schiffer, C. (2019). Was Spieler gegen die Gamifizierung des Terrors tun können. Christian Schiffer im Gespräch mit Gesa Ufer. [Podcast]. In Ufer, G. (Moderator), Kompressor from 10.10.2019. Köln: Deutschlandfunkkultur. https://www.deutschlandf unkkultur.de/neue-formen-des-rechtsterrorismus-was-spieler-gegen-die.2156.de.html? dram:article_id=460715 Retrieved: [25.11.2019]. Siemons, M. (2019). Über die Gamifizierung. Terror als Spiel. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. https://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/debatten/terror-als-spiel-ueber-die-gamifi zierung-von-anschlaegen-16441047.html. Retrieved: [20.11.2019]. Sutton-Smith, B. (1997). The Ambiguity of Play. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Symonds, S. (2012). Death Race and Video Game Violence. Play Stuff Blog. The Strong National Museum of Play. https://www.museumofplay.org/blog/chegheads/2012/ 05/death-race-and-video-game-violence. Retrieved: [20.11.2019]. TAZ. (2019). Gamifizierung und der Anschlag von Halle. Rechter Terror als Event. https:// taz.de/Gamification-und-der-Anschlag-von-Halle/!5632766/. Retrieved: [20.11.2019]. Turner, V. (1982). From Ritual to Theatre. The Human Seriousness of Play. New York, NY: PAJ Publications. van Gennep, A. (1960). The Rites of Passage. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. von Hilgers, P. (2012). War Games. A History of War on Paper. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. Voytko, L. (2019). Trump Suggests Video Games Connected to Violence. Research Doesn’t Support That. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/lisettevoytko/2019/08/

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05/trump-blames-video-games-for-shootings-but-research-doesnt-support-that/#7a044e 7a11dc Retrieved: [23.02.2020]. Wark, M. (2007). Gamer Theory. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Ludography America’s Army (United States Army 2002, O: United States Army) Death Race (Exidy 1976, O: Exidy) Grand Theft Auto V (Rockstar Games 2013, O: Rockstar North) Tank (Kee Games, Atari 1974, O: Kee Games)

Challenges in Digital Spaces

Digital Governmentality: Toxicity in Gaming Streams Maike Groen

Abstract

Twitch remains the biggest streaming website for the gaming community. As of 2020, the phenomenon of streaming has been shaping the internet for several years. But viewing numbers continue to grow, making especially the monetarization system an ethical issue not to be neglected as more gamers might consider a career in streaming. This article analyzes Twitch’s website design and the potential influence of its monetary system on social interaction, with a focus on whether it rather averts or ignores toxicity. The analysis draws on Michel Foucault’s concept of governmentality and its implication of power to influence behavior. Keywords

Hate speech • Digital games • Streaming • Governmentality • Algorithm Foucault • Cyber society • Gender • Toxic behavior

1

•

Introduction

N. D. Bowman (2013) stated that “from the first public arcade machines to the massive online worlds and professional gaming contests of today, a central part of the history of video games has been that of performance: a demonstration – often public – of mastery over a digital challenge”—and today’s online streaming M. Groen (B) Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e. V. (DLR) – Projektträger, Bonn, Germany E-Mail: [email protected] © Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, part of Springer Nature 2020 M. Groen et al. (eds.), Games and Ethics, Digitale Kultur und Kommunikation 7, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-28175-5_7

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can be seen as a logical next step in that evolving practice. Digital gaming has long been a social activity for example at arcades or on the couch at home with friends and family, but the ongoing growth of live-streaming games—the online broadcasting of real-time play to a remote audience—is taking the social experience to another level. Professionals and amateurs alike broadcast to communities of fellow avid players, who watch for learning or entertainment purposes. Some streamers even dream of a professional career in streaming, but being financially successful demands a lot of work. This article examines streamers’ endeavor to become popular, its connection to the algorithmic frame that Twitch (https://www. twitch.tv/) as a website offers, and the ethical implications that arise. Just like gaming socially, online spectatorship of others is not a new concept; it has been around since the internet and webcams became more available as the case of the “JennyCAM” (Jimroglou 1999) in the late 1990ies illustrates. The phenomenon of “Let’s Play”-Videos on YouTube is one of the newer and more prominent examples of the interlinkage between playing and watching someone play (Glas 2015; Burgess and Green 2009; Postigo 2016). It is now evident that there is a global audience of millions for events like eSport championships as well as streams which did not emerge from a professional environment but simply transform private play into a spectacle for others. And because streaming one’s own gaming experience is usually done live and without editing process, the lines between professional and private are commonly blurred. Becoming a streamer with even modest financial success requires creative energy and the ability to carefully maneuver around intervening organizations, regulations, and practices—the “regulatory assemblage of the space” (Taylor 2014, p. 2). This includes aspects such as the interface of the platform that is used for streaming (like Twitch, YouTube Gaming or FacebookLive) and which shapes interactions, presentations and possibilities as well as financial structures (advertising, monthly subscriptions); but also aspects like intellectual property regimes (e.g., copyright issues with regard to the game, or music embedded) constitute live streaming as a cultural and economic space. This article examines how the aforementioned processes and constituents might possibly facilitate the emergence of toxic elements in streaming environments.

2

The Basics of Streaming on Twitch

Live streaming in its current form enables its users to publicly broadcast live audio and video streams alongside a chat (see Fig. 1). The players who broadcast

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Fig. 1 Screenshot of a live stream on Twitch

(“streamers”) share content of their gameplay, often in addition to a video feed of themselves, simultaneously engaging in game play and communicating with the spectators. In order to distinguish themselves from others, many streamers change the interface of their streamed content to stand out, e.g., by editing pictures into their interface or by playing music. In the example of Fig. 1, the streamer AdmiralBulldog has embedded a score board of their wins and losses (in red and green on the left side), which also gives the viewers the chance to bet on the outcome of the next game for fun. In general, viewers can communicate with each other and the streamer through open chat. Viewing is not restricted; anyone can tune in, and all that is required to partake in chat is a free anonymous account (in this case with Twitch). Streamers can moderate their chat (e.g., timeout toxic participants for a certain time) and grant these administrative rights also to volunteering members of their community (so-called moderators). Albeit streaming became popular in the wake of digital games, streamed content is not limited to gameplay. Even gaming streamers spend significant time interacting with their spectators outside of the game, broadcasting meal breaks or telling stories about themselves, sharing their points of view on political or private topics. These intermissions are key to the possible monetarization because the length of the stream affects the profits: More screen time means more advertisements and potentially more viewers, and, as a consequence, more revenue. Because concentrated gaming over hours, live and unedited, would constitute a

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near-impossible feat, food breaks, designated question times or other lighthearted ways of entertainment are commonly chosen. Sometimes streamers offer (mostly highly committed) viewers the opportunity to play with them, but in general, the streaming phenomenon of the digital gaming community remains something in which a game is watched by more in the instance then played. Twitch continues to be the leading video streaming platform, dominating the market by viewer numbers and by streaming opportunity (different kinds of content) (Perez 2019). The platform has existed for almost 10 years at the time of writing, starting as a spin-off from justin.tv in 2011. It was bought by Amazon in 2014 for roughly one billion US Dollars (MacMillan and Bensinger 2014) and is facing fierce competition from other companies, as corporations like Facebook or YouTube Gaming have signed exclusive deals with popular streamers (Thomas 2020) or even secured the rights to entire eSport championships (Impey 2019) in order to weaken Twitch’s dominance over the streaming market. However, for this article the focus will remain on Twitch as the dominating streaming service especially for digital games.

3

Foucault’s Concept of Governmentality in a Digital Environment

As mentioned above, streaming is shaped by various influences. In order to describe the implicit and explicit ethical impacts that the technological aspects of the website have especially in terms of toxicity in streaming, this article draws on the writings of Michel Foucault et al. (1991) on governmentality. Governmentality, according to Foucault’s definition, describes organized practices and calculated means of participants (in this case of online streaming) behavior. The concept of governmentality explores how their relationships are linked by mentalities, rationalities, and techniques—it describes power dynamics between them and mechanisms by which they are (indirectly) determined (Lemke 2014). Power is in this understanding an (implicit) instrument for influencing people’s behavior often enacted via mediation and the use of technical resources. In sum, governmentality denotes types of actions and practices aimed at influencing (“governing”) people’s behavior. One media-related example of this might be selling a product by marketing it or creating fear via through the portrayal of crime on TV (Moore 2014). Badouard et al. (2016) implemented Foucault’s concept of governmentality in their exploration of ways in which behavior of online users are “directed, constrained and framed by resources such as algorithms, content-management

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systems (CMS) and operating systems (OS)” (Badouard et al. 2016, p. 2). They framed their findings as “digital governmentality”, identifying three mechanisms of control: governmentality by design (Sect. 3.1), governmentality by incentives (Sect. 3.2) and governmentality by framing (Sect. 3.3). This offers an analytical method to describe how private companies implicitly exert power over users through directing, constraining and framing their digital encounters and interactions. This article illustrates how this possibly facilitates the emerge of toxic cultures and their persistence in the online gaming streaming community. The next sub-chapters will take a closer look at the different mechanisms of governmentality on Twitch.

3.1

Governmentality by Design: How to Become Popular

Governmentality by design refers to “power relationships exerted by designers and developers over users by focusing on the direction of users’ behaviors through technical constraints” (Badouard et al. 2016, p. 4).1 Possible actions on a website constrain, limit or enable and empower users in a very specific way and are usually beneficial for the platform. Twitch would have an economic interest in modeling viewer and streamer behavior in a way that generates more profit for the website. The chosen platform for streaming on the one hand enables interaction by providing opportunities but, on the other hand, narrows down possible actions for users like feasible interactions or expressions in chat (e.g., the use of emojis). In streaming, interactions interlink directly with monetarizing options. Twitch, for example, offers users a wider range of chat expressions (more emojis or even playable sounds) for a monthly fee. These technical limitations do not negate power dynamics within the streaming community; participants manufacture their own forms of control—while remaining within the given algorithmic framework of the streaming platform. To illustrate: The streamer can establish ethical standards such as rules of behavior in the chat and enforce those rules with the help of moderators, who suppress actions like harassment or hate speech. However, the actions available to enforce their rules are all limited or enabled by the functions of the platform. The influence of a website’s algorithm on toxic behavior in the gaming community has been researched in the context of the misogyny surrounding the 1 It

is worth noting that other not outright technical aspects like intellectual property claims also have an influence on how streaming as a communal/social space is forming since they influence the possible legal content of a gaming stream. This article focuses on the design of Twitch and will therefore disregard that aspect.

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#gamergate controversy (Chess and Shaw 2016), in the course of which women* were explicitly harassed on game-related websites. Massanari (2015) analyzed the influence of the website Reddit’s (https://www.reddit.com/) algorithm on the toxicity of the debate and argued that its assemblage of design, policies, and norms encouraged “certain kinds of cultures and behaviors to coalesce on platforms while implicitly discouraging others” (Massanari 2015, p. 336). She argues that it is impossible to disentangle the community’s norms from the ways those norms are shaped by the platform and administrative policies because they are co-constitutive of one another. For example, on Reddit, postings are up- or downvoted, and the score directly influences the visibility on the platform, changing the position where they are shown on the front page. Massanari argues that this kind of system is perfidious in the sense that it seems to valorize individual contributions and thereby suggests that the site is democratic in terms of what becomes popular—while negating possible herding effects that would suggest otherwise (Massanari 2015, p. 337). Herding describes the phenomenon that individuals tend to mirror the behavior of others (e.g., incorporating choices made by other customers into one’s decision making during online shopping), and it has proven to be quite influential in online realms (Duan et al. 2005; Muchnik et al. 2013). In the case of Reddit, this means that people potentially see popular threads on the start page based on the individual algorithm and are more likely to click on them instead of scrolling further down for alternative content. Similar effects on behavior due to search displays have been researched and revealed, for example, within Google’s search algorithm (for racial bias see Noble 2018). Thus, the way a website displays its content especially on the first page can implicitly suppress some content and highlight other. Twitch has a pattern similar to that of Reddit, where the start page shows the most-viewed streams and games, decreasing in number, making it easier for already successful streams to be viewed. With this pattern, one way to become popular is to adapt behavior that is rewarded by the system, e.g., streaming games with a high viewing ranking, which implicitly makes it less attractive to stream content from independent game companies. The governmentality by design here potentially has an influence on what or who becomes and stays popular.

3.2

Governmentality by Incentives: What Kind of Behavior is Rewarded

Another regime of governmentality is the one ruled by incentives (Badouard et al. 2016). Incentives, following Foucault’s understanding of power, are based on the

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premise that freedom of choice can be a tool of power in itself when used to coerce or guide individuals into a specific direction. Badouard et al. (2016) define incentives as comprising two elements: information and interpretation: “Incentives are both the result and the originator of the incited individual’s perceptions. The incitor [sic] takes the wishes of the incited into consideration and translates the order he wants to give them by shifting and transforming this order as many times as necessary until the incited act according to the incitor’s [sic] wish.” (Badouard et al. 2016, p. 3). To clarify, the incentives can of course vary depending on the goal of the streamer and the platform, but this article focuses on streamers aiming at financial success and attempting to make a career out of streaming. They constitute the clientele that Twitch profits from the most, because monetarization relies on high numbers of viewers generating profits for the website through their clicks. That shows one aspect of how Twitch and the streamers strive for the same goal—which is independent of how the streamer feels about possible toxic implications. It is of no significance for this analysis whether the streamer enjoys being watched or merely does it for financial reasons, nor is the question why the viewers tune it at all. These concerns are derivative; the unifying incentive—to gain money through streaming—is the only focus of this article. The road to success generally starts with unpaid preparatory work: Game-study scholars have pointed out the extensive labor involved in creating a streaming setup (installing specialized software and more) as well as the work involved in maintaining a “persona” (comparable to a social role or a character played) while streaming to remain entertaining and interacting with viewers (Johnson and Woodcock 2017; Taylor 2018). One of the more obvious effects this has is that Twitch ultimately (just like YouTube or other Social Media websites) relies on unpaid labor. This can be problematic because it can have significant implications for the perpetuation of toxic cultures on the website (compare to Massanari 2015). If the goal is to be successful, gain a larger viewership and earn money from streaming, there might be an inherent reluctance to suspend or ban part of the audience because of toxic behavior since this immediately leads to fewer viewers, ultimately decreasing the visibility on the start page (as explained under Sect. 3.1) and potentially amplifying negative effects on monetarization. Consistently, the fact that having many viewers is financially rewarded can have an implicit effect on (not) managing toxicity—as examined more closely in Sect. 3.3. Twitch fosters the desire for more viewers through another mechanism: Viewers can take out a monthly subscription for specific streamers, which constitutes one of the few ways to directly pay a streamer for their work. The fee amounts to roughly 5 USD a month. The benefit for the subscribers are that they are not

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shown any commercials on the stream, and it offers streamers a somewhat reliable monthly income, independent of ad revenue, although in most cases they only receive half of the money. But not every streamer can be subscribed to: Only streamers that are affiliated or partnered with Twitch are eligible (Twitch 2020a). Partnerships with Twitch are restricted—in terms of both beginning and duration. In order to be eligible for a partnership, streamers need a minimum number of followers as well as active viewers and a minimum volume of streamed content during a set time period (Twitch 2020a). In line with the concept of governmentality of incentives, it is necessary to follow Twitch’s rules and its algorithm logics while still fearing to be punished (‘un-partnered’) or banned in cases of misconduct (Bennett 2020). Rewarding popular streamers then financially serves as a classic incentive for aspiring streamers: Twitch (as the inciter) draws on the wishes (making money, becoming popular etc.) of the streamer (the incited), and both of them succeed when the traffic on the website increases. The next chapter provides an outlook on the implications of these mechanisms for the degree of toxicity in gaming culture.

3.3

Governmentality by Framing: Possibilities to Deal with Toxic Behavior

The regime of governmentality by framing refers to “the fixing of technical architectures for actions in a digital environment” (Badouard et al. 2016, p. 5). It might be most obvious in the design of the interface itself, which enforces working conditions and operating standards for all participants in online streaming. But as the type of governmentality where ethical issues are the most visible, it also has a strong impact with regard to the toxicity on the online platform itself.

3.3.1 Managing Toxicity in Chat As explained above, making money through streaming requires large audiences, which necessarily involves some kind of mitigating or managing toxic behavior. People of color, women or anyone of the LGBTQI*-community are much more likely to be affected than white* heterosexual cis-men (Salter and Blodgett 2017), but all streamers have to—implicitly—decide whether or not to take a stand when it comes to hate speech and harassment. Most streamers rely on so-called moderators to manage their chat, usually volunteers with the right to stop viewers from participating (Wohn 2019). Chat rules are solely established by the streamer and might include ethical values like prohibiting racist or sexist speech, but also simple regulatory measures concerning the promotion of other content, spamming

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or sharing links. In some sense moderators are given technical possibilities to govern the community, allowing them to constrain online behavior in a specific way, made possible by the technical architecture of Twitch. One example of this would be a “time out”, where the person who disregarded chat-rules is expelled from the chat for a specific amount of time (usually around 5 min), and their messages are deleted for everyone. Those suspended can still view the stream and are free to rejoin after the set period of time. This penalty can be imposed by a chat moderator or the streamers themselves, and there are also Twitch bots, which automatically detect unwanted spam or links and in return timeout the user in question. Thus, the “technical architectures for actions” on Twitch, i.e., the governmentality of framing, provide possibilities to deal with toxic behavior in chat, but only in a very specific way.

3.3.2 Toxic Behavior Towards the Streamer Another issue is protecting streamers from unwanted or even toxic attention. Helpful websites give tips on how to protect one’s private identity while streaming from home (Creatoko 2019). This might not be enough, considering that the gaming community has been struggling with toxic behaviors—including doxing2 —especially towards marginalized groups (Fox and Tang 2016). The necessity to protect those who do n ot easily fit in has the gaming community been especially prevalent since the #gamergate controversy in 2014, which revealed a deeply rooted and widespread misogynism within the gaming community (Braithwaite 2016; Gray et al. 2017). The question how hate speech, harassment and toxic behavior can be dealt with is even more important when it comes to live streaming, because as explained in chapter 2, streamers are not only known for their gaming skills but need to interact with their viewers, pass waiting time and maybe even sell a specific persona to be appealing and worth watching for several hours (Kaytoue et al. 2012; Phelps and Consalvo 2020; Witkowski 2011). In several cases the therefore necessarily embedded private aspects of streaming facilitated the subsequent harassment of streamers (Alexander 2018; Rosenblatt 2019; Stephen 2019b; Uszkoreit 2018). Twitch centers its security efforts around the protection of the user account (Twitch 2020c) and redirects questions concerning harassment towards their community guidelines against hate speech. There they offer victims four suggestions as to how to deal with “Hate and Harassment” on Twitch: 2 Doxing

describes a practice where private or personal information is purposefully leaked on the internet. It has been used among other practices to threaten women* in the games industry (see e.g. Hoyt 2015).

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• “Clearly communicate that sort of attention is unwanted. • Manage their ability to interact with you with functionality like blocks, bans, and timeouts. • Moderate their chat by tuning AutoMod, adding keywords to your Blocked words list, recruiting trusted Moderators, and using other recommendations from our guide on How to Manage Harassment in Chat. • Always report a violation of Twitch’s Terms of Service (ToS) or Community Guidelines (CG) when you see it occur.” (Twitch 2020d). Besides the point that the first tips focus on the victim’s behavior instead of the offender’s, none of them have any considerable impact on the latter, as they can always continue to watch the stream or start harassing another streamer. The “Community Guidelines” referenced at the end only vaguely outline potential consequences: “Twitch reserves the right to suspend any account at any time for any conduct that we determine to be inappropriate or harmful. Such actions may include: removal of content, a strike on the account, and/or suspension of account(s)” (Twitch 2020b).3 It remains unclear what kind of behavior is punished in what way. With regard to the governmentality of framing and the question how the technical architectures of the website might encourage or discourage toxic actions, the protection of streamers from harassment does not appear to be a priority.

3.3.3 Toxic Behavior by the Streamer Last but not least, streamers themselves can act toxically, for example towards their fellow gamers in a multiplayer setting or by using racial or sexist slurs. An ethical issue becomes obvious in the constellation between the latter and the monetarization system employed by Twitch because scandals surrounding demeaning insults may even result in an increased viewership of the offensive streamer. In some cases, the use of racial slurs can function as a popularity boost as repeated controversies illustrate (see e.g. Henry 2019). This goes hand in hand with the somewhat feeble community guidelines of Twitch (see Sect. 3.3.2), where penalties are not communicated clearly, and where decisions are made on a case-by-case basis: Behavior violating community guidelines may result in a suspension of the streamer in question or incur no consequences at all, and sometimes only repeated infractions may evoke a reaction (Stephen 2019a). The at times inconsistent reaction from Twitch to toxic behavior by its streamers is 3 Again

it might be noteworthy that banning of accounts is not even mentioned and possible consequences remain vage.

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believed to depend on the amount of revenue the streamer in question generates: The bigger the fanbase of the streamer and their viewership on Twitch, the more toxicity seems to remain unpunished (Stephen 2019c). This phenomenon may well increase in severity due to the growing competition with other streaming websites as prominent streamers might switch platforms if they are penalized for inappropriate behavior. Toxic behavior from streamers is an important issue because—as mentioned above—streamers spend a considerable amount of time talking to their viewers, not only playing a game. It can be argued that in some cases they function as role models for their viewers, blurring boundaries of what constitutes acceptable behavior and which values are to be upheld (Morgenroth et al. 2015). All three cases describe ways in which the governmentality of framing impacts the way toxicity is dealt with on Twitch, a platform governed by lax rules and restrictions that rewards behaviors aimed at retaining as many viewers as possible and potentially discourages dealing with hate speech.

4

Conclusion

Streaming platforms offer (new) ways to connect with fellow gamers beyond the confines of one’s home, creating more freedom and sociability, yet they also substantially shape these social interactions. Streaming websites hold the potential for progressive change, for increasing the visibility of marginalized groups and cultivating a more inclusive gaming community. In the case of Twitch, this article illustrates how the digital governmentalities in place—regardless of the question whether these mechanisms are intended or not—tend to foster toxic behavior. The way that streamers and Twitch profit from viewership and the mechanisms of monetarization are unlikely to produce an inclusive community. Even though there are clear ethical issues, there is no plain good or evil here. Communities change and offer rooms to raise awareness or find safer spaces, to organize as marginalized people. However, some Twitch channels have been known to take a stand or communicate particular views in political discussions.4 Humans are not bound by the rules of an algorithm but instead are able to adapt, create and shape norms and values themselves. An important first step for that is often transparency.

4 One example of this would be the Feminist Frequency stream (https://www.twitch.tv/fem freq). Others make the case of avoiding political topics (e.g. Hernandez 2019).

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Consequently, this article closes with an appeal by Katherine Cross: It is time to establish a more progressive Cyber Society (Cross 2014). There she argues that changing rules by implementing different algorithms might seem like a small step, but it has proven to be beneficial. Individual gamers already use their streams to intervene in gaming community debates and help shape its norms—not only to help others but also to create safer and better work conditions for themselves.

References Alexander, J. (2018). Streamer Amouranth is Latest Example of ‘Twitch Thot’ Harassment Problem. Polygon. https://www.polygon.com/2018/6/27/17506414/amouranth-twi tch-thot-streamer-cosplayer-alinity-backlash. Retrieved: [27.06.2018]. Badouard, R., Mabi, C., & Sire, G. (2016). Beyond Points of Control: Logics of Digital Governmentality. Internet Policy Review, 5 (3). Retrieved: [27.06.2019]. Bennett, C. (2020). Why Has Mitch Jones Lost His Twitch Partnership? Streamer Returns From Ban. Dexerto. https://www.dexerto.com/entertainment/why-has-mitch-jones-losthis-twitch-partnership-streamer-returns-from-ban-1170105. Retrieved: [27.06.2020]. Bowman, N. D. (2013). One Shining (Virtual) Moment: The Social Facilitation Hypothesis Extended to Video Game Performance. On Media Theory Blogspot. https://onmediath eory.blogspot.com/2013/10/one-shining-virtual-moment-social.html. Braithwaite, A. (2016). It’s About Ethics in Games Journalism? Gamergaters and Geek Masculinity. Social Media + Society, 2 (4). doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/205630511667 2484. Burgess, J., & Green, J. (2009). Online Video and Participatory Culture. Oxford: Polity Press/John Wiley and Sons Ltd. Chess, S., & Shaw, A. (2016). We Are All Fishes Now. DiGRA, Feminism, and GamerGate. ToDiGRA, 2 (2), (pp. 21–30). Creatoko. (2019). How to Protect Yourself as a Streamer: Privacy on Twitch. https://cre atoko.com/privacy-for-twitch-streamers/. Retrieved: [27.06.2020]. Cross, K. (2014). Ethics for Cyborgs: On Real Harassment in an “Unreal” Place. Loading... The Journal of the Canadian Game Studies Association, 8 (13), (pp. 4–21). Duan, W., Gu, B., & Whinston, A. B. (2005). Analysis of Herding on the Internet— An Empirical Investigation of Online Software Download. AMCIS 2005 Proceedings (p. 488). https://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2005/488. Foucault, M., Burchell, G., Gordon, C., & Miller, P. (1991). The Foucault Effect: Studies in Governmentality: With Two Lectures by and an Interview With Michel Foucault. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. Fox, J., & Tang, W. Y. (2016). Womens Experiences With General and Sexual Harassment in Online Video Games: Rumination, Organizational Responsiveness, Withdrawal, and Coping Strategies. New Media & Society, (pp. 1–18). doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/146 1444816635778.

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Glas, R. (2015). Vicarious Play: Engaging the Viewer in Let’s Play Videos. Empedocles: European Journal for the Philosophy of Communication, (5 (1–2), pp. 81–86). doi: https://doi.org/10.1386/ejpc.5.1-2.81_1. Gray, K. L., Buyukozturk, B., & Hill, Z. G. (2017). Blurring the Boundaries: Using Gamergate to Examine “Real” and Symbolic Violence Against Women in Contemporary Gaming Culture. Sociology Compass, 11 (3). doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4. 12458. Henry, J. (2019). Fortnite Pro Tfue Tries to Hide Evidence After Saying NWord. CCN. https://www.ccn.com/tfue-racial-slur-n-word-minecraft-stream/. Retrieved: [06.03.2020]. Hernandez, P. (2019). On Twitch, Talking About Politics Can Be Taboo. Why Streamers Tend to Avoid Certain Topics. Polygon. https://www.polygon.com/2019/8/30/208 35568/twitch-politics-streaming-mixer-trump-shootings. Retrieved: [30.08.2019]. Hoyt, A. (2015). 10 Forms of Online Harassment. How Stuff Works. https://computer.how stuffworks.com/10-forms-online-harassment.htm. Retrieved: [16.04.2020]. Impey, S. (2019). ESL and Facebook Expand Streaming Deal. SportsPro. https:// www.sportspromedia.com/news/esl-facebook-streaming-esports-partnership. Retrieved: [27.06.2020]. Jimroglou, K. M. (1999). A CAMERA WITH A VIEW JenniCAM, Visual Representation, and Cyborg Subjectivity. Information, Communication & Society, (2 (4), pp. 439–453). doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/136911899359493. Johnson, M., & Woodcock, J. (2017). ‘It’s Like the Gold Rush’: The Lives and Careers of Professional Video Game Streamers on Twitch.tv. Information, Communication & Society, (pp. 1–16). doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2017.1386229. Kaytoue, M., Silva, A., Cerf, L., Meira Jr., W., & Raïssi, C. (2012). Watch Me Playing, I Am a Professional: A First Study on Video Game Live Streaming. Paper presented at the WWW’12—Proceedings of the 21st Annual Conference on World Wide Web Companion, Lyon, France. Lemke, T. (2014). Gouvernementalität. In C. Kammler, R. Parr, U. J. Schneider & E. Reinhardt-Becker (Eds.), Foucault-Handbuch: Leben – Werk – Wirkung (pp. 260–263). Stuttgart: Metzler. MacMillan, D., & Bensinger, G. (2014). Amazon to Buy Video Site Twitch for $970 Million. Deal Could Accelerate Competition With Netflix, Google’s YouTube. The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/amazon-to-buy-video-site-twitch-formore-than-1-billion-1408988885?tesla=y&mg=reno64-wsj. Retrieved: [27.06.2020]. Massanari, A. (2015). #Gamergate and The Fappening: How Reddit’s Algorithm, Governance, and Culture Support Toxic Technocultures. New Media & Society, (pp. 1–18). doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444815608807. Moore, S. E. H. (2014). Crime and the Media. Basingstoke/New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan. Morgenroth, T., Ryan, M. K., & Peters, K. (2015). The Motivational Theory of Role Modeling: How Role Models Influence Role Aspirants’ Goals. Review of General Psychology, 19 (4), (pp. 465–483). Muchnik L., Aral S., & Taylor S. J. (2013). Social Influence Bias: A Randomized Experiment. Science, 341, (pp. 647–651).

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Noble, S. U. (2018). Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism. New York, NY: New York University Press. Perez, S. (2019). Twitch Continues to Dominate Live Streaming With Its SecondBiggest Quarter to Date. TechCrunch. https://social.techcrunch.com/2019/07/12/twitchcontinues-to-dominate-live-streaming-with-its-second-biggest-quarter-to-date/. Retrieved: [12.07.2019]. Phelps, A., & Consalvo, M. (2020). Laboring Artists: Art Streaming on the Videogame Platform Twitch. Paper presented at the 53rd Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, Hawaii, USA. Postigo, H. (2016). The Socio-Technical Architecture of Digital Labor: Converting Play Into YouTube Money. New Media & Society, (18 (2), pp. 332–349). doi: https://doi. org/10.1177/1461444814541527. Rosenblatt, K. (2019). On Twitch, Women who Stream Say Their Biggest Obstacle is Harassment. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/twitch-women-whostream-say-their-biggest-obstacle-harassment-n1060016. Retrieved: [27.06.2020]. Salter, A., & Blodgett, B. (2017). Toxic Geek Masculinity in Media. Cham: Springer International Publishing. Stephen, B. (2019a). Fortnite Star Tfue Used a Racial Slur Again, and Twitch Won’t Talk About it. The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2019/9/4/20849429/fortnite-streamertfue-racial-slur-twitch-silence. Retrieved: [04.09.2019]. Stephen, B. (2019b). Twitch Re-Bans Streamer Charged With Assault After Briefly Letting Him Come Back. The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2019/1/4/18168991/twitch-mrd eadmoth-streamer-livestream-wife-assault-permaban. Retrieved: [04.01.2019]. Stephen, B. (2019c). Twitch Has to Figure Out What to Do With Its Biggest Stars. The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2019/7/25/8930230/twitch-alinity-dr-disrespectban-moderation. Retrieved: [16.04.2020]. Taylor, T. L. (2014). “Am I Allowed…?” Regulation, Live-Streaming, and Networked Broadcast (pp. 1–3). Paper presented at the Digital Games Research Association DiGRA. Taylor, T. L. (2018). Watch Me Play Twitch and the Rise of Game Live Streaming: Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Thomas, Z. (2020). YouTube Signs Three top Gamers Away From Twitch. BBC. https:// www.bbc.com/news/technology-51101606. Retrieved: [27.06.2020]. Twitch. (2020a). Twitch Affiliate. https://affiliate.twitch.tv/de-de/. Retrieved: [27.06.2020]. Twitch. (2020b). Community Guidelines—Harassment. https://www.twitch.tv/p/de-de/ legal/community-guidelines/harassment/. Retrieved: [27.06.2020]. Twitch. (2020c). Twitch Security. https://www.twitch.tv/p/de-de/security/. Retrieved: [27.06.2020]. Twitch. (2020d). Hateful Conduct and Harassment. https://www.twitch.tv/p/en-gb/legal/ community-guidelines/harassment/. Retrieved: [27.06.2020]. Uszkoreit, L. (2018). With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility: Video Game Live Streaming and Its Potential Risks and Benefits for Female Gamers. In K. L. Gray, G. Vsoorhees & E. Vossen (Eds.), Feminism in Play (pp. 163–181). Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.

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Witkowski, E. (2011). Following Ms Fabulous: Women, Live-Streaming, and Do-itYourself Visibility in E-Sports. Paper presented at the Digital Games Research Association DiGRA. Wohn, D. Y. (2019). Volunteer Moderators in Twitch Micro Communities: How They Get Involved, the Roles They Play, and the Emotional Labor They Experience. Paper presented at the Proceedings of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Glasgow, Scotland, UK. doi: https://doi.org/10.1145/3290605.3300390

Just 1e to Unlock This Guide! How and Why to Study Free-To-Play Game Cultures Ahmed Elmezeny

Abstract

Free-to-play games provide a novel experience compared to their pay-to-play or subscription counterparts, allowing players to make real-world currency transactions in the game world. The following chapter provides an overview of studies focusing on the research of free-to-play games, their players, communities, types of play, and ethical implications. It discusses a multidisciplinary approach that utilizes cultural studies and media and communication science in the investigation and study of free-to-play game cultures to better understand their intricate characteristics, habits and routines.

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Introduction

More than ever before, digital games have become a strong social and cultural force, thanks to the various modes of connectivity, group play and spectatorship. The permeation of online gaming has led to numerous online and offline social formations (Ducheneaut et al. 2006) and has given rise to platforms that allow for game spectatorship, such as Twitch (Kaytoue et al. 2012). Today it has become quite apparent that the influences of gaming expand beyond the game, the player or the supposed interaction between ‘man and machine’. Games, an immersive media format, have spread their roots to various other contexts and life spaces, influencing the way people negotiate personal identity (van Looy et al. 2010), A. Elmezeny (B) Universität Augsburg, Augsburg, Germany E-Mail: [email protected] © Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, part of Springer Nature 2020 M. Groen et al. (eds.), Games and Ethics, Digitale Kultur und Kommunikation 7, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-28175-5_8

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form social groups (Ducheneaut et al. 2007) and even their civic behavior (Molyneux et al. 2015). Given the importance play and games have for those who use them, some academics propose a cultural approach to their research and analysis. One common approach to the study of games utilizes the concept of game cultures. Mäyrä defines game cultures as “sense-making structures” which “surface not only in games themselves, but in the language, practices and sensibilities adopted and developed by groups and individuals” (2008, p. 103). Mäyrä accounts for more than one single game culture and compares them to subcultures, or groups of people sharing the same values, interests and practices, that, through their interactions, form a separate crowd within a larger culture. These cultures exist for several games, methods of play, as well as the players themselves. Defining a specific game culture to study is a heterogeneous process that is left up to the researcher, and is based on their research design (Elmezeny and Wimmer 2018). Academics have used the concept of game cultures and cultural frameworks to discuss countless phenomena relating to specific games and their communities. Example works include Taylor’s (2006) ethnography of EVERQUEST (Sony Online Entertainment 1999), Copier’s (2005) look at fantasy role players and the magic circle, or Chen’s (2008) study of communication and camaraderie in WORLD OF WARCRAFT (Blizzard Entertainment 2004). Other academics have attempted to study game culture more generally; looking at multiple games, those who play them, and the industry itself. Examples include Juul (2010), who observes the casualization of gameplay and games in his book A Casual Revolution: Reinventing Videogames and Their Players, or Wimmer’s (2012) study on the World Cyber Games, and the way they serve as a prototypical example of certain metaprocesses in society. One noticeable change in the current digital game environment is the abundance of games utilizing the free-to-play (F2P) business model. F2P denotes a payment model that uses “two products or services, or a combination of products and services. In such combination, one item is provided at no charge while a complementary item is sold at a positive price” (Pujol 2010, n.p). In games this usually occurs when access to the game world is free but products can be bought with real money transactions, which are most commonly referred to as microtransactions. Items can be functional, assisting the player in various gameplay purposes; or decorative, having no practical benefit except for displaying a certain status. Several games are utilizing this payment model today; this is not limited to mobile games, but also includes triple-A titles and MMORPGs, such as GUILD WARS 2 (Arenanet 2012) or PATH OF EXILE (Grinding Gear Games 2013). In fact, F2P is so common that since 2012 it has been recorded that almost half of all adults in the United States are F2P mobile gamers (Popcap

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Games 2012). In 2013 it was estimated that 360 million Euro were spent on the mobile gaming market in Germany (Bogdanov 2013), and in 2016 the mobile gaming platform was noted as being the second most significant among 34 million players in the country (Wilken 2016). Mobile games constitute the share of games that most frequently employ the F2P model. It can be assumed that more and more individuals worldwide are now becoming exposed to these games and their cultures. F2P culture could be inherently different and provide ethical and moral quandaries not existing in games with regular payment models due to their ability of allowing real-world currency purchases, which assist in the transfer of real-world socioeconomic status, such as wealth or class, and other game-related phenomena such as “pay-to-win” (P2W).

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Why Study Free-To-Play? Financial Success and Moral Quandaries

Due to the prevalence of F2P in the games industry, an investigation of the cultures of free-to-play games seems appropriate. The popularity of F2P and mobile games can be primarily attributed to the overwhelming rates of smartphone penetration in recent years, which are as high as 82% for Western nations like the UK, and even 64% for developing nations like Kazakhstan (Newzoo 2018). With almost everyone using smartphones today (and most individuals owning at least some form of game on them), and with the majority of people probably not being invested enough to spend money on mobile gaming apps, these games tend to be free-to-play. As a matter of fact, casual and more dedicated ga gf mers combined have made mobile gaming an immensely popular platform and a multi-billion euro industry, with record earnings of an estimated e47.5 million in 2019 and are expected to show an additional growth of 3.2% by the end of the year (Statista 2019). The penetration of mobile gaming itself was noted to be 24% in 2019 and expected to grow to as much as 28% by 2023 (Statista 2019). Furthermore, even though most individuals download F2P games on their phones because they are free and provide easier access to casual and shorter bursts of gameplay, they still generate considerable revenue from individual users. In 2019 it was reported that the average amount an individual spends on mobile games is around e26.59 (Statista 2019); which is hardly a small amount to devote to a game that does not require one to spend any money. With all of this recent popularity, smartphones have even replaced PCs as the most popular game consoles in countries like Germany (Puppe 2018), making F2P games one of the most common type of gaming genres. This constitutes a substantial surge from their second-place position only

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two years prior (Wilken 2016), stressing a need for the scientific investigation of F2P (and mobile) games. Aside from its financial success, the F2P payment model gives way to various social phenomena and practices previously not present in pay-to-play games, such as different user classes (paying and non-paying users), as well as the use of real-world money to purchase in-game currency and items. These new practices introduce a number of ethical and moral dilemmas also not present in pay-toplay games, which should be thoroughly observed and scientifically analyzed. For instance, issues such as aggressive monetization in these games and preying on players’ weak impulse-control can be problematic, especially when dealing with children at an impressionable age. Another ethical dilemma can be in game design itself, when game creators rely too heavily on ‘dark patterns’, or patterns which are “used intentionally by a game creator to cause negative experiences for players that are against their best interests and happen without their consent,” (Zagal et al. 2013) to incentivize spending money in the game. These features and ethical problems are present in most F2P games regardless of platform (console, browser or mobile-based) and genre (real-time strategy, MOBA, clicker), making a study of F2P games and their ethical repercussions essential. Due to most F2P games sharing these problems and characteristics, this also invokes the notion that games sharing the same payment model could also share a common culture, and be categorized as such on the meso level (Elmezeny and Wimmer 2018). These unique occurrences in F2P games (user divide, real-money spending) could trigger new cultural and social manifestations distinct from traditional games, e.g., hierarchies based on real-life socioeconomic status, or weaker ties and sense of community. The following chapter summarizes some research conducted on F2P games and suggests theoretical and methodological approaches for the investigation of free-to-play game culture(s).

3

A Look at Free-To-Play Phenomena

F2P games have been previously researched, with only few attempts to study the culture of the games overall and a focus on specific aspects instead, however. While not dealing strictly with F2P games, research on the real money purchasing of virtual assets dates back to the early 2000s. Looking at virtual economies, Castronova (2003) found that players see real money trade of virtual assets as undesirable. Lehdonvirta (2005) also examined user perspectives on real money trade of virtual assets (RMT). Surveying the perspectives of ten individuals, he

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found that, in contrast to Castronova’s study, “even achievement-and immersionoriented players may see RMT favorably in some circumstances,” (Lehdonvirta 2005, p. 6). Achievement-oriented players found RMT positive because of how easy it is to obtain different assets to customize, while they disliked it because it is similar to cheating when used to obtain a competitive advantage. Immersionoriented players, on the other hand, find it positive because it allows role-players to obtain props for their desired fantasy, even though the act still breaches the magic circle (Lehdonvirta 2005, p. 6) – a common term in game studies that denotes the space a game creates through its rules which is separate and isolated from the ‘real world’ (Mäyra 2008, p. 136). Looking at how free-to-play games particularly breach the magic circle, Lin and Sun (2007) review several user perspectives through a content analysis of forum posts on F2P message boards. They find that users have arguments both for and against the use of real money in F2P games, and they mostly revolve around the themes of free market, fairness, quality, fun and balancing. Even with supporters and proponents, they note that the F2P model is “changing player’s sense of game ownership,” (Lin and Sun 2007, p. 342) and that compared to subscriptionbased games like WORLD OF WARCRAFT, free-to-play gamers have a weaker sense of ownership (Lin and Sun 2007, p. 342). While physical ownership of digital games has been proven important for gamers and their identity (Toivonen 2011), it seems that it is not just the virtual aspect that influences the sense of ownership in F2P games. More importantly, Lin and Sun also note that the sense of community among F2P gamers is weaker “since their participation is closer to that of consumers,” (2007, p. 342). Lehdonvirta et al. (2009) elaborate more on virtual consumerism in their case study of the F2P game HABBO HOTEL (Karajalainen and Kyrölä 2000). They look at consumer behavior and RMT in this massively-multiplayer online game (MMO) and note that “virtual commodities can act in essentially the same social roles as material goods,” (Karajalainen and Kyrölä 2000, p. 1059) which they consider potentially vital for those who are not able to afford real life luxuries: “[a] lack of trendy sneakers at school could be compensated with virtual dragons,” (Karajalainen and Kyrölä 2000, p. 1075). In that sense, virtual consumption in games acts as a status marker, differentiating memberships within certain groups. Observing issues from the development and publishing side of the game industry, Alha et al. (2014) spoke to a number of game professionals about their opinion of the F2P business model. Through 14 interviews they discussed topics such as the ethics of F2P game design and its future. Overall, Alha et al. came to the conclusion that developers see some issues as morally questionable within F2P,

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such as “milking paying players as much as possible,” or how the interaction of “children and F2P is ethically problematic,” (Alha et al. 2014, p. 7). Still, they revealed that game professionals seem to have a more positive outlook on the business model than players (Alha et al. 2014, p. 5). Through a virtual ethnography of the F2P game KINGSROAD (Rumble Entertainment 2013), Jordan et al. (2016) discovered various ethical issues in the development of F2P games and the outlook of both players and developers. They find that developers constantly change game rules, “which causes anger, frustration and feelings of unfairness among a dedicated core community of players,” (Jordan et al. 2016, p. 2). Their specific case study of KINGSROAD also mentions a shift by developers towards more of a P2W player experience, something frowned upon by players, and which they state depicts “the struggle between market and culture” (Jordan et al. 2016, p. 13). Analyzing the actual development and monetization strategies of F2P games, not those who make them, Evans (2015) focuses on three games: SNOOPY’S STREET FAIR (Beeline Interactive, Inc. 2011), THE SIMPSONS: TAPPED OUT (EA Mobile 2012) and DRAGONVALE (Backflip Studios 2011) to observe methods of branding and gameplay. Evans notes that “there has been a link between economic strategies, upfront costs and gameplay, and this link continues to play out in contemporary games culture” (2015, p. 578). Most importantly, she finds that in F2P games there is a trend to monetize impatience and the attention span of players. Additionally, she states that F2P games monetize players’ need for continuous gameplay by programming intentional waiting times which can be bypassed through payment, otherwise known as temporal dark patterns (Zagal et al. 2013). Overall, Evans states that there is a “convergence between gaming, the appearance of an open-source philosophy and brand- or time-based monetization strategies,” which “is becoming a foundational ethos of the casual gaming market,” (2015, p. 578). Nieborg (2015) presents similar arguments on F2P games, but focuses on the commodification of individuals in addition to products through the use of social network sites and platforms. Examining the game CANDY CRUSH SAGA (King 2012), Nieborg (2015) adopts a political- economy approach to analyze game platforms like the Apple App Store. He finds that “the business model associated with free-to-play games is decidedly less monolithic and, as of yet, anything but stable,” (2015, p. 6). The development of these games is built on commodifying three parts through different monetization strategies: a product commodity through inapp purchases, a “prosumer” commodity through virality, and a player commodity through advertising. There are several methods for this commodification, but they

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are most apparent when games prompts users to share their progress, high scores and ask for help through social networks like Facebook, “thereby generating attention and thus value” (Nieborg 2015, p. 8). Significant research has also been conducted on the players of F2P games by the Free2Play Research Project at the University of Tampere. Through their research, Paavilainen et al. (2016) have answered questions like: Why do people buy virtual goods? Why do they pay for in-game content in free-to-play games? And what kind of people pay for this content? They find that people tend to buy virtual goods to express themselves esthetically, or when they have had good experience with purchases previously (Paavilainen et al. 2016, p. 11). As for spending in F2P games, players are more likely to do so when it is related to removing obstructions from gameplay (such as time restrictions), for social reasons (such as gifting other players), or for personal reasons like supporting the game and developer (Paavilainen et al. 2016, p. 13). They also note that different types of players purchase diverse virtual goods in F2P games, with achievement-orientated players purchasing items to help them become the best; immersion-orientated players purchasing items that assist in unobstructed gameplay; and social-orientated players buying items that relate to social interaction or other economic reasoning, but not with the aim of unobstructed play (Paavilainen et al. 2016, p. 14). One interesting approach of the Free2Play Research Project is their association of F2P gaming to gambling, hinting that there might be distinct qualities to F2P game cultures different from traditional ones. Most notably, they find that “the line between gambling games and other games has become blurred in online environments,” (Paavilainen et al. 2016, p. 44) with the social interaction connected to both activities becoming increasingly important. This is apparent in that the players of F2P Facebook games and online gamblers have “similar gaming careers” (Paavilainen et al. 2016, p. 45). Both types will continue playing and appropriate their game practices in their daily lives, especially if these habits are important for their identities. Even with plenty of research having been conducted on the multiple facets of F2P games, scholars rarely attempt to look at the entire culture of the games and prefer focusing on a single aspect, e.g., the players, the developers or the game itself. A game culture approach, however, attempts to combine all these aspects and other contexts as well, hoping to detail the ways in which these aspects influence each other, and how the culture manifests itself and differs from other previously distinguished game cultures. For example, research observing player habits should also look at how these routines influence other parts of the game culture, such as actions of the developers, content developed, or even expressions of the community itself. If in-game purchasing and spending influence players

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to behave in a certain way, then surely there should also be an influence on the community as a whole, on the identity of the individual, and on the regulation and production of the game itself.

4

A Theoretical Approach to Studying F2P Culture

Several possible theoretical frameworks for the observation and study of game cultures already exist; however, the following suggested approach is unique in its inclusion of multiple contexts of culture that reflect Game cultures’ genesis and entirety. This theoretical approach was first introduced by du Gay et al. (1997) in their study of the Sony Walkman. They propose a circuit of culture, or five processes that are constantly influencing each other, and which should be utilized in order to study any cultural artifact properly. The cultural processes of production, regulation, identification, representation and consumption include various cultural practices that can be observed and analyzed when dealing with media content and technologies (Gay et al. 1997, p. 3). Building on this circuit of culture and Hepp’s (2011) work on media cultures, Mitgutsch et al. adapt the five processes into domains that can be utilized for digital games instead, replacing the process of consumption with appropriation. These contexts can be considered expressions of various processes in game culture and are constantly “historically, temporally and spatially rooted and contextualized” (2013, p. 10): • The context of (re)production deals not only with the development and publishing of digital games, but also with the creation of user-generated content. Example F2P studies dealing with this context look at specifics in game design (e.g. Evans 2015). • The context of regulation observes how non-producing parties, like political and governmental organizations, influence game culture. One previously mentioned study dealing with this context is Nieborg’s (2015) commodification case study of CANDY CRUSH SAGA through app markets and social network sites. • Representation, as a context, deals not only with the depiction of games in media and public discourse, but also of specific themes (violence, gender roles) in the games themselves. Lin and Sun’s (2007) content analysis of user perspectives on game forums is one example study observing this context for F2P games.

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• Identification observes the constant process of building one’s identity based on the patterns and discourses communicated in games. This is observable when individuals use certain jargon or items to signify their membership in a specific community. Example studies observing this context in F2P games include Gruning’s (2013) research on the value of digital objects in FARMVILLE (Zynga 2009). Finally, the context of appropriation involves how games are played, used and imbedded into daily life. The focus here is to discern habits, rituals and the like. Example F2P studies dealing with this context include several ones conducted by the University of Tampere’s Free2Play Research Project, which looks at how and why people play F2P games (Paavilainen et al. 2016). While there have been several F2P studies dealing with one context, little research has been conducted which attempts to look at multiple contexts and the way they influence each other. However, some studies do exist, such as Jordan et al.’s (2016) ethnography, which looks at both the appropriation and production context through analyzing how changes in development influence player behavior. This multi-contextual approach is especially important for the recognition of several practices and their influence on each other and allows for a more holistic depiction of the culture. In order to do so, ethnography (or virtual ethnography, to be more precise) as utilized by Jordan et al. (2016) or Taylor (2006) is the most common method that allows the researcher to observe and analyze multiple cultural contexts. Once researchers have decided which game(s) they would like to utilize for their observation and analysis of free-to-play, they can compare it/them to traditional, pay-to-play ones to pinpoint unique intricacies of the culture, or changes from traditional game culture(s). To do so, it is suggested to utilize the framework for comparative analysis of digital game cultures (Elmezeny and Wimmer 2018). In this process, the researcher goes through four stages: defining a digital game culture to study (e.g., one F2P game culture and another traditional one), pinpointing the contexts to be investigated and compared (selected from the circuit of culture), comparing the selected contexts through noting cultural patterns and phenomena (e.g., how players communicate or identify with their virtual assets), and finally placing the compared cultures on a spectrum that relates their characteristics (e.g., one end as unique and the other as common, or one as local and the other as international). By going through this process, researchers seeking to study F2P game cultures are able to not only characterize their culture of interest, but also place the culture in a larger social and professional context (Elmezeny and Wimmer 2018).

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Utilizing this framework also enables researchers to compare multiple F2P cultures, and to pinpoint if characteristics observed in a single game culture are applicable to other games through the implementation of the F2P payment model, or if they are unique manifestations of a specific game. For example, are user practices and monetization strategies similar in CANDY CRUSH SAGA and FORTNITE (Epic Games 2017)? Using this framework can help answer this question through selecting specific contexts and practices to observe.

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Methodological Approaches to Studying F2P Culture

There are several possible online ethnographic methods that can be appropriately utilized to observe and analyze F2P games (Beneito-Montagut 2011; Hallett and Barber 2014; Caliandro 2017). However, since most F2P games present us with a virtual world to be perceived and immersed in, the most appropriate online ethnographic method is the approach suggested by Boellstorff et al. (2012), otherwise known as ethnography of virtual worlds. This method is most suitable because of its important considerations to virtual worlds and their offline contexts. This means that ethnography of virtual worlds is a multi-sited method, allowing the researcher to not only observe individuals and actions in the game world, but also in other communicational spaces, both online and offline. Thus, researchers interested in studying F2P cultures holistically and from various perspectives and contexts are well-advised to select this method. The most central part of this ethnographic method (as with other types) is participant observation since “[b]ecoming directly involved in the activities of daily life provides an intimate view of their substance and meaning” (Boellstorff et al. 2012, p. 65). While participant observation is central to other types of ethnography, if the researcher is interested in studying F2P culture through observing communicational spaces outside of the game world, there are more suitable methods. For example, Beneito-Montagut’s (2011, p. 716) approach named “expanded ethnography” is suitable for looking at gaming contexts outside of the game world since it has three distinct and useful characteristics: It is multi-situated (i.e., looking at several field sites), it considers online and offline environments, and it uses flexible multimedia data collection methods. This approach allows the researcher to observe various online communicational sites and utilize a wide array of data collection tools, from screenshots to audio and video recordings. On the other hand, Caliandro’s (2017) approach is suitable for researchers intending to conduct their research on social networks. He provides important considerations

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in his ethnographic method suitable for this pursuit, such as following the “medium”, “thing” or “native” through various social media channels (Caliandro 2017, pp. 3 ff.). He also provides five analytical concepts to assist the researcher in their ethnographies: “community, public, crowd, self-presentation as a tool and user as a device,” (Caliandro 2017, p. 1). Regardless of the selected ethnographic approach, participant observation is always key in the study of F2P culture(s). By doing so, researchers are better able to understand social and cultural practices; “[t]hrough participant observation, ethnographers step into the social frame in which activity takes place” (Boellstorff et al. 2012, p. 65). For researchers of F2P and other online cultures, participant observation even allows for fuller participation and access than offline ethnography (Boellstorff et al. 2012, p. 69). While most might feel that playing a game and participating in it is not hard work, one must remember that “Good participant observation means play and research in parallel, as the same engaged activity” (Boellstorff et al. 2012, p. 69). This is usually accomplished through juggling multiple tasks in parallel; whether it is recording field notes during loading screens or recording gameplay and coming back to it at a later point for in-depth analysis. In addition to participant observation, ethnographers and researchers have a number of other data collection tools at their disposal. Researchers using virtual ethnography can supplement their participant observation with individual or group interviews; capturing chatlogs, screenshots, video or audio data; data collection in other online contexts, such as forums and social network sites; or even using historical and archival research (Boellstorff et al. 2012, pp. 92 ff.). With various options available to virtual ethnographers, it is important to consider the data collection method most appropriate for their research question. Using F2P as an example, if the interest is in sensitive topics regarding payment, individual interviews would be more appropriate than collecting chatlogs or group discussions. If the researcher is interested in community spending habits, norms and opinions, group discussions and surveying chatlogs or other online communities would be more apt. Still, ethnography is not the only suitable approach for studying F2P and other game cultures. If the focus of research lies only on one or two of the aforementioned contexts, more tailored methods are also applicable, such as using content analysis to look at social media communication of a certain game culture (Elmezeny and Wimmer 2016), or “play interviews”, where the researcher interviews the participant while they are playing a game of their choice (Shaw 2013). However, should the focus of research be on looking at the entire game culture

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holistically, ethnography is almost always the preferred methodological approach as it facilitates the study of the multiple contexts of the game culture in question.

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Just 0.99e More to Unlock a Final Word!

This chapter presented a succinct review of current F2P research and provided a possible theoretical and methodological approach to studying F2P culture. Currently, plenty of research exists on F2P games, highlighting various aspects; from perspectives of developers to those of users and their spending or gaming habits. Still, what no current F2P research has tried to accomplish is to characterize a F2P game culture or depict it holistically, addressing its multiple contexts and complexities. The theoretical framework provided in this chapter is a stepping stone for an attempt to do so. Obviously, it does not constitute the only way to study and observe F2P cultures; however, it provides a direct and categorized way of noting specific phenomena (within their respective contexts) and how they influence each other. For instance, this framework helps researchers to not only look at reasons for players to spend money in specific F2P games (appropriation context), but also at ways in which this spending influences the development of the game (production context), as well as its image in public discourse (representation context) and even the degree to which players identify with the game’s virtual assets (identification context). Through looking at the relationship between these contexts, researchers interested in F2P games are able to observe not only specific practices, but also characteristics and inner workings of the culture itself. Additionally, by utilizing the framework for comparative analysis of cultures mentioned earlier (Elmezeny and Wimmer 2018), researchers are able to compare their findings of F2P cultures to other traditional, pay-to-play or subscription game cultures. Following this pursuit, enables researchers to highlight differences between F2P cultures implementing this popular business model and traditional games. Alternatively, researchers can also utilize this framework to compare multiple F2P game cultures, in hopes of pinpointing common features that span across multiple games, which can be deemed characteristic of the F2P payment model itself, and not of a specific game or community. To study and observe F2P cultures, this chapter suggests utilizing ethnography, or ethnography of virtual worlds, to be specific, as it is a flexible, responsive methodology that is “sensitive to emergent phenomena and emergent research questions,” (Boellstorff et al. 2012, p. 6). As with all types of ethnography, participant observation is the cornerstone of this approach, allowing the researcher to engage in the community, noticing cultural happenings, first-hand and in

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detail. However, multiple other data collection methods are also available in this approach, ranging from interviews to archival research and quantitative surveys, with the researcher being able to tailor data collection methods to their respective research interest. Overall, while the study of game cultures is not a novel pursuit, the study of F2P game culture(s) is. More media and games researchers should ideally focus on detailing and analyzing F2P game culture holistically, as it provides phenomena and practices relatively new to the gaming world. Data-driven game development, purchasing of virtual assets, and a divide in players based on their spending status are just a few observable occurrences which did not use to be observable in traditional games, but which are becoming more common today. These phenomena are encroaching on regular game culture, with some pay-toplay games having microtransactions after their initial purchase price. Hence, these changes can only be indicative of the influence the free-to-play model is having on the games industry as a whole. There is certainly more to observe and note in the cultures of games implementing this payment model, and studies looking at player or developer opinions come to the conclusion that this model is gradually being established (Paavilainen et al. 2016). So it is in all of our best interest as both researchers and avid gamers to keep observing the F2P model’s development and influence on game cultures as well as on the overall games industry.

References Alha, K., Koskinen, E., Paavilainen, J., Hamari, J., & Kinnunen, J. (2014). Free-to-Play Games: Professionals’ Perspectives. Paper presented at the Nordic DiGRA 2014. Visby, Sweden. Beneito-Montagut, R. (2011). Ethnography Goes Online: Towards a User-Centered Methodology to Research Interpersonal Communication on the Internet. Qualitative Research, (11 (6), pp. 716–735). https://doi.org/10.1177/1468794111413368. Boellstorff, T., Nardi, B., Pearce, C., & Taylor, T. L. (2012). Ethnography and Virtual Worlds: A Handbook of Method. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Bogdanov, V. (2013). Gaming Market Trends Q1 2013: UK, Germany and USA Compared. Intersog. https://intersog.com/news/gaming-market-trends-q1-2013-uk-germanyand-usa-compared/. Retrieved: [09.06.2015]. Caliandro, A. (2017). Digital Methods for Ethnography: Analytical Concepts for Ethnographers Exploring Social Media Environments. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography. 10.1177/0891241617702960. Castronova, E. (2003). On Virtual Economies. Game Studies, 3 (2). https://www.gamest udies.org/0302/castronova/.

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Lin, H., & Sun, C.-T. (2007). Cash Trade Within the Magic Circle: Free-to-Play Game Challenges and Massively Multiplayer Online Game Player Responses. Paper presented at the DiGRA 2007: Situated Play. Tokyo, Japan. Mäyrä, F. (2008). An Introduction to Game Studies. London: Sage. Mitgutsch, K., Huber, S., Wimmer, J., Wagner, M., & Rosenstingl, H. (2013). Context matters! Exploring and Reframing Games and Play in Context – An Introduction. In K. Mitgutsch, S. Huber, J. Wimmer, M. Wagner & Rosenstingl, H. (Eds.), Context Matters! Exploring and Reframing Games in Context. Proceedings of the 7 th Vienna Games Conference (pp. 9–16). Wien: New Academic Press. Statista. (2019). Mobile Games – Worldwide. https://www.statista.com/outlook/211/100/ mobile-games/worldwide?currency=eur. Retrieved: [16.04.2019]. Molyneux, L., Vasudevan, K., & Gil de Zúñiga, H. (2015). Gaming Social Capital: Exploring Civic Value in Multiplayer Video Games. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, (20 (4), pp. 381–399). https://doi.org/10.1111/jcc4.12123. Newzoo. (2018). Global Mobile Market Report. https://newzoo.com/solutions/standard/mar ket-forecasts/global-mobile-market-report/. Retrieved: [16.04.2019]. Nieborg, D. B. (2015). Crushing Candy: The Free-to-Play Game in Its Connective Commodity Form. Social Media + Society, 1 (2). https://doi.org/10.1177/205630511562 1932. Paavilainen, J., Koskinen, E., Hamari, J., Kinnunen, J., Alha, K., Keronen, L., & Mäyrä, F. (Eds.). (2016). Free2Play Research Project Final Report. https://tampub.uta.fi/han dle/10024/98584. Retrieved: [16.04.2019]. Popcap Games (2012). Mobile Games Survey: Nearly Half of All U.S. and U.K. Adults Are Mobile Gamers; Tablets are Bringing New Players; Freemium Is on the Rise. Business Wire. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bwh&AN=biz wire.c42325825&site=ehost-live. Retrieved: [02.03.2015]. Pujol, N. (2010). Freemium: Attributes of an Emerging Business Model. SSRN. http://dx. doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1718663. Puppe, M. (2018). Smartphones Overtake PCs as Germany’s Most Popular Gaming Platform. Game. https://www.game.de/en/blog/2018/07/30/smartphones-overtake-pcsas-germanys-most-popular-gaming-platform/. Retrieved: [16.04.2019]. Shaw, A. (2013). Rethinking Game Studies: A Case Study Approach to Video Game Play and Identification. Critical Studies in Media Communication, (30 (5), pp. 347–361). https://doi.org/10.1080/15295036.2012.701013. Taylor, T. L. (2006). Play Between Worlds: Exploring Online Game Culture. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. Toivonen, S. (2011). Of Discs, Boxes and Cartridges: The Material Life of Digital Games. Paper presented at the DiGRA 2011: Think, Design, Play. Hilversum, Netherlands. van Looy, J., Courtois, C., & De Vocht, M. (2010). Player Identification in Online Games: Validation of a Scale for Measuring Identification in MMORPGs. Paper presented at the Fun and Games. Leuven, Belgium. Wilken, O. (2016). The Gaming Industry in Germany. Trade and Investment Report. Berlin: Germany Trade and Investment. Wimmer, J. (2012). Digital Game Culture(s) as Prototype(s) of Mediatization and Commercialization of Society: The World Cyber Games 2008 in Cologne as an Example.

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Ludography DragonVale (Backflip Studios 2011, O: Backflip Studios) EverQuest (Sony Online Entertainment 1999, O: Sony Online Entertainment) Farmville (Zynga 2009, O: Zynga) Fortnite (Epic Games, People Can Fly 2017, O: Epic Games) Guild Wars 2 (NCSOFT 2012, O: Arenanet) Habbo Hotel (Sulake 2000, O: Karajalainen, S., & Kyrölä, A.) King (Saint Julian’s 2012) KingsRoad (Rumble Entertainment 2013, O: Rumble Entertainment) Path of Exile (Grinding Gear Games 2013, O: Grinding Gear Games) Snoopy’s Street Fair (Beeline Interactive, Inc. 2011, O: Beeline Interactive, Inc.) The Simpsons: Tapped Out (EA Mobile, Fox Digital Entertainment, Gracie Films 2012, O: EA Mobile) World of Warcraft (Blizzard Entertainment 2004, O: Blizzard Entertainment)

The“Ultimate Empathy Machine” Revisited Challenges of Augmented and Virtual Realities From an Ethical Perspective Jeffrey Wimmer Abstract

Virtual realities can be understood as computer-mediated simulations that create the feeling that users are present in a real-physical environment. Enthusiasts postulate that virtual experiences of reality have a more intense effect on the users than traditional media. Social and ethical implications of this technology arise not only from its potential for the extension of individual experiences of different realities, but also from its increasing pervasion of each area of everyday life. On the basis of a literature review, the article shows to what extent virtual realities can be understood as a drastic push in the mediatization of society. Building on this theoretical framework, different personal as well as social implications of VR and AR applications are specified and discussed from the perspective of media ethics. Keywords

Augmented reality • Everyday lifeworld • Media change • Media reality Mediatization • Social contexts • Virtual reality

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J. Wimmer (B) Universität Augsburg, Augsburg, Germany E-Mail: [email protected] © Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, part of Springer Nature 2020 M. Groen et al. (eds.), Games and Ethics, Digitale Kultur und Kommunikation 7, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-28175-5_9

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Craig Schwartz: [as Maxine Puppet] Tell me, Craig, why do you love puppetering? Craig Schwartz: [as Craig Puppet] Well Maxine, I’m not sure exactly. Perhaps the idea of becoming someone else for a little while. Being inside another skin – thinking differently, moving differently, feeling differently. (Being John Malkovich, USA, 1999).

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Introduction: Visions, Risks and Research Gaps

The development of virtual reality technologies, whose origins date back to the 1960s, is currently making advances due to continuous increases in performance and the onset of cost reduction. These technologies are gradually finding their way into various professional and private areas of application. Successful application attempts have been made, for example, in the treatment of phobias, in which patients are virtually confronted with a fear-triggering situation using Virtual Reality (VR) (e.g., experiencing great heights). Still, virtual realities are by no means a mass phenomenon, but the number of companies employing these technologies, their status in public discourse, and the technological and social possibilities for their use are rapidly increasing. Areas of application include, among others, marketing, entertainment communication (especially computer games and pornography), social networking, education and profession, medical therapy and journalism (cf. Slater and Sanchez-Vivez 2016). Virtual realities can be understood as computer-mediated simulations that create the feeling that users are present in a real-physical environment. In addition to the perceptive, cognitive and motor abilities of the users, the technical characteristics of the representation are fundamental to this immersive process of coupling user and technology and/or media use and media offering. On the one hand, these characteristics affect the diversity of the graphical representation of the environment, such as its scope (e.g., visibility, audibility, touch, smell) and quality (e.g., detail accuracy), but also its speed (e.g., update rates, time delay) and mapping (details such as language, gestures, gaze, complex behavior patterns). On the other hand, the interactivity of the representation—e.g., the extent to which a user can change form and content of the mediated environment—is a decisive factor in an immersive experience. It is important to distinguish Augmented Reality (AR) from VR. AR extends a video stream in real time by means of artificial virtual objects. The practically simplest and currently most common form of AR is achieved by using a smartphone or tablet. A user views certain content (often so-called markers on a

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two-dimensional surface such as a sheet of paper) via the device’s display, and the device integrates 3D objects into the viewed image in a precise position, with which the user can usually even interact. In order to prevent emersion by viewing reality via display, and to expand practicability, mobile data glasses are being developed at an increasing rate, allowing users to perceive the digital environment as completely natural with the virtual objects being projected directly into their field of vision. In comparison to AR, VR does not usually integrate real environment into display, but rather the user is completely immersed in an artificial virtual environment, such as a computer game, by wearing a head-mounted display (cf. Jung et al. 2020). According to Milgram and Koshino (1994), AR and VR can be located on a continuum between reality and virtuality, since both connect real-life and digital characteristics to different degrees. In contrast to the computer-generated reality of VR, AR applications extend individual real-world experience through a higher degree of immediacy of presence and perception with digital information. By placing virtual objects in real-time and space, they enable virtual experiences not only in laboratory conditions and in confined spaces, but in real conditions and many everyday situations, transforming the ordinary living environment into a digital interface. A prototypical example is Amikasa (INDG 2014), an app designed to help consumers find the right home furnishings. The smartphone camera is used to create 3D models of the rooms, in which furniture and decor can then be placed at the user’s convenience. The intensity of the entanglement of physical and virtual realities is referred to as the degree of immersion: While total immersion describes a feeling of complete absorption in a virtual, artificial environment, with low levels of immersion the real environment is still highly perceptible and thus a constant part of the user’s awareness (this is the case with AR solutions). For a perfect VR emulation of reality, all components of the real world, e.g., living beings, objects, natural phenomena as well as their noises, smells and haptic properties, would have to be simulated—the technical solutions currently available are still a long way from that. While immersion in the context of VR thus refers to the structure of virtual environments transmitted by technology, presence is the subjective experience of assessing the virtual environment to be real. This, however, does not indicate that users are not aware of the mediated nature of their experience. As research by Spagnolli and Gamberini (2002, p. 429) has shown, players are still aware of their physical surroundings in reality while experiencing in-game presence using VR technology. By far the most popular example of extended realities is the AR application and location-based game Pokémon Go (Niantic 2016), which was released 2016.

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Basically, the aim of the game is to catch and collect different monster-like creatures. The major difference from previous Pokémon games is that this hunt is not carried out exclusively in a virtual world, but is inextricably linked to the real-world setting. The basic interface of the game is a map of the real environment of the players, where important places of the real world such as museums or railway stations are integrated as landmarks and serve as starting points for digital gaming. Players who visit these locations can collect useful items or challenge other players to virtual battles. AR game apps are, of course, not a new phenomenon. However, Pokémon Go became quickly popular around the world, prompting large audiences to try out AR-based game apps and sparking a public debate about the opportunities and risks of virtual realities in everyday life (cf. Hjorth and Richardson 2017). On the one hand, the new digital possibilities fascinate many people as they bring society closer to the realization of science fiction technologies featured in books and Hollywood movies like eXistenZ (Cronenberg 1999) or Minority Report (Spielberg 2002) (see in depth Veerapen 2013). Many enthusiasts postulate that virtual experiences of reality have a more intense effect on the users than book novels, movies etc. because they would be perceived as more impressive and immediate by the audience/users. The director and VR pioneer Chris Milk praised the innovative media technology in a 2015 TED talk: “It is indeed a machine, but through this machine we become more sympathetic, we become more empathetic, we feel closer to each other, and thus ultimately also more human” (Milk 2015). Immersive 360-degree videos virtually transport their viewers to new environments and enable them to look around independently. “Realistic”, computer-generated VR productions also offer the possibility for interacting with the people they display. In both cases, according to Milk, virtual co-presence may not only increase empathy, but also lead to greater understanding and kindness towards people. It is remarkable, though, that VR productions are indeed used for humanitarian or charitable purpose. An early example is Milk’s own 360-degree video Clouds Over Sidra (Arora and Pousman 2015). Using data glasses, the interactive documentary transports viewers to the Za’atari refugee camp in Jordan, where a girl named Sidra introduces them to the living conditions of Syrian refugees. Milk’s phrase “ultimate empathy machine” inspired a whole industry—especially journalists—and became a marketing catchphrase. However, an explanation of how these two contradictory terms—empathy and machine—relate to each other was not provided by Milk. The fact that virtual realities can trigger a feeling of presence in another location is the most intensively discussed potential of the new technology. It differentiates virtual realities from traditional media. It is common to almost all

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virtual realities from VR to AR that they try to optimally stimulate this feeling of presence, to make the user an interactive eyewitness. The assumption that their interactive content could lead to more empathy is the conclusion of this potential. The underlying hypothesis can be formulated as follows: If a user experiences something themself, they could then empathize better with the situation of those affected. Be it the refugee, the victim of an earthquake or a woman who is attacked by fundamental Christians in front of an abortion clinic. Empathy, the ability to share and understand someone else’s emotions, is a critical part of meaningful social interactions. It has been shown to increase people’s understanding of one another and to motivate positive social behaviors, such as donating, volunteering or cooperating with others. Psychological experiments within the framework of the EU project VERE (2014)1 have shown that people gain more understanding for others if, e.g., through simulation, they assume their perspective (e.g., men in women, white people in people of color, adults in children, younger ones in an older self) (cf. Banakou et al. 2013, 2016; Maister et al. 2013, 2015; Peck et al. 2013). Such a change of perspective can promote positive changes in people, reduce thinking in stereotypes and improve communication. Moreover, experiments have shown that the illusion created influenced peoples’ behavior outside the virtual world and that the effects persisted even after the experiments (e.g., Hershfield et al. 2011; Peck et al. 2013; Rosenberg et al. 2013; Yoon and Vargas 2014). However, there is little research examining how exactly this emerging technology can alter people’s attitudes. Past research on VR and empathy has yielded mixed results and used small sample sizes composed mostly of college students. In addition, previous studies have not examined the long-term effect of virtual realities on empathy beyond several weeks. Substantial effects on an unconscious level, e.g., the body model, are measured empirically clearly and comprehensibly. Previous research on VR primarily focused on psychological concepts (cf. Hartmann 2020). The main focus lies on the factors that contribute to the user’s feeling of presence; partly determined by the degree of immersion and the emotions experienced. Many of these studies try to falsify various factors derived from technology-centered theories (e.g., technology acceptance model, diffusion theory) (e.g., Jung and tom Dieck 2018; Jung et al. 2020). Questions of social contexts and of everyday life and the resulting consequences have been neglected by previous research. The embedding of virtual reality in the everyday life of users has not yet been investigated, although it could provide information about motivations for use and the negotiation of the meaning of technology. An

1 https://www.vereproject.eu

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approach which locates virtual realities in the ongoing digital transformation of society will be illustrated in the next chapter.

2

Virtual Realities as a Drastic Push in the Mediatization of Society

From the broader perspective of communication studies, the questions arise as to what role virtual realities play in our current media culture and what their specific qualities are that make them new forms of cultural expression. To answer these questions, it helps to consider two analytical dimensions: Firstly, the level of everyday life where media as a whole and the plethora of media practices can now be regarded as constitutive for personal development and social reality (cf. fundamentally Hepp 2013). The use of digital communication media transforms people’s social interaction and everyday experiences, so that everyday life and everyday media life can no longer be analytically separated (cf. Krotz 2017). Current research on mediatization shows that the increasing establishment of technical communication media as a whole and the associated change in the “production” of our reality are expediting the changes drastically (Couldry and Hepp 2016). Accordingly, users experience in the countless worlds of virtual realities not only entertaining or educational content, but also opportunities for socialization and identity-forming. These virtual forms of media reality can shape their ad-hoc communicative actions, but also, in the long term, their personal development and social community. Secondly, media experience can, in principle, not only be understood as a conscious anticipation and/or processing of existential social experience, following the news for real-world events, but also as a type of experience in its own right through which real-world or fictitious realities distant from one’s own point of view can be acquired. Virtual realities drastically and dramatically change both the dynamics of mediated experience and the intersubjective comprehension of this experience. Through technological innovations, mediated experiences can now be carried out in vivo. Moreover, and quasi playfully and not always consciously reflected by media users, various areas of reality and experience remote from the user (e.g., geographically distant earthquake regions) become accessible through these interactive media. The result is that social reality(ies) and media reality(ies) need to be studied alongside each other. Krotz (2012, p. 33) consequently postulates a radical mediatization push through the extension of real-world experience through virtual realities, which he calls augmented reality: “Both historical steps – the discovery of the central perspective as well as the change of our vision

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through augmented reality – can obviously be understood as belonging together steps of a mediatization process: The central perspective structures our vision and makes us a part of what is happening, and augmented reality then fills our views with new and additional content. Media shape our perceptions to the extent that they offer through their contexts what we recognize and how we contextualize what we perceive. The invention of the central perspective is not only the foundation of science, but also of a gigantic industry and many technologies – museums, the art trade, the telescope, the camera, etc. – and this is what augmented reality today refers to, presumably without further thought about what it does.” It can be assumed that virtual realities will continue to drive and shape the mediatization of everyday life by further promoting the paths of digitization from social interaction, media use, work, consumption and entertainment. They contribute significantly to the ever-increasing shift of activities in everyday life and work towards the digital sphere. Pioneers of this process are practical applications in the field of medicine, in form of simulations, but also in communicative, artistic, and therapeutic settings. Through virtual presence, extreme situations can be better understood and mastered, and perhaps even social contexts can be recreated, for example by “transporting” the user to a poverty or war situation. Virtual realities are already used to train pilots today. They also have their place in sports training and pedagogy and serve as a tool for empirical research about media ethics (cf. Sütfeld et al. 2017). However, the central question that arises from a deliberation on social aspects is: How does virtuality deal with the interpersonal, with the fact that underneath it all, humans are physical beings with a great need for physical presence? On the one hand, we are, effectively, “virtualizers” because we can imagine many things and we construct our reality(ies) through a plethora of media. On the other hand, we have a deep longing for a reality that we can rely on, that provides us with a sense of home and security. This inner dividedness is further intensified by virtual realities. Virtual realities are a dramatic technology: they dramatize our human duality between imagination and reality (which, of course, is merely a construct). In virtual realities, the spatial distances of the real world could completely dissolve. For users, location-independent access and means of communication are created in order to increase the chances of participating in intensive social interaction processes. In a professional and private environment, this increases the opportunities for making new contacts and maintaining existing relationships.

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Challenges from the Perspective of Media Ethics

The strong sense of presence within the framework of immersion in virtual realities also presents considerable challenges from an ethical perspective. The potential long-term cognitive and emotional effect of virtual realities on users has yet to be investigated in detail, and the line between reality and virtual realities is becoming increasingly blurred. Referring to an ethically controversial case of Facebook founder Zuckerberg’s virtual ‘visit’ to a region destroyed by an earthquake via VR-App, German journalist Michael Moorstedt (2017, own translation) discusses the negative potential of virtual realities: “It is the declared goal of Virtual Reality to make the real world and its simulation as indistinguishable as possible. It seems as if the pendulum swings in both directions. Psychological studies have shown that people behave differently in virtual environments than in the real world, more emotionally cold, more pragmatically. Not for nothing do computer scientists and social scientists alike demand a moral code for artificial reality. What may one show and what not? And why does it bother people more when Zuckerberg is embedded in a virtual reality video than it probably would have had he been in a normal movie? The new medium is still searching for the right tone.” The empirical answer to the question of whether the feeling of being ‘present’ in an earthquake region, for example via VR, provides real insight or is merely a mediatized form of voyeurism remains unanswered. But if one considers this potential a little further, it seems plausible to assume that the worlds of experience of AR and VR influence our already highly mediatized and digitized reality even more and could thus change our social and societal coexistence even more strongly than previous digital media technologies (cf. Couldry and Hepp 2016). Not only is there potential for expanding individual perceptions of reality through virtual representations, but also the fact that in the future a user will be able to interact with virtual realities in a variety of ways and integrate them into any area of everyday life makes them technological assets that promise many freedoms but which also have considerable social implications while raising questions of media ethics that are worth considering. Of course, virtuality has always existed in human life, and human reality can very well be considered virtual to some extent as media and communication have always constructed our reality. But the degree to which we give virtual realities space in our lives correlates with their potential ethical harmfulness. The virtual realities of the “empathy machine” challenge well-established forms of perception and interaction in that they change our understanding of time, sense of space, and self-image and induce us to withdraw from face-to-face communication in favor of virtual forms of communication, especially in the case of interpersonal

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conflicts, potentially intensifying rather than mitigating them due to the loss of sensory impression (cf. Slater et al. 2020). With regard to the social risks, there is an ambivalence in the effects that immersion into virtual worlds can have for users of virtual realities (as for all users of digital media): On the one hand, virtual realities can contribute to overcoming social isolation and stimulate social interaction—for example, by improving the way people contact friends, families or acquaintances. On the other hand, they can also create a parallel world and consequently lead to social isolation and alienation. But especially in the case of VR, there is a risk that virtual immersion and interaction become partially ‘hyperrealistic’ (Baudrillard 1978) or ‘superrealistic’ (Slater et al. 2020). Virtual realities become so attractive to some users that they prefer virtually mediated experiences to the real world. Thus, while technology will help overcome social isolation through new forms of communication, virtual reality can also lead to a life in a dream world and result in isolation and alienation or even media addiction. But one needs to acknowledge that these fears are expressed (and relativized in retrospect) every time new media are introduced. Even if the social risks described are not causally attributable to the use of VR (though more than of AR, presumably) and depend heavily on different factors like the dispositions of the individual users, their media literacy etc., it can be assumed that the high intensity of experiencing virtual realities tends to increase the risks described. From an ethical perspective, Kellmeyer et al. (2019) identify three key risks of using VR in therapy settings: (1) The persuasive power of VR can be used for therapeutic purposes that are ultimately based on an illusion. This instrumentalization of the senses restricts a patient’s autonomy and is sometimes problematic with regard to human dignity. (2) VR aims at a change in behavior that users cannot avoid. This jeopardizes autonomous decision making if the virtual experience is so compelling that users cease to seek alternative experiences (images, arguments etc.). (3) Users establish emotional ties to virtual figures, avatars, and accept them as supposedly real people. This could result in a reinforcement of social withdrawal from the real world. Madary and Metzinger (2016, p. 5) point to the threat of an instrumentalization of the laboratory setting and confined spaces of virtual realities through interest groups if the contexts and implications of virtual realities are not clearly communicated to the users: “The comprehensive character of VR plus the potential for the global control of experiential content introduces opportunities for new and especially powerful forms of both mental and behavioral manipulation, especially when commercial, political, religious, or governmental interests are behind the creation and maintenance of the virtual worlds.”

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The fact that VR can create such strong illusions is seen as a major cause for concern. Madary and Metzinger (2016) therefore provide concrete recommendations particularly with regard to the use of VR. In the case of research work, for example, participants should be informed about the risks, and medical researchers should refrain from raising false hopes. An ethical code, however important it may be, does not replace ethical reflection and action itself. With regard to consumers, the authors are demanding long-term studies on how immersion in virtual worlds affects the psyche. They see a particular danger from certain content, such as scenes of violence or pornography, in which technological risk increases the risk of psychological trauma. Finally, they draw attention to the need for regulation of avatar ownership, as well as of surveillance and data protection. Ethical implications of AR are slightly different. AR-based assistance systems will become even more subtle and invisible through interfaces that are perceived as natural, such as glasses or contact lenses, and are bound to merge with everyday life more than previous communication technologies. Current smartphones are large, their use is visible and understandable for others; by contrast, in AR applications, for example, a conversation partner does not know whether the bearer of such a system is retrieving additional information (about them) at any given moment; they are covertly used. Human cognitive abilities are potentially expanded by making information relevant to the situation available. AR-based assistance systems will continue to spread if proven to be useful and will become indispensable within many social groups. But due to the expected device and usage costs, these options will initially be reserved for a digital elite, which can gain an informational and educational edge through access to exclusive content. It is to be feared that societal knowledge gaps may also arise or be reinforced through the proliferation of virtual realities. In addition, augmented reality content may become a tool for manipulative political, economic etc. intentions in the future and could have particularly strong influence on the opinion formation of its users. An example is real-time manipulation of video footage through AR technology (Herling 2014).

4

Conclusion and Outlook

Research on virtual realities faces the dual challenge of focusing not only on a ‘moving target’, but rather on a ‘changing target’. Thus, virtual realities are an object of investigation that transforms itself due to specific technical and social context. Following this premise, one can only grasp the social challenges of VR and AR if one also examines their interdependencies across media

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and social domains in depth and does not focus solely on the short-term acts of reception. The task of future research work is therefore to describe the influencing factors that determine media constructions of reality more concretely and comprehensively, not only taking into account mass media discourse, but also ‘transmedial’ connections. For it can be assumed that virtual realities can unfold a considerable potential for public debate by enabling new directions and, in particular, new forms of participation, among other things, through digital 360-degree perspectives (cf. in-depth de la Peña 2015). The change in users’ perception of space and time should be also given a broader analytical consideration (Liao and Humphreys 2014). A study by Klopfer and Squire (2008) that evaluates an AR app in a school context prototypically shows the underlying transformation. Their results provide information on what needs to be considered when programming and using AR in an educational context. Thus, users identified other design features as significant than developers and teachers. They had no problem linking virtual and real space from a cognitive point of view. However, the use of the app in groups led to an increased social hierarchization (e.g., decision making based on gender stereotypes) in using the app. Javornik et al. (2016) tested an AR application for applying make-up in a store. Although their study focuses only on the app’s acceptance by customers, it methodically shows a possible integration of AR technologies into everyday life. Pavlik and Bridges (2013, p. 52) extrapolating on the basis of Rogers’ diffusion model of how AR could influence journalism, come to the euphoric conclusion that AR-enhanced news content leads to a more committed, but an also more informed readership. At the same time, however, we should not lose sight of the possible long-term risks of VR. Studies indicate risks that VR can pose for media professionals, content providers, marketers and users (cf. Slater et al. 2020). Future studies ought to investigate the implication of long-term immersion, beyond short-time “motion sickness”, the well-known nausea that arises as the first negative effect after long use of VR. As soon as VR games can actually be played for a longer period of time, excessive usage should also be problematized, and with it a possible loss of orientation, disturbed perception of the actual reality and identification problems with one’s own identity. The development of phobias or cardiovascular diseases as a result of psychological stress due to VR consumption is also conceivable. In the future, we may also see a “reality lag”: the extent to which we lose our perception of reality after a long VR consumption and the time required to reorient oneself in the real world. Kellmeyer et al. (2019) propose that technological solutions should only be used where problems cannot be solved politically or socially. In order to make new applications in their research area of health care more user-centered, they suggest involving patients early-on in the development. Finally, it would also be

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advisable to consider the following actions: (1) Research on the effects on human consciousness needs to be conducted and appropriately funded. (2) The digital economy could propose and recommend research as part of a self-regulatory way to establish an ethical framework. (3) A label similar to the German FSK or the American PEGI would help inform consumers about the depth of immersion. Compared to social media, virtual realities are still a niche today, but their social impact is growing rapidly. As a new medium, VR and AR will also profoundly change our understanding of common life, work and relationships— possibly even similar to the smartphone over the past decade or the introduction of the first television sets into the living room in 1960s. There is still a lot of research and experimentation to be done in this field—if ethically sound decisions are to be made.

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Ludography Pokémon Go (The Pokémon Company, Nintendo 2016, O: Niantic)

Educational Approaches

How Do We Teach Ethics and Empathy Through Games? Karen Schrier

Abstract

Can games support the practice of ethics and empathy? Under which conditions can games better encourage these types of skills and thought processes? This chapter seeks to contextualize these questions and provide an overview of the latest research related to these issues. Keywords

Compassion • Empathy • Ethics • Learning • Values

1

Introduction

Often, when the intersection of games with ethics is discussed in the public sphere, people bring up a number of problematic issues with games, such as violence, addiction, sexism and racism, too much screen time, or toxicity and harassment online. For instance, the World Health Organization (WHO) included game addiction in their list of international diseases (WHO 2018). Likewise, games and game playing has been blamed for mass shootings, obesity, and ADHD; game players have dealt with toxic in-game interactions and harassment, and game developers have been questioned for problematic, if not immoral design and business practices, from sexual harassment and transphobia in the workplace, K. Schrier (B) Marist College, Poughkeepsie, NY, USA E-Mail: [email protected] © Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, part of Springer Nature 2020 M. Groen et al. (eds.), Games and Ethics, Digitale Kultur und Kommunikation 7, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-28175-5_10

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to advertising and marketing issues, to crunch time and labor exploitation, to freeto-play payment practices and loot boxes. Many of these concerns may even be valid. For example, the ADL (Anti-Defamation League) released survey results indicating that two-thirds of the participants in the study had experienced some type of severe harassment while playing online games (including stalking and physical threats), and 53% of online multiplayer gamers felt that they were harassed because of some aspect of their identity, e.g., gender, sexual identity, race (ADL 2019). On the other hand, even though it is not discussed publicly as regularly, or receives the same level of media attention, games can also be communities that support prosocial behavior, care, compassion, and even learning. In that same ADL study, 88% of the participants expressed having had positive social experiences while playing multiplayer games online (ADL 2019). Players in this study explained that they made friends, helped others, and felt like they belonged. Thus, games, just like other (online) communities, can be sites of inclusion and care, and toxicity and harassment, as well as all different types of behaviors in between. In this chapter, I am focusing on the prosocial potential of games: How can we use games to support the learning and practice of ethics and empathy? While any problems with games may be valuable to study, attend to, and solve, this is not the focus of this chapter. Rather, this chapter looks at the different ways that games can be constructive and effective for ethics and empathy education, as well as their limitations. In this chapter, I will cover/answer the following questions: • What are ethics and values, empathy and compassion, and why should we teach them? • How might games be useful ways to learn, including examples of using games to teach ethics? • What are some limitations of using games for teaching ethics and empathy? • What are some recent research findings on and frameworks for using games and game design to teach ethics and empathy? In other words, can games be both the problem and the solution to that problem? For instance, how can we use games, pedagogically, practically, and logistically, to support ethics learning, and character, compassion, and care education? What types of learning experiences do games offer that other types of experiences may not provide? How can educators use games in classrooms, libraries, museums, after school centers, and other settings?

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Definitions of Key Terms

Ethics and empathy are concepts that people often believe to “understand” implicitly, but that are also highly complex and difficult to define. While morals are typically seen as a series of guiding principles or agreed-upon rules or universal truths,” (Tierney 1994, p. ix), ethics constitutes the act of handling these morals, or the choices someone makes in response to a society’s or community’s morals or standards (Tierney 1994). Ethics relates to making choices and judgments to achieve a good life (Sicart 2005), a prosocial outcome, or a societal benefit. There are a number of ways to approach ethics or to make choices and behave ethically. For instance, in the virtue ethics approach, a person becomes a virtuous decisionmaker through education and experience. One’s character and their values help that person to properly assess, interpret and act in a situation (e.g., Aristotle, Plato). In the utilitarian approach, people prioritize decisions that maximize utility, or the most happiness and least suffering on the whole, or for the greatest number of people (e.g., Mill, Bentham). A feminist ethics perspective aims to incorporate previously marginalized perspectives, such as how care, emotion and connection may also matter, rather than just so-called rationality and autonomy in decision making (e.g., Gilligan, Wollstonecraft, Stanton). Likewise, the ethics of care approach aims to consider how empathy and compassion, and a relationship of care, matter as well when it comes to making ethical decisions (e.g., Noddings). Thus, empathy and compassion, perspective taking, care and connection, may also be integral components of ethics and ethical education. They are not necessarily separate entities, but may go hand-in-hand with how we treat others and behave as a society or individually. Empathy, as it is typically defined, relates to other people’s feelings and experiences and is often ascribed both cognitive and affective components (Schrier and Farber n.d.). However, just as there are numerous definitions of ethics, empathy is also varied in its definition and application. For instance, Schrier and Farber (n.d.) studied literature on ethics and games and identified 13 different definitions of empathy being used. Likewise, empathy is often mistaken for sympathy, which is the ability to recognize what another is feeling or thinking, without actually feeling or mirroring it (Schrier 2019a). Some researchers argue that empathy may not be what we are aiming for, as a society, as it can overwhelm people to an extent that they cannot act or interact appropriaty, helpfully, or ethically and that compassion is what we should foster instead (Bloom 2016, 2017). Compassion is the ability to understand what someone else is going through, including their feelings, pain, or needs, and then acting on it by reducing their suffering, or enhancing their happiness (Farber and Schrier 2017).

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Rather than just teaching students a set of rules about what is right or wrong, or a set of instructions on how to show compassion or practice ethical behavior, what may be more useful is to teach a series of skills and thought processes that relate to understanding and analyzing situations and interactions, as well as thinking through how to act and behave as a result of those interpretations. Thus, even if empathy and compassion are different, the related and necessary skills and thought processes to elicit them are similar, and are what people need to practice. These skills are important to learn so that a person can adapt to different situations, as well as different contexts (whether online or offline). I have generated a list of skills that are useful for interpreting and understanding how to act in an ethics-related situation. The skills include: perspective taking, communication, decision making, systems thinking, literacy, reflection, exploration, problem solving, critical thinking, argumentation, cultural awareness, emotional awareness, and identity and personal expression (Please see more information about this and the skill-selection process in Schrier n.d. and Schrier 2015).

3

How and Why Should We Teach Ethics and Empathy Using Games?

Teaching ethics and compassion is not only useful, it is necessary for a functioning civil society, where we depend on each other for everything from daily interactions to political decisions, to providing appropriate healthcare, education, and business transactions. As the world becomes more interconnected and interdependent, we all need to be able to fluidly transition among different cultures, epistemic lenses, and types of communities. However, public schools in the United States (and many other countries) do not mandate ethics education. For instance, there is no formal framework for teaching ethics, and no course that is universally taught in K-12 public school in the U.S. But why use games to support the practice of ethics and empathy? Are there any drawbacks and limitations to using games? In this section, I will briefly outline a few reasons why games may be particularly useful (as well as any limitations).

3.1

Games May Support Complex Learning

Games have been used to support different types of learning, whether related to feelings, attitudes, and behaviors, or specific topic or content areas (Ke 2016;

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Schrier 2018). For instance, some explicitly educational games have been designed to teach computational thinking (Warner et al. 2014), music and art (Hein 2014), or literature and reading (Ferdig and Pytash 2014). Commercial off-theshelf games, which may not have been intentionally designed for education, have also been adapted, modified, or translated for educational uses (Schrier 2014, 2016, 2019c). Educators have also started to use games for social and emotional learning (SEL), which relates to identifying one’s own and other people’s emotions, managing one’s emotions, and communicating with others, among other skills (Lim-Fei et al 2016). For instance, Paul Darvasi (along with iThrive and Matthew Farber) designed a curriculum around the game What Remains of Edith Finch (Giant Sparrow 2017) to be used in his literature class, which he used to support exercises around identity exploration and reflection. Designers are also creating games to teach SEL skills such as identifying emotions or communicating with others. For instance, the game When Rivers Were Trails (Indian Land Tenure Foundation & Michigan State University’s Games for Entertainment and Learning Lab 2019) enables greater compassion for indigenous communities in the United States by showing the impact of U.S. policies on their communities. The game also shares stories of the Anishinaabe people and provides cultural references and touch points, enabling greater cultural awareness and understanding (LaPensée 2018). Games are also being used to enable the practice of ethical thinking and decision making, even if they are not explicitly “educational games.” For example, “the analog role-playing game, Rosenstrasse […] lets players make ethical decisions and relive a moment in history (which involved non-Jewish women protesting the imprisonment of their Jewish partners in Berlin under the Reich).” (Schrier 2019a). Likewise, in This War of Mine (11 Bit Studios 2014), players need to help a group of wartime civilian survivors continue to live under difficult circumstances, where they have to make choices such as whether to steal from an elderly couple or how to divide up the loot and food that they find. Research results have been mixed about whether games are more effective than other methodologies and educational interventions. For instance, in one metaanalysis study of the effectiveness of games, researchers found that games can better support cognitive learning outcomes than non-game conditions (Clark et al. 2014, 2016). In another study, games helped to enhance enjoyment and learning of math, science, and English (Crocco et al. 2016). However, another study suggested some less optimistic findings, which showed that games were not more motivating, though they supported cognitive outcomes (Wouters et al. 2013).

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Research also suggests that learning games are not universally effective or ineffective, but that well-designed games can be effective when used appropriately with the right type of audience under the right types of conditions (Clark et al. 2016). Games may be able to support complex skills and behaviors, such as social and emotional skills, but they themselves are also complex environments, and their effectiveness varies dynamically depending on a number of factors. In this chapter, I will explicate some of the considerations that relate to their use and design, but ultimately testing, retesting, and continually reassessing a game is the best way to understand and evaluate whether it fulfills the goals and learning needs in a particular environment.

3.2

Perspective Taking and Role Taking

One of the reasons why games may specifically be effective in enabling the practice of ethics and empathy lies in the fact that they can encourage participants to take on the role of another (fictional) person, and see the world, act, and behave as if they inhabited them. For instance, the Mission US series (Thirteen (WNET New York Public Media) 2018–2020) brings players into the roles of different characters from history and enables them to assume their perspectives and empathize with their challenges. In one of the modules, players take on role of a Jewish teenage girl from the early 1900s who has just immigrated to the United States (New York City) and is trying to navigate tenement living, working in a factory, and supporting her extended family. This type of historical empathy helps players to understand the historical challenges, obstacles, and contexts through which this character lived, and provides them with a greater appreciation for the circumstances of life of that community during that time period. Research on perspective taking suggests that it can be useful for enabling people to connect with people who are different from them, because it reduces the perceived differences between in-groups and out-groups. If people perceive others as too different from themselves, they are less likely to want to connect with them or care about their fate. Finding ways to help people to experience what being someone else is like helps them to better understand them and to see them as humanized allies, rather than “othered” enemies (Darvasi 2016; Castillo et al. 2011; Pettigrew and Tropp 2005, 2006; Galinsky and Moskowitz 2000; Galinsky et al. 2005, 2008). Games can potentially support this type of interconnection and interaction by either providing ways to enable players to embody someone else—and hear their stories and challenges—or to interact with others who may initially appear be different from themselves, but who may seem more relatable through shared experiences

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such as playing a game (Schrier 2019b; Wang et al. 2014; Galinsky et al 2008; Vescio et al. 2003; Castillo et al. 2011). This does not mean that a game needs to encourage perspective taking to be effective in ethics and empathy education, but that research has suggested that this type of design and practice may be helpful. On the other hand, there are limitations to perspective taking and its potential to foster empathy. To begin with, people may be more likely to dismiss someone’s challenges because they are only “walking in their shoes” for a limited time, and not fully embracing their lived experience. Second, no game can fully or aptly share or simulate someone else’s experience or story (Nario-Redmond et al. 2017). In fact, using a game may backfire or even be troubling or problematic when assuming the perspective of a marginalized group of people (Sassenrath et al. 2016). For instance, when people played a game where they took on the role of a disabled person, they felt so overwhelmed in this role that they were even more afraid to have interactions with actual people who are disabled (Nario-Redmond et al. 2017). Third, adopting such a perspective may even be a form of violence, in that a person’s own unique perspective is “taken over” by someone else and reinscribed with another’s beliefs and attitudes—even if it is unintentional, it is a violent type of erasure of someone’s authentic point of view (Nakamura 2002; Roxworthy 2014; Hartman 1997).

3.3

Choices and Consequences

Another key reason that games may be particularly useful for learning and practicing ethics and empathy is the use of active choice making and the experiencing of the outcomes and consequences of those choices. For instance, in the Walking Dead series (Telltale Games 2012, 2013/14, 2015, 2016/17; Skybound Games & Telltale Games 2018/19), players need to make choices about how to survive and thrive after a zombie apocalypse. For instance, in the first game, you play as Lee Everett and need to make decisions such as whom to save in your group, or how to treat others you meet along the way. Sometimes decisions you make in the first few episodes, or even full games, may have an effect on outcomes in subsequent games (such as sequels). For instance, how Clementine, a young girl in the game, treats another character, Kenny, affects how he interacts with her and supports her much later in the game and its sequel(s). Likewise, in series such as Mass Effect (BioWare 2007, 2010, 2012, 2017), Fallout Fallout (Black Isle Studios 1997, 1998; Bethesda Game Studios 2008, 2015; Obsidian Entertainment 2010), Fable (Lionhead Studios 2004, 2008, 2010), and Dragon Age (BioWare 2009, 2011, 2014), a key component of the gameplay is making dialogue choices, as

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well as choices around which relationships or loyalties to cultivate, which species to save, and/or how to spend money and make policies to support the game world that you are inhabiting. Educational games such as Quandary (Learning Games Network 2019) use choice making as part of the process for thinking through problems. In Quandary, players need to not only make choices, but they need to justify their choices with evidence, and interpret the evidence appropriately. In the game, players need to decide how to solve problems in a new society called Braaxos. The game scaffolds the problem-solving process by having players interview people, sort and interpret evidence, evaluate it for efficacy, and then make decisions based on what they have found. While some choices may be more optimal for society, the purpose of the game is not just to make choices, but to walk through the decision-making process, so that a person who builds a well-evidenced argument that supports a less optimal choice may earn more points than someone who chooses something more optimal, but does not support it as effectively (Schrier n.d.; Osterweil 20191 ). While making ethical choices and gaining feedback on those choices may be helpful for learning, there are limitations to what games can do. For one, games cannot fully simulate all the intricacies of choices and their consequences. Often, choices are “black and white” rather than subtle, and players may choose what helps them attain their goals in the game, rather than actually thinking through the ethical implications. Ian Bogost calls this a type of “moral accounting,” where players may try to gain the most of one side or the other to advance their goals, rather than truly grappling with the complex consequences of their actions (Bogost 2006). Part of the reason for such dichotomous choices is that it is too computationally and narratively challenging to create all the possible choices and paths in a scenario and present every conceivable nuanced, dynamic outcome. Some game designers are beginning to find ways to encourage players to grapple with complex choices and their possible outcomes in games, but as a result, the paths may feel too obfuscated. For instance, in the Life Is Strange series (Dontnod Entertainment 2015, 2018/19; Deck Nine 2017/18), players take on the role of a teenager who has to make choices about how to treat others. In the first series, players play as Max, who can select from different choices, see the outcome, and then rewind time to redo the choice with a potentially different outcome. This helps the player to reflect on choices and think about how they might do it differently (However, many consequences in Life Is Strange cannot be rewound, such as the possible suicide of one of the characters, so the designer constrains this significantly). In the second series (Life Is Strange 2), players play as Sean Diaz, and 1 S.

Osterweil (personal interview, 2019).

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are unable to redo choices (unless they go to a previous checkpoint and erase all the progress they made before that). In this game, it is sometimes hard to see how one’s individual choices impact other players because the results are more subtle and may not be revealed unless the player starts the game over again and tries out the different possibilities. Not having this opportunity for feedback, reflection and retrial makes it more difficult for a player to learn about how they may reshape their ethics practices. Choice making and perspective taking are two elements that may support ethics learning, and there are other reasons why games may also be useful. For instance, other factors that may make games effective include the ability to be participants in a storyworld and immersed in a new environment, to be active influences and decision makers, to communicate with others and build relationships, and the ability to adjust and modify a system to understand how it changes dynamically over time and relative to different choices, activities, or behaviors (Schrier n.d.).

4

Drawbacks

While well-designed games may be effective under certain circumstances and with particular audiences, there are limitations as well. I will briefly explain some in the following. (1) Inappropriate content: Educators looking for games for learning need to ensure that the content in the games be appropriate for the audience, particularly in the case of commercial games. For instance, the aforementioned Life Is Strange 2 includes content, language and interactions (e.g., drugs, sexual situations, verbal insults, racist language, death) that may not be appropriate for all audiences. Other games, such as Quandary, may be suitable for some middle school and high school students, but less so for audiences composed of less fluent or visually impaired readers. The game needs to be matched to the audience, their needs, their prior knowledge and experience, and their interests. (2) Length of the game: Some commercial games that have ethical choices as part of the gameplay are extremely long and require extensive gameplay before the results of choices become apparent. For instance, Fable III comprises approximately 10–15 h of gameplay, Life Is Strange has five episodes of 90 min to 2 h each, and each Fallout game could take upwards of 100 h depending on one’s gameplay style. Even games such as Papers, Please (3909 LLC 2013) or This War of Mine may take a few hours to play, as players

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may need to play them multiple times to fully understand their paths and outcomes (or even just to meet their challenges). This makes fitting a game into a typical 45-min to 1-h period difficult. It also limits how much a player may cultivate relationships with other players or even other characters (nonplayer characters or NPCs), which can be important factors in whether a player may empathize with others, and make decisions with consideration of their care for and connection to others in the game (Schrier 2017). (3) Relevancy: Many games take place in fantastical worlds and environments, and it may be difficult for an educator or an administrator to understand how the game and its content are relevant to the learning goals and curricular needs of a classroom or other learning environment. While we can argue that practicing ethics with fantastical scenarios can still provide benefits and spark ethical thinking (Schrier 2017), having scenarios and gameplay that more directly relate to real-world problems and outcomes is also beneficial. For instance, finding ways for students to play that directly affect local issues and make real-world change makes the learning personally relevant and impactful (Schrier n.d.). For example, students can engage in citizen science games that help solve real-world scientific problems (Schrier 2017), or can play board games that help them to understand actual problems in their community, such as in the case of Alfred Twu’s California Water Crisis (2014), which helps players understand the water problem by role-playing from the perspective of different constituencies (Schrier n.d.). (4) Standardization and Assessment: One of the benefits of games is that they are highly complex, dynamic, and can support higher-level thinking like ethics and empathy. As a result, they are not necessarily “standard,” out of the box, one-size-fits-all solutions that an educator can just apply in the same fashion in different schools or classrooms and expect the same outcomes. This makes it difficult to figure out how to fit them into what is often a set, standardized curriculum, with little flexibility with regard to novel and innovative approaches. Also, games may not yield the prognosticated results the first, second, or third time, and may instead work in effective, yet unexpected ways. The efficacy of a game also relies on a teacher or educator being able to adjust their lessons spontaneously, to work with sudden technical and/or pedagogical issues, and to know how to employ the game in a way that is effective for the students in a class or other educational setting. This also makes games more challenging to assess and evaluate because what works for some audiences may not work for all. Thus, teachers may need to assess and revise how to use the game while doing so, and it may take a few tries to ensure the game is effective for a particular curricular need.

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Recent Research on Using Games to Teach Ethics and Empathy

In this section, I will briefly discuss a few recent studies related to using games for ethics and empathy learning which are relevant to understanding their strengths and limitations.

5.1

Study on Game Jams, Identity, and Empathy

In my own research on games and empathy, I wanted to investigate whether the process of game design, rather than just a game itself, may also affect the practice of empathy and identity exploration. I created and researched these questions at nine game jams (short-term game creation events) and surveyed 84 participants ages 18 or over before and after the event. I used three different experimental conditions: (1) a control condition (which involved the participants just being part of the game jam), (2) the game jam, plus we provided a guide that explained using empathy principles, such as choice making or perspective taking, and (3) the game jam, plus we provided the guide and a person trained as an anti-bias educator to join the game jam team. I found that overall, participants felt greater self-efficacy in their role game developers; they explored their own and others’ identities throughout the design process. Participants were also less likely to believe that games increase bias, and more likely to think that games can enhance empathy (after, versus before the game jam event). One indicator in an empathy measure, “feeling safer from threats and uncertainties,” increased after the event (based on self-report). However, other indicators, such as perspective taking and empathic concern, did not change, suggesting that the game jam and design process did not affect these indicators, that there was not enough time to change these indicators, or that the sample size (84) was not large enough to reveal the changes (Schrier 2019a).

5.2

Research on Quandary

Quandary is a game that aims to teach perspective taking, empathy, and ethical decision making to middle school and high school students. Hilliard et al. (2016) investigated whether the game could promote these skills by assessing the game with 131 middle school students and using a measure of moral thinking, as well as qualitative interviews. They used a mixed method randomized control trial, with

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participants playing Quandary, playing Quandary with some facilitation of discussion by the researchers, or playing another game (control). Participants were interviewed and surveyed and asked to rate themselves on “levels of positive youth development (PYD), active and engaged citizenship, empathic concern, perspective taking, interpersonal generosity, commitment to moral action, and moral reasoning” (quantitative measures) (Hilliard et al. 2016, p. 5). While the quantitative measures did not indicate any significant change, the qualitative analyses (interview and short answer survey) suggested that those students who played Quandary were more able to practice the skills related to empathy and ethics (Hilliard et al. 2016). The lack of significant changes in the quantitative findings of the moral thinking measure may indicate that this type of measurement may not fully capture how games can support this type of learning, or that the game does not alone spur these types of changes but instead needs to be part of a longer-term or multi-layered intervention. In another study, middle school students played Quandary and participated in one of three curricular options. A total of 624 5th- to 9th-grade students completed a pre-Quandary survey, and 252 of those completed a post-Quandary study. 49 students took the surveys without also doing the Quandary curriculum. The researchers found that perspective taking was enhanced for those that participated in the Quandary curriculum (Hilliard 2018).

5.3

Research on Spent

The game Spent invites players to make a series of choices about how to spend their money throughout a fictional month in the life of a person who is struggling to make ends meet. For instance, players may need to choose between buying a present for their child, repairing their car or paying a bill. Throughout the month, the game explains how much money the player has left—if they run out before the month is over, the game ends. The purpose of the game is ostensibly to teach people to have more empathy for those who are financially insecure. However, some researchers looked at this game and found that the game often backfired in that it did not succeed in raising empathy, and even lowered empathy in some situations. They found that when participants believed in the idea of a “meritocracy,” or that “if they simply try really hard and make all the right choices, they will do well,” those participants ended up having less empathetic attitudes toward those who are poor (Roussos and Dovidio 2016). They concluded that this was due to the game affirming the notion of allegedly “right choices” resulting in financial security. However, realistically, poverty is systemic and not under an individual’s control.

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It is very difficult, if not impossible, to become financially secure just by making the “right” choices. When the game removed agency for the player by showing them a video of others making the decisions rather than them being in control, this effect subsided, and the participants’ empathy did not decrease (Roussos and Dovidio 2016). However, another study suggested the opposite: that playing Spent helped to increase the practice of empathy for players (Richey Smith et al. 2016). Yet another study suggested that Spent players might donate more money or show more support for policies for the poor after playing the game, although they were less likely to take action such as signing a petition supporting a greater wage. Those players who perceived the game as more real also had higher empathy levels, which furthered their support for policies to support the poor (HernándezRamos et al 2019). These studies suggest that the game as well as the context around it (how it is used and who is playing it) matter just as much as the game’s content. They also indicate that how a study is designed and how a game is used in it may lead to different and even contradictory results with regard to empathy. This underscores again how hard it is to fully assess a game for supporting the practice of ethics and empathy.

6

Conclusion and Next Steps

In this chapter, I have summarized recent questions and research related to the use of games to teach ethics and empathy-related skills. This is a burgeoning field with growing interest. Although there is currently limited research available, peer-reviewed scholarship and practices are increasing. In the future, I hope more formal quantitative and qualitative research will be conducted to understand the conditions under which games can support the practice of empathy and ethics, to better describe the design principles, contexts, and approaches that should be used, as well as to identify the audiences that will benefit most from these types of experiences. I also hope informal discourse on the use of games for teaching ethics and empathy will flourish, both in the classroom and in other educational communities and spaces. The informal and formal exchange of information is necessary to ensure that games are designed and used optimally—both practically and pedagogically.

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Ludography California Water Crisis (Twu, A. 2014, O: Twu, A.) Dragon Age: Origins (Electronic Arts 2009, O: BioWare) Dragon Age 2 (Electronic Arts 2011, O: BioWare) Dragon Age: Inquisition (Electronic Arts 2014, O: BioWare) Fable (Xbox Game Studios 2004, O: Lionhead Studios) Fable II (Xbox Game Studios 2008, O: Lionhead Studios) Fable III (Xbox Game Studios 2010, O: Lionhead Studios) Fallout (Interplay Entertainment 1997, O: Black Isle Studios) Fallout 2 (Interplay Entertainment 1998, O: Black Isle Studios) Fallout 3 (Bethesda Softworks 2008, O: Bethesda Game Studios) Fallout 4 (Bethesda Softworks 2015, O: Bethesda Game Studios) Fallout: New Vegas (Bethesda Softworks 2010, O: Obsidian Entertainment) Life Is Strange (Square Enix 2015, O: Dontnod Entertainment) Life Is Strange 2 (Square Enix 2018/19, O: Dontnod Entertainment) Life Is Strange: Before the Storm (Square Enix 2017/18, O: Deck Nine) Mass Effect (Microsoft Game Studios 2007, O: BioWare) Mass Effect 2 (Electronic Arts 2010, O: BioWare) Mass Effect 3 (Electronic Arts 2012, O: BioWare) Mass Effect: Andromeda (Electronic Arts 2017, O: BioWare) Mission US (Thirteen (WNET New York Public Media) 2018–2020, O: Thirteen (WNET New York Public Media)) Papers, Please (3909 LLC 2013, O: 3909 LLC) Quandary (Learning Games Network 2019, O: Learning Games Network) Spent (McKinney & Urban Ministries of Durham 2011, O: McKinney & Urban Ministries of Durham) The Walking Dead (Telltale Games 2012, O: Telltale Games) The Walking Dead: A New Frontier (Telltale Games 2016/17, O: Telltale Games) The Walking Dead: Michonne (Telltale Games 2015, O: Telltale Games) The Walking Dead: Season Two (Telltale Games 2013/14, O: Telltale Games) The Walking Dead: The Final Season (Skybound Games & Telltale Games 2018/19, O: Skybound Games & Telltale Games) This War of Mine (Deep Silver & 11 Bit Studios 2014, O: 11 Bit Studios) What Remains of Edith Finch (Annapurna Interactive 2017, O: Giant Sparrow) When Rivers Were Trails (Indian Land Tenure Foundation 2019, O: Indian Land Tenure Foundation & Michigan State University’s Games for Entertainment and Learning Lab)

Are You Sure You Want to Do that? Teaching Values with Serious Games Sonja Gabriel

Abstract

Serious games have become a popular way of teaching players certain values. The methods they use, however, vary in game elements that are used and their degree of meaningful decision-making. Starting from basic definitions, the contribution examines the effectiveness of digital games in conveying values of different kinds. The role of game design, various approaches towards the inclusion of social values, and research on the potential of digital games for teaching about values are presented. Finally, an example is discussed to illustrate a rather novel approach of employing youtube-like commentary within a game to make gamers feel more empathetic towards refugees.

1

Introduction

“Your neighbor is moving and has offered to pay you $50 to help. But he reserved the truck during the time your kid will be starring in a school play.” Easy decision? Take the money and disappoint your child? Or deny yourself the money although you need every cent to pay for all the costs of life? This example is taken from the serious game Spent (McKinney 2011), a text-based browser game that challenges the gamer to survive on US$1000 a month. All the questions relate to financial issues, but many also include a social aspect (i.e., what to do with your daughter who was invited to a birthday party and has to bring a present) or bring up moral issues (i.e., will you pay for an expensive treatment for your family pet, S. Gabriel (B) Kirchliche Pädagogische Hochschule Wien/Krems, Wien, Austria E-Mail: [email protected] © Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, part of Springer Nature 2020 M. Groen et al. (eds.), Games and Ethics, Digitale Kultur und Kommunikation 7, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-28175-5_11

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have it put to sleep, or let it suffer?). Between most decisions, the game provides players with real data showing how many US citizens have to face these decisions in everyday life. Games that employ ethical decision-making for educational purposes have been on the rise for the past decades. But can they really achieve their design goals? All games teach—that is what experts on videogames will agree upon. However, the far more difficult question is, how can the game designer influence the key take-away of a game? That has especially become relevant ever since games were first used as learning tools. Becker’s (2017) model of “the magic bullet” illustrates that learning can take place in- and outside of a game and differentiates between skills that must be learned in order to play the game, things that can and things that might be learned as well as things learned outside the game. In order to make a game playable, game designers need to teach players how to control the game. However, often there are also other intentions to be found in game design like evoking empathy, making aware of a situation or also integrating certain values for the player to discover and to apply them beyond gameplay.

2

Values and Serious Games

When talking about values in serious games, it is necessary to have a closer look at two definitions. First, what are values and second what are serious games? Values can be regarded as essential to ethics and can be defined as fundamental beliefs that motivate and guide our attitudes and actions. They are crucial to finding out what is important to an individual or a community, which kind of person we want to be, and how we would like to treat others and be treated by them in turn. Values often depend on the culture and surroundings in which a person grows up and can be divided into those with intrinsic worth and those that serve as means to an end (McCombs School of Business 2018, online). As Hechter (1993) points out, values are hard to define, and they differ according to their scope of control, their scope of application (meaning that it depends on the individual which value is regarded higher-ranking than others), and the extent to which they are shared socially. Sometimes conflicts between values may arise especially when the desire to achieve a goal conflicts with personal or cultural values. Thus, the question arises if videogames can integrate and even teach certain pre-defined values as intended by the game-designers. This contribution focuses exclusively on serious games although games focusing on entertainment often include values and ethics as well. Thus, it is necessary to define the term serious game. According to Abt (1987), “[t]he oxymoron of Serious Games unites the

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seriousness of thought and problems that require it with the experimental and emotional freedom of active play”. This is even further restricted by Michael and Chen (2006, p. 17) as they define serious games as “game[s] in which education (in its various forms) is the primary goal rather than entertainment”. According to Johan Huizinga’s concept (Huizinga 2016) of the magic circle, actions taken and things learned in a game do not have consequences in real life—they are only true as long as we are within the magic circle meaning as long as we play a videogame. In keeping with this notion, there would not be any possibility for a serious game to impart anything that is relevant beyond game play. Wagner (2007) also states that behavior learned in games is not automatically adopted and applied outside the game space. To illustrate that, he refers to Gee (2007), who describes three identities a player creates while playing a videogame—the real, virtual and projected identity. Although there is a close connection between the real identity and the virtual projection to enable immersion, there is no automatic transfer from the virtual self to the real self. In order to learn from games, it is either necessary for the experience made in the game to somehow relate to real experiences or problems of the player or for external factors (like a teacher or trainer) to start a process of reflection. However, even if players do not automatically learn from playing videogames, the latter can nevertheless influence players’ perception or make them think about certain situations. The potential of digital games can be seen in the fact that they “increase capabilities for civic engagement and outreach” (Stokes et al. 2014, p. 4). Bogost (2007) considers serious games as an expressive and persuasive medium as they are able to represent real and imaginative systems and invite gamers to interact with and evaluate them. Although there are numerous games available whose aim it is to evoke empathy or convey values, not all of them can be regarded as successful.

3

The Role of Game Design

The potential for a game’s success in being educational can be found in the underlying game design. Successful immersive games appeal to the player’s emotions as this makes a playing experience enjoyable and “because emotions play an important role in decision making” (Lazzaro 2009, p. 6). Isbister (2017, p. 7) argues “that these techniques [i.e. e. making players attached to characters] evoke emotion because they mirror the way our brains make sense of the world around us in everyday life”. As Sicart (2010, p. 6) notices, “[e]thical gameplay can be defined as the moral experience created by games in which there is a conflict between the requirements of the procedural level and the information provided to

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the reflective agent”. Therefore, a different approach to game design is necessary. Whereas good game design was long considered to make meaningful decisions explicit to the player, “[e]thical gameplay needs to be built from the assumption that players interpret their being in the game, the strategies and choices taken to overcome challenges, in a moral way” (Sicart 2010, p. 9). As Flanagan (2013) suggests, games dealing with critical or serious topics need to follow a different game design model. Thus, she introduced the Critical Play Game Design Model where “[h]uman concerns, identifiable as principles, values, or concepts, become a fundamental part of the process” (Flanagan 2013, p. 257). She mentions that value goals need to be set as a first step when designing a game Sicart (2009) sees. ethics and ethical decisions rooted in the game design but, as he states, game design is not enough, as the actual gameplay as well as the player’s experience while playing take on an important role: “We can analyze the rules of a game as ethical objects because they constitute the potentiality of a game. Nevertheless, we cannot say that it is the game’s rule set or its design that sets its ethical values” (Sicart 2009, p. 54). Mitgutsch and Alvarado (2012) take another approach towards game design. When analyzing a serious game using the Serious Game Design Assessment (SGDA) Framework, the authors state that if all parts of a game are consistent, they can—as a whole—convey what the game designer originally intended. The items of the SGDA Framework are chosen specifically “to offer a basis to study how the design elements are configured formally and conceptually in relation to the game’s aim and purpose” (Mitgutsch and Alvarado 2012, p. 123). The SGDA Framework consists of six core elements. The starting point of the framework is the purpose as each serious game wants to achieve certain goals which do not only lie within the game but should also reach a certain purpose beyond game-playing. In order to be successful, the purpose needs to be reflected in all the other five elements as well. That means aesthetics/graphics, fiction/narrative, mechanics (rules, rewards), framing (audience of the game and their gaming literacy) and content/information—all these factors need to support the purpose of the game (Mitgutsch and Alvarado 2012). The difference of the SGDA Framework compared to other frameworks to analyze serious games can be seen in the fact that the audience is taken into account by having a look at their gaming literacy and their gaming experience. Gabriel (2016) had a closer look at serious games dealing with human right issues and their way of integrating values in game design. The methods range from including values in the narration, in the way non-playable and playable characters are presented, and actions that the player can carry out within the game, to point of view, strategies, rewards,

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aesthetics and player choice. The results show that there are numerous approaches game designers adopt to teaching values in serious games, some of them more promising than others. Rusch (2017, p. 115) recommends designers to ask themselves nine questions in order to design a game for a certain purpose: • • • • • • • • •

What is the game about? What is the game’s purpose/communicative goal? Does the game favor a literal or a metaphorical approach? Does the metaphor fit the game’s experiential gestalt? Should the game model “how it works” or “what it feels like”? How encompassing should the system that shall be modeled in the game be? From which perspective should the player interact with the system? Do the core mechanics reinforce the game’s meaning? Are the player and the avatar well-aligned?

These questions are quite similar to Mitgutsch and Alvarado’s (2012) approach— the core mechanics which need to reinforce the game’s meaning but also deal with metaphors, perspective and avatar depending on the question if the game should model human experience, include experiential metaphors or be an allegorical game. As these different approaches towards game design and including ethical decisions or values show, games evoking emotions usually need to be careful about their underlying mechanics and design. Serious games as well as games focusing on entertainment might teach different kind of values, but they all need to be accounted for by the game designer (if the games are intended to teach values).

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Research on Values in Serious Games

Within the last two decades, more and more games have been developed which try to teach values to the player using different approaches. As Belman and Flanagan (2010) discuss, “there is considerable and growing interest in harnessing their [i.e. e. videogames] potential for prosocial causes”. The two authors, who specialize in designing serious games that affirm values like tolerance, equity and justice, found out that games which foster empathy are especially interesting for designers to create. According to the authors game-designers need to have be more knowledge on finding and testing principles of game-design to create efficiently working games teaching these values. Assuming the role of another person can be a factor

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that produces empathy as stated by Davis (1996). Peng et al. (2010) used Darfur is Dying (Take Action Games 2006) and a text about the Darfurian conflict as stimuli for their experiment. Results showed that participants who had played the game were more willing to help Darfurian people compared to those who had only read the text. In a study with 538 children and adolescents between 9 and 15 years, Harrington and O’Connell (2016) found a positive and significant relationship in their study between prosocial video game use and dependent variables like cooperation and sharing, the tendency to maintain positive affective relationships as well as empathy. Having studied the effectiveness of news games—a category of videogames that are produced as cross genre between videogames and journalism (Bogost et al. 2010) and also used to simulate real-world situations and systems—Plewe and Fürsich (2018) discussed three such games about migration. The study revealed that the games—although they are quite quickly produced (often within a few days) and thus do not fully exploit the potential of videogames—can be seen as help for audiences to understand political events (Plewe and Fürsich 2018). A study by Neuenhaus and Aly (2017) also shows that combining a geo-location based mobile game about Syrian refugees can help in forming an emotional connection and thus reducing/mitigating prejudices by local inhabitants.

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Dealing with Serious Topics

As the previous references illustrate, the attitudes of game designers have somewhat changed when it comes to including values in serious games. As possibilities of meaningful decision-making have been increased by technical progress, it has become easier to design complex games. Moreover, digital games have also become a means of educating (Gros 2003; Zhonggen 2019). Values need to be integrated deeply in the game mechanics, not just as a background story of a character or narration, which seems to be easily exchangeable. Also, the number of serious games dealing with topics like immigration (cf. Gabriel 2015), environmental issues, transgender and homosexuality, or mental health issues has been on the rise for many years (Burde 2014). One example of a serious game attempting to teach about depression, self-doubt and anxiety is Sea of Solitude (Jo-Mei Games 2019). The protagonist, a young girl named Kay, needs to fight her inner monsters by confronting events from her past. The rising and falling water level in the game serves as a metaphor for life’s ups and downs. The scenery changes from light and friendly to dark and scary and reminds players of the moods of a person suffering from depression.

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Serious games that deal with alternative points of view during wartime have also become popular within the last years. Liyla and the Shadows of War (Rasheed Abueidah 2016) is a serious game developed for mobile devices that is based on the war in Gaza in summer 2014 and presents the player with a fictional story about a family trying to escape the violence. Players control the father of Liyla, a Palestinian girl, at the time war breaks out in Gaza. As the objective of the game is to escape the warzone together with wife and daughter who have to be found at first, it is quite contrastive to many shooter games which also use war as the setting for their plots. Instead of playing an active hero, the only action the player can do is to avoid gun fire, missile-bearing drones and white phosphorus. Additionally, decisions have to be made that show the cruelty of war with its no-win situation (Lark 2016) making the player ask themselves if actions that are known from other games might be of any relevance here. The game’s aesthetics foster the feeling of loneliness and despair, which it attempts to convey: The game is mostly black and white; the characters are only silhouettes and the music matches the horrors of war. “Liyla both resembles and diverges from the typical manner in which roleplay occurs, and this allows for an ‘estrangement effect’ in the Brechtian sense: you are not given catharsis or resolution, or even the pride of gaining mastery over a virtual environment. Instead, you are boomeranged back into the real world of political conflict and devastating war” (Lark 2016, online). The game does not provide a happy ending, leaving the player in a state of failure, as there is no real winner in war. Games like Liyla and the Shadows of War want to convey different values—not those of glory and victory but of sadness, loss and desperation. The political message of the game was the reason why Apple initially rejected it for being released in its AppStore (Klepek 2016). A topic that has also been dealt with more and more frequently in serious games for the past years is LGBTQ issues. There are a number of games that aim at making players aware of the obstacles and prejudices people face when they grow up outside the heteronormative spectrum. A Closed World (SingaporeMIT GAMBIT Game Lab 2011) is designed in the style of Japanese Role-Playing Games. While the player takes on the role of a seemingly customizable character (players are asked if they would like to play as a girl or a boy, which, however, does not make any difference in gameplay and appearance of the character) and faces the challenges of having a different sexual identity than the community around them, the game tells the story of the protagonist at day in comic style cut-scenes showing how disappointed family and friends are, whereas the player has to be active at night, wandering around a forest and encountering demons which represent the prejudices, fears and challenges the playable character experienced during the day: “[…] the game is premised on rooting its fictive world

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and procedural gameplay mechanics on queer lived experiences. In this case, of homophobia and the struggles to maintain happy, meaningful relationships” (Lauteria 2011, online). The underlying system is quite simple, as it is similar to a rock-paper-scissors game where players use logic, passion and ethics to battle the demon’s attacks. The forest and the demons can be seen as metaphors for all the hardships homosexual people have to endure—and only by fighting them, rather than accepting arbitrary rules, changes can take place. Although the game mechanics were criticized as too simple and too easy to figure out (Bitmob 2011), this game is one of the few examples to show the constant struggle homosexual people have to endure and provides an immersive narrative showing the many stereotypes and prejudices people who are not considered “normal” in terms of their sexuality have to face in society.

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In Depth Game Analysis of Path Out

Games dealing with migration and asylum seekers have become more prevalent among serious games within the past years. Apart from NGOs which want to develop more widespread empathy for refugees (like for example in Against All Odds (UNHCR 2006) or Finding Home (UNHCR Malaysia 2017), people having undertaken the long and dangerous journey from their war-torn home countries to European safety want to share their experiences and thus might (as well) turn them into games (or at least take part in the game-design process). One example for such a game is Path Out (Causa Creations 2017) which is an autobiographical adventure game sending the player on the journey of Abdullah Karam, a young Syrian artist who escaped from war in 2014. The game, which received several rewards and prizes, is based on the journey Abdullah had to go on in order to reach a safe place in Europe. The game is divided in episodes starting from Abdullah’s memories about life before war broke out, showing himself as a young man interested more in playing computer games than in politics, re-enacting his escape and dangerous journey from Syria through Turkey, Greece and the Balkan and finally arriving at his destination in Central Europe. The game analysis will concentrate on the first episode of the game, in which the player meets Abdullah in his home in Syria and learns about the situation in the country and the family circumstances, and which ends with the first part of Abdullah’s journey as he arrives in Turkey. The serious game “is a tale full of surprises, challenges and paradoxical humor, giving insight in this real-life adventure, on which Abdullah comments through

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youtube-style videos in the game” (Causa Creations 2017, online). The gamedesigners intended the game to be “part of the fight against the anti-refugee narrative that pervades much of the western world” (Cox 2017, online). Thus, the game wants to create understanding and empathy for people leaving Syria by showing the reasons which made them go on such a dangerous journey. This is also achieved by using humor instead of pointing fingers, as humor can also have effects on social, emotional and cognitive behavior (Dormann and Biddle 2009). Players are encouraged to rethink attitudes towards refugees and, at best, to get to walk some miles in their shoes. The content and information presented within the game is twofold. On the one hand, there is dialogue between the playable and non-playable characters, which conveys the background story and information on the characters’ relationships, and which pushes the story forward, which is a typical approach for adventure games. On the other hand, there is an additional layer of information: At some parts of the game, the player receives a video message by the real Abdullah commenting on the situation, relating the events within the game to his own experience or making fun of the game: For example, when the game-avatar Abdullah leaves the house and sees a camel on the street, the real Abdullah comments on how ridiculous that would be to meet a camel on the street in his old home-town and therefore confronts the player with common stereotypes about his home country. After the video sequence, the camel is replaced by a traffic cone. This way, information given within the game and through the videos with Abdullah are related to each other, either increasing the emotions conveyed, fighting stereotypes with a wink or telling players what they cannot see in the game. The information given is valid and based on facts or real experience, and is easily accessible for players. Although it is possible not to read the dialogues between the characters by just clicking them away, this information is needed to advance in the game. By contrast, it is not possible to skip the video-sequences with the real Abdullah, therefore the players are forced to listen to a real account of somebody having undergone everything that might only be an amusing game. These video messages provide a possibility for creating empathy with people like Abdullah because— compared to the game-avatar—he is real and not a cartoon figure. When watching the videos, the audience can feel the fear and agony Abdullah has had to endure. Game mechanics, which include rules and actions the player can perform, are at the core of every digital game. As Sicart (2008, online) puts it, “game mechanics are methods invoked by agents, designed for interaction with the game state”. In the game Path Out, players are rather restricted in their actions—by using the arrow keys and the space bar, they can walk around on the gamemap and sometimes look at items by pressing a button, which results in a short

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explanation or comment by the player’s avatar. Some objects will be put into the inventory or taken out if needed—as this is an automated process, no decisions are required by the player. There is a win-state of arriving in Turkey safely and a lose-state if the player avatar is killed by soldiers. Dialogues are started as soon as a non-playable character is approached. In some cases, the player can choose from two answers, which will lead to a slightly different story outcome (or might even end the story early if a wrong answer is chosen). For example, the player can decide to steal some papers from a neighbor in order to exchange them against important documents that might enable easier crossing of the border. However, the stolen paper might be used to get the neighbor arrested. So, the decision remains for the player: Shall I help my avatar, or shall I play in a morally correct way? Apart from asking these questions implicitly, the game’s strength certainly lies in Abdullah commenting the avatar’s journey— making the player clear that this is much more than just a game—it is the story of somebody’s life. By realizing that fact, the game “becomes a mirror to the players who experience the hardship that a fellow gamer had to endure” (Industry Contributions 2018, online). It is the contradiction between the cartoonish aesthetics of the game combined with the comments by a real person having lived through all these events that makes players feel empathetic with the character (Chan 2017).

7

Conclusion

As this example shows, serious games try to teach players about different values. Most of the time they approach the topic by putting the player into the shoes of somebody belonging to a marginalized group who has to face discrimination and exclusion. As Flanagan and Nissenbaum (2014, p. 15) state, “Every game expresses a set of values, but it’s often difficult to understand the many ways in which those values come to be embodied in the game”. The authors identify fifteen elements of games which can embody values, for example narration, characters, actions, rewards and player choice. However, serious games only provide the potential of teaching values—that is one factor one must never forget. As Giessen points out in his comparison of different meta-studies, there are not many findings “in regard of the teaching and learning effects of Serious Games” (Giessen 2015, p. 2241). When learning effects are observed, they usually/always appear in a learning scenario, which means that there needs to be a trainer/teacher who sparks discussions, asks the right questions or provides additional material: “Also, a game must not stand alone but should be included in a context with other learning assets” (Giessen 2015,

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p. 2241). Learning without accompanying material or teaching only takes place when the player is emotionally affected by the game, when they can identify with the situation depicted (Wagner 2007). Boyle et al. (2016) also compared different meta-studies and show that social outcomes like promoting empathy and interest in other cultures might work well with serious games. As serious games advance in game-design and technology, and game-designers are more and more eager to tackle serious topics and use games to convey messages and teach players certain values, teaching values through videogames may one day be nothing unusual anymore, in a similar way to novels or films being employed in pedagogical contexts to teach about social values.

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Lauteria, E. W. (2011). “Procedurally and Fictively Relevant”: Exploring the Potential for Queer Content in Video Games. Berfrois. https://www.berfrois.com/2011/12/queer-gam ing-evan-lauteria/. Retrieved: [02.07.2019]. Lazzaro, N. (2009). Understand Emotions. In C. Bateman (Ed.), Beyond Game Design: Nine Steps Towards Creating Better Video Games (pp. 3–48). Boston, MA.: Course Technology/Cengage Learning. McCombs School of Business. (2018). Values—Ethics Unwrapped. Ethicsunwrapped. https://ethicsunwrapped.utexas.edu/glossary/values. Retrieved: [30.06.2019]. Michael, D., & Chen, S. (2006). Serious Games: Games That Educate, Train, and Inform. Boston, MA: Course Tech Inc. Mitgutsch, K., & Alvarado, N. (2012). Purposeful by Design? In M. S. El-Nasr (Ed.), ACM Digital Library, Proceedings of the International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games (pp. 121–128). New York, NY: ACM. doi: https://doi.org/10.1145/ 2282338.2282364. Neuenhaus, M., & Aly, M. (2017). Empathy Up. In G. Mark, S. R. Fussell, C. Lampe, M. C. Schraefel, J. P. Hourcade, C. Appert & D. Wigdor (Eds.), CHI’17 Extended Abstracts: Proceedings of the 2017 ACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 86–92). New York, NY: ACM. doi: https://doi.org/10.1145/ 3027063.3049276. Peng, W., Lee, M., & Heeter, C. (2010). The Effects of a Serious Game on Role-Taking and Willingness to Help. Journal of Communication, (60 (4), pp. 723–742). doi: https:// doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2010.01511.x. Plewe, C., & Fürsich, E. (2018). Are Newsgames Better Journalism? Journalism Studies, (19 (16), pp. 2470–2487). doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2017.1351884. Rusch, D. C. (2017). Making Deep Games: Designing Games With Meaning and Purpose. New York, NY: Focal Press. Sicart, M. (2008). Defining Game Mechanics. Game Studies. The International Journal of Computer Game Research, 8 (2). https://gamestudies.org/0802/articles/sicart. Retrieved: [13.06.2019]. Sicart, M. (2009). The Ethics of Computer Games. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Sicart, M. (2010). Values Between Systems: Designing Ethical Gameplay. In D. Gibson & K. Schrier (Eds.), Ethics and Game Design: Teaching Values Through Play (pp. 1–15). Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference. Stokes, B., Seggerman, S., & Rejeski, D. (2014). For a Better World: Digital Games and the Social Change Sector. Games for Change. https://gamesforchange.org/g4cwhitep aper.pdf. Retrieved: [08.05.2019]. Wagner, M. (2007). Identitätsrückprojektion in aktiven Medien. Wann können Computerspiele unser reales Verhalten beeinflussen? e-beratungsjournal.net. (2), (pp. 1–11). https://www.e-beratungsjournal.net/?page_id=155. Retrieved: [05.062019]. Zhonggen, Y. (2019). A Meta-Analysis of Use of Serious Games in Education Over a Decade. International Journal of Computer Games Technology. doi: https://doi.org/10. 1155/2019/4797032.

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Ludography A Closed World (Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab 2011, O: Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab) Against All Odds (UNHCR 2006, O: UNHCR) Darfur is Dying (Take Action Games 2006, O: Take Action Games) Finding Home (UNHCR Malaysia 2017, O: UNHCR Malaysia) Liyla and the Shadows of War (Rasheed Abueidah 2016, O: Rasheed Abueidah) Path Out (Causa Creations 2017, O: Causa Creations) Sea of Solitude (Electronic Arts 2019, O: Jo-Mei Games) Spent (McKinney & Urban Ministries of Durham 2011, O: McKinney & Urban Ministries of Durham)

Digital Game Literacy—Potential, Challenges, and Ethical Implications André Weßel

Abstract

‘Being literate’ in the context of digital game culture is not yet considered to be a valuable skill for young people by many parents and educators in Germany. Besides discussing which aspects should be subsumed under the concept of digital game literacy, it is the aim of this article to reason theoretically why the promotion of the pertinent skills is necessary in a mediatized society. Therefore, multiple literacy approaches will be considered, and an example will be provided for the implementation of digital game literacy in an educational setting. Keywords

Digital game literacy • Digital games • Digital game culture • Literacy Literacy skills • Media competence • Media literacy

1

•

Introduction

Nowadays, more than ever before, everyday life is pervaded by various forms of media communication and media activity of all kind. Communication culture is changing in a long-term technological and sociocultural process that is characterized by a perpetual mediatization (Hepp et al. 2015; Hjarvard 2013; Krotz 2009; Lundby 2014), meaning that new media have been permeating cultures and A. Weßel (B) Technische Hochschule Köln, Köln, Germany E-Mail: [email protected] © Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, part of Springer Nature 2020 M. Groen et al. (eds.), Games and Ethics, Digitale Kultur und Kommunikation 7, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-28175-5_12

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societies over time. In the last decades, digitization as the most recent step of mediatization so far has led to another significant “increase of media communication on a temporal, spatial and social level” (Hepp and Krotz 2007, p. 4), not least due to the ubiquity of “’always on/always-on-us’ communication devices” (Turkle 2008, p. 122). From the perspective of communication science, mediatization has caused media to assume new roles and perform new actions for people and has brought forth new purposes, contexts and complexes of meanings for people to use media (Krotz 2007, p. 32). According to Friedrich Krotz, communicative action in current complex mediatized environments can be categorized into three types: mediatized interpersonal communication, interactive communication referring to communication between people and ‘intelligent’ hardware and software systems, and the production and reception of standardized content addressed to the general public, previously known as mass communication (Krotz 2007, p. 13). In order to be capable of dealing confidently with these partially new forms of communication and communication settings, pertinent abilities need to be acquired. However, the consideration of the related literacy skills suggests that in this regard, the German education system is struggling with adapting its learning goals to the mediatized society. The idea of ‘being literate’ still mostly refers to traditional reading and writing skills which are generally considered to play a key role in obtaining educational access and success. People who only learn to read and write simple sentences and are therefore labeled ‘low-literate’ also experience grave difficulties with their social participation (Grotlüschen and Buddeberg 2020). For this reason, acquiring “alphabetical literacy” (Cope and Kalantzis 2009, p. 166) skills is a basic part of education systems all over the world for children from an early age on. Hence, knowing that traditional literacy is necessary to handle media such as books and other forms of written text, the (media) pedagogical discussion of ways to identify, describe and foster the skills needed for dealing with other media has been taking place for several decades at the time of writing. In the AngloSaxon discourse, various broader literacy concepts like media literacy (Hobbs 2016) or digital literacy (Bawden 2001) has been gaining recognition, while the media competence approach (Baacke 1996) has prevailed within the field of media pedagogy in German-speaking countries. Studies reveal that young people in Germany are highly active media users and pursue all the forms of communication identified by Krotz (Frees et al. 2019), while favouring digital games in particular (Quandt et al. 2013). Almost two thirds

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of the 12- to 19-year-olds play digitally at least several times a week, among boys1 even four out of five (mpfs 2020). A comparison with the activity of reading books reveals a significant divide: Only one third of the same age bracket reads daily or several times a week, among boys only slightly more than one out of four.2 And even among girls—who are increasingly, but still often less inclined towards digital games—digital gaming is more popular than reading books by now. These findings suggest that it would be reasonable to provide more educational offers aiming at a deeper understanding and a proficient use of digital games— and therefore to develop a more specific literacy concept focusing on the medium. Even though the idea is not new (see, e.g., Beavis 2004; Buckingham and Burn 2007), the high significance of digital games in young people’s everyday media activity, the growing recognition of their learning potential and their increased use in educational contexts during the last two decades (see, e.g., Boyle et al. 2016; Connolly et al. 2012; ESA 2020; Fromme et al. 2015) have yet to produce considerable changes: Digital games are oftentimes still treated as “trivial, rather than influential artifacts and practices” (Squire 2008, p. 662), particularly by many parents and educators. Therefore, it is the aim of this article to reveal why, from a pedagogical perspective, digital game literacy is a useful and necessary complementary competence for children and adolescents, allowing them to take advantage of multiple benefits with regard to their personal development and to participate in an important area of contemporary children and youth culture. Following the introduction, various literacy concepts and their interrelations will be discussed, drawing on traditional literacy, media literacy and digital game literacy. Subsequently, the relevance of digital game culture for the life of young people in terms of socialization and learning potential will be highlighted, including some thoughts on why it is of ethical relevance to foster the skills needed for a competent use of the medium. Finally, an example will be given for an educational workshop with young people in order to show how the practical application of the digital game literacy concept can be executed.

1 The

study that is referenced here only distinguishes between two genders. printed books were considered here. In addition, e-books are used by 7% on a daily basis or several times a week, but it remains unclear if these are the same persons as the ones who read printed books.

2 Only

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Extended Perspectives on Multiple Literacy Concepts

The original demand for an expansion of the traditional literacy concept emerged with the progressing mediatization of communication culture and the acknowledgement of the idea that communication in the context of different media requires specific forms of cultural and communicative competences (Buckingham 1993). As a result, various literacies have evolved over time, some of them addressing a single medium like television or computer literacy, others dealing with broader concepts like visual literacy, information literacy or digital literacy (see, in summary, Buckingham and Burn 2007, p. 324). One of the most extensive and influential approaches conceptualized as an expansion of traditional literacy is media literacy (Hobbs 2016, p. 12). A widely used definition sees it as “the knowledge, competencies and life skills needed to participate in contemporary society through accessing, analyzing, evaluating and creating media messages in a wide variety of forms” (Hobbs 2016, p. 3). Depending on the positioning of the audience as primarily vulnerable or as primarily active—which is discussed extensively by experts in the communication and education sciences –, the concept reflects “a dynamic and generally productive tension between those who see media literacy education as a means to address the complexities and challenges of growing up in a media- and technology-saturated cultural environment and those who see media literacy as a tool for personal, social, cultural and political empowerment” (Hobbs 2016, p. 10). In the German-speaking discourse in media pedagogy, Dieter Baacke’s (1996) concept of media competence can be regarded as an equivalent to the rather Anglo-Saxon media literacy approach. Ultimately pursuing the objective to support people in expanding their scope of orientation and action with and via the media, media competence comprises the four dimensions of analytical, reflexive and ethical media criticism, informative and instrumental media knowledge, receptive and interactive media use as well as innovative and constructive media creation (Tillmann and Weßel 2020). Even though both concepts follow different theoretical traditions, their meanings overlap significantly, emphasizing that the abilities to access, critically analyze, evaluate and create media messages form the prerequisites for and the objectives of learning about media simultaneously (Grafe 2011, pp. 75 f.). Media competence and media literacy both represent comprehensive approaches to media activity of all kind, but they are also applicable to individual media and can serve as a base for literacy concepts focusing on them.

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In order to approach such a more specific literacy concept related to a certain medium like digital games, assuming a Cultural Studies perspective might be helpful, from which all media can be considered as texts in a broader sense (Carr et al. 2006, p. 12), and the question arises which abilities are needed to decode and encode them accordingly. In terms of written texts, the related skills of reading and writing can be subsumed under the term “print literacy” (Purcell-Gates et al. 2006, p. 26). ‘Being literate’ in this regard refers to the ability to use “printed and written information to function in society, to achieve one’s goals, and to develop one’s knowledge and potential” (Kirsch 2001, p. 6). Extended definitions for the traditional literacy notion differ between the literacy skillset and the literacy practice, with the latter relating a text’s social, cultural and political contexts to the individual abilities (Purcell-Gates et al. 2006, p. 26). In this respect, James Gee identifies different ways of reading and writing, depending on the particular type of text, e.g. newspaper, rap song or legal tract (2003, p. 18). Each of them is linked to certain sorts of social practices, so in decoding or encoding the texts, the focus needs to lie not only on the codes or representations but also on the domains in which they create a specific meaning. Gee calls them “semiotic domains”, “area[s] or set[s] of activities where people think, act and value in certain ways” (Gee 2003, pp. 18 f.; emphasis in original). This leads Gee to the conclusion that the literacy concept integrates distinct dimensions, i.e., 1. the ability to decode, 2. the ability to understand meanings with respect to a semiotic domain, and 3. the ability to produce meanings with respect to a semiotic domain. Approaching digital games from his perspective on traditional literacy, Gee states that one learns a new type of literacy when playing them due to their specific multimodality of images, text, sounds, music, movement, and bodily sensations, among others (Gee 2003, pp. 18 ff.). To him, digital games represent a new type of semiotic domain and a family of interrelated semiotic domains, respectively, considering the various types and genres. Based on these thoughts, José Zagal introduces his approach to literacy in digital games (2008, 2010). He openly references Gee’s concept and likewise involves three interwoven dimensions, defining digital game literacy as the skillset that enables one to 1. to play games, 2. to understand meanings with respect to games, and 3. to make games (Zagal 2008, p. 34).

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Comparing Gee’s and Zagal’s approaches, the equivalence of the abilities to ‘decode’ and to ‘play’ digital games may be called into question. ‘Decoding’ primarily addresses a functional dimension based on cognitive skills and involves the translation and interpretation of coded information (Hall 1973). Playing a digital game is likewise connected to such decoding processes related to the distinct components and their interrelation, e.g., images, sounds, narratives, and rules (Koubek 2018, p. 185). However, the question of access also seems to play a key role here, not only referring to the content, but also to the medium itself, e.g., in terms of obtaining (the financial resources for) the technical equipment necessary for playing or the knowledge about how to operate it. Besides, there appears to be an even more substantial difference between ‘making games’ and ‘producing meanings with respect to digital games’. While the former clearly refers to coding or using software in order to create a playable digital game, the latter comprises a broader variety of additional actions, e.g., discussing digital games in an online community, writing fan fiction or designing a costume for cosplay. Zagal’s concept of digital game literacy needs to be regarded within its educational context of teaching games-related university classes. He realized that his students had difficulties reasoning critically and analytically about digital games, especially—and at first sight paradoxically—when they had a lot of experience of playing them (Zagal 2010, p. xi). The objectives of his concept lie in promoting a deeper comprehension of the medium itself, enabling the learners to “analyse games in a meaningful way”, to know “why they create certain experiences and evoke certain emotions and feelings”, to realize “how games are and can be used as an expressive medium”, and to “have an informed discussion on the merits (or lack thereof) of a particular work” (Zagal 2010, p. 2). In order to promote these skills, Zagal applied two educational tools. With the first one, the students could reflect on their playing experiences by writing multiple parallel blogs, each devoted to a single digital game, in an online blogging environment (Zagal 2010, pp. 63 ff.). The second one aimed at filling a wiki-enabled website with observations and analysis of various games, from which a framework for the description, analysis and study of the medium was to be derived in the end (Zagal 2010, pp. 90 ff.). With the emphasis on the dimension of understanding digital games (Zagal 2010, p. 23), Zagal’s approach forms a valuable basis for fostering students’ digital game literacy. However, from a media pedagogical perspective, some aspects could be added in order to enable an extended educational application involving the objectives of media literacy and media competence to a higher extent. Therefore, the focus should lie less on the medium itself, but on its use and its potentially empowering functions, on an individual level as well as in a broader

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societal context. It would be reasonable to find methods for fostering digital game literacy skills with a lower threshold, addressing a greater variety of young people, regardless of their educational level or socio-economic background. The learning settings should be extended from formal contexts like schools and universities to non-formal environments like youth centers and voluntary contexts like game festivals or other gaming-related events. In this way, the multiple possibly positive effects of digital gaming on a personal and social level can be addressed with the aim of fostering a self-determined, critical-reflexive and socially responsible participation in all facets of the digital game culture (Weßel 2019, pp. 147 f.).

3

Potential and Challenges of Digital Game Worlds for Young People

Thanks to the great diffusion of multi-functional mobile devices with internet access in Germany, children and adolescents have the opportunity to engage in digital games quite independently from a relatively early age on (Hugger and Tillmann 2015). Already two out of five own a tablet computer by the age of nine, three out of four receive their first smartphone by the age of ten or eleven, more than 40% of the 6- to 13-year-olds own a game console—and media ownership even rises with increasing age (Berg 2019; mpfs 2019). Even though public as well as private debates about digital games often still focus on potentially harmful aspects, there are a lot of possibly positive effects of young people participating actively in digital game culture. With regard to socialization, for instance, it can be important for their personality and identity formation (Deutscher Bundestag 2017, p. 283). Many young people are fascinated by and immerse themselves in digital game worlds, broadening their sphere of action to the virtual rooms, where they can experience themselves as powerful and selfeffective. They practice self-positioning, seek connection and exchange, compete against each other and participate increasingly in an international context. They interact socially as well as collaboratively and establish a mediatized cultivation of their gaming-related network of friends, in online games as well as in the corresponding communities (Hajok 2019, p. 41; Schorb et al. 2013, pp. 60 ff.). Nevertheless, children and adolescents might also be overextended with handling all the possibilities and challenges that participating in the digital game culture entails, particularly when they are burdened with a lack of family support background where they lack support (Paus-Hasebrink 2019, p. 123). Examples of these challenges include, among others accessing games with problematic content or

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harmful gaming-related behavior like excessive use and in-game bullying. Therefore, it is certainly advisable to support young people with acquiring the abilities needed to benefit from the potential and to help them cope with the challenges related to the digital game culture. Besides the aforementioned aspects of socialization, the specific potential of certain digital games and game genres for learning contexts is a topic that has long been discussed (Sherry 2016; Vollbrecht 2008). Even though the efficacy of digital games as learning tools still needs to be researched to a higher extent and the methods need to be refined (Breuer 2017; Fritz et al. 2011), it was already shown in the early days of digital gaming that they can provide intrinsically motivating qualities for young people (Malone 1980), drawn from their fascination. Further studies reveal that especially for students who are considered socio-economically disadvantaged and therefore often being underachieving and struggle with learning (OECD 2019a), the use of digital games in educational settings can be greatly stimulating (Jacobson et al. 2010, p. 114; Squire 2005, p. 138). Especially the German education system in its current state and with the learning settings it presently provides is known for having issues with compensating for differences in the students’ respective backgrounds, and to actually consolidate social segregation social inequalities (OECD 2019b). In this regard, the application of digital games in learning environments may provide a promising option to create more equal opportunities in education. However, in formal education in Germany, the application of digital games in learning contexts as well as developing literacy with regard to digital gaming still only play a minor role (KMK 2017). Traditional media like textbooks and worksheets are still prevalent in the education system (Petko 2019, p. 1), resulting in a learning environment often at odds with the students’ lifeworld. The questions remain how the implementation of digital games into learning environments can be carried out and which prerequisites have to be fulfilled in order for them to qualify as an object of learning and a useful supplement to other learning tools. In this context, it must be taken into account that the responsibility for teaching literacy skills related to digital games should not solely lie with schools as an allegedly monolithic source of education. Non-formal learning environments are equally important for education, especially for young people who are considered socio-economically disadvantaged. These (public) spaces can be crucial for gaining access to digital gaming devices and practices as well as for speaking with social workers and educators about one’s individual experiences with digital game culture. Furthermore, these settings are well-suited for offering educational opportunities to foster young people’s abilities to proficiently use the medium. However, this does not advocate teaching young people gaming

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skills in order for them to perform well within the objectives of digital games. Instead, ‘becoming digital game literate’ aims at overcoming what Zagal calls a “naïve understanding” (2010, p. 3) of the medium. Such a simplified stance can be recognized when young people confuse being well-versed in digital game culture with being good or successful at playing (Zagal 2010, p. 57). Some of them are too focused on specific games or game genres and have a relatively narrow view of the medium. Others assume they cannot learn anything new from a game they have already played, or they believe that everyone playing it gains the same experiences as they do. Instead of taking a perspective that leads to a deeper analysis, they lose themselves in perfunctory descriptions of obvious features like graphics and sounds, or they come to superficial judgements about a game’s quality. Such a naïve view of the medium is mostly attended by the ignorance towards other potentials than mere entertainment and can be an obstacle to a deeper understanding of digital games. Hence, from a pedagogical and also an ethical point of view, and with respect to socialization, it would be advisable to promote young people’s digital game literacy. How this can be achieved will be shown in the following chapter.

4

An Example for Digital Game Literacy Training

In order to provide an example of an educational approach to digital game literacy with young people, I will refer to my work as a media educator for Spielraum, a media pedagogical project at the TH Köln—University of Applied Sciences in Germany. In 2017, I conducted a workshop with a group of twelve students at the Next Level Festival for Games in Düsseldorf, Germany. The group was composed of eight boys and four girls, all of them between 13 and 14 years old, all of them 8th graders in a German middle school, around three quarters having a migration background. The aim of the workshop was to use the digital game Phone Story (Molleindustria 2011) for promoting digital game literacy skills by applying a modified version of a concept originally developed by Spielraum (Weßel 2018). Phone Story is a free, short-form persuasive game intending to evoke political, social and cultural change as is typical of the genre (Bogost 2007). of the game has four levels, each of them addressing a specific issue related to the—in most cases—capitalist logic of the smartphone industry: the exploitation of raw material supplies in developing countries (level 1), poor working conditions in factories for

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electronic parts and devices (level 2), planned and perceived obsolescence3 (level 3), and environmental and health damage due to the processing of electronic waste (level 4) (Pineschi 2011). In the beginning, the students were divided into three groups, each with different tasks to fulfill. A volunteer, subsequently referred to as ‘the player’, was picked to play in front of the others with image and sound being clearly perceptible to everyone by means of a projector and loudspeakers. The audience formed two groups: Group A (‘the watchers’) focused primarily on what was visible in the course of the game, group B (‘the listeners’) primarily paid attention to the audible elements. After all the levels had been completed, the students were given a few minutes to talk to each other within their groups. In the following, a discussion among all participants was initiated regarding some of the objectives of the media competence and media literacy concepts and alongside the dimensions and subcategories of Zagal’s approach to digital game literacy (see chapter “Homo Ludens Reloaded: The Ethics of Play in the Information Age”). The focus lay on the first and second dimension of the latter (‘having the ability to play games’ and ‘having the ability to understand meanings with respect to digital games’), with the second one being further defined as “the ability to explain, discuss, describe, frame, situate, interpret, and/or position” (Zagal 2008, p. 34) digital games in four distinct contexts (Zagal 2010, pp. 25 ff.). First, it is important to consider their value as cultural artifacts in the broader context of human culture, be it in relationship to other media, media genres and artistic movements or certain cultures and subcultures. Second, their role in comparison to other (also non-digital) games or game genres is taken into account, including certain game mechanics and conventions. Third, their relationship to the underlying technology and the platform on which they are executed is examined with respect to the implications for the design and play processes, e.g., possible functionalities and experiences. Fourth, it can be crucial to examine and analyze their components, how they interact, and how they enable certain experiences. Here, it might be useful to identify the basic patterns and core elements of gameplay, or the decisions and actions available while playing. In the following, I will present some of the results of the workshop.

3 Planned

and perceived obsolescence refer to business strategies providing for a product to become obsolete, i.e., no longer usable or fashionable, after a certain period of time is and manufacturing it accordingly (Pineschi 2011).

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Having the Ability to Play Phone Story

Due to Phone Story’s free availability on the internet, its compatibility with multiple platforms and the low system requirements, it is relatively easy to access. Given the limited workshop time, all the technical prerequisites were provided for the students, and the player was able to start immediately after the workshop introduction. A problem that occurred to him very soon is that the game is only available in English. He stated that in the main menu, he was able to cope with it because the only selectable options were ‘Story Mode’ and ‘Credits’, so he knew that the former would start the game and the latter would present a list of names of people that had helped creating it. However, before the game starts, an English audio commentary provides some explanations. The player admitted that his language skills were not sufficient enough to fully understand what was being said, so he became confused and concerned that he might have missed some crucial information. He was also worried because the commentary went on over the course of the game, and even though he understood some words and sentences, he did not know exactly what was being narrated and was not able to connect and the narration with the gameplay. However, due to Phone Story’s relatively short play time of less than fifteen minutes, the player managed to not get distracted and stayed concentrated throughout the whole game. The control mechanisms are demonstrated at the beginning of each level and thus easily comprehensible at first sight, but in the end quite difficult to execute as the player remarked later, especially in the second and third level. Since the game is designed for touch screens but had to be played with a mouse on a computer in order to be projected, the explanations did not match very well and led to confusion. The player also mentioned that he felt quite helpless referring to the objectives that had to be reached in each level as the instructions given had not been very helpful to him, so he needed several attempts to complete the four levels. However, he said that he was motivated from the beginning and remained so until he had finished the game, expressing in the end that he had enjoyed playing.

4.2

Having the Ability to Understand Meanings with Respect to Phone Story

(a) Phone Story in the Context of Technology, and (b) Phone Story in the Context of Other Games

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Referring to these categories, the students compared Phone Story to other digital games they knew and quickly ended up talking about its visual style. They said that it looked rather old-fashioned and reminded them of mobile games they had played on their smartphones years before. The listeners also referred to the audio commentary and discussed whether it sounded like a robot because of the low technical resources or because it was intended that way by the designers. One of the watchers explained that her father had an old computer at home and that she sometimes played old games on it that had a similar graphic style to Phone Story. Furthermore, the participants stated that in terms of playing time, Phone Story was a rather short game and that therefore, they would not pay money to buy it even though they considered it fun to play. (c) Phone Story’s Structure and Components Here, the students talked about the gameplay and audio elements. They expressed that they had understood that for winning a level, its specific objective had to be identified and a certain quantifiable outcome to be reached, e.g. by impelling a sufficient number of child miners to work (level 1) or by supplying enough greedy customers with new phones (level 3). Referring to the title, they recognized the ‘story’ being formed by the chronology of the levels, representing different parts of the manufacturing cycle of a smartphone in a certain order. They reflected on the thought whether the player’s performance in a level had influenced his initial position in the next one, but they could only speculate since there had not been enough time to replay the game several times. Some members of the group announced that they would download it themselves to find out on their own. Several participants criticized that Phone Story only provides basic features and lacks complexity, not offering a lot of variety, but only a single predefined type of action per level. Others liked exactly this characteristic since it makes the game playable inbetween, allowing to finish it in a few minutes without having to cognitively engage too much. Describing the game audio, the listeners had to face the same issues as the player since the commentary is exclusively available in English. They said that all of them had been learning English for some years at school but being secondor even third language speakers caused severe difficulties in understanding. The students realized that the commentary was not directly related to the in-game actions because the player had to replay the levels, and the commentary always stayed the same. They were able to understand that the story being told covered different aspects of smartphones, and since they could simultaneously watch the gameplay on the projection, they were able to establish a number of connections between what they had seen and heard. They mentioned, for instance, people

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trying to commit suicide by jumping of a roof out of desperation, or the toxic waste making those who have to work in this environment sick. (d) Phone Story as a Cultural Artifact in the Context of Human Culture Since this subcategory of Zagal’s concept deals with the cultural context of digital games, the discussion was framed pedagogically to a higher extent than before in order to initiate a critical reflection process about the game and the ethical aspects it addresses. Therefore, the students were asked to relate Phone Story’s content to their personal lives, the lives of people on earth in general, and to societal and political issues outside the game world. In addition, they were invited to think about what the creators of Phone Story might have had in mind when making the game, and in which way the game might promote social or political change. At first, the students remarked that smartphones play an important role in their lives and that they spend a lot of time with them, guessing that this would be the case for most people in the world. However, one of them raised the point that the game is less about smartphone use than it is about the stages in a smartphone manufacturing and disposal cycle. Afterwards, the students thought about the four levels and tried to find out their overarching themes. They were able to identify subjects like child labor and environmental pollution. With regard to the second level, they grasped the concept of the suicide attempts, but could not determine the reasons related thereto. The content of the third level remained unclear to them. Subsequently, the player was encouraged to visit the Phone Story website so that the group could have a look at it, discuss its content and expand their knowledge about the game and its background. The participants stated that a lot of the additional information about issues related to smartphones on the website would not normally enter the mind of people in their age group. They learned that the audio commentary offers explanations of the different levels and that the transcription can be read on the website. Their attempt translate the English texts revealed to them that the suicides in the second level allude to the so-called Foxconn scandal (Guo et al. 2012) and they gathered information about the increasing demand for raw materials leading to a wave of violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo. They also found out that Apple as one the most successful companies producing smartphones considered Phone Story harmful for their business and banned it from the App Store (Dredge 2011). Summing up, the students realized that Phone Story deals with the negative aspects of smartphones and that the underlying storyline is a sad one. They concluded that the main subject of the game was the possible harm to people and the earth caused by the production and disposal of these electronic devices. Being asked if they had already given

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thought to the topic prior to the workshop, two participants mentioned that they had once seen a TV documentary about the problematic aspects of smartphones and reported on its content. Finally, the students asked their accompanying teacher if they could continue to discuss the topic in class since they were interested to learn more about it. Finally, the students were not aware of the irony that a game critical of smartphones is designed to be played on smartphones without indications—possibly, due to the fact that in the workshop, the technological platform used to play the game was a computer and not on a mobile device.

5

Conclusion and Outlook

In this article, different aspects of the relationship between the concept of literacy and digital game culture have been discussed. The aim was to show why it appears reasonable and ethically relevant to take digital game literacy into consideration as a valuable skill set for young people living in a mediatized society like the German one. The theoretical reflections so far and the example given justify the promotion of digital game literacy in both school and extracurricular contexts. An analysis of the existing concepts, both by Zagal and others, e.g., the “gaming literacy” approach by Eric Zimmerman (2008), reveals that it appears prudent to conduct further research in several areas. First, one might look for further options to promote digital game literacy skills in various formal and non-formal learning environments with different target groups. A more game design-oriented approach is, for instance, the Lego Level Up project (Schmidt 2019), which was carried out by the Cologne Game Lab and the City Library of Cologne. Through workshops with children from the age of eight to twelve, the project combined various types of play settings with the aim of integrating education in both analogue and digital game literacy. After playing a board game several times with the task to modify the rules and analyze the consequences, the participants were given the task to build labyrinth-like levels using (Lego) bricks. With the help of cameras and specific software, these levels came to life on laptops, where they could be played from an avatar’s first-person perspective. Given the opportunity to rearrange the dungeons with an Augmented Reality application, the children were confronted with the possibilities, but also with the challenges and limitations of analogue and digital game and level design. Educational settings like this one or the one presented in chapter “Gaming Addiction—Underdefined, Overestimated?”4 attempt to build on young people’s affinity towards

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digital games and to convey a better understanding of the medium in intrinsically motivating learning environments. Second, some limitations of existing digital game literacy concepts have already been mentioned, particularly in relationship to other ideas of learning with and about media as discussed in the media literacy and media competence approaches. In this regard, a comprehensive concept of digital game literacy is still to be developed, not only aiming at educating young people in terms of the abilities to access, understand and create digital games, but instead integrating further objectives. These could lie in empowering youth to maximize the benefits with regard to identity formation, learning potentials and entertainment, but also to develop coping strategies with respect to protecting oneself from the possibly harmful effects of the digital game culture. By applying such an extended approach, young people could be given the opportunity to obtain a better comprehension of a medium they already use, and thus to become even more competent and literate digital gamers.

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Ludography Phone Story (Molleindustria 2011, O: Molleindustria)

uMed: Your Choice—Conception of a Digital Game to Enhance Medical Ethics Training Johannes Katsarov, Nikola Biller-Andorno, Tobias Eichinger, David Schmocker, and Markus Christen Abstract

In this contribution, we present the conception of the serious moral game uMed: Your Choice for the training of medical students’ moral sensitivity and resoluteness. First, we offer an overview of the moral competences that we aim to train through the game: an empathic concern for relevant groups; an awareness of one’s susceptibility to biases and stress, moral schemas and scripts for automatized sensitivity under time pressure; a sensitivity to attitudes of moral disengagement; and skills for speaking up about ethical issues. Second, we present the educational game mechanisms and contents that we have selected and combined to achieve the desired learning outcomes: playing an intern at a clinic, learners deal with several cases, in which they have to interact with patients, patients’ relatives, and co-workers. Their decisions, including the way they communicate, have immediate as well as delayed consequences, J. Katsarov (B) · N. Biller-Andorno · T. Eichinger · D. Schmocker · M. Christen Universität Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland E-Mail: [email protected] N. Biller-Andorno E-Mail: [email protected] T. Eichinger E-Mail: [email protected] D. Schmocker E-Mail: [email protected] M. Christen E-Mail: [email protected] © Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, part of Springer Nature 2020 M. Groen et al. (eds.), Games and Ethics, Digitale Kultur und Kommunikation 7, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-28175-5_13

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and players receive constant feedback in terms of three value categories (empathy, integrity, efficiency). Third, we discuss how we employ the game within our study program. We close with a discussion of a possible critique of our design and with an outlook on the further design process.

Keywords

Game-based learning • Serious game • Ethics • Moral • Education • Training Bioethics • Medicine • Simulation • Game mechanics

1

•

On the Potential of Serious Moral Games in Medical Training

Ethics training is generally regarded as a key component in the education of health professionals (World Medical Association 1999). Yet, ethical scandals and reports of unethical behaviors in the health sector (e.g., under-/overtreatment of patients, therapy without consent, etc.), continue to be relatively frequent. Situational factors like a lack of resources or institutionalized conflicts of interest could certainly play an important role here, e.g., when physicians are not remunerated for the treatment options that would be most beneficial for patients. Still, further improving the competences of health professionals to recognize ethical issues and resolve them appropriately in practice is essential, including their ability to even recognize the deteriorating impact of institutionalized conflicts of interest and missing resources. Currently, a wide array of methods is employed in (medical) ethics training, often with positive effects, as recent meta-analyses show (e.g., Watts et al. 2017). We suggest to further enhance the quality of medical ethics training through digital games. Well-designed digital games are known to enhance learners’ motivation and study performance (Wouters et al. 2013). We propose that serious moral games, i.e., digital games for the promotion of moral development, can yield diverse benefits (see Fig. 1; Christen et al. 2013). Among others, they can be designed to simulate complex situations, e.g., ones in which players are required to make decisions under uncertainty. They can allow players to try out different behaviors and can provide immediate as well as delayed feedback, thereby sensitizing players to relevant issues. Moreover, they provide a secure environment for learners to experiment, fail, retry and optimize their behaviors.

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Fig. 1 Value Proposition of Serious Moral Games (adopted and translated from Christen, M. & Katsarov, J. (2018). Serious Moral Games—Videospiele als Werkzeuge der Ethikbildung. In T. Junge & C. Schumacher (Eds.), Digitale Spiele im Diskurs, www.medienim-diskurs.de, CC-BY)

2

Desired Learning Outcomes of Training with uMed: Your Choice

In the following, we will introduce the game uMed: Your Choice (uMed), developed by the authors in cooperation with the Swiss game studio Koboldgames and funded through the Swiss National Science Foundation and the University of Zurich. The aim of uMed is to complement existing approaches and resources of medical ethics training—not to replace good practices. The first step of our project was to identify the desired learning outcomes of uMed in consultation with experienced medical ethics trainers and clinical ethicists (two of whom are co-authors) in order to guide design, assess learning achievement and evaluate pedagogical approaches (cf. Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation 2011). We designed uMed for the purpose of reaching five learning outcomes, which are, in our experience, difficult to achieve within the tight curriculum typical of medical training. This chapter provides a short introduction of each learning outcome and its respective relevance. The first four of these learning outcomes correspond with the competence of moral sensitivity as defined in diverse process models of moral agency (e.g., Rest 1982; Narvaez 2006; Tanner and Christen 2014). Based on findings from moral psychology, Katsarov and Christen (2018) have identified these four components of moral sensitivity. The fifth learning outcome, moral resoluteness, corresponds

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with the final step of agency in diverse models, i.e., following through with what is seen to be right/good, and coping with different forms of resistance (Tanner and Christen 2014). We suggest that both sensitivity and resoluteness are ideally trained through an approach of action-based learning, where learners envision the possible outcomes of different actions, make decisions, experience consequences and receive feedback (coping-modeling/problem solving, see below).

2.1

Empathic Concern for Relevant Groups

A key reason why medical professionals (and people in general) may act unethically is because they are ignorant of the specific needs of (some) people. What matters here is that medical professionals care for all relevant people with their interests and needs, so that they will relate to them, ask respectful and concerned questions, and anticipate what they may need and how they may be affected by one’s actions. This caring attitude is commonly called empathic concern. Through exercises of adopting an affective perspective, i.e., imagining what a person might experience and feel in certain situations, empathic concern can even be developed for members of stigmatized groups (e.g., homeless people; (Batson et al. 1997). When people do not identify with people from certain groups, they do not adopt an affective perspective when thinking about members of these groups (Mitchell et al. 2006). People who have developed an empathic concern for people from certain groups tend to think about them more positively and will empathize with them more eagerly (ibid.). Drawing on Martin Hoffman’s work, we expect that medical professionals with an empathic concern for all types of patients (including elderly people, migrants, people with drug addictions etc.) will be more likely to consider their needs (Hoffman 2000; Gibbs 2014).

2.2

Awareness of Human Susceptibility to Biases and Stress

A second reason why people tend to engage in unethical behavior is because they do not recognize how their assessment of situations can be biased in different ways. Studies show that a conflict of interest can affect our assessment of risks (making us overly optimistic or pessimistic), even when we are motivated to be objective (Bazerman and Tenbrunsel 2011). Similarly, humans in general tend to ignore long-term effects (discounting-the-future bias), judge situations differently, depending on how they are framed (e.g., “1% risk” vs. “99% chance”) etc. In the practice of medicine, time pressure is high, potentially leading to rash judgments,

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which are particularly prone to bias (Tversky and Kahnemann 1974). Therefore, making medical professionals aware of their susceptibility to motivational biases is important. Effectively, they need to develop a level of professional skepticism regarding their own assessments and motivations (and those of colleagues), which allows them to remain critical and question the adequacy of their judgments and intentions regularly. Whereas the previous learning outcome (empathic concern) leans more in the direction of an implicit, intuitive, fast cognitive process, this learning outcome (awareness) is more about a self-competence to critically evaluate and reflect upon one’s judgments and perceptions (reflectivity).

2.3

Moral Schemas and Scripts for Automatized Sensitivity Under Time Pressure

Awareness of how conflicts of interest and other motivational factors may distort perception is not sufficient to overcome relevant problems: A large part of human thinking is sub-conscious, intuitive and automatic, and people often lack the time and energy to double-check whether their assessments may be biased in some way or another. Hence, to overcome biased perceptions, people ideally develop scripted responses, which they will automatically activate any time they come across a relevant problem (category), and which incorporate moral dimensions (Bazerman and Tenbrunsel 2011). For example, a medical professional who offers acupuncture for an extra fee could be biased to preferentially diagnose problems that can be treated through acupuncture.1 A scripted response to deal with such a conflict of interest could be for the physician to generally test all of his diagnoses by checking whether alternative explanations for the symptoms are also possible, and by asking follow-up questions to rule out a false diagnosis.2 Scripted responses are therefore evaluative schemas, which systematically direct the attention and behavior in certain situations (e.g., medical practice), and ensure that one is not overlooking anything relevant. Professionals generally work with scripts and schemas, through which they automatize much of their behavior: What matters here, is that their schemas and scripts include moral dimensions, so that they take them into account routinely, instead of ignoring them (Gioia 1992; Seiler et al. 2011). 1 One

of the authors experienced this case as a patient. example is meant to illustrate how a script is basically a routine procedure of doing something.

2 This

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Sensitivity to Attitudes of Moral Disengagement

Even when medical professionals generally care for other people, are aware of their human vulnerability to biases and stress, and have adopted diverse scripts and schemas that help them to notice moral issues routinely, they may still behave unethically in some situations if they hold morally disengaged attitudes. Attitudes of moral disengagement are generally rationalizations of unethical behavior, which allow people to ignore moral considerations in the first place (Bandura 1999). Morally disengaged attitudes can take many forms, including double standards, whereby the interests, needs, contributions and opinions of people from certain groups (e.g., women, elderly) are generally viewed as inferior. These attitudes do not necessarily need to be explicit. Often, they are, in fact, implicit attitudes, which their bearers are not aware of, and which they do not want to hold, e.g., implicit racism or sexism (cf. Banaji and Greenwald 2013). Very often, morally disengaged attitudes concern routine activities, where professionals like to “cut corners”, e.g., they do not take time to talk with patients about important matters because “they will forget anyway” etc. Bandura (1999) has identified six widespread types of moral disengagement (e.g., blaming the victim) through which people allow themselves to ignore moral aspects. One of our goals is to sensitize learners to such attitudes so that they will identify relevant rationalizations as problematic.

2.5

Skills for Speaking up About Ethical Issues

Even when medical professionals are aware of ethical problems, e.g., the racial discrimination of a patient by a superior, they may fail to act in accordance with their values and professional ethical codes due to fear of repercussions (e.g., workplace harassment), in lack of appropriate responses and strategies, insecurity about an ethical issue and possible consequences of actions or perceived inferiority of experience (Raemer et al. 2016). Moral ownership, courage and efficacy are therefore important goals for ethics training: People who possess these three sub-components of moral potency are more likely to (1) feel the necessity to intervene in a relevant situation, (2) overcome relevant fears, and (3) feel confident in the ability to address relevant challenges, e.g., in persuading others (Hannah and Avolio 2010). Following Mary Gentile, the development of relevant schemas and scripts will also be helpful here, e.g., finding it normal to speak about moral issues, or having good arguments ready to respond to common rationalizations of questionable behaviors (Gentile 2010).

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Selected Game Mechanisms and Their Combination

To promote the achievement of the desired learning outcomes, we have selected and combined several game mechanisms, i.e., aspects of the game that enable or frame the players’ interaction with the game: “(1) possible actions and choices of players, (2) how these are framed (role, perspective, and goals), and (3) which consequences the players’ actions and choices may have (feedback, rewards, etc.)” (Katsarov et al. 2019, p. 347). Suitable game mechanisms were identified based on a previously published review of literature and digital games (ibid.). In the following, we describe how we have combined them and how they shall support relevant learning.

3.1

Personalization and Realism

A central challenge for (game-based) learning lies in the transfer of what has been learned (knowledge, skills etc.) to the relevant practice. To facilitate transfer, we have decided to place the narrative of our game in a relatively realistic setting. This makes the game experience meaningful for our main target group, students of medicine, and will therefore help to foster the learners’ motivation to engage in the game and reflect on their experience of it. Players slip into the role of a recent graduate of medicine starting their residency (a first job as an assistant doctor) at a regional hospital. At the beginning of the game, players can choose their name and gender so that they can identify with the role they are playing, or expressly choose to play someone other than themselves. In accord with qualitative findings, both forms of experience will be meaningful and can foster moral development (Consalvo et al. 2019). Moreover, in a recent meta-analysis Mayer (2014) has found that the personalization of game-based learning strongly increases instructional effectiveness.

3.2

Awarding of Points

The game’s introduction aims at acquainting players with the narrative (role and mission) and at introducing a central game mechanism. After a short prologue, players encounter their future supervisor, a leading physician at the clinic where they are performing their residency. She invites players to do their best, offering them a permanent position if they prevail. Also,

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Tab. 1 Points awarded for three conflicting value dimensions

she introduces them to the three types of points that are awarded to players (see below). The back-story is that all staff members of the clinic are currently receiving 360° feedback through a new system on three aspects: empathy, integrity and efficiency (cf. Tab. 1). She makes it clear that the player’s scores will be decisive in the player’s final evaluation. What players do not know is that the purpose of these three value dimensions is to highlight how different values and expectations may collide and conflict in practice. The efficiency dimension is meant to work as a distractor: It creates conflicts of interest, making it costly to engage in compassionate and courageous actions for players, i.e., without losing efficiency points. For instance, players might find themselves in the situation that they want to look up alternative explanations for the problems a patient is facing—yet losing efficiency points while using the office computer to do so. Similarly, players may not be able to perform their tasks very efficiently without losing empathy and integrity points (at least in the short term). We also create trade-offs between empathy and integrity to demonstrate to players that morally good goals can also collide in practice. Yet, the main goal is to sensitize learners for the fact that conflicting values are part of

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medical practice and that a certain balance is necessary. Overall, this game mechanism shall promote the development of moral schemas in learners and sensitize them to the power of motivational biases.

3.3

Activities, Decisions and Consequences

Following the introduction, players choose one of several cases to play, three of which have already been written by Johannes Katsarov, Sandra Rossi, and Maika Schelb. Each case represents a scenario with one patient, his/her relatives (if available) and other staff of the clinic. The players interact with these non-playable characters (NPCs) by selecting from diverse dialogue options. Depending on the players’ choices, the scenario unfolds in different ways (branched storyline). Many decisions only have an impact in terms of the points that players win or lose. However, the game is programmed in a way that even seemingly “minor” choices have an impact on the outcome of the narrative (inspired by the “systemic approach” to engaging ethical expertise in digital games discussed by Formosa et al. 2016). At the micro level, players exercise their communicative skills in working with the NPCs, e.g., an elderly woman who has suffered a stroke and who is rejecting her treatment.3 Each scenario confronts players with a prevalent conundrum of biomedical ethics (e.g., allocation problems, advance care planning, or shared decision-making). For instance, players can test their own abilities to assess the elderly woman’s judgment. The goal is to sensitize players for the practical relevance of the skills that are developed as part of medical ethics training and to offer them cases to experiment with. By portraying some of the fictional patients negatively, e.g., as naïve, we make it more difficult for players to exercise ethical skills and tempt them to arrive at false conclusions or to “cut corners” (e.g., having a naïve patient sign a letter of consent without understanding the risks of an operation). The educative strategy, which we employ, is a variation of the coping-modeling/problem-solving approach (cf. Simola 2010). We do not present ethically relevant decisions to players overtly. Instead, more or less ethical behaviors present themselves subtly, at the level of nuances (e.g., whether players choose to ask a patient what is important to her or assume that

3 The

game does not demand medical knowledge from players. Relevant information on diagnoses, treatments etc. will be readily available so that the game can also be played by medical laypeople.

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they already know what is best). In presenting dialogue options, we contrast praiseworthy and problematic alternatives, challengings learners to identify relevant differences autonomously. Since players expect immediate feedback and delayed consequences of their choices, they are also motivated to analyze the options, thereby searching for noteworthy differences. In doing so, they ought to exercise and improve their moral schemas because they are building associations between empathy (caring, patient orientation), integrity (concern for justice, patient autonomy, etc.) and efficiency with different behavioral options (including the use of language and other forms of communication, e.g., raising one’s voice or comforting an elderly patient by holding her hand). At the meso level, players face diverse critical incidents (critical decisions) over the course of the game. In some of these incidents, players experience conflicts of interest, which are either subtle or obvious, and which are either personal (beneficial to the player) and/or institutional (beneficial to the clinic or medical team). For instance, one of the scenarios features a seemingly rich foreigner, the overtreatment of whom promises an extra income for the hospital and a personal gratification for the player. In these cases, players need to sacrifice some benefit— at least in the short term—to act ethically. In featuring these problems, we also offer players seemingly good justifications to act unethically, e.g., rumors that the rich foreigner is a warlord and that he has made his apparent fortune by selling weapons. Each critical scenario forces the players to make more or less explicit decisions with consequences for the further story. Through this setup, we aim to sensitize players to attitudes of moral disengagement and motivational biases, but also challenge them to exercise moral courage and recognize strategies for doing so effectively. At the macro level, the different scenarios unfold over several days, adding gravity to the critical decisions of players. One scenario may go on, for instance, over a total of three days. Based on the final decision of the first day, players engage with one of three different narrative branches on the following day, with several different outcomes for the scenario on the final day. In the long run, unethical actions have negative repercussions for the players, mostly in terms of consequences for the patients (outcomes of therapy). In some cases, the players will be reprimanded for these consequences, e.g., if they lead to financial losses for the clinic. In other cases, the players are not (only) criticized by NPCs, but (also) witness the negative outcomes of their decisions. Ethical decisions, on the other hand, generally have positive outcomes at the narrative level of the game, although these players may have collected fewer performance points than others and may be criticized in the short term.

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The macro level pursues two main goals. On the one hand, it shall sensitize players to the dangers of short-term (efficiency) thinking, thereby fostering positive attitudes towards taking enough time to work with patients and their relatives. On the other hand, the scenarios are designed to ensure that players must build positive relationships with the patients (and their relatives) in order to be successful. To build these relationships, they need to make efforts to understand these characters and relate to them as humans. The purpose is to engage players in affective perspective taking and an expansion of the group of people with whom they can identify affectively. Players who take enough time will learn a lot about the lovable features of their patients, e.g., an elderly woman’s dedication to her (grand) children and her love of birds. The micro, meso and macro levels are connected in the game. A biased or otherwise problematic communication with an NPC at the micro level could lead to a poorly informed decision at the meso level with negative consequences at the macro level.

3.4

Final Feedback

At the end of each case, players find out how the scenario has unfolded through a presentation of outcomes and during a personal development session with their supervisor, the leading physician. She first comments on the points scored by the players (360° feedback), offering positive and negative feedback. Then, based on how the case was handled, she will highlight praiseworthy and problematic behaviors. To promote moral ownership and efficacy, it is important to show learners how their choices and decisions matter, and how they can influence the course of events (Hannah and Avolio 2010). For this reason, the leading physician’s feedback focuses on the impact of specific decisions and behaviors of players, who can then react in different ways.

4

Use of the Digital Game in Study Programs

At the University of Zurich, all approx. 400 sixth-semester medical students participate in a course in clinical ethics. We are currently redesigning this course to work with uMed. The course is held in small groups of 10–13 students and is structured in four units of 90 min. So far, standard procedure for these sessions has been for a lecturer to shortly introduce the topic of the unit, followed by

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the main part of the course: a mentored discussion of clinical cases with ethical problems or dilemmas. Two years earlier, in their first semester, all medical students have already been introduced to medical ethics, also in small groups. In the introductory course, a new e-learning tool is now being administered: This e-tool imparts theoretical foundations of medical ethics as well as an introduction to clinical ethics in the form of a structured case-discussion model (basic knowledge + practical exercises). It can be used individually, e.g., at home and in the classroom together with the group. The e-tool is meant to support medical students throughout their studies. uMed is now being integrated into the design of this third-year course. Before each of the four units, students are required to play one case of the game (on their own or in teams). After completing the case, they have to write a short report on their playing experience based on three reflective questions (homework assignment). On the basis of these reports, the teachers will address remarkable thoughts concerning the critical topics (power of judgment, allocation problems, informed consent, and shared decision-making) in the following sessions. The teachers will show how the gamified scenarios correspond with ethical theory and skills and discuss the different behavioral options the game offers with the students. At this point, different components of the e-tool will also be re-utilized alongside newly created teaching materials with explicit game references (in form of screenshots of key scenes), with the aim of applying theory to practice and supporting the students in internalizing the relevant methods.

5

Discussion

A frequently raised point of criticism of our approach is that the game evaluates players’ behaviors. We are then asked to justify why certain actions are evaluated one way or another, and why some actions have positive consequences, while others do not. In part, this point of criticism may be based on the notion that ethics teachers (and teachers engaged in political education) should take an impartial stance and facilitate discussion among the students as equals, without abusing their authority to impart their own values to the students (Lee 2006). We generally concur that ethics trainers need to be wary of this; not because “value neutrality” is desirable (it is neither desirable nor possible), but because mutual respect, value plurality, tolerance of diversity, and autonomous/critical thinking are important values to be upheld in constitutional democracies and professional practices: An

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implicit requirement of ethics training is for trainers to endorse values like these and role-model appropriate behaviors in doing so (cf. Hand 2018). Therefore, we take this concern seriously. There are two reasons why we have still decided to evaluate players’ decisions and actions in the game. First, it is a fact of life that our actions and behaviors are evaluated by ourselves and others. The main difference between our system and real life is that players receive immediate feedback on almost all of their decisions (through the awarding of points, and partially through reactions), which is not always the case in real life. Yet, for the educational purposes of our game, the immediate awarding (or loss) of points appears to be prudent. It sensitizes players for the value dimensions in practice. Additionally, we do not regard it as problematic if players or lecturers disagree with some of the evaluations of the game: The evaluations are portrayed as subjective 360° feedback from patients, their relatives, and co-workers, not as objective statements made by a moral expert. In fact, disagreement about evaluations can foster valuable discussions about what constitutes ethical practice, and thereby contribute to students’ moral development. Second, our game might be considered more just than real life, because it generally rewards ethical actions (at least in the long run) and punishes unethical conduct (at least in the long run, e.g., by making players experience the consequences of their decisions). In reality, unethical actions like unnecessary treatments do not necessarily end in disaster. They do sometimes, however. Effectively, this means that we have removed moral luck from our stories to some degree and introduced some kind of “cosmic justice”. Since a central aim of our game is to sensitize people for ethical risks, including an awareness of egoistic biases that may lead us to overly optimistic/pessimistic risk perceptions, we suggest that the “moralist” consequences in our game are justified and beneficial to relevant learning.

6

Outlook

uMed is currently undergoing a process of rigorous testing and continuous improvement. Six teachers have already experimented with the first two cases of the game in teaching approximately 85 third-year students during the spring semester 2019. Additionally, we have conducted quantitative laboratory experiments with two cases of the game and experimented with different game instructions in a qualitative study (with the third case). Following good practices of user experience research (Hodent 2018), our investigations concern the game’s usability and engageability, the emotions, judgments and reflections inspired in players, and the

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game’s effectiveness in achieving the desired learning outcomes.4 First findings are expected to be published in 2020. In terms of continuous improvement, we are revising several features of the game. For example, in a previous version the game included a mentor, who challenged players to identify positive and negative aspects of their working environment. We gave up this game mechanism, since it did not appear to add value. We have also just implemented an online system for the game, which was previously played offline on players’ own computers. This online system allows us to collect anonymized statistical information about the in-game decisions of the learners. This information will support the game’s further improvement but may also be useful in helping teachers address specific topics in their groups.5 Another innovation that we will test soon is the inclusion of “achievements”, which players can collect for certain actions and outcomes and which might inspire them to play the game several times to explore more of the different options. Finally, we are currently investigating different teaching strategies of working with the game, e.g., whether players learn more when they play it alone or in groups. Once the game has been validated and reached a sufficient degree of sophistication, we want to make it widely accessible for medical ethics training, including interprofessional ethics training and further education.

References Banaji, M. R., & Greenwald, A. G. (2013). Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People. New York, NY: Delacorte. Bandura, A. (1999). Moral Disengagement in the Perpetration of Inhumanities. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 3 (3) (pp. 193–209). Batson, D., Polycarpou, M., Harmon-Jones, E., Imhoff, H., Mitchener, E., Bednar, L., Klein, T., & Highberger, L. (1997). Empathy and Attitudes: Can Feeling for a Member of a Stigmatized Group Improve Feelings Toward the Group? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72, (pp. 495–509). 4 For

instance, we have optimized a previously published test of value sensitivity in medicine (Ineichen et al. 2017) and used this instrument for pre- and post-tests with players and control groups. 5 The anonymization of the player data is crucial: It ensures the safe space that allows for the students to learn by trial and error and to play with the ethical scenarios, which can even include the imagination of antisocial behaviors. Disclosing personal player data to lecturers and group members could lead to the attribution of blame or the stigmatization of learners. If students choose to share and discuss their own game experiences and decisions, they should be able to do this at their own will.

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Bazerman, M., & Tenbrunsel, A. (2011). Blind spots: Why We Fail to Do What’s Right and What to Do About It. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Christen, M., Faller, F., Götz, U., & Müller, C. (2013). Serious Moral Games. Analyzing and Engaging Moral Values Through Video Games. Zurich: Zurich University of Arts. https://www.encyclog.com/_upl/files/SeriousMoralGames_English_Final.pdf. Retrieved: [23.03.2020]. Christen, M., & Katsarov, J. (2018). Serious Moral Games—Videospiele als Werkzeuge der Ethikbildung. In T. Junge & C. Schumacher (Eds.), Digitale Spiele im Diskurs. www.medien-im-diskurs.de. Retrieved: [23.03.2020]. Consalvo, M., Busch, T., & Jong, C. (2019). Playing a Better Me: How Players Rehearse Their Ethos via Moral Choices. Games and Culture, 14 (3), (pp. 216–235). doi: https:// doi.org/10.1177/1555412016677449. Formosa, P., Ryan, M., & Staines, D. (2016). Papers, Please and the systemic approach to engaging ethical expertise in video games. Ethics and Information Technology, 18, (pp. 211–225). doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s10676-016-9407-z. Gentile, M. (2010). Giving Voice to Values. How to Speak Your Mind When You Know What’s Right. New Haven, CT/London: Yale University Press. Gibbs, J. (2014). Moral Development and Reality. Beyond the Theories of Kohlberg, Hoffman, and Haidt (3rd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Gioia, D. (1992). Pinto Fires and Personal Ethics: A Script Analysis of Missed Opportunities. Journal of Business Ethics, 11 (5), (pp. 379–389). Hand, M. (2018). A Theory of Moral Education. Oxon: Routledge. Hannah, S., & Avolio, B. (2010). Moral Potency: Building the Capacity for Characterbased Leadership. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 62 (4), (pp. 291–310). Hodent, C. (2018). The Gamer’s Brain. How Neuroscience and UX Can Impact Video Game Design. Boca Raton et al.: CRC Press. Hoffman, M. (2000). Empathy and Moral Development: Implications for Caring and Justice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Ineichen, C., Christen, M., & Tanner, C. (2017). Measuring Value Sensitivity in Medicine. BMC Medical Ethics, 18 (5). Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation. (2011). The Program Evaluation Standards (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage. Katsarov, J., & Christen, M. (2018). Promoting the Moral Sensitivity of Police and Military Personnel. NECESSE, 3 (1), (pp. 114–120). Katsarov, J., Christen, M., Mauerhofer, R., Schmocker, D., & Tanner, C. (2019). Training Moral Sensitivity Through Video Games: A Review of Suitable Game Mechanisms. Games and Culture, 14 (4), (pp. 344–466). doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/155541201771 9344. Lee, D. (2006). Academic Freedom, Critical Thinking and Teaching Ethics. Arts & Humanities in Higher Education, 5 (2), (pp. 199–208). Mayer, R. E. (2014). Computer Games for Learning. An Evidence-Based Approach. Cambridge: MIT Press. Mitchell, J., Macrae, C., & Banaji, M. (2006). Dissociable Medial Prefrontal Contributions to Judgments of Similar and Dissimilar Others. Neuron, 50 (4), (pp. 655–663). doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2006.03.040.

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Narvaez, D. (2006). Integrative Ethical Education. In M. Killen & J. Smetana (Eds.), Handbook of Moral Development (pp. 703-733). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. Raemer, D. B., Kolbe, M., Minehart, R. D., Rudolph, J. W., & Pian-Smith, M. C. (2016). Improving Anesthesiologists’ Ability to Speak Up in the Operating Room: A Randomized Controlled Experiment of a Simulation-Based Intervention and a Qualitative Analysis of Hurdles and Enablers. Academic Medicine, 91 (4), (pp. 530–539). doi: https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0000000000001033. Rest, J. (1982). A Psychologist Looks at the Teaching of Ethics. The Hastings Center Report 12 (1), (pp. 29–36). Seiler, S., Fischer, A., & Voegtli, S. (2011). Developing Moral Decision-Making Competence: A Quasi-Experimental Intervention Study in the Swiss Armed Forces. Ethics and Behavior, 21, (pp. 452–470). Simola, S. K. (2010). Use of a “Coping-Modeling, Problem-Solving” Program in Business Ethics Education. Journal of Business Ethics, 96, (pp. 383–401). Tanner, C., & Christen, M. (2014). Moral Intelligence—A Framework for Understanding Moral Competences. In M. Christen, C. van Schaik, J. Fischer, M. Huppenbauer & C. Tanner (Eds.), Empirically Informed Ethics. Morality Between Facts and Norms (pp. 119–136). Cham: Springer. Tversky, A., & Kahnemann, D. (1974). Judgment Under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases. Science, 185 (4157), (pp. 1124–1131). Watts, L., Medeiros, K., Mulhearn, T., Steele, L., Connelly, S., & Mumford, M. (2017). Are Ethics Training Programs Improving? A Meta-Analytic Review of Past and Present Ethics Instruction in the Sciences. Ethics & Behavior, 27, (pp. 351–384). World Medical Association. (1999). Resolution on the Inclusion of Medical Ethics and Human Rights in the Curriculum of Medical Schools World-Wide. Tel Aviv: World Medical Assembly. Wouters, P., van Nimwegen, C., van Oostendorp, H., & van der Spek, E. (2013). A Meta-Analysis of the Cognitive and Motivational Effects of Serious Games. Journal of Educational Psychology, 105, (pp. 249–265).

Design Perspectives

Using Digital Games for Sexual Education: Design Rules, Issues, and Applications Nina Kiel

Abstract

The following article explores the potential of digital games to close gaps in sex education and to complement traditional approaches in this field. Seven key characteristics of the medium that enable and support learning processes are identified, as are the challenges connected to sexual health interventions in general and game-based interventions in particular. Additionally, the results of a comprehensive analysis of 34 sex education games conducted in 2018 are presented in detail to outline the status quo of digital games as tools to promote sexual health. Keywords

Sexuality education • Sexual health • Safer sex • Sexual health games • Game-based learning • Edutainment • Serious games • Sex games • Digital media In 2009, the UNESCO declared that “the transition to adulthood requires becoming informed and equipped with the appropriate knowledge and skills to make responsible choices in [young peoples’] social and sexual lives” (UNESCO 2009). Still, many adolescents today lack access to comprehensive and scientifically accurate information on sexuality1 and interpersonal relationships. In light of this, 1 Sexuality, as defined by the World Health Organisation, is “a central aspect of being human throughout life and encompasses sex, gender identities and roles, sexual orientation,

N. Kiel (B) Ilustrationen, Game Design, Spielejournalismus, Düsseldorf, Germany E-Mail: [email protected] © Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, part of Springer Nature 2020 M. Groen et al. (eds.), Games and Ethics, Digitale Kultur und Kommunikation 7, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-28175-5_14

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a growing number of sex education experts and health care professionals make the case for employing digital media and online services to impart sex-related information to both children and adolescents (Collins et al. 2011, p. 55). The reasons for this increasingly common stance are manifold: Firstly and most importantly, digital media that is freely available online can close educational gaps prevalent in different countries and regions around the world due to, for instance, lack of appropriate infrastructure, provision of mere abstinence-only programs, untrained teachers, and religious or political opposition (Strasburger and Brown 2014, pp. 1 f.). Where school- or community-based sex education is already available, educational media content may serve as an addition to consolidate pre-existing knowledge, provide more detailed information and a relatively safe space for young people to explore this intimate topic. Web-enabled devices such as personal computers, tablets and smartphones are now featured in a majority of households in the industrialized world—and increasingly common in developing countries and emerging economies (Poushter 2016)—and allow for quick and easy access to different kinds of information, including sex-related facts (Bersamin et al. 2008, p. 13). While digital games have only played a minor role in sex education so far—which “should assist young people in developing a positive view of sexuality, provide them with information they need to take care of their sexual health, and help them acquire skills to make [informed] decisions now and in the future” (SIECUS 2018, p. 19)—sexual health experts and game developers have recently started to explore the medium more extensively again. In the following, this article will examine the challenges, benefits and drawbacks of designing and using digital games as tools for sexual education, identify the medium’s seven key characteristics that enable and support learning processes, and summarize a comprehensive analysis of 34 digital sex education games conducted in 2018 (Kiel 2018).

eroticism, pleasure, intimacy and reproduction. Sexuality is experienced and expressed in thoughts, fantasies, desires, beliefs, attitudes, values, behaviours, practices, roles and relationships. [...] Sexuality is influenced by the interaction of biological, psychological, social, economic, political, cultural, ethical, legal, historical, religious and spiritual factors“ (WHO 2006, p. 5).

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Games for (Sexual) Health—Challenges, Advantages and Disadvantages

Digital games are popular among people across many demographic boundaries (Griffiths 2002, p. 47): According to study findings, three in four young people aged 14 to 17 in the US play digital games daily (Pew Research Center 2008). As several studies have suggested so far, African American and Hispanic adolescents seem to spend slightly more time playing digital games than White youth in the US, and low- and middle-income communities spend more time playing than those from high-income areas (The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation 2002). In 2017, an estimated 32.4 million people of all ages played digital games in the UK—nearly half of the population—with an almost even split between men (52%) and women (48%) (Ukie 2018).2 Similar findings can be reported from Germany, where the total of 34.1 million players was composed of 53% males and 47% females in 2016 (game n.d.). While the average age of gamers continues to rise, children and adolescents in total still represent the largest demographic among the gaming population in Germany (game n.d.). It should be noted that the market for games is expected to continue growing around the globe, potentially leading to an increasingly large player base in both developed and developing countries (Newzoo n.d.). Despite the popularity of digital games among children, adolescents, and adults, educational or “serious” games—which can best be described as digital games for a primary purpose beyond pure entertainment (Fiellin et al. 2017, p. 2) —have yet to play a noteworthy part in sex education, and research on this topic is scarce (Collins et al. 2011, p. 54). Considering the demographic data available and the successful implementation of digital games in various other health care contexts (Fiellin et al. 2017, p. 2), this is surprising, especially since games have been suggested as a tool to promote sexual health for at least two decades now. As Sheana Bull, professor at the Colorado School for Public Health, states, “The medium simply makes sense for youth and young adults who have spent their lives engaged in online and app-based gaming. Delivery of sexual health education in a game format is a logical way to create content that resonates for [sic] this group at highest risk for negative sexual health outcomes such as sexually transmitted infections” (Shegog et al. 2015, p. 1). Perhaps more importantly, games can be a “useful educational tool that adolescents are willing to engage with and learn from” (Morrison 2017), due to several characteristics that may support 2 It

should be noted that a majority of the numbers in this chapter come from market research, as these are generally the most up-to-date numbers available.

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knowledge retention as well as, to some extent, behavior change. In the following, seven characteristics considered in current research to be particularly important for game-supported learning processes are identified and described in detail. 1) Simulation Digital games have the capacity to simulate complex systems and interactions, allowing the players to test different inputs and experience the outcomes in a virtual environment. Therefore, digital games can provide a relatively safe space for experimentation, which is particularly important in the context of sex education. Players are enabled to make mistakes without having to fear real-world consequences (Bonus 2012, p. 8), e.g. having unprotected sex with someone (a non-player character) and becoming pregnant or contracting an STI, thus undergoing a learning process regarding risky and healthy sexual behavior (Vogel 2014, p. 11). Likewise, one may experiment with their gender or sexual identity inside the virtual space, enjoying the privacy a single-player game provides and not having to fear social stigmas (provided that the experience is not observed or interrupted by peers). By allowing young people to experience situations rather than just observing them or hearing about them, the distance between the players and the subject matter decreases, which may lead to more engagement and prolonged attention. 2) Role-Playing Closely tied to the ability of simulating interactions, digital games also provide the opportunity to assume different roles and explore settings from various perspectives. As mentioned above, players may, for example, experiment with different genders and sexual identities, leading to a better understanding of other peoples’ experiences and motivations, and improved results in the learning process. Compared to analogue games, digital games offer a larger number of opportunities to “embody” other people and to see the world from their perspective, with an added feeling of interactivity and privacy. If young people experience difficulties integrating newly acquired sexual health knowledge into their lives—as is often the case in traditional interventions (Barak and Fisher 2001, p. 325)—assuming different roles, encountering situations which require certain knowledge, and experimenting with different solutions can have a beneficial effect on the learning process (Vogel 2014, p. 11). Some studies suggest that the ability to customize a player character (“avatar”) leads to a greater emotional connection with the character and in-game experiences (Bonus 2012, p. 11). Thus, digital games promoting sexual health that include role-playing should ideally offer a range of options for the respective target audience, including body shapes, hair styles, and clothes.

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3) Exploration and Interactivity Digital games facilitate the exploration of virtual worlds, which may or may not be similar to that of the players. Players can interact with computer- or other player-controlled characters, the virtual environment, and objects, which in turn may be used to influence the in-game world in a meaningful way, evoking a feeling of agency (Murray 1997, p. 126). By honing skills through gameplay, knowledge is applied rather than memorized, which may result in improved learning outcomes, especially in games offering a variety of strategies to solve a problem (Griffiths 2002, pp. 4 f.), thus exercising different types of cognitive skills (Hense and Mandl 2012, p. 21). Providing a high level of interactivity and strengthening the players’ feeling of agency and self-efficacy can increase engagement and thus the likelihood of them paying attention for longer periods of time, as well as of players reading and subsequently remembering content (Shegog et al. 2015, p. 2). 4) Automated Feedback and Repetition While feedback and repetition generally play an important role in education, the automatization in digital games can support certain learning processes in several ways (Hense and Mandl 2012, p. 21). First and most importantly, digital games provide opportunities to repeat previously learned content anywhere and anytime: in class, at home, or on the road. Repeating content and overcoming challenges leads to practice, which, in turn, plays a major role in sustainable learning effects (Shegog et al. 2015, pp. 1 f.). Constant feedback may also increase motivation to find the right solutions for the problems at hand (Bonus 2012, p. 8). 5) Fun and Engagement While often used interchangeably, fun and engagement are in fact two different, but intertwined concepts. Fun can be defined as a pleasurable and active mental state that may lead to engagement, but due to the wide variety of variables influencing this possible outcome it is very difficult to predict. As C. Scott Rigby explains, “fun by its nature is not simply the inevitable output of applying certain techniques” (Rigby 2014, p. 116). Due to these difficulties and the thin empirical evidence regarding the source and nature of fun, it may be advisable to use the term “engagement” instead when discussing digital games. Engagement refers to the state of being fully focused and invested in a stimulus—actively or passively— and can be understood as the directional or behavioral expression of motivation. Games are commonly associated with motivation and engagement, since they can

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fulfill at least two basic psychological needs, highlighted in the context of SelfDetermination Theory and Cognitive Evaluation Theory (Ryan and Deci 2000, p. 58) as powerful and universal sources of motivational energy: a feeling of competence and mastery, if a game provides challenges the players can overcome without being bored or frustrated, and a feeling of autonomy. Some games also cover the psychological need for relatedness—feeling supported by others—for example through online multiplayer modes or online communities (Rigby 2014, p. 120). 6) Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation As both researchers and teachers know, motivation strongly impacts learning processes and outcomes. Entertainment games are commonly perceived as intrinsically motivating, which means that playing digital games constitutes an activity that people engage in “for its inherent satisfactions rather than for some separable consequence” (Ryan and Deci 2000, p. 56). More specifically, “digital games are able to generate an enormous amount of motivation which leads to intensive, sustained and emotional engagement with the game contents and mechanisms” (Hense and Mandl 2012, p. 20). A well-designed educational game may be perceived as an inherently pleasurable experience, leading to stronger engagement with its contents and thus the knowledge it is designed to impart. 7) Immersion and Flow In the context of digital games, immersion refers to the feeling of being deeply engaged in a virtual environment, which Janet H. Murray defines as “the sensation of being surrounded by a completely other reality […] that takes over all of our attention, our whole perceptual apparatus” (Murray 1997, pp. 98 f.). Immersion thusly means completely inserting oneself into another reality and focusing on the experience. Flow is a concept strongly connected to immersion and can be described as the “blurring of subjective distinction between player and activity” (Rigby 2014, p. 116), which may lead to a lost sense of time. Experiencing flow means perceiving the challenges at hand and one’s own skills as balanced, being highly concentrated and achieving clearly defined goals. As the experience of flow is usually inherently rewarding and pleasurable, the activity enabling it will likely be engaged in voluntarily and repeatedly. Accordingly, flow can be considered as a type of intrinsic motivation and as highly relevant for supporting learning processes (Csikszentmihalyi 2002). To conclude, digital games may be particularly useful educational tools due to the seven aforementioned characteristics, which research in the field of games and education has identified as relevant. However, it should be noted that some of

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these characteristics and their presumed effects on learning processes and especially behavior change require further study. Future research needs to focus, and expand on, the evaluation of game-based interventions, in order to both learn more about gaming experiences and to employ them for educational purposes. Furthermore, while in theory these characteristics can be found in games regardless of genre, content and target group, complex design processes and evaluations are required to create engaging interactive experiences which fully exploit the medium’s potential. In other words: Simply developing a game is not enough. Each project should be carefully planned taking the specific requirements of the subject, target group, and educational context into consideration in order to achieve a coherent result.

2

The Status Quo of Sex Education Games

In theory, digital games can provide engaging and entertaining learning experiences as well as private explorative spaces (Nah et al. 2012, p. 4) for people of all ages, thus helping them to overcome feelings of shame and embarrassment usually connected to sex education (Simon and Daneback 2013, p. 306). So far, however, very few sex education games have fully explored the unique characteristics of the medium nor the opportunities it offers. In 2018, a comprehensive research and literature review identified 34 sex education games that had been released over the course of 35 years (Kiel 2018). A systematic online search was conducted to access relevant literature such as studies, papers, and online articles, using keywords including (but not limited to) “digital games”, “serious games”, “sexual health games”, “Aufklärungsspiele”, “sexuelle Aufklärung”, “sex education”, and “safer sex”. The literature was carefully studied in order to find examples of digital games focusing on or related to the topic of sexual health. This literature review process was then extended to encompass books and magazines on game development and/or sexual health, whose titles had also been obtained by means of a keyword-based search. Additionally, gaming websites, online presences of governmental as well as non-governmental organizations, health care providers, health centers, and websites targeted at young people were browsed for relevant content entering the aforementioned keywords into the search function of each website. Any literature—both online and in print—written in languages other than English, German, or French could not be studied in detail due to language barriers. However, if such a text was highlighted in the search results on the basis of matching keywords, it was browsed for names of thematically relevant game projects. Finally, the author contacted researchers, game developers and game journalists

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through her online network, requesting information regarding potentially relevant digital game projects. The 34 games discovered through this review process (see Tab. 1) were then played and analyzed with regard to accessibility (distribution channels, platform, retail price, available languages), the quality of visuals, narrative and gameplay, the range and accuracy of the sexual health facts provided, and the seven key characteristics described above. If a game could not be played (due to, in most cases, the game not being available anymore or compatibility issues with modern technology), a summary of all available information from the previously reviewed literature was provided instead. Out of these 34 digital games (see table 1 for a complete list), very few offer room for experimentation and exploration. Consequences of players’ actions are mostly limited to simple text- or audio-based feedback (e.g. Adventures in Sex City 2010), while the actual impact on the game world is not revealed, which may lead to players perceiving their own actions as less meaningful. Role-playing is also rarely supported or very limited: None of the 34 games provide customizable player characters, and only one (Swazi Yolo 2016) offers a small selection of character portraits with little variation. Correspondingly, few sex education games include well-written stories. Instead, most of the products heavily focus on gameplay and only provide context through fragmented narrative, if at all. Most importantly, however, gameplay is too often disconnected from the intended learning outcome. For instance, games which focus specifically on condoms—e.g. the Catch the Sperm series (2001–2003), Kondomis Mission (1998) and Eggplant Invaders 2 (2017)—in many cases require fast reflexes and thus may improve hand-eye-coordination, while practical information on condom use is not provided. Additionally, troubling messages about sexuality are at the core of many of these games, as they tend to focus heavily or solely on the risks of sex and occasionally include false or misleading3 information as well as messages which may reinforce social stigmas.4 3 In

„Kondomis Mission“ (1998), a browser game which tasks the players with protecting an egg cell from sperm with a condom, emergency contraception pills are presented as special collectable items which can be used whenever the player fails to catch a sperm in time in order to avoid losing the game. This may lead to the false impression that these pills can just as reliably prevent unintended pregnancies in reality. In fact, however, emergency contraception can only prevent or delay ovulation, will not work if the body has already started ovulating, and may cause side effects. 4 The trivia game „Adventures in Sex City“ casts a man who has contracted an STI as the villain, presenting him as a monstrous creature with two giant penises instead of arms whose only goal is to infect as many people with STIs by shooting them with his “evil sperm“. This framing increases the stigma surrounding STIs and may lead to feelings

1995

1997

Tim und Nina

Life Challenge

Let ‘s talk about 1997 … Liebe, Lust und Aids

1995

Bitte nicht stören!

Dialogue-based game

Adventure

(Point-and-click) Adventure

(Point-and-click) Adventure

Dialogue-based game

1993

The Brothers Dating Game

Simulation Trivia game

1982

Night Life

Type/Genre

Dr. Ruth’s 1986 Computer Game of Good Sex

Year

Title

Unknown

Unknown

PC (Windows)

PC (Windows)

Unknown

Apple II, Commodore 64, DOS

PC-8001, FM-7

Platform

14 years and up

Not specified

10 years and up

6 years and up

Adult players

Adult players

Not specified

Age rating/recommended age

Tab. 1 The 34 games identified through a literature review conducted in 2018

German

English

English

Japanese

Language(s)

Bundeszentrale für gesund- heitliche Aufklärung (BZgA)

New York State Department of Health

(continued)

German

English

Bidule 4 AG, German Promotion Software, Aids Info Docu Schweiz, BMG Interactive

Ravensburger Interactive

BAVC/Brothers Network

The Avalon Hill Game Company, Victory Games Inc

Koei

Developer / publisher

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Year

1998

1998

1998

ca. 2000

ca. 2000

Title

SexKomplex

Amora-Liebesspiel

Kondomis Mission

Safety First! with Officer Janet Benchpress

That Would Suck

Tab. 1 (continued)

Unknown

Unknown

Action

Platformer/Jump ‘n’ Run

(Point-and-click) Adventure

Type/Genre

Online

Online

Online (Flash)

Online (Flash)

PC (Windows/Mac)

Platform

Unknown

Unknown

Not specified

Not specified

14 years and up

Age rating/recommended age

Planned Parenthood Federation of America

Planned Parenthood Federation of America

Visart, Bundeszentrale für gesund- heitliche Aufklärung (BZgA)

Visart, Bundeszentrale für gesund- heitliche Aufklärung (BZgA)

Bidule 4 AG, Aids Info Docu Schweiz, BMG Ariola Schweiz

Developer / publisher

(continued)

English

English

German

German

German

Language(s)

224 N. Kiel

Unknown

Unknown

Jim Dandy and His ca. 2000 Very Gay Day

ca. 2000

ca. 2000

ca. 2000

How Many of You Out There Are Abstinent

Hooray for Birth Control!

The Sexually Transmitted Infection Petting Zoo

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

ca. 2000

Our Super Duper Planet: Nature is Groovy

Type/Genre

Year

Title

Tab. 1 (continued)

Online

Online

Online

Online

Online

Platform

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

Age rating/recommended age

Planned Parenthood Federation of America

Planned Parenthood Federation of America

Planned Parenthood Federation of America

Planned Parenthood Federation of America

Planned Parenthood Federation of America

Developer / publisher

(continued)

English

English

English

English

English

Language(s)

Using Digital Games for Sexual Education … 225

Year

2001–2003

2001

2002

2003

ca. 2004

ca. 2010

2010

Title

Catch the Sperm (series)

Super Shag Land

Journey to Planet Prostate

Talk Sex Fetish Flip N’ Match

Cool Condoms Game

Condom Game

Adventures In Sex City

Tab. 1 (continued)

Trivia game

Card game

n/s

Card game

Platformer/Jump ‘n’ Run

Platformer/Jump ‘n’ Run

Action/Shooter

Type/Genre

Online (Flash)

Online (Flash)

Online (Flash)

Online (Flash)

Online (Flash)

Online (Flash)

Online/PC (Windows)

Platform

Mature youth audience

Not specified

Not specified

Not specified

Not specified

Not specified

0 years and up

Age rating/recommended age

Language(s)

Middlesex-London Health Unit, Mind Your Mind

Sex, etc., Answer

Unknown

Robert J. Calvano, AgencyNet, Oxygen

Prostate Cancer Charity

K-Generation Foundation

(continued)

English

English

English

English

English

English

Phenomedia, Swiss English, Federal Ministry of German, Health, Black Japanese Pencil Entertainment AG, Koch Media

Developer / publisher

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Year

2010

2010

2012

2012

2013

Title

Privates

Cock Out

PR:EPARe

PlayForward: Elm City Stories

Happy Play Time

Tab. 1 (continued)

n/s

Adventure

Trivia game

Fighting game

Action/Shooter

Type/Genre

Online

Mobile (iOS)

PC (Windows, Mac)

Online (Flash)

PC (Windows)

Platform

Not specified

English

Language(s)

Serious Games Institute/Applied Research Centre for Health and Lifestyle Interventions, Coventry University

Tina Gong

(continued)

English

English

English

Vergiss AIDS nicht English e.V

Zombie Cow Studios / Channel 4

Developer / publisher

Young teens (middle Schell Games, school, play2-PREVENT grades 5–8) Lab (Yale Center for Health & Learning Games)

Secondary school pupils (ages 13–14)

Teenagers/adults

14 years and up

Age rating/recommended age

Using Digital Games for Sexual Education … 227

Year

ca. 2014

2014

2016

2017

2017

Title

Safer Sex Shuffle

I’m Positive

Swazi Yolo

Eggplant Invaders 2

Consentulip

Tab. 1 (continued)

Web, Mobile (iOS, Android)

Platform

n/s

Action/Shooter

Visual Novel/Interactive fiction

Online (HTML 5)

Mobile (iOS)

Mobile (Android)

Interactive fiction PC (Windows)

Puzzle game

Type/Genre

Not specified

Not specified

All ages (Google Play), 18 years and up (according to the game’s terms and conditions)

Not specified

Not specified

Age rating/recommended age

Language(s)

Flower Power

After School

Formula D Interactive

Stephen Borden, Ilya Polyakov, Ali Yildirim, Stephanie Chergi

English

English

English

English

Kaho Abe, Ramsey English Nasser, Sarah Schoemann

Developer / publisher

228 N. Kiel

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Finally, almost all of these games fail to address LGBTQI youth as their target audience, or even in passing. This is particularly troubling since school-based sex education rarely takes the unique needs and challenges of this demographic into consideration (Pound et al. 2016, p. 4), thus making them more susceptible to sexually transmitted infections as well as dating violence (GLSEN 2015). Out of 34 games, only one game specifically focuses on homosexual as well as transgender players (The Brothers Dating Game 1993), and this game is not publicly available anymore (Kiel 2018, p. 132). This particular example illustrates how the content of sex education games—and, likewise, the thematic focus of traditional interventions—is linked to normative ideas of sexuality, which still, despite substantial changes of sexual ethics in the past decades, presuppose heterosexuality and monogamy as the standard. While the analysis of the game selected may reveal a clear change in sexual morals over time, deviations from the norm are—if addressed at all—still at times identified as such.5 Pornography, for instance—a long-established central aspect of young people’s sex lives—is not a subject of discussion in any of the games studied. Discussing this issue, Lamb and Plocha (2011) speak of a “hidden curriculum” which is built on specific social norms and in turn continues to reinforce them, thus leading to adolescents feeling left out and not receiving the education they need in order to make responsible choices to maintain or improve their sexual health. They emphasize that “[t]here are several reasons why it is important to acknowledge adolescents in their particularity for health-oriented, ethics-oriented, or relationship-oriented sex education. In particular, if sex education is to be ethics-based, then specific attention needs to be paid to those adolescents who are most vulnerable to being hurt by sex or whose rights are most likely to be violated” (2011, p. 1).

3

Discussion

To summarize, many of the sex education games released so far are deeply flawed and demonstrate a lack of understanding of the subject matter, game design principles, or both. Unrefined gameplay, outdated graphics or incoherent visual

of shame and strong discomfort among players who have ever been (or are currently) infected. 5 While “Dr. Ruth’s Game of Good Sex“ (VictoryGames Inc. 1986) exclusively portrays sex between married, heterosexual couples as normal and desirable, the adventure game “Tim and Nina“ (BMG Interactive 1995), released merely 9 years later, openly discusses topics such as (casual) sex between teenagers and homosexuality.

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design, fragmented or missing narrative and game-breaking bugs suggest that collaborations with experienced game developers and writers have been the exception rather than the rule up to this point. Additionally, members of both ethnic and sexual minorities, despite being particularly susceptible to sexual health problems and dating violence, are rarely addressed as a target audience. However, new projects currently in development or undergoing evaluation may avoid some of the mistakes made by previously released games. In recent years, more sex education games than before have been created in cooperation with both sexual health and game development experts. This kind of collaboration has resulted (see e.g. PlayForward: Elm City Stories 2012) and will likely continue to result in more refined products, the impact of which is now more frequently evaluated, which in turn enables the creators to improve their games and others to access valuable information, allowing for the creation of better games in the future. Improving and expanding the use of digital games for promoting healthy sexual behavior is only reasonable, given their manifold advantages. As mentioned earlier, games provide a relatively safe and private space to explore this intimate and highly embarrassing topic outside of the classroom and without interference by peers who might use this opportunity to shame and stigmatize others (Pound et al. 2016, p. 6). Students can learn at their own pace (Office of Educational Technology 2017), repeating lessons if necessary, and set their own goals, accessing the game content wherever and whenever they see fit (Griffiths 2002, pp. 50 f.). The availability of educational content is particularly important for long-term impacts: While traditional, school-based sex education is only provided for a limited time—usually a couple of weeks or months in high school—onlineand game-based interventions can be accessed throughout a person’s adolescence and even much later, providing constant support for those who wish to improve their sexual health (Strasburger and Brown 2014, p. 1). On top of that, game-based educational content may be useful for adults who never received comprehensive sex education during their adolescence, enabling them to belatedly access important information (Barak and Fisher 2002, p. 269). Digital games can also enable young people to discuss the topic with their parents. Considering that many parents closely pay attention to the games their children play (ESA 2017) while potentially feeling inhibited to talk about sexual health, a game-based intervention may be a promising starting point and even allow parents and their children to play together, depending on the content. Finally, digital games may provide researchers with useful tools to study the impact of their interventions: Collecting data through (online) games and devices like smartphones or PCs is a relatively easy and cost-efficient way of gaining insights into the efficacy of a product while it is still in development, as specific variables can be measured and compared,

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providing valuable information for future research (Griffiths 2002, pp. 50 f.). Of course, appropriately ensuring consent and including the parents when targeting minors are imperative when it comes to user data. Professionals creating game-based interventions also have to take into account several risks and challenges. Above all else, teachers may be tempted to use digital games as substitutes for traditional interventions, allowing them to avoid potentially embarrassing situations in the classroom. Sexual health games, however, should not replace, but complement other educational approaches, if possible. While games or online services like “ICYC” (“ICYC: In Case You’re Curious,” n.d.) can provide answers to pressing questions regarding sexual health, they cannot replace direct communication with professionals, unless absolutely necessary. Despite the immense popularity of digital games among young people, they do not appeal to and cannot be used by everyone (Shegog et al. 2015, p. 2). Games should thus ideally be made with non-players in mind, providing options for enhanced accessibility (e.g. different difficulty settings where applicable) and avoiding implementation of unnecessarily complicated game mechanics. This is particularly important if games are to be distributed in schools, and students are required to play instead of approaching the product voluntarily. As research suggests, “dislike of the game itself is one of the most important factors that may diminish the effectiveness of the educational game due to less commitment, less positive affect and less focused attention” (Vogel 2014, p. 7). However, attempting the near-impossible task of creating a game with universal appeal is not recommended, since this approach will likely lead to a visually and mechanically undefined, unremarkable product which may eventually engage even fewer players. Instead, while taking players with different skill levels into consideration, educational games should be tailored to members of a clearly defined target demographic (e.g. high-risk youth from a specific minority group). Factors like general interests, level of education, gender, ethnicity and religion, among others, all have to be taken into account when developing game-based interventions. Just as any other type of sexual health intervention, digital game projects may face opposition by parents, teachers (who could be reluctant to rely on technology and especially games in class, despite the possible advantages), politicians, religious leaders and other groups, especially when allowing their players to directly engage in sexual activity in a highly immersive virtual world. Publishers should try to limit exposure only to the targeted demographic, keeping younger people from accessing content which is not age-appropriate. Generally, it seems prudent to target mobile platforms and smartphones in particular due to their prevalence in both low- and higher-income households around

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the world. However, they also present another set of challenges. Smaller display size is commonly associated with lower levels of immersion and persuasion (Shegog et al. 2015, p. 2), and players’ attention may be divided as smartphones in particular are also tools for communication and allow access to other, potentially distracting media content. Even when playing on computers, users might pay less attention to the educational material if no teacher or group facilitator is present (Collins et al. 2011, p. 39). Obtaining access to public spaces like schools for user testing might prove difficult, making it more advisable to work with non-profit organizations and/or information centers to connect with potential players (Vogel 2014, p. 30). Additionally, many public sector entities—including schools—have strict policies regarding sexual content, making it more difficult to access online sexual health information and games during class (Barak and Fisher 2001, p. 331). Taking into account these regulatory obstacles, it may be advisable to explore other channels of distribution, particularly online. However, while online distribution offers the considerable advantage of allowing quick and easy access to a large group of people, regulating it can be very difficult. At the same time, reaching a large audience is complicated by the fact that popular web-based distribution platforms like the Apple App Store or Google Play Store specifically prohibit sexual content to varying degrees. Additionally, restricted access to online platforms in certain countries or communities may complicate the issue of distribution further. It is thus recommended to collaborate with well-known institutions (e.g. non-profit organizations like Planned Parenthood or national institutions like the German Federal Centre for Health Education) to ensure public awareness as well as easy access to the game-based intervention and gain the trust of both adolescents and parents. Ideally, such collaborations could also provide financial support, which is particularly important as developing a digital game for sexual health education can be a costly endeavor, requiring expertise from different fields—most notably sexology, pedagogy, and game development—as well as many target group tests, leading to several iterations and long development cycles with constant evaluations. As mentioned above, sexual health games should be tailored to specific audiences, thus potentially requiring extensive research on cultural and religious contexts, manners of expression, pop culture references, common interests, and more. Finally, sexual behavior includes a wide range of activities and actions, making the subject matter difficult to be translated into educational material and game mechanics in particular. The act of using condoms alone is made up of five separate behaviors—accessing them, carrying them, negotiating their use, actually using them, and disposal—which should ideally offer some degree of interactivity in a game. Experts have to decide which content to include and which to best leave out without risking the impact of the intervention—especially when

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it comes to sexually explicit imagery (Shegog et al. 2015, pp. 3 f.). It should be noted, however, that many of these issues are not exclusive to games, as sex education in general is a delicate matter bearing unique challenges not apparent in other areas of education. Still, it is important to keep the potential risks and challenges in mind when developing game-based interventions to promote safe sexual behavior.

4

Conclusion

Digital games have only played a minor role in sex education so far, and most products available on the market do not seem to have been evaluated in regard to their efficacy. Only recently, a trend towards more frequent development and evaluation of such game-based interventions has become apparent, as well as a noticeable increase in production value, which is likely linked to the availability of more affordable and user-friendly tools. So far, the results of studies evaluating the impact of sex education games on adolescents have been promising, as overall significant positive effects on preparedness, self-efficacy, sexual health attitudes and knowledge were observed (Fiellin et al. 2017, p. 7), but more research is needed to gather data on the short- and long-term impact of these interventions. Additionally, developers and researchers have yet to explore the medium’s full potential for providing engaging educational experiences, as most of the games published so far failed to do so. Considering the potential advantages of game-based interventions, however, continuing to explore them as tools for sex education is certainly a worthwhile endeavor.

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Newzoo. (2019). Top 100 Countries by Game Revenues. Newzoo. https://newzoo.com/ins ights/rankings/top-100-countries-by-game-revenues. Retrieved: [18.07.2019]. Newzoo. (n.d.). Global Games Market Report. https://newzoo.com/solutions/standard/mar ket-forecasts/global-games-market-report. Retrieved: [18.12. 2019]. Office of Educational Technology. (2017). Reimagining the Role of Technology in Education: 2017 National Education Technology Plan Update. Department of Education United States Of America. https://tech.ed.gov/files/2017/01/NETP17.pdf. Retrieved: [18.07.2019]. Pew Research Center. (2008). Teens, Video Games and Civics. https://www.pewinternet. org/2008/09/16/teens-video-games-and-civics. Retrieved: [18.07.2019]. Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains. (2019). ICYC: In Case You’re Curious. https://www.plannedparenthood.org/planned-parenthood-rocky-mountains/inf ormation-teens/icyc-case-youre-curious. Retrieved: [18.07.2019]. Pound, P., Langford, R., & Campbell, R. (2016). What Do Young People Think About Their School-Based Sex and Relationship Education? A Qualitative Synthesis of Young People’s Views and Experiences. BMJ Open (pp. 1–14). doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/ bmjopen-2016-011329. Poushter, J. (2016). Smartphone Ownership and Internet Usage Continues to Climb in Emerging Economies. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2016/ 02/22/smartphone-ownership-and-internet-usage-continues-to-climb-in-emerging-eco nomies/. Retrieved: [17.07.2019]. Rigby, C. S. (2014). Gamification and Motivation. In S. P. Walz & S. Deterding (Eds.), The Gameful World – Approaches, Issues, Applications (pp. 113–137). Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations: Classic Definitions and New Directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology, (25, pp. 54–67). doi: https://doi.org/10.1006/ceps.1999.1020. Shegog, R., Brown, K., Bull, S., Christensen, J. K., Hieftje, K., Jozkowski, K. N., & Ybarra, M. L. (2015). Serious Games for Sexual Health. Games for Health Journal: Research, Development, and Clinical Applications, (4, pp. 1–9). doi: https://doi.org/10. 1089/g4h.2014.0139. SIECUS. (2018). Guidelines for Comprehensive Sexuality Education. Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States. https://siecus.org/wp-content/uploads/ 2018/07/Guidelines-CSE.pdf. Retrieved: [19.12.2019]. Simon, L., & Daneback, K. (2013). Adolescents’ Use of the Internet for Sex Education: A Thematic and Critical Review of the Literature. International Journal of Sexual Health, (25, pp. 305–319). doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/19317611.2013.823899. Statista. (2017). Leading Video Gaming Markets in Africa in 2017, by Revenue. https:// www.statista.com/statistics/699112/video-games-revenue-africa-countries. Retrieved: [26.05.2018]. Strasburger, V. C., & Brown, S. S. (2014). Sex Education in the 21st Century. JAMA – The Journal of the American Medical Association (pp. 1–3). doi: https://doi.org/10.1001/ jama.2014.4789. The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. (2002). Key Facts: Children and Video Games. https://www.kff.org/other/ fact-sheet/children-and-video-games. Retrieved: [18.07.2019].

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Ukie. (2018). UK Video Games Fact Sheet. The Association for UK Interactive Entertainment. https://ukie.org.uk/sites/default/files/UK%20Games%20Industry% 20Fact%20Sheet%20February%202018.pdf. Retrieved: [18.04.2018]. UNESCO. (2009). International Technical Guidance on Sexuality Education. https://une sdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001832/183281e.pdf. Retrieved: [19.07.2019]. Vogel, J. L. (2014). Prototype of an Educational Video Game for Knowledge Retention in Youth Health Education. (Master Thesis, University of Central Florida). WHO. (2006). Defining sexual health: Report of a Technical Consultation on Sexual Health. World Health Organisation. https://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/publicati ons/sexual_health/defining_sexual_health.pdf. Retrieved: [19.12.2019].

Ludography Adventures in Sex City (Middlesex-London Health Unit, Mind Your Mind 2010, O: Middlesex-London Health Unit) Amora-Liebesspiel (Visart 1998, O: Bundeszentrale für gesundheitliche Aufklärung) Bitte nicht stören! (Ravensburger Interactive 1995, O: Ravensburger Interactive) Catch the Sperm (Phenomedia 2001, O: Black Pencil Entertainment AG, Koch Media) Cock Out (Vergiss AIDS nicht e.V. 2010, O: Vergiss AIDS nicht e.V.) Condom Game (Sex, etc./Answer Ca. 2010, O: Sex, etc./Answer) Consentulip (Flower Power 2017, O: Flower Power) Cool Condoms Game (N/A) Dr. Ruth’s Computer Game of Good Sex (The Avalon Hill Game Company 1986, O: Victory Games Inc.) Eggplant Invaders 2 (After School 2017, O: After School) Happy Play Time (Gong, T. 2013, O: Gong, T.) Hooray for Birth Control! (Planned Parenthood Federation of America n.d., O: Planned Parenthood Federation of America) How Many of You Out There Are Abstinent? (Planned Parenthood Federation of America n.d., O: Planned Parenthood Federation of America) I’m Positive (Borden, S., Polyakov, I., Yildirim, A., & Chergi, S. 2017, O: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, United States Department of Health and Human Services) Jim Dandy and His Very Gay Day (Planned Parenthood Federation of America n.d., O: Planned Parenthood Federation of America) Journey to Planet Prostate (Prostate Cancer Charity 2002, O: Prostate Cancer Charity) Kondomis Mission (Visart 1998, O: Bundeszentrale für gesundheitliche Aufklärung) Let‘s talk about... Liebe, Lust und Aids (Bundeszentrale für gesundheitliche Aufklärung 1997, O: Bundeszentrale für gesundheitliche Aufklärung) Life Challenge (New York State Department of Health 1997, O: New York State Department of Health) Night Life (Koei 2016, O: Koei) Our Super Duper Planet: Nature is Groovy (Planned Parenthood Federation of America n.d., O: Planned Parenthood Federation of America)

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PlayForward: Elm City Stories (Schell Games 2012, O: play2PREVENT Lab, Yale Center for Health & Learning Games) PR:EPARe (Serious Games Institute, Applied Research Centre for Health and Lifestyle Interventions, Coventry University 2012, O: Coventry University) Privates (Size Five Games 2010, O: Channel 4) Safer Sex Shuffle (Abe, K., Nasser, R., & Schoemann, S. 2014, O: Abe, K., Nasser, R., & Schoemann, S.) Safety First! with Officer Janet Benchpress (Planned Parenthood Federation of America n.d., O: Planned Parenthood Federation of America) SexKomplex (Bidule 4 AG 1998, O: Aids Info Docu Schweiz, BMG Ariola Schweiz AG) Super Shag Land (K-Generation Foundation 2001, O: K-Generation Foundation) Swazi Yolo (Formula D Interactive 2016, O: Formula D Interactive) Talk Sex Fetish Flip N’ Match (Calvano, R. J., Agency Net 2003, O: Oxygen) That Would Suck (Planned Parenthood Federation of America n.d., O: Planned Parenthood Federation of America) The Brothers Dating Game (BAVC, Brothers Network 1993, O: BAVC, Brothers Network) The Sexually Transmitted Infection Petting Zoo (Planned Parenthood Federation of America n.d., O: Planned Parenthood Federation of America) Tim und Nina (Bidule 4 AG, Promotion Software 1995, O: BMG Interactive)

Autonomy, Heteronomy, and Representations of Illness in Digital Games Arno Görgen and Stefan H. Simond

Abstract

Starting from essential concepts of medical ethics, this article focuses on how constructions of somatic and mental illnesses in digital games tie in with ideas of autonomy and heteronomy. Distinguishing between disease, illness, and sickness, we argue that digital games negotiate autonomy/heteronomy on the level of narrative, esthetics, and gameplay structure. Three games then serve as analytical examples: Outlast (Red Barrels 2013), Depression Quest (The Quinnspiracy 2013) and Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games 2018). Keywords

Bioethics • Computer game ethics • Game studies • Autonomy Heteronomy • Theory of disease • Pathography

1

•

Introduction

As the enlightened thinking called upon reason as a guiding principle, the modern autonomous subject inevitably became the definition of normalcy. The assumption of autonomy shapes to this day not only the individual’s existence, but also the A. Görgen (B) Hochschule Der Künste Bern, Bern, Switzerland E-Mail: [email protected] S. H. Simond Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany E-Mail: [email protected] © Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, part of Springer Nature 2020 M. Groen et al. (eds.), Games and Ethics, Digitale Kultur und Kommunikation 7, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-28175-5_15

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institutional structure of modern society. This precisely means that we regularly act upon the assumption that we are free to make our own choices and pursue our own goals. It further means that, institutionally speaking, we rely on people’s autonomy in order to punish or reward them. Yet, when it comes to illnesses, the limitations of autonomy permeate our experience. Whether one suffers from a chronic somatic illness and thus feels a progressive deterioration of one’s body, or whether one feels in a state of depression that the most reasonable choice simply is out of reach—illnesses can, by highlighting the impact of heteronomy, make us aware of the vulnerability of human beings. Starting from essential concepts of autonomy rooted in medical ethics, this article focuses on how constructions of somatic and mental illnesses in digital games tie in with ideas of individual and systemic autonomy, or heteronomy. By differentiating between the three dimensions disease, illness, and sickness, we argue that digital games negotiate autonomy/heteronomy on the level of narrative, esthetics and gameplay structure. In reference to the examples Outlast (Red Barrels 2013), Depression Quest (The Quinnspiracy 2013) and Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games 2018), we must emphasize that the method applied does not aim for representative results, but rather for an approach of qualitative interpretation to consider that beyond being enablers of power fantasies, digital games employ their media-specific attributes just as well when conveying a sense of heteronomy (the inability to act freely).

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Autonomy in Bioethical Principlism and Game Analysis

In their seminal work “Principles of Biomedical Ethics”, Beauchamp and Childress (2009) applied the principle of autonomy, together with the principles of nonmaleficence, beneficence and justice, for a better ethical practice in the medical field. Their aim was to propose a low-threshold alternative to traditional ethical approaches of normative reasoning like deontology, consequentialism (and utilitarianism) and virtue ethics—to only name the most influential theories (Beauchamp 2005, p. 49). According to Beauchamp and Childress, personal autonomy encompasses “at a minimum, self-rule that is free from both controlling interference by others and from certain limitations such as an inadequate understanding that prevents meaningful choice (Beauchamp and Childress 2009, p. 99). Basically, autonomous action for them implies action that is intentional, executed with understanding

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and without controlling or restraining influences (Beauchamp and Childress 2009, pp. 99–101). Autonomy is built upon two preconditions: first, the respect for autonomy, and second, the capacity or competence of a person to make autonomous choices. Respect for autonomy is an intersubjective condition that supports people in their capacity to act autonomously. It therefore is directed towards a person and helps them to achieve autonomy (Beauchamp and Childress 2009, p. 103). Competence, here, is defined as the ability to perform a task. The level of competence can vary over time or may be intermittent (Beauchamp and Childress 2009, p. 112). By defining its antonym, incompetence, Beauchamp and Childress simultaneously give a definition of heteronomy. For them, incompetence (and heteronomy) implies the inability to communicate a choice, to understand one’s situation, the information relevant to this situation, and its consequences, to give a rational, risk/benefit related reason and to reach a reasonable decision (Beauchamp and Childress 2009, p. 115). It should be clear at this point that heteronomy (and autonomy) are only the extremes in a spectrum of personal agency: it is impossible to be fully autonomous, as there will always be a range of biopsychosocial influences to restrain the subjective competence to act. (On the other hand, full heteronomy is possible in some situations, e.g., when a person is fully cut off from interaction with the environment.) In game studies, the idea of autonomy is often positioned synonymously to player agency. For example, in his analysis of BioShock (2K Boston 2007) and Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar North 2008), Miguel Sicart focuses on the interaction between system and player, therefore on the autonomy of the player in the context of the game (2012, pp. 117 ff.). A self-reflective player is obligatory to hermeneutically develop a subjective moral culture, or, more precisely, ludic phronesis by active involvement in a game (Sicart 2009, pp. 112 f.). An actual choice within the game structure is but one possible form of ethical game design. By drawing a distinction between open and closed ethical design it becomes apparent that the ethical affordances of a game can entail player choices—in the case of open ethical game design—or confront moral values of the player by presenting them with uncomfortable and heteronomous linear experiences in the case of closed ethical design (Sicart 2009, pp. 212 ff.). While the player subject might be considered restrained within the confining boundaries of the game’s rule system, said rule system—by virtue of its operational procedure—enables meaningful action, i.e., communication within the game.

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This structural autonomy of the game system (the ability to set its own rules against external stimuli) and the heteronomy of the individual within such a system force the player subject not only to go by the rules of the game, but also to adopt the agency the game system allows the player subject to exert. At the same time, as part of the system, the player paradoxically finds themself in a position of consensual heteronomy—the restricted capacities to act or interact with the environment are then an act of autonomy. After all, the concept of play entails that actions gain their meaning by taking place within certain constraints (Bogost 2010, p. 120). Comparing the approaches of autonomy in biomedical practice and in digital games, we can identify the following main differences: Autonomy (of the patient) in medical practice is a normative ideal and goal, which every participant of this system is obliged to respect and to work for. In digital games, autonomy constitutes a descriptive state whose realization is not obligatory. On the contrary: Experiences of heteronomy can add a special value for the player. While heteronomy in the interaction with a game system is an accepted or even valued possibility, in medicine it is an indesirable state. Mass media, according to Niklas Luhmann, form the memory of society (2000, p. 12). They convey what Luhmann calls scripts and schemes, which, in a very general meaning, describe the communication of procedures and complex related chains of actions and events (scripts) as well as complexity-reducing interpretive patterns of reality (schemes) (Luhmann 2000, pp. 108 ff.). With games being procedural and interactive media, the player as the focus and point of action, and with (personal) autonomy being a central pillar in our self-perception (in any systemic context), it comes as no surprise that especially scripts and schemes of physical and mental health have found their way into digital games. In both cases, autonomy and the competence and capacity to act on our own will can depend strongly on the physical and the mental competence and functionality of the individual themself as the point of action between subject and world (Neitzel 2013). The concepts of disease, illness, and sickness apply here as well.

3

Disease/Illness/Sickness

Since the 1960s/70 s, considerations of autonomy have entered the medical discourse, and the concept of illness has shifted accordingly. While a consensually agreed upon definition is lacking and by no means required for the analysis presented here, it is of interest to reflect upon three different dimensions of the term

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that reveal themselves not only upon theoretical contemplation, but also in daily utterances: (1) disease, (2) illness, and (3) sickness.1 (1) Disease commonly refers to ontologically defined malfunctions of the body and/or mind. It is beyond the scope of this article to consider how such functions may be determined, but the idea is essentially that a malfunction can be empirically observed employing means of diagnosis. An example for a somatic malfunction might be a reduced cellular response to insulin (diabetes mellitus type 2) or, in the case of mental illnesses, anhedonia2 (depression). Diseases are then categorized according to causes and symptoms, i.e., in a nosological classification.3 At the level of disease, a purely biomedical rationality is at work, basically observing the human body as a complex machine4 whose maintenance lies, according to contemporary ideas of neoliberalism, in the responsibility of the autonomous subject. There can thus be a discrepancy between having a disease and feeling ill (Franke 2012, p. 25; Warkus 2018). (2) Illness then refers to the subjective experience of people, specifically how they experience an affliction. The manifold questions arising from this distinction—leading from Cartesian dualism to pragmatic problems of detaining mentally ill people, i.e., the loss of autonomy—cannot be addressed in detail in this paper. Notwithstanding, regardless of whether consciousness is an epiphenomenon of neural operations in the brain, it exists all the same and cannot be ignored in medical considerations (Couser 2015, p. 103). The dimension of (3) sickness ties in social and institutional implications, for example in case of the sick note, which excuses 1 For

a brief overview of the presented distinction as well as potential consequences of defining mental illness, accordingly, see Heinz (2015). 2 Anhedonia refers to the incapability to experience joy. Particularly the spectrum of endogen psychoses poses a problem to the distinction between disease and illness as the intricate neurobiological patterns of experiencing joy complicate psychiatric inquiry. Commonly, psychiatric professionals would instead rely on patients’ accounts, which blurs the lines between disease and illness. This is, however, not necessarily a weakness of the distinction, as in actual application, all three dimensions are inextricably linked anyway. 3 Specific nosological classifications are named below. It is noteworthy that such classifications are subject to historical and cultural change, and that they are under the suspicion of representing economic interests of the health care industry, thus being part of medicalization (Franke 2012, p. 84). For one of the most extensive inquiries into classifications of mental illnesses, see Foucault (1961/2015, pp. 188 ff.) and, more recently, Sartorius (2011). 4 Christopher Boorse (1975) ponders such an understanding whilst simultaneously offering an understanding of disease and illness that distinguishes between biomedical facts (disease) and normative judgements (illness). Boorse’s distinction serves as a foundation for the presented concept.

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patients from otherwise binding obligations without facing direct sanctions. The sick note is thus an institutional acknowledgement of the person’s heteronomy regarding their fulfillment of a particular role. Looking at sickness further enables an understanding of stigmata and extended consequences of disease and/or illness (Franke 2012, p. 62). Tying in all three of the aforementioned dimensions, and eventually dissolving them, leads to a systemic perspective as manifested in the biopsychosocial model of illness (Egger 2015). It can be argued that the concept of disease as an empirically observable entity is predominant in western societies. It is an external gaze on disease in which, as a result of processes of medicalization (Görgen 2020), medical experts communicate definitions of diseases.5 Disease requires two possible modes of legitimization: One is the public approval of a disease as being existent, i.e., via its inclusion in official classifications like the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD) or, for psychiatric disorders, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Another mode of legitimization is making a disease observable (in best case: visible) through research, i.e., by providing neurological or genetic causes and pathological effects of a disease and by integrating these findings into a visual language (Martin and Fangerau 2019). Both modes could be interpreted as a frame building process in which a disease is given meaning through the creation of semiotic and semantic frames from a legitimate source, i.e., the medical field. The official recognition of a disease predetermines to an extent subjective and sociocultural behaviors and actions connected to the disease: Our knowledge of a disease influences how we deal with it. This simple, but also powerful rule—a disease having to be observable to be recognized—also applies to digital games. A deficit in empirical observability is then compensated by various modes of representation and implementation in game mechanics, gameplay, and the game world. These modes of ludonarrative concretization, the quantification of disease, the actional, spatial, and somatic externalization of disease,6 are connected to ideas of player agency as signifiers of subjective and sociocultural reflections on medicalization and on the status of

5 It

is important to mention that, while this medical hegemony in general enforces a certain amount of heteronomy in sick people, Beauchamp and Childress’ account on autonomy empowered subjective (illness) and sociocultural (sickness) perspectives. They are deeply conjunct with the medicalized perspective of the respective disease. 6 We describe these types of constructing mental illnesses in digital games in Görgen and Simond (2020).

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those affected in society. In the following, we will investigate the connection between the types of constructing disease, illness, and sickness on the one hand and the concepts of autonomy and heteronomy on the other.

4

Analysis: Outlast

Outlast, as a survival horror game, draws heavily on tropes of the horror asylum that developed in the horror genre in the 1940s but gained popularity in the last twenty years (Murphy 2016). Initially, Outlast introduces the protagonist Miles Upshur, who follows the call of an unknown whistleblower claiming that inhumane experiments are being performed at Mount Massive Asylum. Equipped solely with a camera, Miles ventures through seemingly endless corridors as he finds himself confronted with rogue inmates who, after violently disposing of guards and staff members, chase the defenseless journalist. Gradually, the mystery of Mount Massive Asylum is unraveled: The mad Nazi scientist7 Dr. Gustav Wernicke indeed conducts inhumane experiments on inmates under the codename Project Walrider. As Miles eventually attempts to stop an ongoing procedure, he himself falls victim to the experiments’ creation. The ending cuts away at the decisive moment leaving Miles’ fate up to the player’s imagination.8 In the interest of inspecting Outlast with regard to the distinction between autonomy and heteronomy, the protagonist may very well serve as the starting point of analysis. Following the convention of survival horror games, Miles is a vulnerable protagonist. In opposition to most video game power fantasies, Miles lacks physical strength. Neither is he able to brute-force his way through Mount Massive Asylum, nor does he make use of any weapons. Direct contact with an opponent for the most part leads to an instant fail state. His physical manifestation is further denied by the first person perspective from which the game is played. Except for his extremities and seldom glances upon his body, the player’s point of view resides within the avatar. The limitation of physical strength is then explicitly emphasized once Miles encounters rogue inmates of the asylum. One of the most iconic characters of Outlast is Chris Walker, who shall serve as an example here. At first glance (see Fig. 1), it becomes clear that his body is severely deformed; his teeth are revealed, scars cover his face, and his torn 7 For

an analysis of the mad scientist in digital games, see Pfister (2017). downloadable content Whistleblower expands upon the narrative but does not bring substantive changes to the construction of mental illness in Outlast and is thus excluded from this analysis.

8 The

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Fig. 1 Chris Walker in Outlast. Upon their first encounter, Chris Walker serves as a jump scare, suddenly lifting Miles up. [Screenshot by authors]

clothes display a bulky physique. Before his tragic back-story is revealed, he is also being referred to as “Big Fucking Guy”, thus depriving him of a personal name and instead identifying him by his physical attributes. He further lacks any capability of reason and instead displays severely aggressive behavior. In the way Chris Walker roams the asylum, seeks out his prey and then chases it relentlessly, his heteronomy becomes evident. Chris Walker is indeed, once inspected through the lens of Helmuth Plessner’s philosophical anthropology, centrally positioned.9 As he lacks the capability of distancing himself from his actions, he lacks human reasoning. In accordance with his behavior, Chris Walker appears as an animal

9 Helmuth

Plessner (1970, pp. 34 ff.) develops his idea of eccentric positionality based on the assumption that animals are centrally positioned as they are bound within their self . It is then a specific aspect of the human condition to be eccentrally positioned, as humans are generally able to distance themselves from their selves. Whilst enabling basic functions of reason, this eccentric position also requires humans to persistently restore a balance which can never be maintained.

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trapped in a disfigured human body, thus earning him the attribute of being a monster.10 Video games, as described above, tend to somatically externalize the otherwise elusive attribute of madness. By virtue of this somatic externalization, a link is drawn between the heteronomy of the (former) person and their monstrous appearance. The conflict might become evident already: Miles Upshur as a defenseless protagonist is threatened by a physically overwhelming inmate of the psychiatric institution. The means by which the player is to solve this conflict are twofold: First, Miles has a decisive advantage over the rogue inmates—his autonomy. Not only is he able to outrun his pursuers by leaping over obstacles and slamming doors shut, but his most effective strategy is hiding. Peeking out under hospital beds or from within closets while a grunting inmate is searching the room makes for a focal point of tension in Outlast. Thus, the autonomous player subject is confronted with objectified heteronomous inmates. Secondly, the player must make use of Miles’ camcorder. While the camcorder’s night vision function allows Miles to see in the dark and quite literally shed light upon the secrets of the institution, the player must manage the ever-depleting battery level of the device cautiously. The necessity to make use of technology emphasizes Miles’/the player’s capability to apply reason. The camcorder is as much an iconic esthetic feature of Outlast, esthetically resembling the hypermediation11 of found footage films, as it emphasizes a crucial difference between the autonomous player subject and the heteronomous inmates. There is much more to consider regarding the way Outlast constructs mental illness. Most notably, the horror asylum clearly references media constructions of psychiatric institutions prior to the social-psychiatric reform in the 1960s, and the inmates themselves are depicted as victims of the biomedical rationality of a mad Nazi scientist. The resulting conflict draws heavily on criticism posed by the anti-psychiatric movement. Outlast’s narrative objectifies the mentally ill whilst simultaneously pointing towards a history of institutional abuse and mistreatment. As a preliminary conclusion, one can say that Outlast constructs a confrontation between madness and reason in a way that the heteronomy of mental illness poses an existential threat to the autonomous protagonist/player. If there is any chance to overcome this threat and solve the conflict in favor of the autonomous 10 The

Monster “becomes a scandal in the order of the living beings” (Brittnacher 1994, p. 184, translation by the authors), a symptom of an epistemic crisis of reality (Biebert and Schetsche 2016, p. 99). 11 In contrast to immediacy‚ hypermediacy refers to an esthetic form by virtue of which the medium, which would otherwise aim for transparency, becomes itself a part of the text. For an elaborate exploration, see Bolter and Grusin (2003).

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protagonist, it is not by virtue of physical strength, but by well-tempered reason. Considering the ultimate villain Dr. Wernicke, madness is not within itself a threat, but a tool. The true conflict Outlast is geared towards is one between reason as autonomy and its delimitation in the pursuit of knowledge and power by all means.

5

Analysis: Depression Quest

As an autopathographic12 text adventure created in the widespread Twine engine,13 Depression Quest tells the story of a university graduate in their midtwenties who finds themself14 in an increasingly unavoidable confrontation with their own mental instability. Stuck within a dreary daytime job, a more or less waning relationship, a detached family and social circle, the narrative leaves some room for player choice. These choices come with a twist, however: As the protagonist suffers from depression, some appealing options are displayed but unavailable. Depression Quest does not offer a conclusive ending but a message by the developers pointing out that depression is an ongoing struggle. Evidently, Depression Quest employs a perspective of subjectification. The thoughts and feelings of the protagonist are mostly communicated via detailed descriptions. While the interface is typically minimalistic for a text adventure, three blocks of text on the lower part of the screen serve as indicators of the protagonist’s situation. They address (1) the symptoms the protagonist displays, (2) the state of ongoing psychotherapy, and (3) the effects of medical therapy (see Fig. 2).

12 Pathography refers to a narrative focusing on one’s illness. While pathographies are most commonly a key feature of medical records maintained by medical experts, romanticism and the modern focus on the individual have brought forth manifold pathographies that focus less on the biomedical dimension of disease and more on the contextually embedded narratives of individuals, namely illness and sickness. Autopathography then refers to a pathography narrated from the perspective of the affected person (see also Tembeck (2017) and Couser (2016)). 13 The Twine engine is a free-to-use framework specifically designed with the goal of rendering the development of text-based games accessible. 14 Depression Quest abstains from clearly indicating some of the protagonist’s features, such as their gender or their occupation. By employing such gaps, Depression Quest furthers the process of subjectification, reducing the barrier to empathize with the situation the protagonist finds themself in.

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Fig. 2 As the protagonist in Depression Quest suffers from depression the two appealing options of enjoying the evening with their partner are not available yet visible. [Screenshot by authors]

Esthetically accompanied by melancholic piano music and symbolic images at the top of the screen, the conflict between autonomy and heteronomy is simultaneously addressed in the narrative as well as in ludic interactions. Essentially, Depression Quest is a choice-based game, putting the player into the position of choosing what to say or how to act in certain situations. These might entail questions such as whether to adopt a cat, whether to attend a social gathering, whether to open up about one’s condition, or whether to attend therapy sessions. Depression Quest builds upon the established promise of player autonomy in decision-based games and proceeds to subvert it persistently. It does so ostensively by displaying options a healthy individual might choose, but marking them red and crossing them out. Depression Quest thus constructs mental illness by focusing on actional externalization, meaning that mental illness is expressed in the way the player engages with the rule system. For example, the protagonist might be invited to a birthday party by their significant other. As simply brushing off the oppressive negativity appears impossible, the option of satisfying the partner’s wishes becomes strenuous, whilst disappointing said

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partner might lead further into a downward spiral of self-hatred and a sense of inadequacy. The fact that the unavailable options are still clearly displayed deserves particular attention. By displaying said answers, Depression Quest emphasizes the contrast between the range of options available to healthy individuals and those of people suffering from depression. On a ludic level, heteronomy thus becomes the defining feature of virtual depression as, relative to a healthy person, the options for interactions are limited. By employing means of subjectification and actional externalization, Depression Quest primarily focuses on illness and sickness. The subjective perception of the protagonist’s symptoms is elaborated upon in extensive descriptions. In particular, sickness comes into play as the social and institutional consequences of depression are highlighted, for example by explicitly referring to fears of stigmatization, social exclusion, and inadequacy—also in the context of a professional capacity. While medical therapy is certainly addressed, Depression Quest does not so much focus on how it works precisely, but rather on how the protagonist is reluctant to seek professional help and remains skeptical towards medication. Common concerns of people suffering from mental illnesses are articulated and processed within the limitations of the game’s narrative and rule system. As such, Depression Quest locates the conflict between autonomy and heteronomy not within a biomedical epistemology, but within the self of the protagonist. Nevertheless, a persistent heteronomy is the driving force of the plot.

6

Analysis: Red Dead Redemption 2

Red Dead Redemption 2 (RDR2) is an open-world action adventure situated in a Western setting in the year 1899. Played from a third-person perspective, outlaw and player character Arthur Morgan carries out various crimes and adventures, during which he unknowingly becomes infected with pulmonary tuberculosis. This infection becomes the central narrative vehicle of the game and is integrated into both the narrative and the game mechanics. Tuberculosis, known under this name since 1839 and identified as a bacterial infection by Robert Koch in 1882, is a disease that was the third most frequent cause of death especially in rural areas and within poorer US populations in 1900—until the development of vaccines in 1921 (Murray 2004). Characteristic symptoms are fever, fatigue, night sweats, weight loss; later cough with bloody sputum, and shortness of breath. Due to the physical decay, the disease has long been referred to as “consumption”.

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Through the infection with tuberculosis, RDR2 infiltrates classic game concepts of successive self-improvement: While Arthur is at the peak of his physical capacity at the beginning of the game, the disease slowly robs him of his physical integrity and autonomy. Arthur’s health condition deteriorates visually. The hypermasculine stereotype that Arthur first embodies becomes marked by paleness, bloodshot eyes, a sweaty forehead, cracked lips, and increasingly intense cough attacks. In addition, inserted cut-scenes show Arthur collapsing with distorted and limited cognition and in moments of total loss of autonomy over his body. RDR2 follows a tradition of perceiving consumption as a “romantic illness”, according to which the patient has been given increased sensitivity and, through the slow decay of the body, a good death in the sense that tuberculosis allows enough time for self-reflection and arrangements for one’s own death (Bourdelais 2006; Lawlor 2006). Arthur seeks to atone for the self-inflicted injustices of his past by helping people in need through deeds and donations. It could be argued that Arthur’s physical heteronomy is opposed to an increasing moral autonomy and moral self-empowerment—the arrest of his body is countered by a liberation from the (sub-)cultural and microsocial constraints of his gang and simultaneously oriented towards a “modern” canon of values. The invasiveness of the disease and the medical knowledge of it are also implemented in the game mechanics. Two important variables in quantifying the physical state of the player character are health and stamina, which appear in the user interface as rechargeable cores. On the one hand, these characteristics are successively improved over the course of the game. In addition to effects caused by hunger or violence, the tuberculosis has a negative effect as well: The time the cores need to self-charge successively increases after the diagnosis (Nanjappa 2018), and Arthur is weaker and more easily exhausted. Tuberculosis is staged here as an inward delimitation of physiological functionality of the body, which gradually sabotages the player’s ability to act and thus influences the development of the game narrative and gameplay. It thus promotes a game progression that is antithetical to conventional models of ludic self-optimization. In this sense, one can speak here of a “sickness as functional disorder” (Görgen 2017): The integration of sickness in the form of a targetoriented artificial/programmed disorder serves on the one hand the development of a compelling story, on the other hand the aggravation of the game flow. The mechanical restriction of personal autonomy allows Arthur and the player to reflect on the abuse of this former autonomy. At the same time, one can say that the more heteronomous Arthur acts, the more autonomous the game system becomes, as the player’s influence is increasingly subject to game variables.

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Discussion

What do Miles Upshur, Arthur Morgan and the unnamed Protagonist in Depression Quest have in common? In all cases, their personal autonomy is being defined by an autonomous game system that is semantically connected in varying degrees to issues of disease, illness and sickness. In Outlast, sickness in the narrative installs a system in which rationality is abandoned and the ordered heteronomy of psychiatry as a site of healing is reversed into a seemingly chaotic heteronomy (with the mad antagonists at its center). The player as a rational and autonomous subject has to protect their physical and psychological integrity and autonomy through survival and the mere escape from the hostile environment. Also the game mechanics convey this: Finding a way through the maze of the asylum, using one’s personal autonomy and rationality within a restricted space of a systemic operationalization of mad inhabitants to solve the puzzles produces an idea of, if not empowerment, at least a temporary subjective superiority in relation to the environment. It is important to note here, that although the narrative representation shows this asylum with regard to the referential reality of psychiatric institutions as a dysfunctional place, in terms of the game system it develops a highly functional propriological15 topography of threat to the player-subject. It is an autonomous system, which could basically function without input, with the inmates fulfilling their recursive and repetitive tasks. This system is masked with a semantic façade of the deviant, yet heteronomous other and builds up a tension between the autonomous player and their environment. The ending indicates, however, that it is not possible to escape an overwhelming environmental power structure, as Miles Upshur becomes the Walrider—a Frankensteinian nanorobot—and is thus integrated into the system. Outlast externalizes madness and insanity from their carriers into the spatial environment and onto their outer appearance. This objectifying depiction refers to sociocultural tropes of madness as deviant behavior, as a threat to the autonomy of society and their individuals, and can consequently be qualified as sickness. Marking an institution of healing and of people who need treatment as deviant, and coupling sickness with threat proves to be problematic, because it perpetuates stigmata and the marginalization of vulnerable groups, even to the point of questioning the legitimization of the psychiatric institution per se. Depression Quest on the other hand is an autopathographic game that attempts to give an impression of what depression feels like. By doing so, it draws heavily 15 in

the sense of an inner, restricted logic.

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from depression as a personal and social experience, and is hence primarily concerned with illness and sickness. This subjective experience is deeply interwoven into the game mechanics. For instance, it repeatedly presents a broad range of choices for different situations. This promise of autonomy is broken, however. The system (which in itself represents and reiterates the mechanics of depression and is in itself autonomous) limits the options for the player. Through this actional externalization of illness via a restriction of agency, the game allows an empathic reflection space for the player in which the feeling of heteronomy and the helplessness in this situation, and not a successful traversing, become the central point of ludic investigation for the player: Illness and heteronomy, again, are linked, but they aim not at an empowerment of the player subject, but more on its reflective capacity. Ideally this experience is not only restricted to the realm of the game system, but can also be adopted for a real-life understanding of depression. In RDR2, the differences between heteronomy and autonomy are not binary (as in the other games), but situated in a continuum. This continuum represents Arthur’s infection as a quantified disease but also provides a subjective internal perspective on how illness affects Arthur’s agency in terms of action as well as introspection. Although his tuberculosis also implies an increasing heteronomy, the process is designed in a way that the development of the story is never in danger. The story stops at the climax of Arthur’s heteronomy/tuberculosis in a state of imminent death where he can only watch how the events develop around him. Like in Depression Quest, the system is designed to limit the player in their agency through game mechanics, and like in Outlast, the player’s task is to survive as long as possible in an increasingly hostile environment with increasingly limited agency. At the same time, the narrative builds up a counterweight, as Arthur succeeds to gain a moral autonomy, which, depending on his previous moral lifestyle, allows him to die in peace. In all three case studies, heteronomy as a central experience of disease/illness/sickness can be conveyed only because the respective agency of the player subject is determined through an environmental system that represents the disease/illness/sickness. This system in each case is autonomous and installed as a counterweight that enables player autonomy as much as it restricts it in order to construct an idea of the respective afflictions. It is precisely this angle of analysis that promises to provide valuable insight into how somatic as well as mental illnesses are constructed within digital games—first and foremost because the literal play of autonomy and heteronomy enables a meaningful consideration of ludic procedurality. As this is merely a preliminary attempt at understanding constructions of illnesses in digital games from the perspective of biomedical ethics, much work remains to be done. An approach of mid-level principle ethics

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might, according to the analytical conclusions drawn, be equally promising for studying games and for the field of game development. On the technical side of the ethical analysis of digital games, as a mid-level principle, autonomy proves to be a fruitful analytical category. At the same time, this presupposes our acceptance of autonomy not as a normative goal, but a descriptive state, which in itself might offer space for the ethical reflection of autonomy without any obligation to do so. Nevertheless, the principle of autonomy provides an important view on the ethics of digital games. Due to the media logic that is inherent to digital games, bioethical principles like beneficence and maleficence might not be applicable in the context of games. At the same time, it would be extremely valuable to develop a system of ethical principles for digital games. Such an ethics could include, for example, autonomy, the proportionality of content and form, justice, fairness or others in order to give a better orientation on the state of ethical game design not only for professionals from the field of game studies, but also for game developers.

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Ludography BioShock (2K Games 2007, O: 2K Boston) Depression Quest (The Quinnspiracy 2013, O: The Quinnspiracy) Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar Games 2008, O: Rockstar North) Outlast (Red Barrels 2013, O: Red Barrels) Outlast: Whistleblower (Red Barrels 2014, O: Red Barrels) Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Studios 2018, O: Rockstar Games)