Multimedia Games Development

COM429M2

Week 10 Social & Ethical Issues

Learning outcomes

Be aware of the possible social consequences of gaming

Understand ethical issues related to game playing and game implementation

Ethical & Social IssuesBrief history of computer game development

Littered with controversy related to

Violent content Addiction Gambling Ownership of virtual property Copyright and intellectual property

Led to setting up of regulating body in the industry

Interactive Digital Software Association

Early 90’s the games industry was involved in a legal battle

with the USA government over the violent/inappropriate

content of computer games

This led to the setting up of the Interactive Digital Software Association (1994)

Self-regulatory body to oversee standards in games Founding companies included Nintendo, Sega & EA

Electronic Arts, Phillips, Atari, and 3DO Members now include 90%+ of industry in USA

Interactive Digital Software Association

Interactive Digital Software Association represents

the computer games industry in a number of

ways

Anti-piracy Intellectual property protection (IPR) Government relations Entertainment software rating

Entertainment Software Association

In 2003 the IDSA changed its name to the

Entertainment Software Association (ESA)

Its focus/objective is the same as the Interactive Digital Software Association

http://www.theesa.com/

Entertainment Software Association

Government Affairs: The ESA works with government at all levels to make the voice of its members heard on a wide range of crucial legislative and public policy issues, including intellectual property protection, content regulation, and efforts to regulate the Internet.

Anti-Piracy Information: The objective of ESA's Anti-Piracy Program is to attack and reduce global entertainment software piracy, estimated to cost the U.S. entertainment software industry billions of dollars every year. The program's primary components are policy work, training and education, and a number of different enforcement efforts in the U.S. and abroad.

The ESA Foundation is dedicated to supporting positive programs and opportunities that will make a difference in the quality of life, health and welfare of America's youth. The Foundation seeks to harness the collective power of the industry to create positive social impact in our communities.

Entertainment Software Rating Board

Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) formed in 1994 by IDSA as a self-regulatory body for the computer game industry

Objective was to pre-empt government enforced regulation

Independently applies/enforces ratings, advertising guidelines and online privacy principles

Ratings system has two parts

Rating symbol suggests the age group that the game is suitable for. Serves as a general indicator of game content

Additional content descriptors with further detail on game content

Entertainment Software Rating Board

Computer Game Violence Major issue is violent content in games Debate focuses on whether violent content

in games promotes/encourages violent behaviour in players

Studies show 75%+ of games preferred by young people have violent/aggressive content

Claims this can desensitize children to violence or induce hostile or aggressive actions

Studies supported by the American Psychological Association and American Medical Association

Schools suspending more primary pupils

“More than 230 children are suspended from primary

schools in England each day during term time” http://education.guardian.co.uk/pupilbehaviour/story/0,,2061946,00.html

Computer Game Violence

Computer Game Violence “Virginia Tech mass murderer Cho Seung Hui honed his skill as

a deadly marksman by playing violent video games.” Washington Post April 2007

“Columbine killers Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold enjoyed playing violent video games.Eric Harris had actually modified a version of the game Doom and placed it on his Website. His version had two shooters, extra weapons and the people in the game couldn't shoot back.”

Harris and Klebold essentially acted out their version of Doom on innocent classmates

Computer Game Violence Playing violent video games can increase a person's

aggressive thoughts, feelings and behavior both in laboratory settings and in actual life”. April 2000 issue of the American Psychological Association's (APA) Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

Study added that violent video games may be more harmful than violent television and movies due to interactive and immersive nature which requires the player to identify with the aggressor

Games portray violence as justified with no repercussions where players are rewarded for violent behavior

Computer Game Violence Beltway Snipers (John Muhammad and John

Lee Malvo trained using sniper mode on Halo to break down inhibitions to kill.

“We are teaching children to associate pleasure with human death and suffering. We are rewarding them, for killing people. And we are teaching them to like it.” Lt. Col. David Grossman, U.S. Army psychologist.

Computer Game Violence

High percentage of teenagers able to buy mature rated game without any problems

Parents lack understanding of rating system Ads for games are found in magazines,

television shows targeted at teenagers and pre-teenagers

Computer Game Violence Entertainment Software Association disagrees

with these views Argues that that there is no correlation between

violence in games and violence or aggressive behaviour

Statistics show that violent crime among young people has decreased dramatically since 1990 while computer games popularity has soars

Computer Games Addiction Concern that people spend too much time

playing computer games Problem increased with increase in online

gaming Problems identified include job loss, school

dropouts and death

Computer Games AddictionGeneral agreement among health care professionals that certain people are susceptibleto gaming addictions. Factors include

Boredom Isolation Loneliness Low self esteem Depression Socially inadequate

Computer Games Addiction High level of immersion draws players in

and does not let them go Cliff hanger design keeps you playing Social component of games leads to a

sense of identity and relationships Multiplayer games have no clear ending ins

some cases so there is no reason to leave

Everquest/Evercrack Everquest is an online version of role-playing games like

Dungeons and Dragons Unfolds in real time as players explore a fantasy world.

There is no end to the game once you begin to play, unless you turn off the computer

So addictive is the game that even the most devoted

players jokingly refer to Everquest – as “Evercrack,"

Everquest or Evercrack? http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/05/28/earlyshow/living/caught/main510302.shtml

Computer Games Addiction “Games are not inherently bad but like drinking

alcohol can be harmful if abused.” David Walsh, National Institute on Media and the Family

John Smedley (Sony co-creator of Everquest) disagrees and says calling Everquest addictive is nonsense.

“It’s entertainment. Is a book dangerous? Is a TV show dangerous? I think the answer is no. People need to take responsibility and say, ‘Hey, you know, this is too much. Enough’s enough.’ It’s a game.”

Inclusiveness Increasingly as games attract a wider audience it is

important to design for all levels of skills, age and physical abilities and cultures

Objective should be to produce games that are not offensive and are sensitive to social norms in all cultures

Create experiences that appeal to broader audiences. E.g. Gender, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation

Accessibility Games should also be designed to be as

accessible as possible and should cater for people with disabilities

Virtual worlds provide opportunities and experiences not available in the real world

Objective is to make game as open to as many people as possible

Blind teen amazes with video-game skills (Brice Mellen) http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2005-07-28-blind-gamer_x.htm

Virtual Property Persistent online games include virtual items

and characters within the game world The question of ownership of virtual items is

now a contentious issue Game players paying for a game and for

playing it. They earn items and characters Game developers created items and

characters which are stored on their game servers

Virtual Property Land, items and characters from games have

real cash value Land, items and characters were sold on

eBay for large sums Some virtual worlds are richer than real

countries

Virtual Property

Gamer buys $26,500 virtual land in Project Entropiahttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4104731.stm

Anshe Chung Becomes First Virtual World Millionaire

$10 investment into million dollar corporation in 30 monthshttp://www.anshechung.com/include/press/press_release251106.html

Virtual Property Ongoing legal battles Game companies claim auctions and sales

corrupt the fabric of the game Claim that they own the game items and

characters and players have no legal rights to sell them

Sony Online Entertainment has blocked the sale of Everquest items on eBay

Virtual Property

Growth of virtual goods sweatshops Companies set up in area with impoverished

population Workers paid minimal wages to collect items or

build up game characters which are sold or auctioned with substantial profits to the company

Copyright & Piracy

Game developers lose $3 billion a year+ due to software piracy

Equates to production of additional off 1000+ new high quality games

Results in increased costs to consumers

Copyright & Piracy It is legal to create a backup copy of a game,

provided that this copy is not sold or distributed Games that are no longer available commercially

are still protected by copyright Downloading copyrighted material illegal even if it

is not used Downloading copyrighted material is not fair use

and is copyright infringement regardless of end use

Emulators Emulators allow the user to use software by

imitating hardware In computer games these are typically used to

emulate arcade or console hardware Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator

Emulators Supporters say emulators saves games from

disappearing as original hardware not available

Emulators can enhance games with improved processor speed/graphics

Allows player choice

Emulators Opponents say majority of people who use emulators

do not own the software used in the emulator and are in violation of copyright

Emulator design uses hardware date (ROM/Bios) that is also copyright

Sony and Nintendo have sued or threatened legal action over the development of emulators

In most cases courts have said that there is nothing inherently illegal in emulating hardware using software

Exception where emulation was made possible through improperly used or licensed intellectual property

Many game companies now using emulators to allow re-release of classic titles (PS3/Xbox)

Hacking/Modding Consoles Consoles have inbuilt protection to prevent

the running of unauthorized games (Lockout chip)

Regulates game developers to adhere to licensing and quality control methods

Prevent illegal copying of games Mod chips are on sale to circumvent

protection Using a mod chip in place, console owners

can use unauthorized software

Hacking/Modding Consoles Modders claim several “legitimate” reasons

to mod consoles Ability to play import titles and movies

from other countries Ability to make back-ups of their own games Ability to use home-brew or hobby software

on their console

Hacking/Modding Consoles

Manufacturers are against modding efforts Claim that most modders want to play illegal

copies of games or movies Some companies supportive of the home-brew

and hobby communities PS3 supports Linux installation Still ongoing problem with ongoing court cases

Gambling Long term problem in games industry Alleged links between video games, gambling and

organized crime Gambling generally seen as ill or evil in society Online gaming now widespread

In Game Gambling Youplaygames signs exclusive deal with Idsoftware to provide multi-player online gaming service with Return to Castle Wolfenstein

Pioneering professional online gaming by bringing massively popular multi-player licensed titles into homes and providing everyone with the chance to make money while playing their favorite computer games.

Gamers at any skill level can play Return to Castle Wolfenstein and vie against each other over the Internet for the opportunity to win money and prizes

Beset with social and legal issues Hard to police and ensure fairness

Professional Gamers Increasing numbers of professional gamers earn a

living playing Hardware makers and gaming companies offer big

case prizes for professional gamers and gaming events

Nvidia/ATI sponsor teams or individual players

Video game players score big money in South Korea

Choi Yeon-sung (Korea) has 90,000 members in his fan club and earns $190,000 a year

Electronic Sports World Cup Electronic Sports World Cup is an international

professional gaming championship. Every year winners of national qualifier event

around the world earn the right to represent their country in the ESWC Finals in France.

Tournaments in Counter Strike, Warcraft III, Quake III, and Unreal Tournament 2003

Large prizes for winners

http://www.eswc.com/en

Summary

Relatively new area (~30 years) Still in infancy Rapid ongoing developments Raises many social and ethical issues

Multimedia Games Development

COM429M2

Week 10 Social & Ethical Issues