The Ethics of Computer Games (Hardcover)

Despite the emergence of computer games as a dominant cultural industry (and the accompanying emergence of computer games as the subject of scholarly research), we know little or nothing about the ethics of computer games. Considerations of the morality of computer games seldom go beyond intermittent portrayals of them in the mass media as training devices for teenage serial killers. In this first scholarly exploration of the subject, Miguel Sicart addresses broader issues about the ethics of games, the ethics of playing the games, and the ethical responsibilities of game designers. He argues that computer games are ethical objects, that computer game players are ethical agents, and that the ethics of computer games should be seen as a complex network of responsibilities and moral duties. Players should not be considered passive amoral creatures; they reflect, relate, and create with ethical minds. The games they play are ethical systems, with rules that create gameworlds with values at play.

Drawing on concepts from philosophy and game studies, Sicart proposes a framework for analyzing the ethics of computer games as both designed objects and player experiences. After presenting his core theoretical arguments and offering a general theory for understanding computer game ethics, Sicart offers case studies examining single-player games (using Bioshock as an example), multiplayer games (illustrated by Defcon), and online gameworlds (illustrated by World of Warcraft) from an ethical perspective. He explores issues raised by unethical content in computer games and its possible effect on players and offers a synthesis of design theory and ethics that could be used as both analytical tool and inspiration in the creation of ethical gameplay.

儘管電腦遊戲已成為一個主導文化產業（並伴隨著學術研究對電腦遊戲的興起），我們對於電腦遊戲的倫理道德知之甚少。對於電腦遊戲的道德性考量很少超越大眾媒體將其描繪為青少年連續殺手的訓練工具。在這本首部學術探索該主題的著作中，Miguel Sicart探討了關於遊戲倫理、遊戲玩家倫理以及遊戲設計師的倫理責任的更廣泛問題。他主張電腦遊戲是具有倫理性的物件，電腦遊戲玩家是具有倫理行為的主體，而電腦遊戲的倫理應被視為一個由責任和道德義務組成的複雜網絡。玩家不應被視為被動的無道德生物；他們以具有倫理思維的方式反思、關聯和創造。他們所玩的遊戲是具有價值的倫理系統，其規則創造了具有價值的遊戲世界。

Sicart借鑒了哲學和遊戲研究的概念，提出了一個分析電腦遊戲倫理的框架，既包括設計物件也包括玩家體驗。在提出核心理論論點並提供一般理論以理解電腦遊戲倫理之後，Sicart通過案例研究從倫理角度檢視了單人遊戲（以《生化奇兵》為例）、多人遊戲（以《Defcon》為例）和線上遊戲世界（以《魔獸世界》為例）。他探討了電腦遊戲中不道德內容引起的問題以及其對玩家可能產生的影響，並提供了設計理論和倫理學的綜合，可作為分析工具和創造倫理遊戲玩法的靈感來源。