Moral Minds in Gaming

Games including meaningful narratives and moral decisions have become increasingly popular. This case study examines (a) the prevalence of morality and moral foundations, (b) player decisions when encountering moral options, and (c) the influence of contextual factors (i.e., time pressure, played avatar, and humanness of nonplayable characters) on moral decision-making in the popular video game Detroit: Become Human. Based on extensive coding of available world statistics we identified 73.21% morally relevant (vs. morally irrelevant) decisions in the game with a high prevalence for harm- and authority-related situations. Although players had an overall tendency to engage in moral behavior, they were more likely to act “good” when under time pressure and if nonhuman characters were involved. Our findings are discussed with regard to common theories of morality. Results support the notion that prior theoretical assumptions may be successfully mapped onto top-selling video games.

Game Edukasi Hafalan Surat Pendek Al-Qur’an The Adventure Of Ali

Games at this time become a very popular thing, even early childhood have played games using an Android smartphone. But children tend to play games excessively, that causing concerns for parent about the negative effects of games that affect their children. Therefore the game "The Adventure of Ali" was created which is a game with an educative concept and is a game as a learning media or educational game. Education itself is very broad in scope, ranging from formal and non-formal education. Memorizing short Al-Qur'an surah is an education that is classified as non-formal, which is non-formal education sometimes tends to be excluded from formal education. So from that the game is made for memorizing short Al-Qur'an surah media, in the form of puzzles in the game. “The Adventure of Ali“ is an educational game for memorizing short Al-Qur'an surah that is packaged in adventure and puzzle games that will make children learn without realizing he is learning.Keywords: Games Education, Adventure, Puzzles, Memorizing Short Al-Qur'an Surah, Children, ParentsAbstrak: Game pada saat ini menjadi hal yang sangat popular, bahkan anak-anak usia dini-pun sudah bermain game menggunakan telepon pintar Android. Tapi anak-anak cenderung bermain game dengan berlebihan sehingga menimbulkan kekhawatiran bagi orang tua terhadap efek negatif dari game yang berdampak pada anaknya. Oleh sebab itu dibuatlah game “The Adventure of Ali” yang merupakan game dengan konsep edukatif dan merupakan game sebagai media pembelajaran atau game edukasi. Edukasi sendiri sangatlah luas cakupannya, mulai dari edukasi formal dan non-formal. Menghafal surat pendek Al-Qur’an merupakan suatu edukasi yang tergolong non-formal, yang dimana edukasi non-formal terkadang cenderung tersisih dibandung edukasi formal. Maka dari itu game dibuat untuk media hafalan surat pendek Al-Qur’an berupa puzzle yang ada dalam game. “The Adventure of Ali” merupakan game edukasi hafalan surat pendek Al-Qur’an yang dikemas dalam game petualangan dan puzzle yang akan membuat anak belajar tanpa menyadari dirinya sedang belajar.Kata kunci: Game Edukasi, Petualangan, Puzzle, Hafalan Surat Pendek Al-Qur’an, Anak-Anak, Orang Tua

Learning about water resource sharing through game play

Games are an optimal way to teach about water resource sharing, as they allow real-world scenarios to be enacted. Both students and professionals learning about water resource management can benefit from playing games, through the process of understanding both the complexity of sharing of resources between different groups and decision outcomes. Here we address how games can be used to teach about water resource sharing, through both playing and developing water games. An evaluation of using the web-based game Irrigania in the classroom setting is first presented, supported by feedback from several educators who have used Irrigania to teach about the sustainable use of water resources, and decision making, at university and high school levels. We then present the development of two water games in a course for master students in geography, as a way to teach and communicate about water resource sharing, together with a discussion of the learning outcomes based on our experience and student feedback.

The Metaphor-Simulation Paradox in the Study of Computer Games

This article discusses the metaphor-simulation paradox in the study of computer games. It is derived from three observations. Firstly, often when authors use the concept of metaphor with regard to games they use it in conceptual and textual vicinity to the concept of simulation. Secondly, the concept of metaphor is often applied to signify seemingly abstract games in opposition to mimetic simulations. Both observations can be made within an artgame discourse of the study of computer games as well as within the more general discourse of the study of computer games. Thirdly, however, the definitions for simulation as well as for metaphor are strikingly similar which culminates in the metaphor-simulation paradox i.e. the notions of metaphor and simulation are not distinct enough in order to make the distinctions which are usually made with these notions with regard to computer games. In an attempt to reconcile both notions with regard to computer games this article will make three suggestions. Observing that simulations are often called metaphors with regard to their degree of reduction or abstraction the first suggestion argues that simulations are essentially synecdochic and hence metaphoric when following a broad notion of metaphor. Based on the assumption that simulation is not a matter of similarity the second suggestion proposes to distinguish between a first order simulation and a second order simulation which can then be considered metaphoric. As a third and final suggestion the author offers to consider simulation and metaphor as related via the notion of the model. Simulations are based on models and metaphors provide models such that one can speak of metaphor based simulations.

Experiential Metaphors in Abstract Games

Despite their age and prevalence, abstract games are often overlooked in contemporary discussions of games and meaning. In this paper I offer experiential metaphors as a critical method applicable to all games, particularly abstract games. To do this I introduce structural metaphors, image schemata and experiential gestalts to explain how experiential metaphors function. I then compare this method with the simulation gap (Bogost 2006, 2007) and show how the two relate. I close with two examples of abstract games that function as experiential metaphors.

John von Neumann's Contribution to Modern Game Theory

The paper gives a brief account of von Neumann's contribution to the foundation of game theory: definition of abstract games, the minimax theorem for two-person zero-sum games and the stable set solution for cooperative games with side payments. The presentation is self-contained, uses very little mathematical formalism and caters to the nonspecialist. Basic concepts and their implications are in focus. It is also indicated how von Neumann's groundbreaking work initiated further research, and a few unsolved problems are also mentioned.