Cognitive Science Helps Formulate Games for Moral Education

This chapter emphasizes that cognitive science can play a significant role in formulating games for moral education. The chapter advocates an encompassing approach where games should be developed by concentrating on the interaction of users with their contexts. Ethics entail moral principles and ethical decision-making is dependent upon developing cognitive structures. Therefore, while designing games one needs to consider developmental trends and information processing models. The framework developed here further emphasizes the need to develop moral games based upon principles of good games in general. There should also be stringent criteria to gauge the success of the game in real world contexts, especially if these games function as part of a school curriculum for moral education. Finally, the chapter concludes with issues surrounding the implementation of such technologies.

Reacting to Re: Activism

This case study of the big urban game Re:Activism examines moments where failures in the game’s design revealed how the design process itself is a set of ethical choices and actions, illustrating specific strategies for integrating more interesting choices into games. Ethics in a game is not inherent; it is enacted through rules, mechanics and play. This chapter is a “thick description” of the first time Re:Activism was played in which the losing team paradoxically had the kind of engaging experience the designers sought to create.

Using Mission US

In this chapter, the authors describe Mission US: For Crown or Colony?, a history game for middle school students that they collaboratively designed, developed and tested. The authors argue that empathy is an important component of ethical thinking, and that history games, if well designed, can support the practice of empathy. The authors analyze how they designed Mission US to encourage the development of historical empathy and ethical thinking skills. Moreover, the authors also relate their design challenges, and the ethics of representing the past in games. They conclude with real world results from classroom implementation of the game, and design recommendations for creating games for historical empathy.

The Mechanic is the Message

Humans learn through play. All games are learning devices—though most teach the player how to play the game itself and do not strive to communicate information with utility in the real world. This chapter is for designers seeking to design game mechanics to communicate learning objectives, values, and ethical messages. The term “mechanic” describes both a) the actions a player takes as she interacts in the context of a game (e.g., run, jump, shoot, negotiate) and b) the response of the system to player actions. In other words, the mechanics are the essence of the player interacting with the game. When the mechanics of a game align with the values the game’s designer strives to communicate, then the player is learning those values experientially. Learning science shows us that this type of experiential learning is a powerful and natural type of learning for humans. Designing game mechanics as described above is easier said than done. This chapter includes six best practices for achieving success, which are supported by case study examples from leading designers in the field.

The Mechanic is the Message

This chapter provides two entry points into Brenda Brathwaite’s series The Mechanic is the Message, a group of six non-digital games that explore difficult topics. Brathwaite writes from the perspective of the game’s designer, covering the inception of the series, its inspirations and the challenges inherent in working with content one might deem questionable in the game space. Sharp, on the other hand, writes from the perspective of a game designer and an art historian and critiques the game’s entry and reception into both the world of art and games.

Moral Development through Social Narratives and Game Design

Morality originates in dispositions and attitudes formed in childhood and early adolescence. Fantasy play and both the perspective taking and interpersonal negotiation of conflicts that it affords, have been causally linked to the development of moral reasoning and a theory of mind. A closer examination of the self-regulated processes involved implicates a number of contributing factors that video games and virtual worlds are well suited to encourage. The authors present recommendations suggesting the ways in which such technology can facilitate moral development by supporting and simulating diverse social interaction in ways leading to the promotion of self-efficacy, critical thinking, and consequential decision making.

Applied Ethics Game Design

This chapter presents a case study of the design and development of two original ethics games entitled Veritas University and Knights of Astrus. Through this case study and a review of relevant literature, the authors explore the content creation of, and theoretical rationale for, the design and development of ethics games. Both games use the Adobe Flash® platform and are geared toward an undergraduate student audience as casual games to be completed in a few hours of gameplay. To ground the development of these games, the authors review contemporary research on identity, cognition, and self in relation to video game environments; they also argue for the need for further research and development in this area. From this literature base and their applied design experiences, the authors offer six guidelines as practical suggestions for aspiring ethics game developers.

Reality from Fantasy

A major difficulty with teaching ethics is that it is relatively easy for participants to state the “right” thing to do when they have no personal stake in the outcome. One way of dealing with this problem is to teach ethics through engrossing, immersive, predictive scenario games in which players are forced to deal with ethical issues as they arise, where they have a personal stake in the outcome, and where there is not always a clear right answer. Predictive scenario games are a form of serious live-action roleplaying in which participants take on the roles of people involved in complex situations. In these games, knowledge of the game world is distributed among the players through overlapping and conflicting goals, and in which ethical dilemmas emerge naturally, without fanfare, much as they would in the real world. There is a high level of tension between cooperation and competition among the players. This structure creates the opportunity for players to experience the consequences of their own judgment in realistic, ethically fraught situations, to receive feedback, and to engage in constructive discussion, within a relatively short time period.

Family Fun and Fostering Values

This chapter looks at the interplay between video and computer games and values discourse within families. The authors focus on the theoretical models for values discourse within families; the role that video games can play in values discourse within the family; the role that both research and design have in the game creation process; and the future opportunities for engaging values and ethics discourse within the family context through gaming.

Ethics at Play

This chapter discusses how young people think about ethical issues in online games as seen in the GoodPlay project’s interviews with fourteen online gamers, ages 15 to 25. After providing background on the GoodPlay project and relevant moral psychology and video games research, this chapter describes individualistic, interpersonal, and communal models of ethical thinking that describe young players. These observed models suggest that online games are encouraging players to practice sophisticated ethical thinking skills and therefore might be valuable tools for fostering ethical thinking. The chapter concludes with a discussion of future directions in the study and use of games to foster ethical thinking.