Ethics in Video Games

Evolution

Video games are one of the fastest growing industries that at least half of the people you know played video games. Video games evolve from a simple Pong game in 1970s to violent games such as Street Fighter (player play as a human like characters fought the other player until death) in the 1990s. As video games evolve, computer graphics become more realistic and the issues of ethics in video games arise. The media become aware of ethics in video game such as violence, addiction and sexual themes and more ethical questions about should game designers be more consider of what is designed and their games can affect the learning process and social development of many children who play their games. The main issues of video games are violence and crime, sexuality and social addiction.More and more video games contain high degree of violence. This violence in the game can lead to aggressive behavior, especially for children. From the graph at “Video Game Violence and Public Policy”, it shows that a teenager involved in a physical fight is more likely have plays a high violent game. This shows that violent game can lead to real life violence and it may leads to more aggressive actions such as crime. For example, “Playing the blame game” article, the graduate student who killed five students used to play a famous game call counter-strike (player play as first person shooter and the game involve shooting on the head and rewards for killing people). Some people think that violence in game is not acceptable but others think virtual life is different than real life so violence in game is acceptable.

Ethics

The sexuality involves in the video game is a morality problem. It utilizes women as mere sexual tools to men’s insatiable which effect status of woman in the sociality. For example, the game Rapelay encouraged the player to force the woman they rape to have an abortion is reinforces rape culture. This contradict not just moral of video game but also moral of human behavior. A lot of sexual games also have issue such as racialism and sexual abuse.Playing video game can becomes an addictive or isolating activity. This addiction can have effects on falling behind in school and work. Game addiction is also what game company use as a strategy to keep player consume the game. Some children use many hours in a day to play video games, this may cause lack of interest in other stuff and social skills due to video game replaced friends and family. In the article of “Special Issues for Teens”, National Institute on Media and the Family stated ‘At-risk teenage boys spend 60% more time playing games, and they prefer more violent games than other teens.’ This leads back to the issue violence. This addiction also have effects on health, long time playing video game can result in dry eyes, headaches and more extreme failure to eat.The ethics in video game is mainly cause by game company does not about ethics and moral question. The reason the game designers create violence games is not because they wanted children to train children in the use of weapons and harden them emotionally to the act of murder by simulating the killing other players in a video game. The game designers is just follow what the company want them to do is to increase profit.

Virtual World

Virtual World

The sexuality involves in the video game is a morality problem. It utilizes women as mere sexual tools to men’s insatiable which effect status of woman in the sociality. For example, the game Rapelay encouraged the player to force the woman they rape to have an abortion is reinforces rape culture. This contradict not just moral of video game but also moral of human behavior. A lot of sexual games also have issue such as racialism and sexual abuse.Playing video game can becomes an addictive or isolating activity. This addiction can have effects on falling behind in school and work. Game addiction is also what game company use as a strategy to keep player consume the game. Some children use many hours in a day to play video games, this may cause lack of interest in other stuff and social skills due to video game replaced friends and family. In the article of “Special Issues for Teens”, National Institute on Media and the Family stated ‘At-risk teenage boys spend 60% more time playing games, and they prefer more violent games than other teens.’ This leads back to the issue violence. This addiction also have effects on health, long time playing video game can result in dry eyes, headaches and more extreme failure to eat.The ethics in video game is mainly cause by game company does not about ethics and moral question. The reason the game designers create violence games is not because they wanted children to train children in the use of weapons and harden them emotionally to the act of murder by simulating the killing other players in a video game. The game designers is just follow what the company want them to do is to increase profit.

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An assistant professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology Andrew Phelps thinks there is an ethical obligation for game designers to produce less violence and/or addictive game.Internet virtual worlds can increase the number of consumer play games, which will have good impact on the game industry. This is supported by “Kids and teens have pushed at least 6 immersive online worlds to over 2m UU/mth in the US”, Susuan Wu said “continuing down this path of improving the user experience of living and socializing online. This story is about human context, social proximity, and a sense of place.”Internet virtual worlds is like second real life world, people will likely to spend more time on it and this will increase profit for the game company.Inter virtual worlds can impact law in a way it is out of control. For example, a game is restricted to eighteen and over, it is easier for an underage person to lie on the internet to play the game. This can cause issues such as protecting children from violence and sexuality. As law stated people have obligation to pay tax but if a person selling goods and currency in the virtual world, it is harder to tax them.

Conclusion

Video game is a good entertainment tool but ethics in video game such as violence, sexuality; we must realize it is not just the problem of the developers. Everyone has an obligation to find a solution and improve the environment. As internet virtual world evolve these few years, it is more important that player themselves behave ethical otherwise more ethical issue will rise in the game industry.