Preview Mode Links will not work in preview mode

Ethics and Video Games Podcast

Aug 1, 2023

When game companies simulate cultures in their games they usually focus on the tropes that their intended audiences have about those cultures and then design their game around those tropes.  Is there anything wrong with that?  If so, what? What can game designers do to present cultures – present and past –...


Jun 20, 2023

What can college esport teams do to blunt harassment against female players and make esports more inclusive?  Are they in a unique position to help solve these problems in esports?  We chat with representatives from Kean University about their attempts to make their own esport teams more inclusive to women.


Apr 11, 2023

How do players morally engage with games?  What can user experience research and moral psychology tell us about how players experience and think about ethical decisions in games?  We chat with philosopher Paul Formosa and Game Designer Malcolm Ryan about their collaborative ongoing research exploring these...


Mar 27, 2023

Games are supposed to be fun and playing in a historical setting or replaying historical events can be really fun.  But when does the use of history become morally problematic by misrepresenting that history, leaving out alternative perspectives, or failing to communicate to the player when the game is or is not meant...


Mar 14, 2023

The monsters we see in video games are usually antagonists that we destroy without remorse.  But what is a monster and are there ethical questions that arise in relation to how they’re represented?  In what ways can monsters utilize racist and sexist tropes in harmful ways?  Can we treat a type of monsters as a race...