Ethics and Game Design: Teaching Values Through Play

Can digital games teach kids ethical concepts? Yes, say researchers and scholars collected here. Some contributors are game designers, game researchers, and game theorists, while others come from backgrounds in computer science, education, philosophy, media studies, cognitive science, and art history. They explore how to design digital games to foster ethical thinking, and how to use such games in classrooms and informal education settings to support moral development. After an introductory overview of video games as a tool for pro-social learning, a section on cognitive and social psychological perspectives offers a neo-Kohlbergian approach to video games and moral pedagogy, and examines the challenges to moral engagement in single-player avatar-based video games. Philosophical perspectives explore ethics and massively multiplayer online games, and Kierkegaard's take on why we love sex and violence. Other topics discussed include moral development through social narratives and game design, and using predictive scenarios to explore ethical dilemmas. Schrier teaches at Parsons The New School for Design. Gibson has an educational technology business. Annotation c2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)