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International Conference on Entertainment Computing

ICEC 2008: Entertainment Computing - ICEC 2008 pp 1–10Cite as

How I Learned to Love the Bomb: Defcon and the Ethics of Computer Games

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Part of the Lecture Notes in Computer Science book series (LNISA,volume 5309)

Abstract

In this paper I present an analysis of the ontology and ethics of computer games from an Information Ethics perspective. This analysis uses the concepts of Level of Abstraction and Gradient of Abstraction, as defined by Luciano Floridi’s Information Ethics, applied to the specific study of computer games. The goal of this paper is to argue for the consideration of games as interesting ethical objects and experiences. Computer games appeal to a player capable of ethical reasoning in her interaction with simulated environments and rule systems. This paper provides a theoretical model for the study of the ethics of computer games both as designed objects, and as player experiences.

Keywords

  • Information Ethics
  • Computer Game Ethics
  • Method of Abstraction

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Computer Game Research, IT University of Copenhagen, Url: http://www.itu.dk, Denmark

    Miguel Sicart

  2. IEG - Oxford University, Url: http://web.comlab.ox.ac.uk/oucl/research/areas/ieg/, UK

    Miguel Sicart

  3. GPI - University of Hertfordshire, Url: http://philosophyofinformation.net/centre/gpi/index.html, UK

    Miguel Sicart

Authors
  1. Miguel Sicart
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Human Computer Interaction Isntitute and Entertainment Technology Center, Carnegie Mellon University, PA 15213, Pittsburgh, USA

    Scott M. Stevens

  2. Entertainment Technology Center, Carnegie Mellon University, PA 15213, Pittsburgh, USA

    Shirley J. Saldamarco

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© 2008 IFIP International Federation for Information Processing

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Sicart, M. (2008). How I Learned to Love the Bomb: Defcon and the Ethics of Computer Games. In: Stevens, S.M., Saldamarco, S.J. (eds) Entertainment Computing - ICEC 2008. ICEC 2008. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 5309. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-89222-9_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-89222-9_1

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-89221-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-89222-9

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)