Games - the ethics issue

Online Sports

The decision to live life in a virtual world is not one solely attributable to the role playing community. Many gamers have found their lives taken up by online shooters such as Counter-Strike, Day of Defeat and Battlefield 2. Some see the world of online gaming competition as an equaliser in terms of fair play and sport, citing that the game offers a level playing field for all, male and female, old and young. Others grow worried that more and more children now prefer to form a team from home with people they have never met, than join their local Sunday league sports team.

There is, however, good reason for people turning to computer games for their sport. They are often a measure of a different type of physical agility, of mental ability, rather than natural strength or fitness. To some degree, they appeal to our laziness - we don’t have to get hot and sweaty or wet and cold when we decide to play, nor do we have to leave the comfort of our own homes. Society is also a crucial factor here: it used to be the case that kids could go out and play in the streets without a care. With our growing fears over child abduction and abuse, is it any wonder that parents are happy to see them having an enoyable time in the comfort of their living room?

Is there really anything wrong with all these factors? Directly, online shooters are not and can never be held responsible for children and adults being fatter and more socially reclusive - the people who play the games are responsible for that and only if we were to live in a state where forced exercise was part of every day life could the government change that. There is no denying that the massive increase in videogaming over recent years poses social questions, but the answers do not lie in the game, they lie in the people who play them.

Conclusions

Computer games are edging towards creating images as realistic as possible. The environment for gaming is evolving, with online communities existing for every conceivable game from Half-Life to Sudoku. Companies are investing money on creating tools that in the future will influence and further immerse us in our gameplay. Games of the future won’t just look realistic, but will feel and sound realistic too.

I’m not asking for anyone to put down their joypad, or to boycott any particular game on the market at the moment. What is required, however, is careful scrutiny - as opposed to gaming-populist mockery - of the issues facing computer games in the coming years.

We must not ignore all the facets of the ethical questions raised about the time we spend gaming. How we handle the content of games, and their inherent nature, over the next few years could set us on a course that will last for many years to come.