Academic literature on the topic 'Video game controversy'

AbstractIn education, many empirical studies have shown evidence that video games have the potential to improve student learning outcomes, but there is still great controversy in the literature regarding the impact of video game. More evidence is needed to convince educators and researchers regarding the actual value and the efficiency of video game in learning science. The purpose of this study was to examine the use of video game in learning to improve the mastery of concepts about the interaction of living beings and the environment of junior high school students who played the “Selamatkan Dunia Digital!” educational gaming application that has been developed by author in previous studies. This weak experimental study collected pretest and posttest results to determine students' mastery of concepts before and after Intervention. Normalized Gain of the pretest and posttest are assumed to be the effect of the intervention. The results show a low increasing mastery of concept by students who learned by playing game, so this study stated that learning science by using instructional video game media are still not able to facilitate mastery of concept of students.Keywords: interactive media; video game; mastery of conceptsAbstrakDalam dunia pendidikan, banyak penelitian empiris telah berhasil menunjukkan bukti bahwa video game memiliki potensi dalam meningkatkan hasil belajar siswa, tetapi kontroversi besar masih ada pada literatur mengenai pengaruh game yang sebenarnya. Dibutuhkan lebih banyak bukti untuk meyakinkan pendidik dan peneliti mengenai nilai aktual dan efisiensi pembelajaran menggunakan video game. Penelitian ini dilakukan untuk mengetahui penggunaan game dalam pembelajaran untuk meningkatkan penguasaan konsep tentang Interaksi makhluk hidup dengan lingkungan siswa SMP. Game yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah game yang berjudul “Selamatkan Dunia Digital!” yang telah dikembangkan oleh peneliti pada penelitian sebelumnya. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian eksperimen semu, dengan desain The one-Group Prettest-Posttest Design untuk memperoleh gambaran penguasaan konsep siswa sebelum dan sesudah perlakuan. Peningkatan nilai pada pretest dan posttest diasumsikan merupakan efek dari perlakuan. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa peningkatan nilai N-gain rata-rata siswa masih dalam kategori rendah, dan pencapaian skor posttest rata-rata siswa juga masih rendah, sehingga dapat disimpulkan bahwa pembelajaran IPA dengan menggunakan media pembelajaran media video game masih belum dapat memfasilitasi penguasaan konsep IPA siswa pada konsep Interaksi Makhluk Hidup dengan Lingkungan.Kata Kunci: media pembelajaran interaktif; video game; penguasaan konsep Permalink/DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15408/es.v8i2.1576

The interaction between the concepts of character attachment, agency, and choice in a video game narrative was investigated using BioWare’s Mass Effect trilogy. Posts on a BioWare forum discussing the depiction of their player characters in the ending sequences of Mass Effect 3, the final game in the trilogy, were downloaded and analyzed using thematic analysis. Players demonstrated emotional attachment for the characters and narrative and expected to see the consequences of their choices play out, as in the previous games. Furthermore, players conflated winning the game with achieving a narratively satisfactory ending for the game world and its characters indicating emotional consequences for players that developers should consider when designing games with a high degree of player choice and agency. However, for some players character attachment is incongruous as they described Shepard as “acting out of character,” which needs further research.

Since the #GamerGate controversy erupted in 2014, anti-feminist gamers continue to lash out at feminists and supporters of progressive and inclusive gaming content. A key strategy in this discourse is the sharing of content via links on Twitter, which accompany messages positioning the sender on either side of the debate. Through qualitative analysis of a data set drawn from 1,311 tweets from 2016 to 2017, we argue that tweeted links are a salient tool for signaling affiliation with gaming communities. For anti-feminist gamers, the tweeted link defines masculinist gamer identity and constructs social boundaries against the increasing diversification of video game culture reflected in higher overall rates of feminist tweets. Links can be construed as revelatory of boundary work and thus can help shed insight on the extent to which #GamerGate discourse was intended to defend gaming culture as an exclusively masculine space.

Increasingly, our acoustic environment is filled with amplified sound sources (e.g., MP3 players, video game stations, and sports/entertainment venues). There is serious concern and also some controversy about the risks of acoustic trauma in children. This overview provides some basic information on the physiological mechanisms that lead to noise induced hearing loss, a survey of various studies that, on balance, indicates that there is cause for concern, and finally a discussion on measures that can help to prevent noise induced hearing loss in children. This paper is designed for public health and other healthcare professions (ENT, audiologists, family doctors, and pediatricians) who should understand the risks of noise induced hearing loss and its prevention.

Background The traditional process of surgical education is being increasingly challenged by economic constraints and concerns about patient safety. Sophisticated computer-based devices have become available to simulate the surgical experience in a protected environment. As with any new educational tool, these devices have generated controversy about the validity of the training experience. Hypothesis Performance on a virtual reality simulator correlates with actual surgical experience. Study Design Controlled laboratory study. Methods Forty-three test subjects of various experience levels in shoulder arthroscopy were tested on an arthroscopy simulator according to a standardized protocol. Subjects were evaluated for time to completion, distance traveled with the tip of the simulated probe compared with a computer-determined optimal distance, average probe velocity, and number of probe collisions with the tissues. Results Subjects were grouped according to prior experience with shoulder arthroscopy. Comparing the least experienced with most experienced groups, the average time to completion decreased by 62% from 128.8 seconds to 49.2 seconds; path length and hook collisions were more than halved from 8.2 to 3.8 and 34.1 to 16.8, respectively; and average probe velocity more than doubled from 0.18 to 0.4 cm/second. There were no significant differences for any parameter tested between subjects with video game experience compared to those without. Conclusions The study demonstrated a close and statistically significant correlation between simulator results and surgical experience, thus confirming the hypothesis. Conversely, experience with video games was not associated with improved simulator performance. This indicates that the skill set tested may be similar to the one developed in the operating room, thus suggesting its use as a potential tool for future evaluation of surgical trainees. Clinical Relevance The results have implications for the future of orthopaedic surgical training programs, the majority of which have not embraced virtual reality technology for physician education.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review the development and potential applications of emerging information and communication technologies (ICTs) in sports. The case studies are presented in details: computer system for tracking and visualisation in TV broadcasting and players/teams performance analysis in football. The paper concludes with the authors’ opinion that future implementation of digital technologies, in the first instance, goal-line technologies, to support accurate, practical and reliable decision making in sports is highly needed and represent a basis for further increase in the commercial value of the pre-eminent global sport. Design/methodology/approach – The research utilised an exploratory approach to data gathering due to the fact that the topic is new and data are difficult to collect. The topic is analysed using case study method. Findings – The research found that there is an emerging market to extend the reach of digital technologies adapted for sports industry and sports events. Increasingly, developers are exploring and exploiting the vast potential of the ICTs to create value in the field of sports events. The development of emerging technologies create new opportunities that sports industry demands a growing range of innovative solutions for the purposes of decision making to be tested and accepted in the near future. Research limitations/implications – The research is based on data limitations related to the innovative ICT solutions, the rules of the game which significantly limit the scope for product innovation and a need to make a decision on application of an adequate solution within a short time period. In order to develop the extensive research results in the future, more information will be available after the termination of ongoing testing procedure. Practical implications – It is evident that digital video processing has found many applications in sports content analysis and TV broadcasting of competitive sports. The governing bodies should be aware of their role to support successful innovation which requires the coordinated action of all the actors who play vastly different roles in its commercialisation process. Originality/value – The paper emphasises how much technology has added to communication and economic potential of sports events, underlying that issue of video technology application to ease decision making in football is currently one of the most pressing matters due to constant arrival of new cases concerning “incorrect” decisions that add fuel to the controversy. The football authorities have finally recognised that the game has to be responsive to the concerns and suggestions of its customers.

Afin de dépasser les concepts d’expressive games et de persuasive games, nous proposons un cadre sémio-pragmatique en mobilisant des outils des sciences de l’éducation et ce afin de qualifier la persuasivité, le caractère persuasif, d’un game design. Nous concluons à la nécessité d’envisager la persuasivité d’un jeu vidéo sous la forme d’un continuum. Les discours sont alors le produit de controverses entre la machine et l’opérateur·rice et ce au travers de situations de communication plus ou moins persuasives, plus ou moins expressives. Afin de développer notre réflexion, nous mobilisons le jeu Night In The Woods qui propose à son joueur ou sa joueuse de parcourir Possum Springs, une ville fictive de la Rust Belt dont la désindustrialisation fut aggravée par la crise des subprimes. Porteur de nombreux discours sur la situation des ménages après la crise, le jeu se révèle expressif sur cette problématique bien qu’il puisse être persuasif sur les autres thématiques qu’il aborde.

A modern school deals with a generation of students who were born and grown up in a digital environment and require other teaching methods. Changes in the technological and social conditions of modern society need new professional skills, which are often called “21st century skills”. These skills should be devel-oped starting from the primary school, as they are psychological and behavioural, rather than practical. Game-based learning and gamification are effective means of such skills development. The use of video games in teaching practice is studied multifaceted, along with formats and requirements of educational game, methods for effectiveness assessment, and the effect of games on students. The controver-sial nature of game-based learning effect on students require deeper research, as the increase in motivation and learning efficiency cannot be disputed, as well as the negative impact of a long gaming on cognitive abilities, emotional state and social skills of students. The study tested both an increase in the motivation and attraction of school students for the learning process, and the impact on the prac-tical results of information assimilation. There was conducted a survey on the re-sults of the application of game training to determine the motivation and attraction of students. Likewise, we counted time, spent by the study and control group, for mastering the main educational material and the post-class study of game content and the educational material it presents. A comparative test was conducted on the results of educational material comprehension to determine the effectiveness of the methodology in mastering knowledge. The group, with game-based learning and gamification applied, showed an increase in motivation and attraction to learning, students paid additional efforts for assimilating the material studied, and also showed significantly higher learning outcomes compared to the control group.

In the cultural controversy surrounding “violent video games,” the manufacturers and players of games often insist that computer games are a form of harmless entertainment that is unlikely to influence the real-world activities of players. Yet games and military simulations are used by military organizations across the world to teach the modern arts of war, from how to shoot a gun to teamwork, leadership skills, military values, and cultural sensitivity. We survey a number of ways of reconciling these apparently contradictory claims and argue that none of them are ultimately successful. Thus, either military organizations are wrong to think that games and simulations have a useful role to play in training anything other than the most narrowly circumscribed physical skills or some recreational digital games do, in fact, have the power to influence the real-world behavior and dispositions of players in morally significant ways.

„Der kluge Spieler und die Ethik des Computerspielens“ ist eine moralphilosophische Analyse der sogenannten „Killerspiel-Diskussion“. Als Aufhänger dient der Amoklauf von Winnenden, in dessen Nachgang Diskussionen über Computerspiele, speziell solche mit gewalthaltigem Inhalt, aufkamen. In der öffentlichen Meinung wird häufig davon ausgegangen, dass das Spielen solcher Computerspiele auch in der Realität zu gewalttätigem Verhalten führt. Einige Politiker stellen diese Spiele sogar mit Kinderpornographie gleich. Mithilfe dreier bekannter normativer ethischer Theorien – dem Konsequentialismus (Mill), der Deontologie (Kant) und der Tugendethik (Aristoteles) – werden die wissenschaftlichen Argumente contra Computerspiele analysiert und bewertet. Die Computerspielgegner konzentrieren sich auf den Inhalt und die grafische Darstellung der Spiele (narratologischer Ansatz). Am Ende einer ausführlichen Darstellung ihrer Argumente stellt sich heraus, dass keines davon haltbar ist, wenn man die ethischen Theorien auf sie anwendet. Einzig der tugendethische Ansatz scheint Ansätze zu bieten, auf denen man aufbauen kann, allerdings nicht gegen, sondern für Spiele. Diesem wird im zweiten Teil des Buches nachgegangen. Miguel Sicarts Werk „The Ethics of Computer Games“ versucht, eine konkrete Ethik des Computerspiels zu entwickeln. In „Der kluge Spieler und die Ethik des Computerspielens“ wird Sicarts Werk zum ersten Mal im Deutschen vorgestellt, in seine einzelnen Bestandteile zerlegt und re-strukturiert. In Sicarts Ethik-Konzept für Computerspiele werden die Inhalte und die Grafik der Computerspiele komplett außen vor gelassen. Sein Ansatz ist ein ludologischer (spielwissenschaftlicher), der das Regelwerk und System der Spiele in den Vordergrund schiebt. Die drei Kernelemente seiner Theorie werden dargestellt: 1. das Computerspiel als moralisches Objekt, 2. der Computerspieler als moralisches Subjekt und 3. das Computerspielen als moralische Handlung. Diese drei Aspekte wirken zusammen und miteinander. Es entsteht eine Wechselwirkung zwischen dem Spiel und dem Spieler, in den auch das Nicht-Spieler-Subjekt einbezogen wird. Ein Mensch spielt ein Computerspiel und wird dadurch zum Spieler dieses Spiels. Er nimmt das Regelwerk auf und ruft seine vorhandene Erfahrung aus früheren Spielen ab, um somit ein möglichst gelungenes Spielen zu bewerkstelligen. Damit ist gemeint, dass er nicht schummelt, dass er keine Tricks anwendet, dass er in Mehrspielerspielen Fairplay walten lässt etc. Zusätzlich ist dieser Spieler aber nicht nur ein Spieler, sondern er befindet sich in sozialen Kontexten, hat Werte und Ansichten und diese fließen in sein Spieler-Repertoire ein. In solch einer Wechselwirkung verhält sich der Spieler moralisch korrekt, wenn er dem Spiel zu dem verhilft, was es ist: eine Erfahrung. Das Spiel ist nämlich zweierlei: 1. Das Objekt, also eine CD in einer Hülle mit einer Spielanleitung etc. 2. Das Spiel, das am Bildschirm tatsächlich erfahren wird, indem es gespielt wird. Sieht das Spiel eine gewalthaltige Lösung vor, ist es in Sicarts Ethik des Computerspiels moralisch richtig, diese zu vollziehen. Was Sicart mit seiner Theorie letztendlich zeichnet, ist das Bild eines „klugen Spielers“. Der dritte Teil des Buches analysiert Sicarts Ethik des Computerspiels und zeigt mithilfe eines praktischen Beispiels seine Schwachstelle auf. Während die Computerspielgegner sich ausschließlich auf den Inhalt und die Grafik konzentrieren, ignoriert Sicart sie gänzlich. Somit stellen beide Ansätze Extrempositionen dar. Sicarts Ansatz wird in eine „Ethik des Computerspielens“ uminterpretiert und anschließend auf die Diskussionen rund um den Amoklauf von Winnenden angewendet. Dadurch können die Ausgangsargumente gegen Killerspiele endgültig wissenschaftlich widerlegt werden. Im letzten Teil des Buches wird die Brücke zum tugendethischen Ansatz des Aristoteles geschlagen: der gemäßigte Mittelweg führt zu einem guten Leben. Eine komplette Computerspielethik muss beide Aspekte beinhalten: den grafisch-inhaltlichen („narratologischen“) und den spieltechnischen („ludologischen“) Ansatz. Nur im Zusammenspiel beider kann eine umfassende Computerspielethik gesucht und gefunden werden. Hierzu wird ein Grundgerüst vorgeschlagen sowie zwei Ideen, welche für weitere Forschung auf dem Gebiet verwendet werden können.
“The Prudent Player and the Ethics of Computer Gaming” is a moral philosophical analysis of the so called “killergame-controversy”. After the gun rampage of Winnenden, heavy discussions arose in Germany about video games, especially those with violent content. The public opinion is that violent video games cause violent behaviour in real life. Some German politicians even claimed that such games would be on one level with child pornography. With the help of three known normative ethical theories – consequentialism (Mill), deontology (Kant) and virtue ethics (Aristoteles) – the scientific arguments against video games are analysed and evaluated. The opponents of video games focus on the content and graphics of the games (narratological approach). After an extensive presentation of their arguments, it turns out that none remains valid after applying the ethical theories to them. Solely the virtue ethics approach seems to be of help, however not against but in aid of video games. This is dealt with in the second part of the book. Miguel Sicart’s work “The Ethics of Computer Games” tries to develop a tangible ethics for computer games. “The Clever Player and the Ethics of Computer Gaming” presents Sicart’s theory for the first time in German and re-structures it’s content by focussing on the main ingredients of his theory. Sicart’s concept does not include any content or graphical aspects. It is a strictly ludological (game studies) approach which focuses on the rules and the system of the games. The three main elements of his theory are: 1. the video game as a moral object, 2. the player as a moral subject and 3. playing video games as a moral act. These three aspects work together. The result is an interaction between the game and the player which also includes the non-playing-subject of the player. A person starts playing a video game and hence becomes the player of this game. He acts according to the rules and uses his previous experience with other games in order to play as properly as possible. This means that he does not cheat, does not use tricks, acts with fair play in multiplayer games etc. Since the player is more than just a player, he also uses his virtues and perspectives from the real world as a player-tool. The player acts morally correct in such an interaction, if he helps the game become an experience rather than a mere object (CD/DVD). Only when a game is experienced on the screen by a player, it becomes a real game as intended by it’s designers. And if this game needs a violent on-screen solution for solving a problem, then the player ought to do so. The player which Sicart describes is a “clever player” and not some sort of zombie without thoughts and evaluation of what is happening. The third part of the book analyses Sicart’s framework and shows his weakness with the help of a practical example. While the opponents of video games focus on the content and graphics only, Sicart’s approach does not include them at all. Therefore, both positions are extreme and Sicart’s point of view is re-interpreted into an “Ethics of Computer Gaming”, pointing out the active part of his theory. Now it is scientifically possible to prove all arguments against video games following the Winnenden-controversy wrong at one go. The last part of the book goes back to Aristoteles’ view on ethics: living a good life means finding the middle ground between extremes. Hence, a complete ethics of computer games needs both approaches: the narratological (graphics and content) and the ludological (rules and game systems). Only when both are combined, a real ethics of computer games is possible. A framework for such a theory is proposed as well as two ideas which can be helpful for further research in this field.

Work focuses on representation of opponents in first-person shooter video games. It aims to discover tools, which developers of video games use to choose specific enemies for their games and in which way they present them. First-person shooters are used for this purposes because players have closest visual contact with opponents in this genre. The aim of this work is to describe most typical opponents in video games and to find out why this exact enemies are usualyy the most portrayed. Special attention is paid to video games which used original attitude for creating enemies. Work than focuses on most frequent stereotypes in opponents presentation, mostly racial and national, which are used by developers and what function they have. Than it gives room for critics of such stereotypes and tries to estimate if these critics can result in some changes in the future. Video games which created controversy by representation of specific enemies are subject of next topic. These games often put players in position of moral dilemma. On the base of research from literature and analysis of video games this work focuses on main reasons of representation of concrete enemies and what emotional impact it can have on players.

The rise of global communication and the pervasive nature of mass media entertainment has led to stark increases in the popularization of video games. With increases in popularity, socio-cultural representations of video gamers are also changing, particularly as more women take up game controllers and consoles to play. This rise in diversification of player demographics has, in part, spearheaded an upheaval of vocal reactions across the gaming community concerning the resounding lack of positive portrayals of female game characters and persistent criticisms of profound misogyny in the video games industry. This chapter interrogates the changes in characters and fandom amid the controversy of #gamergate.

What is the future of video games? Is it more realism? More violence? Better physics? Artificially intelligent characters? More social networking games? Free to play and advertising supported? Games for non-gamers? More controversy, political scapegoating, and legal challenges? It’s probably all of the above, and more. In fact, while we may expect to see more of the same from the commercial video game industry, there is always the potential for surprises, both pleasant and not-so pleasant. One area of the future of games is less often discussed, but represents one of the most powerful and positive directions the industry could take. I call it the “positive impact model,” and for the rest of this chapter, I will attempt to provide some insight into what that phrase is meant to convey.