#game ethics

[disregardasiamawoman]

Why are we even having an argument about jiggle physics in the first place?

Jiggle physics is a very hotly debated topic and has been for many years. I’ve noticed a recent surge in discussion of the topic with the popularisation of Marvel Rivals. And I have things to say, so lets talk jiggle physics!

I’m sure most of you know but when I’m talking about jiggle physics I’m talking about the unnecessary movement of women’s boobs in video games. And I’m sure most people on the internet have played or watched gameplay where a female characters ass or boobs move way more than they should. What we should be asking is why is that?

Our first and most obvious reason is that it is sexy. Boobs are much more desirable to our average gooner when they are large and bounce up and down with character movement. If the ass does the same there are no complaints there either. This combined with the skimpy outfits many female video game characters are clad in provides perfect material for the wank bank. 

But oh my god, you can’t say that anymore because have you seen the Marvel Rivals male skins? They’re also super skimpy! And hell yeah, they are. That gets us a step closer, but unfortunately, this is still not quite equality in video games because these men do not have jiggle physics applied! And think about how strange it is if we saw a male characters penis and ass bouncing with every step. I find applying common tropes to the opposite gender helps me acknowledge how strange and out of place it often is.

There is also the argument that women’s boobs actually do move in real life. This is correct to a point, but in-game physics have been greatly exaggerated, which brings me to my next point. I think that males get so defensive about this arguement because they genuinely don’t know how boobs work. 

Women have boobs, we are rather attuned to the movement of our own boobs and it is a lot less controversial for us to be staring at our friends boobs. There is an understanding of how size affects movement, as well as what movement is normal. As someone who is studying animation and game design we are taught to look at how people walk and move so as weird of a flex it is, I think I have a rather good understanding of how boobs move while walking. And unfortunately for a lot of games, the answer is not much. Jumping adds more movement but again many games seem to have the boobs move seperately from the body when in reality they probably apply the principal of slow in and out rather than secondary action. 

But why should men even know this? Most men with any sort of internet access have probably only specifically looked at breast movement in porn and in video games where boobs do have a life of their own! So of course they’re going to think that women are wrong (about their own boobs might I add) and believe that these movements aren’t exaggerated when these are movements they commonly see. I fear that the only solution to this is to actually go out and experience boobs for yourself. Go look at them in a non-creepy way of course and actually see how they move (especially to the guys who’s job it is to rig and animate female characters). Go buy a pair of fake boobs for yourself and put them on and jump around. It won’t take long to see that the exaggerated movement in games is frankly ridiculous and, in my opinion, unsexy. 

Usually here is where I’d say disregard as I am a woman but honestly being a woman probably means that I have more knowledge about boobs so unless you’re going to go get a pair of your own, you have to regard me.

-B

[tsianphiel]

Ethics as a first resort

Ethics as a first resort

I’m sort of surprised that we don’t speak more about ethics in game development. I know there are pockets of discussion here and there, but not to the level I have been expecting. Perhaps it’s because I’m trying to follow more accessibility focused individuals, perhaps it’s because I’m naïve and trusting (there’s definitely a part of me that leans in that direction, believe it or not), but I…

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[theinternetaccordingtokori]

TO SUPPORTERS OF GAMERGATE:

DO NOT TRASH #GAMEETHICS. DO NOT TRASH #GAMEETHICS.

Let them be. You can support both.

Good? Good.

[xperiencegames]

Athl-ETHICS

Ethics in games are an interesting and under discussed topic in game studies. Sicart believes that game designers have an ethical responsibility to the systems and rule sets that they create within their games. If the rules of a game allow negative behavior without consequence, there is nothing to tell the player that a particular action taken in a game is an unethical one. Apart from the game designers, Sicart also gives moral responsibility to the players. He emphasizes a game is just an object without a player. Once a player is introduced, the game becomes an experience. The code or rule set given in the game defines the possibility space of the player, but what if players are given the power to mod these systems beyond the developers' imagination?

Frasca introduces a game called 'Sims of the Oppressed' this system gives the power to the player to modify characters to their own desires. This kind of interaction is very different from what a normal player would do but it is still a form of communication with the system that is Sims. Such power given to the people would have several consequences. People given freedom to exploit a game system can use this power to exploit other or to demean certain social groups or even to create extremist controversies. One the other hand people could actually create more believable characters to experiment with the way the system reacts to these characters.  It is true that designers implement their own ideologies deep into their games but restricting the players' action would reduce the negative impact that it could actually have.

When it comes to computer game ethics, I am always reminded of Black and White. Black and White is a particularly interesting example since it actually lets the player define what is good or bad to the miniatures. This allows the player to create a completely different ethical system for these miniatures than the real life requires. In my opinion this is very similar to Sims of the Oppressed, the only difference is that the hardwired 'code' of the game actually allows for this skewing of morality. Sicart states that a computer cannot be seen as an agent, since everything is mathematical, this is true but if the game system reflects back to the player the repercussions of a skewed morality, it allows a player to actually consider and reflect about his/her in-game actions.

Metro: Last Light actually has a built-in system of morale points which evaluates the player's actions. For example if s/he lets a group of harmless creatures pass by without killing them the game would produce a positive sound while if s/he does kill these creatures a negative sound is heard. These series of decisions made throughout the whole game actually have an effect on the ending.

Similarly, Dishonored has a system which analyses the amount of people the player has killed, every corpse has a negative effect on the city and even some characters of the game will grow to despise the player's character for the violent actions he has taken throughout the course of the game.

The Walking Dead game is also a very interesting game in terms of its ethical system. The game constantly records decisions that the player takes throughout the playthrough and at the end of an episode, it will show the player statistics of what all the players of the game have chosen. This kind of statistical screen allows the player to reflect upon the possibly unethical decisions s/he have taken. The game actually forces the player to make fast decisions for the best (in the player's opinion) of the whole group. The statistics screen would actually cause the player to wonder what would have happened if s/he had taken a different course of action.

There many games that cause the player to make possibly ethical decisions but most of them are driven by the narrative more than anything.  In these cases, the game analyses the choices made and reacts to them according to the code implemented in them. Thus games are most often very rigid in the ways they react to player's actions but still have the power to make the player think about the actions taken in order to serve as an ethical rhetoric tool. 

[manchestergamemaker]

Pro-tip

Being aware of the fact that there is not much variety in the characters we get to play in games (when you compare this to the variety in humanity) and wanting to discuss how to better improve that, does not make this a social justice blog.

If you can't handle that concept, it says more about you than this blog.

This blog is for game design and theory discussion and promoting indie games. If you have one you'd like us to share, please feel free to submit it!

Likewise if you have something you'd like to discuss.

[sarienn]

The truth and drama behind Cow Clicker

I clicked a cow and I liiked it! This oldie but goldie is a part of game dev essentials and explains the thinking and satire behind Ian Bogost experimental game. 

[emilselectricboogaloo]

We cannot automatically consider video games as superb tools in moral development. But they can frame simple moral thought experiments (like the trolley and footbridge dilemmas) with a wider fictional context and provide a unique experience that can reveal to players through their own moral emotions how they relate to different moral codes.

Jaroslav Svelch - "The Good, The Bad and the Player - The Challenges to Moral Engagement in Single-Player Avatar-Based Video Games"

in Ethics and Game Design - Teaching Values Through Play(2010)

[thecarpentersapprentice-blog]

sexy-and-styling replied to your post

((I’ve been wondering if I should get that.. Should I?))

ooc: it's really cute but it's goes from real life time so if it says you'll do something tomorrow YOU'RE DOIN IT TOMORROW........... unless you have a stupid wii that's time is never right anyway so you change the date hahaha..........