#gamesethicswar

[alexandermuscat]

In November last year I presented at Macquarie University’s Games, Ethics and War workshop, alongside a diverse assortment of (excellent) speakers.

My talk ‘Warfare in the Uncanny Valley' went up on YouTube recently alongside all the other talks.

I discuss the representation of combat in Bohemia Interactive’s ‘mil-sim’ game Arma 3, it’s pros and cons, and how designers may better alleviate problematic elements, referring to some examples from film and games.

The workshop itself was excellent too, many of the talks were fascinating (seriously, check these out!).

Spec Ops: The Line’s (a game that I have a real soft spot for) design lead Cory Davis’ talk about crafting games as a ‘Vehicle for an Existential Conversation' is definitely worth a watch, especially for those interested videogames with the guts to simulatenously embrace, smear and challenge institutionalised tropes and themes.

[alexandermuscat]

Games, Ethics and War

Next Monday (24th) Macquarie University is hosting a workshop centred around Ethics and War in games. There's an excellent line up of speakers from various fields: game studies, Red Cross, military ethics, and game developers, notably the Spec Ops: The Line, and This War of Mine design leads.

I'll be flying over for the day and presenting 'Warfare in the Uncanny Valley', a talk discussing Arma 3's depiction of combat:

Since 2001 Bohemia Interactive has developed military themed games atypical to the mainstream. Their most recent title, Arma 3, continues this trend. It represents an all-encompassing philosophy to depict a realistic combat experience.

The high fidelity in both gameplay and environment design, is present from weapons to the flora and fauna of the Greek isles. Yet with increases in complexity and fidelity come complications. For instance, the game sanitises in-game human toll. This causes a disconnect between the reality of warfare and simulation.

If we are to maintain our suspension of disbelief, how may developers better address this? How might we make simulated warfare more believable?

Being a long time fan of Bohemia Interactive's games (Flashpoint and Arma in particular) it's a topic I'm looking forward to discussing!