Session Information

Title	Taboo: Are there areas in which meaningful play must not, cannot tread?
Presenter(s)	Lindsay Grace, Miami University Braxton Soderman, Brown University Shira Chess, Miami University
Time	Friday, October 22, 1:00p-2:00p
Location	Parlor C
Format	Panel
Description	As the use of persuasive games increases, the question about what is appropriate in gaming takes on new resonance. Games are not merely under scrutiny for violent or sexual content; they are increasingly becoming a medium for political and philosophical expression. These new expressions are no longer dismissible as mere entertainment, as they declare a new understanding of games - games as rhetoric, critique, persuasion and even propaganda. Like all mass media there is a critical mass for content which exceeds the limits of a contemporary audience. This panel seeks to discuss that limit, critically examining the subject matter and expression in games with these specific agendas. Key questions addressed in this panel include: Where do audiences draw the line between game appropriate and game inappropriate subjects? What subjects seem game ready, but are noticeably absent in the contemporary game space? What games have failed under the pressure of their topics? What cultural factors dominate these limits and how do those limits coincide with complimentary media? Does the fact that players enact content instead of simply watch content contribute to the controversial elements of some video games?" What game topics seem consistently taboo across cultures? How do these taboo areas coincide to specific demographic patterns? Is there, or should there be, an ethics to game design? Example games to be discussed include 9/11 Survivor, The Suicide Bomber Game, Orgasm Girl and Billy Suicide. The panel is comprised of comparative media theorists and game designers.

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