Paper Information
| Title | Constructive Carnage - Violent Gameplay as Affective Ethical Instruction |
| Presenter(s) | M.-Niclas Heckner |
| Session | Ethical Reflection in Games |
| Time | Saturday, October 23, 10:15a-11:15a |
| Location | Parlor A |
| Format | Paper Presentation |
| Description | Violent video games are under constant attack for their alleged effects on non-virtual social interaction. This paper considers violent gameplay a possible scenario for the proposal and negotiation for a distinct set of ethically instructive strategies. In an analysis of the controversial level "No Russian" from the 2009 Video Game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, I show that by breaking genre conventions, this game takes its players out of the pleasurable experience of virtual shooters and forces them to reflect both on the ethical implications of violence as a means of maintaining public safety on the one hand, and on the fictional status of game violence on the other. |
| More | View PDF of full paper |