Self-reflection and morality in critical games. Who is to be blamed for war? [Full text]
Elisabeta Toma [1]
| Abstract: ‘This war of mine’ is a critical game depicting the war experience from a civilian’s perspective. As a game, it relies on its interactivity in order to offer the player an immersive experience. As a critical game, it challenges design conventions while also encouraging self-reflection. ‘This war of mine’ proposes interpretations of both real life and play in an ethical and realistic manner. We show the means it employs as a medium for sending a message: its content, rhetoric, presentation, as well as the debates that it stirs. Thus, as games are played in a cloud of comments and reviews, we also explore the collaborative process of moral learning in ‘This war of mine’ and we discuss the game’s efficiency as a medium in delivering an ethical gameplay experience. Keywords: Critical games, ethical gameplay, collaborative knowledge, procedural rhetoric |
[1] Faculty of Sociology and Social Work, University of Bucharest, Romania, elisabetatoma26@gmail.com