Individual Research Topic: Just playing? the ethics of videogames

The ethics of videogames

a) Key quotes

“Overall, this gameplay mode was created to take the teamwork factor that made the Left 4 Dead series　famous to the next level.” (Left 4 Dead Wiki)

The game stated in their official blog: “…you (players) can get a taste of the blood-splattering, zombie-killing fun right now!” see more on http://www.l4d.com/blog/post.php?id=1999

“The game contains violence that is strong in impact and justified by context. The violence can be by way of shooting, being hit with a variety of missiles, immolation, or in hand to hand combat. The violence is accompanied by copious blood spray, blood pooling and occasional dismemberment and atomizing of victims. The soundtrack contains sound effects associated with violence including moderate coarse language, pleas of victims and the guttural moans and roars of the creatures. ” (Left 4 Dead Classification Board Report. 2008.)

b) Key Links

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF1HVlcXBmA

http://left4dead.wikia.com/wiki/Left_4_Dead_Wiki
http://www.ea.com/games/left-4-dead-game-of-the-year-edition
http://www.l4d.com/blog/post.php?id=2081
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/fi_left4dead_pc

c) Key books and articles
The future of shooters 

http://pc.ign.com/articles/108/1082633p1.html
Left 4 Dead Lives On 
http://comics.ign.com/articles/112/1120580p1.html
Zombies: Ethics of the Undead
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/sciencenotfiction/2010/10/29/ethics-of-the-undead/

d) Case Study

Left 4 Dead

Who is the artist/ make of the artwork/website/game?

- The game is developed by Turtle Rock Studios & Valve Corporation

When was it produced/ released?

- It was at first released digitally on November 17, 2008 ; retail on November 18, 2008 in North America and Australia; on November 21, 2008 in Europe and Japan.

Describe it in detail

      Left 4 Dead is a cooperative first-person shooter video game. It was developed by Turtle Rock Studios and Valve Corporation. The game makes use of Valve's proprietary source engine, and is available for Windows, Xbox360 and Mac OS X, which coverage explains its remarkable success. The game setting is all around the 4 survivors of the outbreak against hordes of the infected zombie. There are 4 game modes in total, included a single-player mode in which allied characters are controlled by AI; a four-player, co-op campaign mode; an eight-player online versus mode; and a four-player survival mode, all in all, Left 4 Dead put heavy emphasis on cooperative play. Apart from the human characters, the inflected zombies and monster also play a crucial role, by adding the horror element into the game, it give players a dynamic and movie like experience, which have increased the replay value for the game. Besides, the game received numerous awards like The Computer Game of the Year by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences; The Best Multiplayer Game of 2008 by IGN, GameSpy, SpikeTV etc.  

For you, what is interesting/thought-provoking/puzzling about this game? Explain in detail.

I personally have heard about this famous shooter game around my classmates and friends, praising its excited and movie-like images, also the zombie-killing fun. It arouse me to pay attention on its news and even lead me to try once. First shooter game is not provoking in the game nature but Left 4 Dead created a great smoothness and excitement to players that they have long pursued, that's why it became so popular and sold almost 3 million copies within one year released. Despite of the positive reception from different parties and players, when I tried to play the game, it made me think of the reason of their success and puzzled why such a bloody one could be greatly accepted. For me, the game is not interesting at all, but it also remains the value of discussion and introspection.

What key issues or questions does this game raise?

 It certainly raise the ethical problem and influence for the public and players. Although the game was praised in terms of the team spirit and cooperative playing mode, it still reveal its flaw in its strong proportion of violent and combating element. Players act as the survivors in the game and intended to shoot and hit zombies with any weapons, together with the frequent bloody spray scenes, which is totally bad for players, specially for the youngsters. I would say that the game has the importance of discussing the negative ethical problem rather than the positive one.