a11yTOConf2020

Maximum Fun, Minimal Harm: Ethics And Intentionality In Game Design

Speaker: Adrian Petterson Twitter: @Calamity_Jane95

• Sources of Harm

  Dark Patterns

• Common choices by design, but hurt the users
• Monetary: makes user spend more money than they wanted
• Temporal: quests that you can only play at certain time
• Social: invite your friends
• Psychological: making fun of players, putting a crying puppy
• Solution:
  • Transparency with your players
  • Provide multiple ways to achieve results
  • Check motivations

Lack of Trigger Warning

• Many players want to be scared, but there are plenty of players that can be triggered by certain events
• Consequences
  • Panic Attacks
  • Abuse from partners
  • Violence: from discrimination, unexpected violence
  • Mental health: eating disorders, anxiety
  • Gas Lighting: convincing other that they are crazy
  • Discrimination: race, ….
• Solution:
  • Make it a setting: Offer Choices
  • Option to skip:

Historical Trauma

• Asylum trope:
  • Always portrayed as dark
  • Misrepresentation
  • Discriminatory
  • Typically patients are represented as dangerous, barely human
• Crazy women
  • Example: Harley
  • Hysteria
  • Instability
  • Loss of Control

Misrepresentation

• People with disabilities are only responsible of 3% violent acts
• People with disabilities are 10X most likely to get assaulted

Reflective Equilibrium

• Observe your rules
• Evaluate the rules based on current knowledge
• Weigh the importance of those rules

Resources

• https://www.bbc.co.uk/editorialguidelines/guidelines/harm-and-offence/guidelines