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Serious Gaming: Teaching Values Through Play


PRESS RELEASE

Hershey, PA – February 2, 2010 – Ethics and games are emerging as a very popular field of study. As such, there has become a need to define the field in terms of its primary challenges and the current state of the discipline.

According to Karen Schrier, a doctoral student at Columbia University, “the field can be broadly defined as the study of using games to support ethical thinking, reasoning, and reflection, as well as the ethical implications of game development choices, design possibilities, and distribution methods.”

As such, this novel field of research embraces a number of related disciplines, including philosophy, game design, learning theory, cognitive science, psychology, and social theory. Schrier points out that ethics and game design ultimately challenges us to “reevaluate what it means to be human and gain insight into our own humanity.”

One of IGI Global’s latest releases, “Ethics and Game Design: Teaching Values through Play” (edited by Karen Schrier, Columbia University, USA and David Gibson, University of Vermont, USA), is the first book in its field to challenge scholars and researchers to answer questions such as: How can game design be improved to foster ethical thinking and discourse? What are the theories and methodologies that will help us understand, model, and assess ethical thinking in games? How do we use games in classrooms and informal educational settings to support moral development? This distinguished publication approaches such questions from a multidisciplinary perspective with the ultimate goal of inspiring further interdisciplinary dialogue and research in order to continue building the ethics and games community.

Schrier notes that “each author in this volume uses a unique perspective to frame the problem: some implement cognitive or social psychology methodologies, others come from a design background, some focus on pedagogical theories, while others employ a philosophical angle.” The list of contributors is comprised of designers and practitioners, researchers, and theorists—many of them are all three. This dynamic, multidisciplinary approach is well-suited for readers searching for a different perspective on ethics and games in order to guide their own exciting research initiatives and to incite further interdisciplinary dialogue on such a captivating field of study.

To learn more, please visit https://www.igi-global.com/book/ethics-game-design/37269.

To arrange for an interview with the editor or to request an electronic copy of the publication for review, please contact Gregory Guenther at guenther@igi-global.com.

About IGI Global

Since 1988, IGI Global has provided comprehensive research not just on computer science and information technology management, but also on how information technology affects human activities and interactions. IGI Global is a leading multimedia publisher of books, reference works, journals, encyclopedias, teaching cases, proceedings, and databases covering the areas of education, social science, library science, healthcare, business management, public administration, and computer science. Information on all of IGI Global's authoritative resources can be found at www.igi-global.com. IGI Global's office is located in Hershey, PA, USA.