Can game-design promote human rights?

The Council of Europe has released a set of guidelines on the human rights of video-game players, calling on game-creators to design systems that encourage freedom of expression and creativity (many online games actually put up an "agreement" every time you patch them in which you promise not to assert your right to either). On the academic games blog Terra Nova, Ren Reynolds points out problems with this approach and sets out a course for improving it.

Providers (designers and publishers) of online games design and make available products which can promote the exercise and enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms, in particular the freedom to express, to create and to exchange content and communications while respecting the rights of others. Designed and provided in an appropriate manner, games can be powerful tools to enhance learning, creativity and social interaction, thereby helping users to benefit from the information society.

However, like other content, online games may also inadvertently impact on the rights and sensibilities of individuals, in particular children, as well as their dignity. The potential impact of such games may increase as they allow the gaming experience to become more creative and interactive (as the possibilities for expression, interaction and exchange of content with other gamers increase) and ever more realistic (as the visual effects of games develop).

Online games can play an important positive role in the lives and development of individuals, especially for children and young people. It suffices to consider the importance of rights and freedoms, values and dignity, into the embedded design and marketing of games. In this regard, it is recalled that the exercise of freedom of expression carries with it duties and responsibilities, in particular as regards the protection of health and morals and the rights of others, which publishers of online games are encouraged to bear in mind when deciding on the content of their games.

Human rights & the 'online game provider'

• [Rindan]

  Nothing makes me wretch as quickly as “OMG think of the children!” That cry can be traced to a solid 95% of all cases where human freedom of expression has been crushed. I was extremely pleased to see Hillary defeated by Obama if for no other reason than for her fascist jack booted love of wielding “OMG the children!” to crush human creativity and expression.

  To quote this vile proclamation of OMG THE CHILDREN!!!111!!

  In this regard, it is recalled that the exercise of freedom of expression carries with it duties and responsibilities, in particular as regards the protection of health and morals and the rights of others, which publishers of online games are encouraged to bear in mind when deciding on the content of their games.

  This is followed by some vile spew that declares implies that all video games need a PG rating and no evil immortality taught to the OMG THE CHILDREN!!!1!!!

  I am an adult. I like adult games. I like villains. Hell, I like being the villain. The OMG THE CHILDREN folks can screw off. We have parents. They have a job. They should do it. I don’t need the state clamping down on my freedoms because some child psychologist can show a 5% elevation of aggression level when a kid is playing Halo. Abusive parents, bad schools, and poverty in general are REAL causes for children to turn out messed up. Lets focus on this before the OMG THE CHILDREN folk piss on my freedoms, eh?

• [Trilby]

  So, hang on… Blizzard and the rest ought to scrap their EULAs and let players run scripts and other mods to cheat because it’s “Freedom of Expression”? Bad call. Or am I missing the point?

• [Anonymous]

  There’s also a conference on the use of computer games in education coming up on 5 May at the Council of Europe that I’m organising. Have a look at http://games.eun.org

• [Cicada]

  What, we shouldn’t keep killing the Horde just because they’re there and uglier than we in the Alliance are?

• [Professor Booty]

  @5

  Players are notoriously bad at knowing what they want from a game. Every gamer has a laundry list of things they want changed about a game, but the vast majority of those are bad ideas with regards to gameplay.

  Oddly enough, with the exception of WoW, Blizzard has been providing quite a bit of support for player customization. Starcraft’s level editor was quite powerful, and Warcraft 3′s is even more so. New game genres have sprung from mods based on those games (I’m thinking tower defense and hero arena type games ala DotA).

  And even WoW has an unprecedented level of customization for an MMO, even if it’s only at the user interface level.

• [Teufelaffe]

  The most offensive content that comes out of online games usually comes from the players, not from the game designers. If you want to preserve a player’s dignity, teach them that constant cries of “FAG!” and “NOOB!” on the in-game chat are detrimental to said dignity.

• [Big Daddy]

  Speaking as a game professional, I’ve got one thing to say:

  You want games that promote this stuff? Go out and make them yourself. The tools are out there. They are FREE.

  To quote Jello Biafra, “Don’t hate the media. Become the media.”

  And, btw, I’ve made “OMG THE CHILDREN” games (thanks poster #1, that will keep me giggling all day now) and they don’t sell.

• [Anonymous]

  No thanks. There’s already flying penises in Second Life. We don’t need that in every other game.

• [mdh]

  trilby, you may or not be missing the point, but Blizzards games would be better if they would let the community run rampant. (maybe even with an add-on developer kit with a pathway into a walled garden for sharing mods(to ensure that the modders who want to create and share have paid for the game and the kit).

  But I’m probably missing the point too.

• [Anonymous]

  David Seah (whom GTDers might remember as the creator of the “Personal CEO” series) has just finished work on a videogame installation for the Illinois Holocaust Museum which uses a videogame to teach children that their actions have repercussions:

  http://davidseah.com/blog/comments/behind-the-scene-at-the-illinois-holocaust-museum-education-center/