International Journal of Games and Social Impact
Research20 reports · 18 articles
Open-access journal from Lusófona University on games, game design and their social impact.
Documents
Article
School as Playground: Discussing a Play Structure for Higher Design Education
"School as Playground" by Marta Guerra Belo argues that play, understood as free movement within a rigid rule structure, is intrinsic to human learning and offers a productive model for alternative higher design education.
- Play is framed as free movement within a rigid rule structure, and the paper argues this combination is intrinsic to human learning and a productive model for higher design education.
- The central proposal is that schools should "teach by play," operating as flexible, integrated community spaces where understanding emerges through dialogue, cooperation, and productive uncertainty rather than rigid, outcome-focused structures.
- Meaningful learning is described as depending on a balance of rules, freedom, and imagination, with play treated as simultaneously serious and pleasurable rather than peripheral.
International Journal of Games and Social ImpactJan 2023
Article
Moral Complexity in Videogames: A Pragmatist Approach
Hanussek's paper proposes "moral complexity" as a pragmatic, bottom-up analytic and design construct for understanding how videogames implement moral content.
- Hanussek defines 'moral complexity' as the degree to which a game offers alternatives to violence and deceit, together with critical commentary framing those acts, and proposes it as a pragmatic bottom-up analytic and design construct.
- The paper argues prior videogame ethics research has been too abstract and that treating morality as a game design element better captures the closed-simulation player experience than importing real-world ethical frameworks directly.
- The central finding is that games offering more alternatives and commentary generate more frequent moral experiences, because these align with players' pursuit of happiness, absorbing self-rewarding challenge, and reflective understanding.
International Journal of Games and Social ImpactJan 2023