Prosocial Game Design and Community

Extracted 19FEB2013 from www.thedivisionigr.com/3-cs.html Recently, a tweet by author and games designer, Dr. Jane McGonigal caught my eye, "Why don't more people in the game industry stand up to defend our work?" supported by a link to Daniel Greenberg's article, The Video Game Industry Needs to Defend Herself Now.

After conversing with friends on this topic I learned that for most, their absence from the spotlight is not due to lack of compassion or moxie, but because they are concerned with meeting existing deadlines and sustaining employment. Publishers tend to frown on employees engaging in controversial issues, especially of recent magnitude.

Through this process, I also learned that the issues are largely unexplored...

My colleagues and I share a relatively simple position. The focus should be on the way people play video games, not a particular games classification. Individuals can play any video game, violent or nonviolent, in a way that is prosocial or antisocial. Video game design and community influence how individuals play games...