Game Ethics and Accessibility in Boardgames with Pauline Belford

<p>Pauline Belford is an experienced educator who has spent nearly two decades teaching in post-16 education at both Further Education and Higher Education institutions. She was involved in the development of the first Scottish Higher National Diploma in Computer Games Development – a national qualification delivered across Scotland’s Further Education Colleges. She is also an active researcher in the fields of computer ethics and accessibility in games, and has co-authored several papers on topics such as game design, game ethics, and sexism in gaming. She is currently working part-time as a freelance educational consultant and accessibility researcher, whilst co-authoring a book on computer ethics, and learning Swedish.</p> <p>In our conversation, we talk about morality in games, board game accessibility, and parkrun.</p> <p>Show Notes (<a href='https://steampoweredshow.com/shows/pauline-belford/'>link</a>)</p> <p>[00:40] What drew Pauline to game design, computer ethics, and accessibility [01:06] Pauline's background and exposure to computers [01:42] From biology and sociology to computer science [02:49] Developing the HNC and HND Computer Games Development qualification [04:14] Where that qualification can lead [04:40] Setting up teams and incubators during the program [06:38] Pauline's interest in computer ethics [07:21] Teaching ethics through the case study "Scandal in Academia" [08:47] Student reception to learning ethics in computing [09:35] The lessons behind the lesson [10:38] Also, PhDs: Beware of what you're getting into [11:18] The potential for exploitation in academia [13:25] On independent research and publishing [14:24] Teaching ethics to both computing students and police officers [15:13] How to assess an ethics unit [16:25] Morality in games [17:40] Morality systems in the "Fallout" (VG) series [19:14] The "Magic Circle” concept [20:29] Empathy as a mechanic in "Life is Strange" (VG) [22:02] The politics of story crafting in games [22:24] The analogy to slavery in "Detroit: Become Human" (VG)