You've been logged out of GDC Vault since the maximum users allowed for this account has been reached. To access Members Only content on GDC Vault, please log out of GDC Vault from the computer which last accessed this account.

Click here to find out about GDC Vault Membership options for more users.

close

The Number One Educational Resource for the Game Industry

Session Name: Gaming the Laws of War: Can Real Consequences Mean Real Fun?
Speaker(s): Daniel Greenberg, Gary Brown, Seth Hudson, Joris van't Land
Company Name(s): Media Rez LLC, International Committee of the Red Cross, George Mason University, Bohemia Interactive
Track / Format: Advocacy

Did you know free users get access to 30% of content from the last 2 years?


Get your team full access to the most up to date GDC content

Overview: As combat video games strive for greater realism, a key reality of warfare is rarely simulated: the moral and ethical dilemmas real soldiers are faced. Soldiers must learn International Humanitarian Law before they are allowed on the battlefield, but games seldom grapple with the consequences of violations like deliberately killing civilians, targeting medics, and torture. Do games ignore the laws of war because simulating it would not be fun? Or because it's a new and untested idea? Games outside of a battlefield setting have been made more challenging and fun by simulating the negative consequences for player actions (Grand Theft Auto). Can games be more fun if they enorce the Geneva Convention through gameplay? Panelists from the game development community, academia, and the Red Cross give a presentation on the current state of the Law of War in video games, debate the future of the idea, and offer new approaches.

GDC 2015

Daniel Greenberg

Media Rez LLC

Gary Brown

International Committee of the Red Cross

Seth Hudson

George Mason University

Joris van't Land

Bohemia Interactive

free content

Advocacy

Advocacy

Design

Design