In this essay, the author examines the EPIC (Ethics Practice and Implementation Categorization) framework which stated purpose is to identify and categorize strategies and teaching goals for ethics and morality in video games. This is done by putting the framework into use as intended and then discussing whether it achieves its purpose, and whether it is suitable for use in teaching. The study is carried out based on the following questions: 1. What educational goals and strategies are found in the video game Assassin's Creed: Valhalla. 2. How is EPIC useful in finding teaching opportunities in video games? 3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the EPIC framework? These questions are answered by analyzing the video game Assassin's Creed: Valhalla based on EPIC. The framework is carefully studied, and the game is explored in depth. The author attempts to identify the twelve strategies and the seven teaching objectives that the framework categorizes. These touch on everything from the game's narrative features, to gameplay moments and technical game design. To facilitate the investigation and its presentation, it is divided into two main parts: overall systems and themes, and the moral dilemmas of the game. In this way, the author can give a nuanced picture of the game's content and demonstrate what EPIC is capable of when it comes to analyzing video games. The investigation of Assassin's Creed: Valhalla is then discussed with a focus on whether EPIC achieves its purpose, what obstacles the investigation encounters, and what EPIC can be used for beyond its stated purpose. The result shows that EPIC is a very effective tool for identifying strategies and possible teaching goals in video games. EPIC's problem is mainly that it does not function as an evaluative tool, and that it does not consider the potentially conflicting strategies. In some cases, the research shows that a simple identification of EPIC's strategies and teaching goals is not enough for a teacher to make a well-informed decision about whether the given material is suitable for teaching. A deeper analysis is required, and that is not reasonable for most teachers. The study also confirms that the design of video games creates a risk for players who do not choose to interact with the game's systems as the developer intended. Video games can present shades of gray and ambiguous questions and dilemmas that require some attention and interest from the player. In teaching environments it therefore becomes very important that the teacher assumes the role of an encouraging guide. It should also be mentioned that EPIC considers much of the criticism leveled at several ethical theories. It has been found to be a versatile tool that tries to apply many different principles. For example, ethics of care is given a large place, which absence has been an object of criticism against previous theories and frameworks in ethics. The author suggests that EPIC is possibly better suited as a tool for game developers that wish to design games specifically for teaching ethics and morality.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:hj-58552 |
| Date | January 2022 |
| Creators | Nimmersjö, Oskar |
| Publisher | Jönköping University, Högskolan för lärande och kommunikation |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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