Ethical Computing

Stealing Ideas

Posted by Shai Shapira on August 25, 2012
Posted in: Ethical Computing, Games. Tagged: . 2 comments

I wonder, is there some sort of time people should wait after a piece of commercial software comes out before it’s polite to steal their idea? Obviously there’s no problem in using other people’s ideas (every game genre or software type is essencially mass stealing of someone’s initial idea), but it doesn’t seem nice to do it immediately after something is published.

Why am I asking all that? Because I bought a very nice game this week, a very creative indie game called Waveform[1]. They invented a mechanic where you control a wave of energy (a sine wave), and your control method is to increase / decrease its frequency and amplitude. Maybe it’s because I’m a math geek, but it’s a really good idea and it works really well.

Waveform Screenshot

However – they went for a single-player score-attack kind of game. What I’m thinking – someone really needs to take this idea and turn it into a multiplayer racing game, where you have several waves together, trying to aim themselves at various pickups to make themselves go faster and obstruct their opponents. It’s actually perfect for the free software world because it naturally invites abstract graphics, so artists aren’t necessarily needed. So free software people – do it[2]. But buy Waveform first, they deserve some success for thinking of this idea.

[1] By the way, all my indie game discoveries are due to TotalBiscuit - the best gaming channel in Youtube, who is doing an amazing service to the indie world. If you like good games, I definitely recommend watching him.

[2] I’m currently a little busy, but indeed – if you don’t, I’ll do it eventually.

Some thoughts about video game violence

Posted by Shai Shapira on August 21, 2012
Posted in: Ethical Computing, Games. Tagged: , , . 1 comment

I tried playing Unknown Horizons a while ago. It’s a very pretty game and seems quite well polished, but I had a little problem with it[1]. In spite of being a relatively relaxed game, it made me think a little about video game violence.

I’ve been playing video games ever since I was a kid. Violence has always been quite present, and I didn’t have much problem with it. Some of my childhood memories include shooting things, punching things, throwing stuff at things and shelling things. I never really had much problem with it, as long as it was tasteful[2].

Then, a new problem came. And from what I remember, it started with GTA. When I first saw GTA I was quite impressed, it seemed like a fun game and I liked the open world concept. But after playing it a little, I realized it’s not for me – not because it was violent, but because it was evil. Shooting zombies is one thing, but I didn’t really see the fun in harming innocent people, even if it was only a game. I don’t think it should be forbidden and I don’t have anything against people who enjoy this, but it’s just not for me. If a game allows even a little bit of immersion, I like being immersed – I like to feel like I’m really there, doing what my character is doing. And when my character is evil, it just feels bad.

So how does all this relate to Unknown Horizons? I bet the developers wouldn’t have seen this coming. Around ten years ago I became a vegan. I’m not usually very preachy about it, but it is an important ideological choice for me, and I do think harming animals for anything but self-defense is very wrong. So my problem with the game? Simple. If you want to succeed in Unknown Horizons, you have to have hunters. You have to have animal farms. No gathering, no (initial) agriculture, no choice like in some other games[3] – if you want to survive, you need to kill things. I know you must be thinking I’m exaggerating, and games shouldn’t be taken too seriously, but that’s just the thing – I don’t have a problem playing Chicken Invaders, because it makes no attempts at being immersive. I don’t have a problem with Dungeon Keeper because it’s too humorous and over-the-top to be taken seriously. But if your game tries to look realistic and invites immersion, then I’ll have a problem with things like that.

I wonder if there are any other unexpected problems like that people have with immersion in games[4].

[1] I mean, in addition to the fact that it crashed for no discernible reason after about 30 minutes.

[2] I have quite relaxed demands for “tasteful”, but for example – after trying the new Mortal Kombat game, I lost all interest in getting anywhere near the series again. When a game turns violence from a means to tell a story or play a game to the essence of the game, it becomes not only too violent but also stupid and not creative, in my opinion.

[3] Little anecdote – back when I used to play Lords of the Realm 2, one of the first things I’d do every time I conquered a new county was abolish cattle / dairy farming and plant stuff instead. I didn’t even pay much attention to it, it was just obvious that this was the way for me to play.

[4] Actually, colonization games like Unknown Horizons often have another obvious problem. I didn’t notice it back when I was into the Civilization series, but having grown a little and learned a little about the world, I have to ask – they had you colonize a new land while occasionally finding little native villages to fight and pillage? How did that seem reasonable when I was younger?

Getting serious for a moment

Posted by Shai Shapira on February 6, 2012
Posted in: Ethical Computing. Leave a Comment

Unfortunately, not all is fun and games in the world around us. A few days ago I saw this, and it seems very troubling.
I recommend clicking the link, but summary: it’s an article from the New York Times with some serious accusations against Foxconn, mostly known as the company that manufactures most (or all) of Apple’s products, but also manufactures for pretty much every big electronics company you can think of. According to the article, their factories in China were noted for violations of both Chinese labor law and what I’d say is basic human decency, including severe safety hazards that caused many injuries and several deaths, demands for ridiculus overtime, underage workers, and more.

The problem is, I’m not much of an expert. Does anyone know if this really is as big a cause for concern as it seems to me, and if the companies have some reasonable response (I couldn’t find any)?
Otherwise, does anyone know if there are any companies committed to getting their products from ethical manufacturers? Wikipedia lists pretty much everyone you can think of as working with Foxconn, including Samsung (who made my phone), HP (who made my computer), Intel (who made my computer’s processor), and Sony (who made my e-book reader). On the other hand, the group that wrote the original report (linked to from the NYT article) seems to target Apple specifically (and not only for Foxconn), and even seems to be working a little with HP. So I’m not sure what to do.

Either way, if I’ll want to buy any electronics soon[1], I’ll have some serious research to do first.

(Hat tip to The Daily Show, who first brought the issue to my attention[2])

 

[1] Which I already try not to do much for ecological and anti-consumerist reasons. At some point I’ll need to start seriously looking into where the original materials for those things come from, and how they are eventually discarded. I hope I won’t find a big problem.

[2] And I wish they would do more stuff like that instead of endless coverage of the mudslinging between various election candidates. I’m sure that even if I were American, I would have no interest in that.