Abstract
Mary Flanagan and Helen Nissenbaum’s Values at Play in Digital Games is explicitly targeted at what they call “conscientious designers,” those game designers who are “ethical (they are truthful, factula, and alert and have the player’s best interests at heart) and also strive to make a difference through their work” (pp. 12–13). For those designers, Flanagan and Nissenbaum argue that games are inherently value-laden, setting up values as properties of things and states of affairs that we care about and strive to attain. They are similar to goals, purposes, and ends, but usually they possess a higher degree of gravitas and permanence, and they tend to be more abstract and general. (p. 5)
Setting up this framework for thinking about games enables a practical turn because “We can do more than simply demonstrate systematic relationships between technology and values; we can do something about it” (p. 9). The something that Flanagan and Nissenbaum propose is the Values at Play heuristic, which “is a social, philosophical, and technical framework that attempts to situate and integrate values in the design process of games” (p. 165). The book focuses on articulating how values are inevitably part of games, how values are imposed on games by designers, how values are interpreted by players, and most importantly, what designers can do to advance the development of positive values through the design and play of games.
The book is divided into three parts. The first part focuses on how values are embedded with games and how games advance values in everything from traditional narrative and linguistic efforts, like the choice of protagonists and plot lines, to the mechanics embedded within games, which can advance values like cooperation or justice or freedom or discourage them. The second section of the book outlines the specifics of the Values at Play heuristic, starting with an overview of what it is and then moving into sections focused on each of its three parts: discovery, implementation, and verification. Modeling the heuristic on traditional game design processes, the framework is expected to be used in an iterative fashion, as each verification step should lead to discovery elements that identify elements that then need to be implemented. Finally, the book moves into a section that reads like a series of testimonial stories about how Values at Play influences design and on why it matters. Moving from initial game design resources, like Grow-a-Game, to supportive statements from game designers, and eventually a recounting of a former student’s development work on a mass market first-person shooter, the final part of the book emphasizes why a Values at Play approach is necessary and how more people in the industry should subscribe to its principles in order to make better, more socially relevant games.
The strength of the book derives from the authors’ clear writing, and from their careful use of support for their argument. The first two sections of the book cite games stretching from massively popular to obscure, all of which helps to articulate the case as to why consideration of a value-driven design process is an issue for the entire game industry. The examples are rich and well developed, encouraging readers to think about the big picture of how to best design games. The range of examples also works as an outreach tool, since I would expect almost all readers to see games they have played mentioned in the course of the book. Beyond the games cited in the course of their argument, Flanagan and Nissenbaum reach out to their professional connections to feature several short essays written by prominent people in game design who reflect on topics like the importance of values, how values are part of game hardware, how to build a reflective game design process, and how to use board games and participant interaction to engage in an iterative process of value-driven game design. These supplementary pieces add to Flanagan and Nissenbaum’s work, offering complementary voices and a slightly different message that adds beautifully to the main ideas of the book.
I found two limitations of the book. First, it is clearly targeted at game designers. This is a strength and a weakness. As a positive, the limited target audience means that the book is tight and focused. As a problem, if you are not a game designer or if you are not teaching a class in game design, the book is likely of marginal utility. It is an interesting read from the broader perspective of a game player or game researcher, but it really is focused on the conscientious designer and, if that is not you, the book may not fully resound. The second limitation is that the back half of the book is increasingly loaded with examples primarily from Tiltfactor Lab, Mary Flanagan’s game design studio. Including games from Tiltfactor enhances the book overall, but when the mix of the first part of the book is not matched throughout, the impact and utility of the examples are reduced.
As a game design book, this is an excellent companion text. It does not have all the resources one would need for a full game design class, but it would be an excellent pairing to more standard textbooks. By focusing on both design as practice and on the specific topic of values, Values at Play should reinforce knowledge from the central text and push discussion and thought in a different and extraordinarily important direction.