A 51Âþ» Leicester (51Âþ») computer ethics expert has flown to America to meet gamers at one of the world’s largest gaming festivals.
Senior lecturer Dr Catherine Flick is at PAX East, in Boston, to run her innovative Ask An Ethicist booth at the event, which attracts tens of thousands of gamers. It starts today (March 6) and runs until Sunday.
She will be there to talk about ideas for the industry and community, general ethical issues with games and what improvements people want to see.
PAX East – described as a ‘celebration of gamer culture’ – is a mix of game launches, tournaments, exhibition booths, concerts and keynote speeches. It is the second time that Dr Flick has been able to attend.
Dr Flick, who is also a researcher with 51Âþ»'s Centre for Computing and Social Responsibility, said: “I’ll be in the Diversity Lounge, which is a very relaxed and chilled out space, away from the hustle and bustle of the gaming floors, where people can come and spend time talking about games and issues that concern them.
“Last year I had a lot of people who came up to talk about their experiences of games and it was good to interact with gamers from diverse backgrounds. It’s fascinating.”
Dr Flick will also be carrying out research while there examining the kind of engagement which games makers have with stakeholder groups as well as collecting people’s personal stories of their connection with online games.
“It’s a huge influence on my teaching, too, because I can bring all these experiences into the lectures and students can see the possibilities of a career in research.”
Posted on Friday 6 March 2015