Abstract

If you were an all-powerful being possessing the ability to create a perfect world of game participation, what would your world look like? More specifically, what would count as ethical conduct therein? Many would readily agree that 'fair play' and/or 'good gamespersonship' represent concepts descriptive of actions that would likely be contained within any proposed "Utopia of ethical game participation." 'Cheating' and/or 'bad gamespersonship', on the other hand, represent concepts descriptive of actions signifying vision betrayal. Despite such commonsense assertions, it appears that clear and precise understandings of these concepts are very much lacking within the current literature pertinent to the ethics of game participation. Consequently, proposed visions of a perfect world of game participation have emerged as uncertain and nondescript. ;In response to this state of affairs, this study attempts to elucidate the abovementioned commonsense vision of a "Utopia of ethical game participation" via a conceptual analysis of the concepts held to be central to it as well as those believed to demonstrate vision betrayal. In other words, this dissertation will summarize and critically evaluate current definitions of each of the concepts of 'fair play', 'cheating', 'good gamespersonship' and 'bad gamespersonship'. After the identification of three specific types of problems contained within the literature, and proper resolution of these, alternative definitions will be proposed for each of the abovementioned concepts in an attempt to clarify the essential nature of ethical and unethical conduct within and surrounding the realm of games