Games are continually criticized for their portrayal of violence and women, as well as their supposedly addictive nature. But with the advent of free-to-play, for the first time ever the industry is discussing the ethics of a business model. In this talk from GDC 2014, game industry consultant Ben Cousins examines the morality of all past and present games industry business models and tries to answer three questions: Is free-to-play inherently more unethical than other business models? Are there any changes we need to make as an industry to avoid unwanted government meddling? Is there a template we can apply to a game while it is in development to make sure that it doesn’t cross any unwanted ethical boundaries? It’s a frank, forward-looking talk worth watching for all developers, regardless of whether you’re interested in the free-to-play game market. The free video (embedded above) of ‘Is Your Business Model Evil? The Moral Maze of the New Games Business’ is now available to watch here on the GDC Vault.
About the GDC Vault
In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault offers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent Game Developers Conference events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers. Those who purchased All Access passes to recent events like GDC, GDC Europe, and GDC Next already have full access to GDC Vault, and interested parties can apply for the individual subscription via a GDC Vault subscription page. Group subscriptions are also available: game-related schools and development studios who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company by contacting staff via the GDC Vault group subscription page. Finally, current subscribers with access issues can contact GDC Vault technical support. Gamasutra and GDC are sibling organizations under parent UBM Tech