Sex, lies and video games

Sex and violence in video games is a social issue that confronts us all, especially as many commercial games are now being introduced for game-based learning in schools, and as such this paper polls teenage players about the rules their parents and teachers may or may not have, and surveys the gaming community, ie, game developers to parents, to ascertain their views on who is responsible for the guidelines on game content. Although the authors do not condone excessive sexual and violent video games, we advocate the value in games in general and the ‘hidden value’ of this genre in many areas, including game-based learning. The aim of this paper is to show the multidimensionality and complexity of the topic that often exceeds the domain of video games.