Treacherous Play
Examining the ethics and experience of “treacherous play” through 3 games that allow deception and betrayal—EVE Online, DayZ, and the TV series Survivor.
Deception and betrayal in gameplay are generally considered off-limits, designed out of most multiplayer games. There are a few games, however, in which deception and betrayal are allowed, and even encouraged. In Treacherous Play, Marcus Carter explores the ethics and experience of playing such games, offering detailed explorations of three games in which this kind of “dark play” is both lawful and advantageous: EVE Online, DayZ, and the television series Survivor. Examining aspects of games that are often hidden, ignored, or designed away, Carter shows the appeal of playing treacherously.
Carter looks at EVE Online’s notorious scammers and spies, drawing…