Hate Speech in Video Games and online Gaming Communities — State of the Art

Abstract

This article framed within the European project Play your Role – Gamification Against Hate Speech, proposes the study and analysis of the state of the art in video game panorama, focusing the tendency to the use of hate speech by young players. The immersion of the player in the symbolic arena of the game, where everything becomes possible, raises moral questions about the relationship between video games, in the virtual world and the player’s behavior in the physical world. It is shown that the use of anonymity and the creation of communities and game groups can lead to exclusion and attacks to minorities; chat communications can facilitate the sharing of interests and game techniques as well as insults in times of tension between players, what justifies the reflection on the role of gaming platform in the control of the shared content. Considering the possibilities of video games, this article also reflects about game literacy and how games can become powerful learning tools.