Ethics & Gamification design: a moral framework for taking responsibility

Abstract

Gamification is recognized as a persuasive technology that can influence user behaviour. Because of this moral dimension, gamification designers need to consider incorporating ethics into their design process. A normative ethical framework consisting of utilitarian, deontological and virtue-ethical theories is proposed to serve as a basis of moral gamification design. Several ethical methodologies are examined and considered to formulate a moral gamification design methodology that allows designers to systematically uncover and address potential ethical issues in gamification design.