In this special issue we explore a third sense of well played from the perspective of ethics and videogames and what it means to “play well”, or for a game to have been “well played.” From successfully cheating, to winning at all costs, to playing casually, to being a good sport, playing well can seem to have different connotations. Considering an ethical sense of well played highlights issues about players and their values and who they are, or aspire to be as people.

The games we choose to “play well” could be seen to reflect on our character and integrity. For instance, could you be a bad person for playing ultra-violent videogames well, or should you be celebrated for your skills and abilities to lie and deceive your opponents in a game of Poker? This third sense of well played, encourages us to think about the contexts and virtues of trying to play well.

Creative Chaos describes the dynamic process of collaborative design and development within interdisciplinary teams as they work to create something together. Creativity is wonderfully complex and chaotic, and at Carnegie Mellon University’s Entertainment Technology Center we often describe what we do as “creative chaos” in that it’s not necessarily a process within which you ever have complete control.

As the world seemed to erupt with NFTs spring 2021, it seemed necessary to curate a collection of cases and commentary on the emerging, née exploding, world of NFTs with a focus on the disruptions in both the arts and environmental ecosystems. The following provides context to the arts marketplace, ownership, and the environment and the disruptions caused by blockchain technology, especially NFTs.