5. WHAT IS A GAME?
GAME: activity engaged in for diversion or amusement;
synonym: see FUN
VIDEO GAME: an electronic game played by means of
images on
a video screen and often emphasizing fast action.
8. Who plays video games?
* 88% of households have
some form of video game
* 70% of gamers are aged 18+
* The average gamer
is aged 24 – 35 years.
Most gamers have been
playing for approximately
11 years
9. Video Games are classified into the
following groups:
*Early Childhood
*Everyone ages 6 and older
*Everyone ages 10 and older
*Teen ages 13 and older
*Mature 17years +
11. Why do people play video games?
Entertainment
Video games are identified by many people as a popular
hobby/past time.
Story
Many games have a plot and like a reader of a novel, the
player is encouraged to persevere to the end so they can see
what will happen and how it will be resolved.
Atmosphere
Video games enable the player to be instantly transported to
exotic locations and imaginary worlds.
12. Role playing
Players are presented the
opportunity to take on the
role of heroic characters,
sport stars, spies etc.
Interactivity
The player is more than an observer of the action in
the games, they are able to live it!
Progress/achievement
Many games have a level system and as the player
accomplishes a level they are able to feel immediate
gratification and success.
13. Social Dimension
Many games enable multi players and facilitate
socialisation, teamwork and co-operation.
Intensity
Video games are often fast paced and high impact
eg. explosions, shoot out, racing, carnage etc.
14. THINK LIKE A GAMER
*Everything is in BETA
*Get a screen name
*It's all about YOU
*You can’t break it
*Fail early, fail often
17. Psychological Effects of Gaming
Addiction failure to stop
playing games difficulties in
work or school, telling lies to
loved ones, decreased
attention to personal hygiene,
decreased attention to family
and friends, and disturbances
in the sleep cycle. Withdrawal
symptoms can even include
behaviours as severe as
shaking.
18. Substance Abuse to
attain offline the
‘adrenaline rush’ games
may provide.
Maladaptive
behaviours such as the
‘sunk cost fallacy’
whereby one is
compelled to keep
playing in order to feel
that previous time and
effort were not wasted.
Autistic children have
been helped with
developmental
disorders.
19. Predisposition to
Violence The Academy of
Paediatrics says “More than
one thousand scientific
studies and reviews
conclude that significant
exposure to media violence
increases the risk of
aggressive behaviour in
certain children, desensitizes
them to violence and makes
them believe that the world
is a ‘meaner and scarier’
place than it is.”
20. Mood Enhancement as related to effects of physical activity-games like Wii, which may be
particularly beneficial to otherwise sedentary people.
Emotional Health and Self Esteem may be boosted according to the gamer’s self-
perception.
‘Method Acting’ hypothesis which argues that children can engage in scary or confronting
issues in the virtual world to role-play responses.
21. Racism is of concern as most
characters in computer
games are Caucasian.
Consumerism is a problem,
as many people feel
pressured to keep up with
buying the latest games,
which can cost more than
$100 dollars.
Social Isolation would appear
to be a problem. Fromme
suggests otherwise as
studies show that most
students do not give up
physical/outdoor activities for
gaming.
22. To sum up,video games are not bad.If you play a
lot,it can be harmful.It doesn’t exhibit ‘video
games are bad’.
ENOUGH İS AS GOOD AS A FEAST
23. Thank you for watching and listening
my presentation.
25. •List of Useful Resources
Reasonably readable resources include:
Mediascope website, highlights data from various scientific studies concerning
video games.
Mediascope website, violent video games causing aggression.
Japan Today News website, an interesting news site and discussion board.
Mega Games website, a hardcore gaming site, including cheats, demos, and
facts.
Beliefnet website, centres around spiritual, religious, and moral issues.
Sunday Herald online, a news resource.
Games Studies, a paper called Computer Games as a Part of Children's Culture
by Johannes Fromme
Video Game Addiction: Do We Need a Vide Gamers Anonymous?, an article by
Mary Slimme looking at the connection between gaming and other forms of
addiction.
How Video Games Affect Health is a brief article written by a gamer.
The Psychological Effects of Violent Media on Children by Aimee Tompkins briefly
looks at desensitization of gamers to violence.
Video Games That Improve Emotional Health is a controversial piece by Trevor
Gorp that claims that, depending on the game, self-perception may be altered
positively.
Playing the Blame Game: Video Games Pros and Cons by Alvaro Fernandez is
quite a long article that discusses the fact and fiction of gaming effects.
