Thursday, April 21, 2011
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Almost there
Introduction
Popular television has often had episodes featuring video games and its culture. Usually depicting gamers who have become so far gone, they have lost the ability to differentiate between reality and the game they play. There have such episodes in shows such as House M.D., NUMB3RS, and Bones. But the majority of these references to gamer culture have been distorted so much that it seems that any representation of a gamer seems to be one of high technical skill, poor physical health, and social ineptitude.
Even beyond the T.V. dramas today, video games are frequently a topic of interest in the news. Whether it be sales of the upcoming new game or how video games are targeting the hearts and minds of our children, they rarely look at what is happening beyond the computer screen. Most attention seems to be focused on the violence because it seems to play an ever dominate roll in video games. But if video games are attacking the moral fiber we instill in our children, why is it that three decades after games like Doom and Mortal Kombat we have less violence then we did pre video game era (Figure 1).
Beyond the scope of popular television, video games and its players truly have evolved their own subculture. They can connect with each other in ways that transcend normal human interaction. Their interaction with one another is first mediated through fictional and representational avatars. However what connections gamers make through games, whether it be with a characters quest for the princess, or the communities that keep them up for hours on a Friday night on Ventrillo, seems to speak volume about how this media type can affect day to day life. But despite the digging that case studies do about the small scope of violence, little is actually known about this unseen world that happens beyond what is called real life.
With video games becoming a part of everyday life in the American household, it’s no wonder that such a media type would be the topic of controversy. “My kid plays Halo, does that mean he’s more violent because of it?” Questions such as these have been on the tips of tongues as research digs into the psyche of the human mind and how video games affect development. But research has only looked at video game play as a cause-and-effect relationship disregarding what roles video games play in the lives of people. What role does it fill? Why are they so attractive to some and not others? And most importantly; how do video games affect the development of morality and personality?
When I first looked into this topic I was confronted with a plethora of information on violence in video games and its impact on antisocial behavior. It seems that people are determined to cast this genre of video game a negative light, driven by concerned parents and the technologically challenged. They look to the shootings at Columbine and, because they played Doom, obviously there must be a link between that and their sadistic actions right? Well maybe; but to simply condemn games as a catalyst for violent behavior and an unremorseful character would make one no better than the politicians seeking to restrict all video game usage (Maria 8).
Since attention has shifted to video games, scrutiny has been upon those who spend a considerable amount of time playing them. There have been considerable amounts of slander based on stereotypes seeking condemnation of not just video games, but even gamers, saying they are beneath societal norms. Such claims have been made by websites who declare knowledge on negative effects of video games. Once such website, Mavav.org said that MMO (massive multiplayer online games) players are, “emotionally unhealthy and mentally unstable people” and “social outcasts.” (Maria 26)Such statements are almost laughable nowadays considering the player count of World of Warcraft, the most popular MMO of all time, had at one time 10 million players.
Claims to the negative effects of video games still exist and continue to be preached to the alarmists of the day. In 1993 Senator Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), said, “Shame on the people who produce that trash. . . . It is child abuse in my judgment.” (Maria 5) These accusations have been the highlight of politicians for the past few generations. Maria goes on to state, “Unfortunately, in politics and the media, it’s easier to state such results in simple, absolute terms in support of a specific agenda than to deal with the fact that much of the research is unproven or, at best, disputed.”
That is not to say that there are not negative effects of video games. I will not sit here and refute their claims as blindly as they proclaim their opinions. However, since they are so adamant to construe video games as corrupter of children, I feel it is necessary to defend the play of video games as a gamer myself. History shows us that the developments of the newer generations have been reproached by generations past.
For example take rock and roll, the newest media type in the 1950’s and 60’s. This genre of music was most popular among the teens of that day (Martin 6). These teens, seeking to resist the mainstream culture of their time, responded positively to the new media genre of rock and roll as a form of resisting adult authority. These actions were ill received my adults as best exclaimed by Martin’s book,
“Adults had tied juvenile delinquency to a number of such instigating factors as movies, comic books, TV and radio crime shows, and drive-in restaurants. Rock and roll became the instigator of choice, the scapegoat, because it was the most deviant of all. Rock was something virtually all teens loved and virtually all adults hated. It was also the one possible cultural form over which teens had the greatest control.”(7)
Reading this one excerpt, one can draw parallels between past and present. The majority of video games were geared towards a younger audience when they started becoming popular. Video games became a new contender for the attention of adolescents and young adults alike, developing a generation gap between adults who have no interest in the technology, and the younger generation who grew up with the new interactive media type. In fact, early video game studies about violence and its effects were drawn from studies of television violence in the decades of the 60’s to the 80’s (Martin 11) going along the lines of the older generations being weary of the younger generation’s technologies.
This ultimately leads to pointing fingers at video games when anti-social behavior is seen in video game players. These accusations that are made most against video games are that the violent types (mostly referring to FPS’s [First Person Shooters]) increases violent behavior in children and that they promote violence as a way of solving conflict.
Video games have had a successful career when their games were centered on conflict. Even now it seems that some of the most popular video games of our time have some story about war and whose side needs to be eradicated (see Halo franchise, Metal Gear Solid franchise, Gears of War franchise, etcetera). But in what way does this affect the reality that we live in? Certainly most gamers would agree that actual lives are different from that of the games on internal struggle. But there has been a huge amount of attention on violence and its impact on our children. There is no fault that can be on the parents. They are trying to protect their children from such a negative influence. However putting the moral argument aside, how do violent video games actually affect the gamers that play them?
Many case studies and research has been invested in the field of violent video games. Each one has a hypothesis that is trying to find a correlation between exposure to violence leads to violent behavior (Polman et al., Ethan, Gilsdorf.) There have been correlations between short term aggression and play of violent video games. A study that took place in 2004 reported increases of aggression in children when they played violent video games saying, " Playing violent games increases aggressive behaviors, increases aggressive cognitions, increases aggressive emotions, increases physiological arousal, and decreases prosocial behaviors." (Douglas) The results of the case study reported the longer the children played the video games that showed violence, the more they showed hostile qualities; increasing at an average of 50%.
Another study done at Toledo, OH showed desensitization in children. The study stated, "The present findings suggest that, over the long term, exposure to violent video games may be associated with lower empathy in some children, a possible indication of desensitization." (Funk) The desensitization was to things that would normally perturb a human being, but children, being exposed to violence at an earlier age—thanks to video games—became less empathetic. Within their discussion sessions they recommend parents to carefully monitor their children's free time at least into early adolescence.
But most of the case studies that drew a link between antisocial behavior and video games only noted short term affects, if at all, and when trying to stretch such claims to the long term, the results are either loosely applied or suggested and not proved. In an interview conducted by Maria on Jonathan L. Freedman the author of Media Violence and Its Effect on Aggression, Freedman stated, “that without knowing a lot more about these kids and the lives they have led for thirty years, the end result of these studies leaves more questions than it does answers. (Maria 12-13)”
In Freedman’s book, he covers some of the flaws in studies that covered violence and their drawn correlations. One such flaw he referred to as puffing where the studies that claimed irrefutable evidence looked at hundreds of reviews only to make their reviews sound more impressive. “First, none of these review looked at ‘hundreds’ of studies, because there are not that many studies now, and there certainly were not that many when these reviews were done.(Freedman 13)” He goes on to caution review of such resources saying one must not only read an abstract and conclusion, but also a careful review of “method and the results.(17)”
As mentioned before I do not promote some video games to everyone. Violent games have a rating of M for mature for a reason. But the effect of violence in video games diminishes when people reach maturity appropriateness. Obviously violent acts are looked down upon in real life society as well as some of the antisocial behavior that is frequently a major aspect of video games. But since the majority of just the 9 million+ Halo 3 players don’t participate in antisocial acts--such a great amount of negativity would have been noted by now—it must serve some other purpose for its respective players.
Violence has played a major role in the development of the world we know today. From the gladiatorial arenas of ancient Rome to modern day UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championships) fights on SpikeTV, it seems that violence has captivated human beings since the beginning of our time. Then what can truly be unique to video games apart from our other cultural indulgences in violence?
One such claim and can be one of catharsis, stating that video games can be an outlet for aggression and a way of venting frustrations from everyday life. In Killing Monsters, Gerald Jones comments on this by saying, “When young people feel that the official world is hostile, indifferent, or irrelevant, the feelings of recognition and belonging that entertainment brings them can be transformative.”
Judge Richard Posner in 2002 even cautioned against unnecessary restriction of video games saying, “To shield children right up to the age of 18 from exposure to violent descriptions and images would not only be quixotic, but deforming; it would leave them unequipped to cope with the world as we know it.” But what moral implications reside within how we play?
As mentioned earlier, in the games that feature violence today, the user is usually on one side of a war or conflict. But just because violence is used in games, does it mean that the violence itself is the main aspect of the game? Sure, games like the original mortal combat’s claim to fame was ground breaking graphics, and “realistic” depictions of physical violence. Even now, the game community continues to advance their technology to immerse the gamer into the world of the game. But violence as a whole has usually an ends to justify a means.
If we take a closer look inside some of the games played nowadays like Gears of War and Halo we see that violence has a role, a purpose for resolving conflict that is the storyline of the game. Halo’s story arch is one of alien invasion, where the main character is the savior of the human race. Gears of war, another game where one must take arms against an overwhelming amount of hell born savages bent on taking over the characters planet. Considering that these games are some of the most popular titles on the Xbox 360, one needs to look at the draw of playing the hero.
Henry Jenkins, an video game researcher at MIT said, “I don’t believe that the media in and of itself will turn a kid into a psychokiller. I believe that media is most powerful in our lives when it reinforces our existing values and least powerful when it contradicts them.” Looking at video game play through this lens, games where one assumes the role of the hero make sense. As Americans, we have often seen references to Superman, Batman, and a plethora of other hero’s who are constantly fighting for a greater good. The qualities that these hero’s have captivate the minds of adults and children alike, and video games specifically are the only media genre that let us live through their experiences.
Heroes have largely been considered a thing for children. Cartoons, Comics, and now video games are places where the hero lives, but in what way does a hero beating up a bad guy affect us--especially when were the ones with the controller in our hands--? Are heroes simply vigilantes who use violence as their only tool for serving justice? In respect to video games, it seems that the assumptions made about violence are made regardless of the context it’s in. Superhero video games like superman have been given the same moral axe as Grand Theft Auto.
The role of the hero, however, seems to be encouraged today with our youths… for good reason… because they help instill morals in our not so black and white world. In Steven H. Whites What is a Hero? An exploratory study of students' conceptions of heroes he shows the imperative need for hero’s today.
“Playing out hero themes is one way in which children come to understand their society, their role within that society, and their potential for positive impact on it. Since heroes are individuals, they offer young students something specific and concrete to study. Older students can come to recognise them as representations of a larger culture. Using heroes as individual or societal case studies of values and belief systems aids students’ moral development.”
In the context of video games, where users are actively participating in the virtual world that the hero resides in, gamers are exposed to decisions a hero would be faced with. They are allowed to live in a hero’s shoes and subconsciously analyze the morals that are instilled the story of that game. Critical thinking also is accomplished by more mature audiences when deciding how to engage the world of the hero, letting the gamer see unifying themes of culture that are beyond just one video game. If we as a society continue to use the hero as a moral pillar to show children right from wrong, then video games have great potential at infuse the prosocial behaviors that heroes portray.
With today’s technology, the depth of games has been ever increasing. From graphic quality to more complex decision making and character development, it seems that games are continually pushing the limits to immerse the gamer into the story. Games like Splinter Cell: Conviction have gamers choosing between morally conflicting decisions that affect the outcome of the storyline. All of these innovations within games are to immerse the gamer into the story, allowing for a deeper connection to the idea’s and moralities portrayed. But what is to be said about games like Mortal Kombat and Grand Theft Auto where they do nothing to establish a morality aspect.
Their ratings of being mature aside, what draw do gamers have to worlds with lose morals? Perhaps it is the chance to simulate a life that is unobtainable in today’s world or even the chance to vent frustrations born from a strict society. But aside from what is taken from these games one must examine what they do. Obviously the majority of experiences in video games are either strictly prohibited by society, or simply unrealistic. However, if accept that video games offer pseudo experiences of varying types, then they offer something unique to the user.
The experiences that games generate have had a tremendous effect on gamers, even though such things may be unseen in a larger context. Programmers have created realms, simulators, and puzzles that tantalize the human mind and let us figure out on our own how to tackle the negatives that inhibit effective play. “I argue that educators (especially curriculum designers) ought to pay closer attention to videogames because they offer designed experiences, in which participants learn through a grammar of doing and being. (Squire)” The constant trial-and-error testing, the frustrations of failure time and time again, and the reward of accomplishment are components of almost all video games. These create learned knowledge through experience, albeit one from a virtual reality. But despite the fact that the worlds are fictitious, decision making skills and critical thinking skills are being nurtured by those experiences.
Exposure is another aspect of video games that has some semblance of meaning when discussing development. This runs along the lines of experience but deals more with frequency and first time experiences in regards to video games. Being exposed to a wider array of experiences (since video games offer exposure to simulations, historically accurate games, puzzles, and etcetera) gamers become well versed in various skills such as complex math, economics (Hussain and Griffiths), and visual comprehension (Goodfellow). They become more sentient and self aware in the sense that they’re more sensitive to the emotions and motivations of others while also understand the implications of their actions in respect to the physical world and other people.
As said in the gamer section, communities are now an extremely important element of video games. Even in a social context, video games sill have an effect on the developments of morality and personality. These communities provide reinforcement for decisions made and words said. However to classify all the social experiences online as one defining reinforcement mechanism would a mistake because of the vast amount of individual microcosms that exist. But reinforcement from peers, whether it be positive or negative, will affect the way one participates on and offline.
Humans are social animals relying on peer to peer interaction for affirmation of self. That being said, it shouldn’t be surprising that communication with peers, especially a group, faction, or guild, would have an effect on development in spite of physical presence. The type of nurture provided is based off of the reinforcements that that particular group deems normal, or right. Groups are developed with similar goals in mind (quests, raids, loot); however, it goes deeper than that: similar personalities and similar thought processes dictate the forming of those groups. So who are these people that spend hours interacting online with one another?
Gamers vs. the world
The title isn’t appropriately named because it isn’t like there will be a war between such factions. However, I do want to highlight the differences in this subculture alone. But before I dive into the differences in personality I would like to highlight the most notable difference between the “gamer” and the rest of the world. The reason they are coined gamers is because they play video games. Within this subculture there are two subcategories and one of which I will be concentrating on, they are the casual gamer, and the hardcore gamer.
If we are to note any differences between gamers and other people we should concentrate on the hardcore gamers, where their playtime has been a major part of their life. The reason we concentrate on hardcore gamers and classify them as a different subculture is because the majority of people are now active in playing video games for entertainment. In 2007 a report from the NPD Group stated that 72 percent of the U.S. population played video games. (Antonucci) That being said it is hard to make a distinction when the majority of people are gaming. So we must concentrate on the individuals who devoted the time to earn the title hardcore or “core” gamers.
There isn’t a clear cut definition for the hardcore gamer; however, there are some generally accepted practices of core gamers. For one, hardcore gamers usually dedicate their leisure time to the practice and perfection of video game playing. Also, most hardcore gamers have some sense of competition that plays a role in the dedication that they have to their particular game. They will participate in tournaments, leagues, clans, guilds, or any type of gamer community. Note that these practices are not a 100% accurate definition of the core gamers because they vary in scope as much as the number of video games out there.
The differences in lifestyle choices that dictate the separation of core gamers from societal norms is a simple one, but within that divide a unique sub-culture is created. As mentioned in the introduction, the early years of video games, core gamers were the majority of the gaming population.
“Online-gamers are often exposed to generalizations and stereotypes in public media as well as in the scientific community; furthermore deviant behaviors and emotional problems are attributed to them. According to the recent findings it could be revealed that most gamers – 84% (n = 395) of all participants in the current study – show neither problematic gaming behavior nor depressive tendencies, even though the percentage differed regarding the type of game”
These stereotypes have resonated within American culture and have been subject to jests by popular media and gamers themselves. A unique trait of the gamer community is the acceptance of such jokes as a point of pride. When participating in a competitive online community, users will frequently be judged on their performance and a common insult is to call someone a noobie, a new person at the game with no skill. This suggests that when playing for sport, one must attempt to play like a hardcore gamer or else risk being chastise by the hardcore gamer collective.
Nowadays, core gamers vary in ways such as what games they play, what consoles they own, trollers (see the index), true gamers, etc… But even though there are major differences even within the core gamer community most share similarities that put them apart from the standard culture collective.
In order to understand the differences between gamers and the rest of the world one must first identify what motivates gamers to the continual practice of video games. One suggestion that speaks to the character of gamers is their natural affinity to boredom. “For example, impulsivity might predict computer game play due to its correlation with boredom. (3)” Such implications of impulsivity only link to the launch of play but not the continuation of it. The ‘addictive’ qualities of games, which will be discussed later, may retain the attention of impulsive people causing them to become a hardcore gamer. The cause of which may be the result of the impulsive personality turning to video games when boredom occurs during, but not limited to, leisure time.
It should be noted at this time that there is no definitive answer to the question “Why do gamers play so much?” because each individual’s needs dictate what draws them to dedicated game play. However, it has been said that we can break down each individual’s motivations into a few psychological needs. “Self-determination theory (Ryan and Deci, 2000) suggests that every individual has three innate psychological requirements that have to be met to sustain prolonged participation in an activity which are autonomy, competence and fulfillment.” Within this theory lie the requirements for hardcore games to exist. Gaming, for the core gamer, generally meets such prerequisites regardless of individual differences. From these building blocks, one can explicate motivations that are crux to the hardcore gamer.
One theory that is applicable when concerning hardcore gamers’ motivations is intrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is the act of participating because the activity yields excitement and an enjoyable experience. “…motivation is created by four individual factors: challenge, fantasy, curiosity and control and three interpersonal factors: cooperation, competition, and recognition. Interestingly, these factors also describe what makes a good game…"(1) If we accept these as fundamental components of avid video game play, then hardcore gamers must derive at least a few of these components, probably more, from games.
The two interpersonal factors competition and recognition are what drive the competitive hardcore gamer. As mentioned above, these competitive players will participate in leagues, matchmaking, and other sorts of communities to achieve a sense of position, ranked on skill level and competence of their respective games. Males in particular play games like FPS (First Person Shooters) and RTS (Real-Time Strategies) for the competitive aspects embedded in the theatre of the game.
A study conducted by Thomas et al. showed that the males in the study ranked FPS’s as their most played type of game while the females ranked them the least. This may derive from the males’ primitive need for dominance suggested by the male-warrior hypothesis. This hypothesis suggests that, “an ancestral history of frequent and violent intergroup conflict has shaped the social psychology and behavior of men in particular. (Vugt et al.)” Combined with evolution theories that state the correlation between the territorial protection of male chimpanzees, our closest genetic relative, (Boehm, 1999; Wrangham & Peterson, 1996) it makes for a compelling argument as to the reason virtual competition is one of the leading causes of fervent game play.
Another fixation that core gamers take pleasure in is the development and connection they have with the individual avatar. “The relationship between the player and the avatar is described by the players’ affection to the character, which leads to negative feelings if the avatar is under attack or dies (Wolvendale, 2006).” This quote, speaks to intimacy gamers develop with virtual characters, because of the increase of customizability of the avatar, individualization has a more prominent effect on the “immersion factor” within games (7). Due to realization of the relationship between customization and immersion, companies pay keen attention to how this affects gamer loyalty.
Immersion as defined by Witmer and Singer is, “a psychological state characterized by perceiving oneself to be enveloped by, included in, and interacting with an environment that provides a continuous stream of stimuli and experiences.” This immersion factor is developed by the use of avatars and customization and has been shown to increase gamer loyalty (7). Immersion plays a major role in game types as RPG’s (role-playing games) and MMORPG’s (massive multiplayer online role playing games) where story and character development take precedence over competitive play and over all skill assessment. Some of the key components of immersion have been best stated by McMahan saying gamer personality through the mediums command input, commentary, and fraternity affect the overall immersion in virtual world.
The social nature of the gamer community adds to the unique qualities of this sub-culture. As with any group, sub-culture, or faction, there are interactions within the given community that distinguish it from others. The hardcore gamer community is a society that hinges on a virtual environment. That being said, what draws gamers to participate in an intangible environment speaks to the personality of gamers. Jesse Fagan commented on the unique nature of MMORPG’s by saying,
Still, distinct from social networking sites, massively multiplayer game-worlds like WoW set the stage for collaborative and simultaneously shared play interactions that seem as real as they are fun, unfolding as they do in a meticulously rendered fantasy world and via avatar-characters who, in many instances, come to feel like second selves.
The development of the avatar in this community provides a sense of belonging to the online gamer and is not specifically restricted to the hardcore gamer. This autonomy that is generated in a virtual sense allows for a disassociation from reality. “It is this anonymity that gives those with low self-confidence, the chance to create a virtual life for themselves on the Internet (Ng and Wiemer-Hastings, 2005).”
The properties of this microcosm have seemed to attract the attention of persecution from scholars and varying kinds of outsiders due to the amount of time dedicated by some to the online social communities. Their arguments do have validity when dealing with ‘addictive personalities’ or persons who have pre-existing deficits in real-life relationships (Fagan, et al). However, the case study done by Kryspin-Exner et al. stated that 84% of their participants had, “…no problematic gaming behavior nor depressive tendencies.”
Interactions within the community, depending on where participation is conducted (whether it be online forums, within the game, or over a VoIP service), gamers truly have freedom of speech threw their intangible characters. These ‘conversations’ can range from philosophy to flaming which, as defined by urbandictionary.com, means “To engage in an online argument usually involving unfounded personal attacks by one or more parties.” These engagements are possible because irrespective of how one acts online, one’s personal, real life can be unaffected.
Because of the unstable nature of how communication can be, gamers develop relationships based on similar goals in-game and players social aptitude. Nycterelis, a WoW player said this,
The social aspect is extremely alluring because, arrogance aside, everyone is more or less viewed as equal until their actions define them as otherwise. It’s a system genuinely based on merit. Your skills, whether it’s pvp, pve, or even mere social skills, dictate your image in the public eye. You can’t really get that anywhere else.
As a former player of WoW myself, building a social life online was completely up to the user. Incentive is given to those who seek companions to complete tasks that are impossible to do alone such as better equipment and new content. But as for the most popular type of online game to date, MMORPG’s, the social element of them resonates as a fundamental part of the game-play experience, hence why massive multiplayer is the defining part of the acronym.
Conclusion
The gamers have developed into a unique subculture, differing on things such as faction side in games like World of Warcraft, or as physical as what console the gamer plays on. However, there are traits that supersede the trivial bickering between gamers that they share. They have similar personalities, play games for the same reasons, and have the same communities that have developed without any true human interaction. But what implications are behind online communities? Is it the merit based world that makes it attractive as Nycterelys claimed? Or is it simply a conglomerate of escapists who seek to be sought by other people? Regardless, we need to look beyond what video games do to us and look and see what it has done for us, good and bad.
Popular television has often had episodes featuring video games and its culture. Usually depicting gamers who have become so far gone, they have lost the ability to differentiate between reality and the game they play. There have such episodes in shows such as House M.D., NUMB3RS, and Bones. But the majority of these references to gamer culture have been distorted so much that it seems that any representation of a gamer seems to be one of high technical skill, poor physical health, and social ineptitude.
Even beyond the T.V. dramas today, video games are frequently a topic of interest in the news. Whether it be sales of the upcoming new game or how video games are targeting the hearts and minds of our children, they rarely look at what is happening beyond the computer screen. Most attention seems to be focused on the violence because it seems to play an ever dominate roll in video games. But if video games are attacking the moral fiber we instill in our children, why is it that three decades after games like Doom and Mortal Kombat we have less violence then we did pre video game era (Figure 1).
Beyond the scope of popular television, video games and its players truly have evolved their own subculture. They can connect with each other in ways that transcend normal human interaction. Their interaction with one another is first mediated through fictional and representational avatars. However what connections gamers make through games, whether it be with a characters quest for the princess, or the communities that keep them up for hours on a Friday night on Ventrillo, seems to speak volume about how this media type can affect day to day life. But despite the digging that case studies do about the small scope of violence, little is actually known about this unseen world that happens beyond what is called real life.
With video games becoming a part of everyday life in the American household, it’s no wonder that such a media type would be the topic of controversy. “My kid plays Halo, does that mean he’s more violent because of it?” Questions such as these have been on the tips of tongues as research digs into the psyche of the human mind and how video games affect development. But research has only looked at video game play as a cause-and-effect relationship disregarding what roles video games play in the lives of people. What role does it fill? Why are they so attractive to some and not others? And most importantly; how do video games affect the development of morality and personality?
When I first looked into this topic I was confronted with a plethora of information on violence in video games and its impact on antisocial behavior. It seems that people are determined to cast this genre of video game a negative light, driven by concerned parents and the technologically challenged. They look to the shootings at Columbine and, because they played Doom, obviously there must be a link between that and their sadistic actions right? Well maybe; but to simply condemn games as a catalyst for violent behavior and an unremorseful character would make one no better than the politicians seeking to restrict all video game usage (Maria 8).
Since attention has shifted to video games, scrutiny has been upon those who spend a considerable amount of time playing them. There have been considerable amounts of slander based on stereotypes seeking condemnation of not just video games, but even gamers, saying they are beneath societal norms. Such claims have been made by websites who declare knowledge on negative effects of video games. Once such website, Mavav.org said that MMO (massive multiplayer online games) players are, “emotionally unhealthy and mentally unstable people” and “social outcasts.” (Maria 26)Such statements are almost laughable nowadays considering the player count of World of Warcraft, the most popular MMO of all time, had at one time 10 million players.
Claims to the negative effects of video games still exist and continue to be preached to the alarmists of the day. In 1993 Senator Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), said, “Shame on the people who produce that trash. . . . It is child abuse in my judgment.” (Maria 5) These accusations have been the highlight of politicians for the past few generations. Maria goes on to state, “Unfortunately, in politics and the media, it’s easier to state such results in simple, absolute terms in support of a specific agenda than to deal with the fact that much of the research is unproven or, at best, disputed.”
That is not to say that there are not negative effects of video games. I will not sit here and refute their claims as blindly as they proclaim their opinions. However, since they are so adamant to construe video games as corrupter of children, I feel it is necessary to defend the play of video games as a gamer myself. History shows us that the developments of the newer generations have been reproached by generations past.
For example take rock and roll, the newest media type in the 1950’s and 60’s. This genre of music was most popular among the teens of that day (Martin 6). These teens, seeking to resist the mainstream culture of their time, responded positively to the new media genre of rock and roll as a form of resisting adult authority. These actions were ill received my adults as best exclaimed by Martin’s book,
“Adults had tied juvenile delinquency to a number of such instigating factors as movies, comic books, TV and radio crime shows, and drive-in restaurants. Rock and roll became the instigator of choice, the scapegoat, because it was the most deviant of all. Rock was something virtually all teens loved and virtually all adults hated. It was also the one possible cultural form over which teens had the greatest control.”(7)
Reading this one excerpt, one can draw parallels between past and present. The majority of video games were geared towards a younger audience when they started becoming popular. Video games became a new contender for the attention of adolescents and young adults alike, developing a generation gap between adults who have no interest in the technology, and the younger generation who grew up with the new interactive media type. In fact, early video game studies about violence and its effects were drawn from studies of television violence in the decades of the 60’s to the 80’s (Martin 11) going along the lines of the older generations being weary of the younger generation’s technologies.
This ultimately leads to pointing fingers at video games when anti-social behavior is seen in video game players. These accusations that are made most against video games are that the violent types (mostly referring to FPS’s [First Person Shooters]) increases violent behavior in children and that they promote violence as a way of solving conflict.
Video games have had a successful career when their games were centered on conflict. Even now it seems that some of the most popular video games of our time have some story about war and whose side needs to be eradicated (see Halo franchise, Metal Gear Solid franchise, Gears of War franchise, etcetera). But in what way does this affect the reality that we live in? Certainly most gamers would agree that actual lives are different from that of the games on internal struggle. But there has been a huge amount of attention on violence and its impact on our children. There is no fault that can be on the parents. They are trying to protect their children from such a negative influence. However putting the moral argument aside, how do violent video games actually affect the gamers that play them?
Many case studies and research has been invested in the field of violent video games. Each one has a hypothesis that is trying to find a correlation between exposure to violence leads to violent behavior (Polman et al., Ethan, Gilsdorf.) There have been correlations between short term aggression and play of violent video games. A study that took place in 2004 reported increases of aggression in children when they played violent video games saying, " Playing violent games increases aggressive behaviors, increases aggressive cognitions, increases aggressive emotions, increases physiological arousal, and decreases prosocial behaviors." (Douglas) The results of the case study reported the longer the children played the video games that showed violence, the more they showed hostile qualities; increasing at an average of 50%.
Another study done at Toledo, OH showed desensitization in children. The study stated, "The present findings suggest that, over the long term, exposure to violent video games may be associated with lower empathy in some children, a possible indication of desensitization." (Funk) The desensitization was to things that would normally perturb a human being, but children, being exposed to violence at an earlier age—thanks to video games—became less empathetic. Within their discussion sessions they recommend parents to carefully monitor their children's free time at least into early adolescence.
But most of the case studies that drew a link between antisocial behavior and video games only noted short term affects, if at all, and when trying to stretch such claims to the long term, the results are either loosely applied or suggested and not proved. In an interview conducted by Maria on Jonathan L. Freedman the author of Media Violence and Its Effect on Aggression, Freedman stated, “that without knowing a lot more about these kids and the lives they have led for thirty years, the end result of these studies leaves more questions than it does answers. (Maria 12-13)”
In Freedman’s book, he covers some of the flaws in studies that covered violence and their drawn correlations. One such flaw he referred to as puffing where the studies that claimed irrefutable evidence looked at hundreds of reviews only to make their reviews sound more impressive. “First, none of these review looked at ‘hundreds’ of studies, because there are not that many studies now, and there certainly were not that many when these reviews were done.(Freedman 13)” He goes on to caution review of such resources saying one must not only read an abstract and conclusion, but also a careful review of “method and the results.(17)”
As mentioned before I do not promote some video games to everyone. Violent games have a rating of M for mature for a reason. But the effect of violence in video games diminishes when people reach maturity appropriateness. Obviously violent acts are looked down upon in real life society as well as some of the antisocial behavior that is frequently a major aspect of video games. But since the majority of just the 9 million+ Halo 3 players don’t participate in antisocial acts--such a great amount of negativity would have been noted by now—it must serve some other purpose for its respective players.
Violence has played a major role in the development of the world we know today. From the gladiatorial arenas of ancient Rome to modern day UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championships) fights on SpikeTV, it seems that violence has captivated human beings since the beginning of our time. Then what can truly be unique to video games apart from our other cultural indulgences in violence?
One such claim and can be one of catharsis, stating that video games can be an outlet for aggression and a way of venting frustrations from everyday life. In Killing Monsters, Gerald Jones comments on this by saying, “When young people feel that the official world is hostile, indifferent, or irrelevant, the feelings of recognition and belonging that entertainment brings them can be transformative.”
Judge Richard Posner in 2002 even cautioned against unnecessary restriction of video games saying, “To shield children right up to the age of 18 from exposure to violent descriptions and images would not only be quixotic, but deforming; it would leave them unequipped to cope with the world as we know it.” But what moral implications reside within how we play?
As mentioned earlier, in the games that feature violence today, the user is usually on one side of a war or conflict. But just because violence is used in games, does it mean that the violence itself is the main aspect of the game? Sure, games like the original mortal combat’s claim to fame was ground breaking graphics, and “realistic” depictions of physical violence. Even now, the game community continues to advance their technology to immerse the gamer into the world of the game. But violence as a whole has usually an ends to justify a means.
If we take a closer look inside some of the games played nowadays like Gears of War and Halo we see that violence has a role, a purpose for resolving conflict that is the storyline of the game. Halo’s story arch is one of alien invasion, where the main character is the savior of the human race. Gears of war, another game where one must take arms against an overwhelming amount of hell born savages bent on taking over the characters planet. Considering that these games are some of the most popular titles on the Xbox 360, one needs to look at the draw of playing the hero.
Henry Jenkins, an video game researcher at MIT said, “I don’t believe that the media in and of itself will turn a kid into a psychokiller. I believe that media is most powerful in our lives when it reinforces our existing values and least powerful when it contradicts them.” Looking at video game play through this lens, games where one assumes the role of the hero make sense. As Americans, we have often seen references to Superman, Batman, and a plethora of other hero’s who are constantly fighting for a greater good. The qualities that these hero’s have captivate the minds of adults and children alike, and video games specifically are the only media genre that let us live through their experiences.
Heroes have largely been considered a thing for children. Cartoons, Comics, and now video games are places where the hero lives, but in what way does a hero beating up a bad guy affect us--especially when were the ones with the controller in our hands--? Are heroes simply vigilantes who use violence as their only tool for serving justice? In respect to video games, it seems that the assumptions made about violence are made regardless of the context it’s in. Superhero video games like superman have been given the same moral axe as Grand Theft Auto.
The role of the hero, however, seems to be encouraged today with our youths… for good reason… because they help instill morals in our not so black and white world. In Steven H. Whites What is a Hero? An exploratory study of students' conceptions of heroes he shows the imperative need for hero’s today.
“Playing out hero themes is one way in which children come to understand their society, their role within that society, and their potential for positive impact on it. Since heroes are individuals, they offer young students something specific and concrete to study. Older students can come to recognise them as representations of a larger culture. Using heroes as individual or societal case studies of values and belief systems aids students’ moral development.”
In the context of video games, where users are actively participating in the virtual world that the hero resides in, gamers are exposed to decisions a hero would be faced with. They are allowed to live in a hero’s shoes and subconsciously analyze the morals that are instilled the story of that game. Critical thinking also is accomplished by more mature audiences when deciding how to engage the world of the hero, letting the gamer see unifying themes of culture that are beyond just one video game. If we as a society continue to use the hero as a moral pillar to show children right from wrong, then video games have great potential at infuse the prosocial behaviors that heroes portray.
With today’s technology, the depth of games has been ever increasing. From graphic quality to more complex decision making and character development, it seems that games are continually pushing the limits to immerse the gamer into the story. Games like Splinter Cell: Conviction have gamers choosing between morally conflicting decisions that affect the outcome of the storyline. All of these innovations within games are to immerse the gamer into the story, allowing for a deeper connection to the idea’s and moralities portrayed. But what is to be said about games like Mortal Kombat and Grand Theft Auto where they do nothing to establish a morality aspect.
Their ratings of being mature aside, what draw do gamers have to worlds with lose morals? Perhaps it is the chance to simulate a life that is unobtainable in today’s world or even the chance to vent frustrations born from a strict society. But aside from what is taken from these games one must examine what they do. Obviously the majority of experiences in video games are either strictly prohibited by society, or simply unrealistic. However, if accept that video games offer pseudo experiences of varying types, then they offer something unique to the user.
The experiences that games generate have had a tremendous effect on gamers, even though such things may be unseen in a larger context. Programmers have created realms, simulators, and puzzles that tantalize the human mind and let us figure out on our own how to tackle the negatives that inhibit effective play. “I argue that educators (especially curriculum designers) ought to pay closer attention to videogames because they offer designed experiences, in which participants learn through a grammar of doing and being. (Squire)” The constant trial-and-error testing, the frustrations of failure time and time again, and the reward of accomplishment are components of almost all video games. These create learned knowledge through experience, albeit one from a virtual reality. But despite the fact that the worlds are fictitious, decision making skills and critical thinking skills are being nurtured by those experiences.
Exposure is another aspect of video games that has some semblance of meaning when discussing development. This runs along the lines of experience but deals more with frequency and first time experiences in regards to video games. Being exposed to a wider array of experiences (since video games offer exposure to simulations, historically accurate games, puzzles, and etcetera) gamers become well versed in various skills such as complex math, economics (Hussain and Griffiths), and visual comprehension (Goodfellow). They become more sentient and self aware in the sense that they’re more sensitive to the emotions and motivations of others while also understand the implications of their actions in respect to the physical world and other people.
As said in the gamer section, communities are now an extremely important element of video games. Even in a social context, video games sill have an effect on the developments of morality and personality. These communities provide reinforcement for decisions made and words said. However to classify all the social experiences online as one defining reinforcement mechanism would a mistake because of the vast amount of individual microcosms that exist. But reinforcement from peers, whether it be positive or negative, will affect the way one participates on and offline.
Humans are social animals relying on peer to peer interaction for affirmation of self. That being said, it shouldn’t be surprising that communication with peers, especially a group, faction, or guild, would have an effect on development in spite of physical presence. The type of nurture provided is based off of the reinforcements that that particular group deems normal, or right. Groups are developed with similar goals in mind (quests, raids, loot); however, it goes deeper than that: similar personalities and similar thought processes dictate the forming of those groups. So who are these people that spend hours interacting online with one another?
Gamers vs. the world
The title isn’t appropriately named because it isn’t like there will be a war between such factions. However, I do want to highlight the differences in this subculture alone. But before I dive into the differences in personality I would like to highlight the most notable difference between the “gamer” and the rest of the world. The reason they are coined gamers is because they play video games. Within this subculture there are two subcategories and one of which I will be concentrating on, they are the casual gamer, and the hardcore gamer.
If we are to note any differences between gamers and other people we should concentrate on the hardcore gamers, where their playtime has been a major part of their life. The reason we concentrate on hardcore gamers and classify them as a different subculture is because the majority of people are now active in playing video games for entertainment. In 2007 a report from the NPD Group stated that 72 percent of the U.S. population played video games. (Antonucci) That being said it is hard to make a distinction when the majority of people are gaming. So we must concentrate on the individuals who devoted the time to earn the title hardcore or “core” gamers.
There isn’t a clear cut definition for the hardcore gamer; however, there are some generally accepted practices of core gamers. For one, hardcore gamers usually dedicate their leisure time to the practice and perfection of video game playing. Also, most hardcore gamers have some sense of competition that plays a role in the dedication that they have to their particular game. They will participate in tournaments, leagues, clans, guilds, or any type of gamer community. Note that these practices are not a 100% accurate definition of the core gamers because they vary in scope as much as the number of video games out there.
The differences in lifestyle choices that dictate the separation of core gamers from societal norms is a simple one, but within that divide a unique sub-culture is created. As mentioned in the introduction, the early years of video games, core gamers were the majority of the gaming population.
“Online-gamers are often exposed to generalizations and stereotypes in public media as well as in the scientific community; furthermore deviant behaviors and emotional problems are attributed to them. According to the recent findings it could be revealed that most gamers – 84% (n = 395) of all participants in the current study – show neither problematic gaming behavior nor depressive tendencies, even though the percentage differed regarding the type of game”
These stereotypes have resonated within American culture and have been subject to jests by popular media and gamers themselves. A unique trait of the gamer community is the acceptance of such jokes as a point of pride. When participating in a competitive online community, users will frequently be judged on their performance and a common insult is to call someone a noobie, a new person at the game with no skill. This suggests that when playing for sport, one must attempt to play like a hardcore gamer or else risk being chastise by the hardcore gamer collective.
Nowadays, core gamers vary in ways such as what games they play, what consoles they own, trollers (see the index), true gamers, etc… But even though there are major differences even within the core gamer community most share similarities that put them apart from the standard culture collective.
In order to understand the differences between gamers and the rest of the world one must first identify what motivates gamers to the continual practice of video games. One suggestion that speaks to the character of gamers is their natural affinity to boredom. “For example, impulsivity might predict computer game play due to its correlation with boredom. (3)” Such implications of impulsivity only link to the launch of play but not the continuation of it. The ‘addictive’ qualities of games, which will be discussed later, may retain the attention of impulsive people causing them to become a hardcore gamer. The cause of which may be the result of the impulsive personality turning to video games when boredom occurs during, but not limited to, leisure time.
It should be noted at this time that there is no definitive answer to the question “Why do gamers play so much?” because each individual’s needs dictate what draws them to dedicated game play. However, it has been said that we can break down each individual’s motivations into a few psychological needs. “Self-determination theory (Ryan and Deci, 2000) suggests that every individual has three innate psychological requirements that have to be met to sustain prolonged participation in an activity which are autonomy, competence and fulfillment.” Within this theory lie the requirements for hardcore games to exist. Gaming, for the core gamer, generally meets such prerequisites regardless of individual differences. From these building blocks, one can explicate motivations that are crux to the hardcore gamer.
One theory that is applicable when concerning hardcore gamers’ motivations is intrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is the act of participating because the activity yields excitement and an enjoyable experience. “…motivation is created by four individual factors: challenge, fantasy, curiosity and control and three interpersonal factors: cooperation, competition, and recognition. Interestingly, these factors also describe what makes a good game…"(1) If we accept these as fundamental components of avid video game play, then hardcore gamers must derive at least a few of these components, probably more, from games.
The two interpersonal factors competition and recognition are what drive the competitive hardcore gamer. As mentioned above, these competitive players will participate in leagues, matchmaking, and other sorts of communities to achieve a sense of position, ranked on skill level and competence of their respective games. Males in particular play games like FPS (First Person Shooters) and RTS (Real-Time Strategies) for the competitive aspects embedded in the theatre of the game.
A study conducted by Thomas et al. showed that the males in the study ranked FPS’s as their most played type of game while the females ranked them the least. This may derive from the males’ primitive need for dominance suggested by the male-warrior hypothesis. This hypothesis suggests that, “an ancestral history of frequent and violent intergroup conflict has shaped the social psychology and behavior of men in particular. (Vugt et al.)” Combined with evolution theories that state the correlation between the territorial protection of male chimpanzees, our closest genetic relative, (Boehm, 1999; Wrangham & Peterson, 1996) it makes for a compelling argument as to the reason virtual competition is one of the leading causes of fervent game play.
Another fixation that core gamers take pleasure in is the development and connection they have with the individual avatar. “The relationship between the player and the avatar is described by the players’ affection to the character, which leads to negative feelings if the avatar is under attack or dies (Wolvendale, 2006).” This quote, speaks to intimacy gamers develop with virtual characters, because of the increase of customizability of the avatar, individualization has a more prominent effect on the “immersion factor” within games (7). Due to realization of the relationship between customization and immersion, companies pay keen attention to how this affects gamer loyalty.
Immersion as defined by Witmer and Singer is, “a psychological state characterized by perceiving oneself to be enveloped by, included in, and interacting with an environment that provides a continuous stream of stimuli and experiences.” This immersion factor is developed by the use of avatars and customization and has been shown to increase gamer loyalty (7). Immersion plays a major role in game types as RPG’s (role-playing games) and MMORPG’s (massive multiplayer online role playing games) where story and character development take precedence over competitive play and over all skill assessment. Some of the key components of immersion have been best stated by McMahan saying gamer personality through the mediums command input, commentary, and fraternity affect the overall immersion in virtual world.
The social nature of the gamer community adds to the unique qualities of this sub-culture. As with any group, sub-culture, or faction, there are interactions within the given community that distinguish it from others. The hardcore gamer community is a society that hinges on a virtual environment. That being said, what draws gamers to participate in an intangible environment speaks to the personality of gamers. Jesse Fagan commented on the unique nature of MMORPG’s by saying,
Still, distinct from social networking sites, massively multiplayer game-worlds like WoW set the stage for collaborative and simultaneously shared play interactions that seem as real as they are fun, unfolding as they do in a meticulously rendered fantasy world and via avatar-characters who, in many instances, come to feel like second selves.
The development of the avatar in this community provides a sense of belonging to the online gamer and is not specifically restricted to the hardcore gamer. This autonomy that is generated in a virtual sense allows for a disassociation from reality. “It is this anonymity that gives those with low self-confidence, the chance to create a virtual life for themselves on the Internet (Ng and Wiemer-Hastings, 2005).”
The properties of this microcosm have seemed to attract the attention of persecution from scholars and varying kinds of outsiders due to the amount of time dedicated by some to the online social communities. Their arguments do have validity when dealing with ‘addictive personalities’ or persons who have pre-existing deficits in real-life relationships (Fagan, et al). However, the case study done by Kryspin-Exner et al. stated that 84% of their participants had, “…no problematic gaming behavior nor depressive tendencies.”
Interactions within the community, depending on where participation is conducted (whether it be online forums, within the game, or over a VoIP service), gamers truly have freedom of speech threw their intangible characters. These ‘conversations’ can range from philosophy to flaming which, as defined by urbandictionary.com, means “To engage in an online argument usually involving unfounded personal attacks by one or more parties.” These engagements are possible because irrespective of how one acts online, one’s personal, real life can be unaffected.
Because of the unstable nature of how communication can be, gamers develop relationships based on similar goals in-game and players social aptitude. Nycterelis, a WoW player said this,
The social aspect is extremely alluring because, arrogance aside, everyone is more or less viewed as equal until their actions define them as otherwise. It’s a system genuinely based on merit. Your skills, whether it’s pvp, pve, or even mere social skills, dictate your image in the public eye. You can’t really get that anywhere else.
As a former player of WoW myself, building a social life online was completely up to the user. Incentive is given to those who seek companions to complete tasks that are impossible to do alone such as better equipment and new content. But as for the most popular type of online game to date, MMORPG’s, the social element of them resonates as a fundamental part of the game-play experience, hence why massive multiplayer is the defining part of the acronym.
Conclusion
The gamers have developed into a unique subculture, differing on things such as faction side in games like World of Warcraft, or as physical as what console the gamer plays on. However, there are traits that supersede the trivial bickering between gamers that they share. They have similar personalities, play games for the same reasons, and have the same communities that have developed without any true human interaction. But what implications are behind online communities? Is it the merit based world that makes it attractive as Nycterelys claimed? Or is it simply a conglomerate of escapists who seek to be sought by other people? Regardless, we need to look beyond what video games do to us and look and see what it has done for us, good and bad.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
all done for today
Here is what I accomplished over the course of the night.
Gamers vs. the world
The title isn’t appropriately named because it isn’t like there will be a war between such factions. However, I do want to highlight the differences in this subculture alone. But before I dive into the differences in personality I would like to highlight the most notable difference between the “gamer” and the rest of the world. The reason they are coined gamers is because they play video games. Within this subculture there are two subcategories and one of which I will be concentrating on, they are the casual gamer, and the hardcore gamer. If we are to note any differences between gamers and other people we should concentrate on the hardcore gamers, where their playtime has been a major part of their life. The reason we concentrate on hardcore gamers and classify them as a different subculture is because the majority of people are now active in playing video games for entertainment. In 2007 a report from the NPD Group stated that 72 percent of the U.S. population played video games. (Antonucci) That being said it is hard to make a distinction when the majority of people are gaming. So we must concentrate on the individuals who devoted the time to earn the title hardcore or “core” gamers.
There isn’t a clear cut definition for the hardcore gamer; however, there are some generally accepted practices of core gamers. For one, hardcore gamers usually dedicate their leisure time to the practice and perfection of video game playing. Also, most hardcore gamers have some sense of competition that plays a role in the dedication that they have to their particular game. They will participate in tournaments, leagues, clans, guilds, or any type of gamer community. Note that these practices are not a 100% accurate definition of the core gamers because they vary in scope as much as the number of video games out there.
The differences in lifestyle choices that dictate the separation of core gamers from societal norms is a simple one, but within that divide a unique sub-culture is created. As mentioned in the introduction, the early years of video games, core gamers were the majority of the gaming population.
“Online-gamers are often exposed to generalizations and stereotypes in public media as well as in the scientific community; furthermore deviant behaviors and emotional problems are attributed to them. According to the recent findings it could be revealed that most gamers – 84% (n = 395) of all participants in the current study – show neither problematic gaming behavior nor depressive tendencies, even though the percentage differed regarding the type of game”
These stereotypes have resonated within American culture and have been subject to jests by popular media and gamers themselves. A unique trait of the gamer community is the acceptance of such jokes as a point of pride. When participating in a competitive online community, users will frequently be judged on their performance and a common insult is to call someone a noobie, a new person at the game with no skill. This suggests that when playing for sport, one must attempt to play like a hardcore gamer or else risk being chastise by the hardcore gamer collective.
Nowadays, core gamers vary in ways such as what games they play, what consoles they own, trollers (see the index), true gamers, etc… But even though there are major differences even within the core gamer community most share similarities that put them apart from the standard culture collective.
In order to understand the differences between gamers and the rest of the world one must first identify what motivates gamers to the continual practice of video games. One suggestion that speaks to the character of gamers is their natural affinity to boredom. “For example, impulsivity might predict computer game play due to its correlation with boredom. (3)” Such implications of impulsivity only link to the launch of play but not the continuation of it. The ‘addictive’ qualities of games, which will be discussed later, may retain the attention of impulsive people causing them to become a hardcore gamer. The cause of which may be the result of the impulsive personality turning to video games when boredom occurs during, but not limited to, leisure time.
It should be noted at this time that there is no definitive answer to the question “Why do gamers play so much?” because each individual’s needs dictate what draws them to dedicated game play. However, it has been said that we can break down each individual’s motivations into a few psychological needs. “Self-determination theory (Ryan and Deci, 2000) suggests that every individual has three innate psychological requirements that have to be met to sustain prolonged participation in an activity which are autonomy, competence and fulfillment.” Within this theory lie the requirements for hardcore games to exist. Gaming, for the core gamer, generally meets such prerequisites regardless of individual differences. From these building blocks, one can explicate motivations that are crux to the hardcore gamer.
One theory that is applicable when concerning hardcore gamers’ motivations is intrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is the act of participating because the activity yields excitement and an enjoyable experience. “…motivation is created by four individual factors: challenge, fantasy, curiosity and control and three interpersonal factors: cooperation, competition, and recognition. Interestingly, these factors also describe what makes a good game…"(1) If we accept these as fundamental components of avid video game play, then hardcore gamers must derive at least a few of these components, probably more, from games.
The two interpersonal factors competition and recognition are what drive the competitive hardcore gamer. As mentioned above, these competitive players will participate in leagues, matchmaking, and other sorts of communities to achieve a sense of position, ranked on skill level and competence of their respective games. Males in particular play games like FPS (First Person Shooters) and RTS (Real-Time Strategies) for the competitive aspects embedded in the theatre of the game.
A study conducted by Thomas et al. showed that the males in the study ranked FPS’s as their most played type of game while the females ranked them the least. This may derive from the males’ primitive need for dominance suggested by the male-warrior hypothesis. This hypothesis suggests that, “an ancestral history of frequent and violent intergroup conflict has shaped the social psychology and behavior of men in particular. (vugt et al.)” Combined with evolution theories that state the correlation between the territorial protection of male chimpanzees, our closest genetic relative, (Boehm, 1999; Wrangham & Peterson, 1996) it makes for a compelling argument as to the reason virtual competition is one of the leading causes of fervent game play.
Another fixation that core gamers take pleasure in is the development and connection they have with the individual avatar. “The relationship between the player and the avatar is described by the players’ affection to the character, which leads to negative feelings if the avatar is under attack or dies (Wolvendale, 2006).” This quote, speaks to intimacy gamers develop with virtual characters, because of the increase of customizability of the avatar, individualization has a more prominent effect on the “immersion factor” within games (7). Due to realization of the relationship between customization and immersion, companies pay keen attention to how this affects gamer loyalty.
Immersion as defined by Witmer and Singer is, “a psychological state characterized by perceiving oneself to be enveloped by, included in, and interacting with an environment that provides a continuous stream of stimuli and experiences.” This immersion factor is developed by the use of avatars and customization and has been shown to increase gamer loyalty (7). Immersion plays a major role in game types as RPG’s (role-playing games) and MMORPG’s (massive multiplayer online role playing games) where story and character development take precedence over competitive play and over all skill assessment. Some of the key components of immersion have been best stated by McMahan saying gamer personality through the mediums command input, commentary, and fraternity affect the overall immersion in virtual world.
The social nature of the gamer community adds to the unique qualities of this sub-culture. As with any group, sub-culture, or faction, there are interactions within the given community that distinguish it from others. The hardcore gamer community is a society that hinges on a virtual environment. That being said, what draws gamers to participate in an intangible environment speaks to the personality of gamers. Jesse Fagan commented on the unique nature of MMORPG’s by saying,
Still, distinct from social networking sites, massively multiplayer game-worlds like WoW set the stage for collaborative and simultaneously shared play interactions that seem as real as they are fun, unfolding as they do in a meticulously rendered fantasy world and via avatar-characters who, in many instances, come to feel like second selves.
The development of the avatar in this community provides a sense of belonging to the online gamer and is not specifically restricted to the hardcore gamer. This autonomy that is generated in a virtual sense allows for a disassociation from reality. “It is this anonymity that gives those with low self-confidence, the chance to create a virtual life for themselves on the Internet (Ng and Wiemer-Hastings, 2005).”
The properties of this microcosm have seemed to attract the attention of persecution from scholars and varying kinds of outsiders due to the amount of time dedicated by some to the online social communities. Their arguments do have validity when dealing with ‘addictive personalities’ or persons who have pre-existing deficits in real-life relationships (Fagan, et al). However, the case study done by Kryspin-Exner et al. stated that 84% of their participants had, “…no problematic gaming behavior nor depressive tendencies.”
Interactions within the community, depending on where participation is conducted (whether it be online forums, within the game, or over a VoIP service), gamers truly have freedom of speech threw their intangible characters. These ‘conversations’ can range from philosophy to flaming which, as defined by urbandictionary.com, means “To engage in an online argument usually involving unfounded personal attacks by one or more parties.” These engagements are possible because irrespective of how one acts online, one’s personal, real life can be unaffected.
Because of the unstable nature of how communication can be, gamers develop relationships based on similar goals in-game and players social aptitude. Nycterelis, a WoW player said this,
The social aspect is extremely alluring because, arrogance aside, everyone is more or less viewed as equal until their actions define them as otherwise. It’s a system genuinely based on merit. Your skills, whether it’s pvp, pve, or even mere social skills, dictate your image in the public eye. You can’t really get that anywhere else.
As a former player of WoW myself, building a social life online was completely up to the user. Incentive is given to those who seek companions to complete tasks that are impossible to do alone such as better equipment and new content. But as for the most popular type of online game to date, MMORPG’s, the social element of them resonates as a fundamental part of the game-play experience, hence why massive multiplayer is the defining part of the acronym.
Gamers vs. the world
The title isn’t appropriately named because it isn’t like there will be a war between such factions. However, I do want to highlight the differences in this subculture alone. But before I dive into the differences in personality I would like to highlight the most notable difference between the “gamer” and the rest of the world. The reason they are coined gamers is because they play video games. Within this subculture there are two subcategories and one of which I will be concentrating on, they are the casual gamer, and the hardcore gamer. If we are to note any differences between gamers and other people we should concentrate on the hardcore gamers, where their playtime has been a major part of their life. The reason we concentrate on hardcore gamers and classify them as a different subculture is because the majority of people are now active in playing video games for entertainment. In 2007 a report from the NPD Group stated that 72 percent of the U.S. population played video games. (Antonucci) That being said it is hard to make a distinction when the majority of people are gaming. So we must concentrate on the individuals who devoted the time to earn the title hardcore or “core” gamers.
There isn’t a clear cut definition for the hardcore gamer; however, there are some generally accepted practices of core gamers. For one, hardcore gamers usually dedicate their leisure time to the practice and perfection of video game playing. Also, most hardcore gamers have some sense of competition that plays a role in the dedication that they have to their particular game. They will participate in tournaments, leagues, clans, guilds, or any type of gamer community. Note that these practices are not a 100% accurate definition of the core gamers because they vary in scope as much as the number of video games out there.
The differences in lifestyle choices that dictate the separation of core gamers from societal norms is a simple one, but within that divide a unique sub-culture is created. As mentioned in the introduction, the early years of video games, core gamers were the majority of the gaming population.
“Online-gamers are often exposed to generalizations and stereotypes in public media as well as in the scientific community; furthermore deviant behaviors and emotional problems are attributed to them. According to the recent findings it could be revealed that most gamers – 84% (n = 395) of all participants in the current study – show neither problematic gaming behavior nor depressive tendencies, even though the percentage differed regarding the type of game”
These stereotypes have resonated within American culture and have been subject to jests by popular media and gamers themselves. A unique trait of the gamer community is the acceptance of such jokes as a point of pride. When participating in a competitive online community, users will frequently be judged on their performance and a common insult is to call someone a noobie, a new person at the game with no skill. This suggests that when playing for sport, one must attempt to play like a hardcore gamer or else risk being chastise by the hardcore gamer collective.
Nowadays, core gamers vary in ways such as what games they play, what consoles they own, trollers (see the index), true gamers, etc… But even though there are major differences even within the core gamer community most share similarities that put them apart from the standard culture collective.
In order to understand the differences between gamers and the rest of the world one must first identify what motivates gamers to the continual practice of video games. One suggestion that speaks to the character of gamers is their natural affinity to boredom. “For example, impulsivity might predict computer game play due to its correlation with boredom. (3)” Such implications of impulsivity only link to the launch of play but not the continuation of it. The ‘addictive’ qualities of games, which will be discussed later, may retain the attention of impulsive people causing them to become a hardcore gamer. The cause of which may be the result of the impulsive personality turning to video games when boredom occurs during, but not limited to, leisure time.
It should be noted at this time that there is no definitive answer to the question “Why do gamers play so much?” because each individual’s needs dictate what draws them to dedicated game play. However, it has been said that we can break down each individual’s motivations into a few psychological needs. “Self-determination theory (Ryan and Deci, 2000) suggests that every individual has three innate psychological requirements that have to be met to sustain prolonged participation in an activity which are autonomy, competence and fulfillment.” Within this theory lie the requirements for hardcore games to exist. Gaming, for the core gamer, generally meets such prerequisites regardless of individual differences. From these building blocks, one can explicate motivations that are crux to the hardcore gamer.
One theory that is applicable when concerning hardcore gamers’ motivations is intrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is the act of participating because the activity yields excitement and an enjoyable experience. “…motivation is created by four individual factors: challenge, fantasy, curiosity and control and three interpersonal factors: cooperation, competition, and recognition. Interestingly, these factors also describe what makes a good game…"(1) If we accept these as fundamental components of avid video game play, then hardcore gamers must derive at least a few of these components, probably more, from games.
The two interpersonal factors competition and recognition are what drive the competitive hardcore gamer. As mentioned above, these competitive players will participate in leagues, matchmaking, and other sorts of communities to achieve a sense of position, ranked on skill level and competence of their respective games. Males in particular play games like FPS (First Person Shooters) and RTS (Real-Time Strategies) for the competitive aspects embedded in the theatre of the game.
A study conducted by Thomas et al. showed that the males in the study ranked FPS’s as their most played type of game while the females ranked them the least. This may derive from the males’ primitive need for dominance suggested by the male-warrior hypothesis. This hypothesis suggests that, “an ancestral history of frequent and violent intergroup conflict has shaped the social psychology and behavior of men in particular. (vugt et al.)” Combined with evolution theories that state the correlation between the territorial protection of male chimpanzees, our closest genetic relative, (Boehm, 1999; Wrangham & Peterson, 1996) it makes for a compelling argument as to the reason virtual competition is one of the leading causes of fervent game play.
Another fixation that core gamers take pleasure in is the development and connection they have with the individual avatar. “The relationship between the player and the avatar is described by the players’ affection to the character, which leads to negative feelings if the avatar is under attack or dies (Wolvendale, 2006).” This quote, speaks to intimacy gamers develop with virtual characters, because of the increase of customizability of the avatar, individualization has a more prominent effect on the “immersion factor” within games (7). Due to realization of the relationship between customization and immersion, companies pay keen attention to how this affects gamer loyalty.
Immersion as defined by Witmer and Singer is, “a psychological state characterized by perceiving oneself to be enveloped by, included in, and interacting with an environment that provides a continuous stream of stimuli and experiences.” This immersion factor is developed by the use of avatars and customization and has been shown to increase gamer loyalty (7). Immersion plays a major role in game types as RPG’s (role-playing games) and MMORPG’s (massive multiplayer online role playing games) where story and character development take precedence over competitive play and over all skill assessment. Some of the key components of immersion have been best stated by McMahan saying gamer personality through the mediums command input, commentary, and fraternity affect the overall immersion in virtual world.
The social nature of the gamer community adds to the unique qualities of this sub-culture. As with any group, sub-culture, or faction, there are interactions within the given community that distinguish it from others. The hardcore gamer community is a society that hinges on a virtual environment. That being said, what draws gamers to participate in an intangible environment speaks to the personality of gamers. Jesse Fagan commented on the unique nature of MMORPG’s by saying,
Still, distinct from social networking sites, massively multiplayer game-worlds like WoW set the stage for collaborative and simultaneously shared play interactions that seem as real as they are fun, unfolding as they do in a meticulously rendered fantasy world and via avatar-characters who, in many instances, come to feel like second selves.
The development of the avatar in this community provides a sense of belonging to the online gamer and is not specifically restricted to the hardcore gamer. This autonomy that is generated in a virtual sense allows for a disassociation from reality. “It is this anonymity that gives those with low self-confidence, the chance to create a virtual life for themselves on the Internet (Ng and Wiemer-Hastings, 2005).”
The properties of this microcosm have seemed to attract the attention of persecution from scholars and varying kinds of outsiders due to the amount of time dedicated by some to the online social communities. Their arguments do have validity when dealing with ‘addictive personalities’ or persons who have pre-existing deficits in real-life relationships (Fagan, et al). However, the case study done by Kryspin-Exner et al. stated that 84% of their participants had, “…no problematic gaming behavior nor depressive tendencies.”
Interactions within the community, depending on where participation is conducted (whether it be online forums, within the game, or over a VoIP service), gamers truly have freedom of speech threw their intangible characters. These ‘conversations’ can range from philosophy to flaming which, as defined by urbandictionary.com, means “To engage in an online argument usually involving unfounded personal attacks by one or more parties.” These engagements are possible because irrespective of how one acts online, one’s personal, real life can be unaffected.
Because of the unstable nature of how communication can be, gamers develop relationships based on similar goals in-game and players social aptitude. Nycterelis, a WoW player said this,
The social aspect is extremely alluring because, arrogance aside, everyone is more or less viewed as equal until their actions define them as otherwise. It’s a system genuinely based on merit. Your skills, whether it’s pvp, pve, or even mere social skills, dictate your image in the public eye. You can’t really get that anywhere else.
As a former player of WoW myself, building a social life online was completely up to the user. Incentive is given to those who seek companions to complete tasks that are impossible to do alone such as better equipment and new content. But as for the most popular type of online game to date, MMORPG’s, the social element of them resonates as a fundamental part of the game-play experience, hence why massive multiplayer is the defining part of the acronym.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
work over the break
Due to unforseen circumstances I unfortunatly didn't get the work I wanted to get done on my paper this break. However, have no fear I did get some work done, the post you see will be continued for my sources about 1 per day, since I rarely update this I'll probably update it once a week or so but this is what I got done.
1) Hainey, Thomas, Thomas Connolly, and Liz Boyle. "A Survey of Students' Motivations for Playing Computer Games: a Comparative Analysis of Three Studies in Higher Education." Proceedings of the European Conference on Games Based Learning (2009): 154-163. Education Research Complete. EBSCO. Web. 9 Mar. 2011.
Classification: Motivation theory, Psychology
Research potential: Self-determination theory; Self-efficacy theory; Attribution goal theory; Flow theory
Useful Quotes: “U.S. computer and video game software sales grew six percent in 2007 to $9.5 billion – more than tripling industry software sales since 1996.” - The Entertainment Software Association (2009)
" They suggest that intrinsic motivation is created by four individual factors: challenge, fantasy, curiosity and control and three interpersonal factors: cooperation, competition, and recognition. Interestingly these factors also describe what makes a good game, irrespective of its educational qualities."
"Three of the four highest rated reasons for playing games in all three studies were pleasure, relaxation and leisure, confirming that games are being played primarily for relaxation and enjoyment."
" In all three studies male students ranked shootemups as the game they play most frequently and females ranked them as one of the games they play least."
Useful Statistics: Tables within
Summary: In this case study, they use three studies to compare the motivations gamers have for play video games, what type of video games they preferred, and the skill they believe can be obtained by playing video games. Also they discuss the reasons for perserverence when the games difficulty scales and it showes the gender difference in the aformentioned questions.
2)Ding, Min. "A Theory of Intraperson Games." Journal of Marketing 71.2 (2007): 1-11. Business Source Complete. EBSCO. Web. 10 Mar. 2011.
Not Useful
3)Chumbley, Justin, and Mark Griffiths. "Affect and the Computer Game Player: The Effect of Gender, Personality, and Game Reinforcement Structure on Affective Responses to Computer Game-Play." CyberPsychology & Behavior 9.3 (2006): 308-316. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 10 Mar. 2011.
Classification: Personality; Case Study;
Research Potential: None
Useful Quotes: "For example, impulsivity might predict computer game play due to its correlation with boredom." - Watt, J., and Vodanovich, J. (1992). A profile of the impulsive personality. Psychological Reports 70:688–69
"Impulsives and extraverts, for example, would be expected to be more receptive to positive rather than negative reinforcements. Similarly, differences in skill may underlie differences in player persistence. Because game reinforcement is often contingent of game players skill, it might be expected that skill moderates the influence of game characteristics on affect and behavior."
"Within the low reinforcement condition there was a significant positive correlation willingness to play and Excitement. Conversely there was a significant negative correlation between Boredom and willingness to play. Neither Frustration nor Calmness was correlated with willingness to play. The same pattern of significant correlations is observed in the data from the high reinforcement condition."
Statistics: To be found
Summary: This study was to evaluate the ratio's of "negative reinforcement" and the willingness to continue play after difficulty is increased. Note that negative reinforcement in this study means the persistance of play after game goals can not be obtained. The effect of such negative reinforcement deterred players. "Within the low reinforcement condition there was a significant positive correlation willingness to play and Excitement. Conversely there was a significant negative correlation between Boredom and willingness to play. Neither Frustration nor Calmness was correlated with willingness to play. The same pattern of significant correlations is observed in the data from the high reinforcement condition."
4)
Classification:
Research Potential:
Useful Quotes:
Statistics:
5)
Classification:
Research Potential:
Useful Quotes:
Statistics:
6)
Classification:
Research Potential:
Useful Quotes:
Statistics:
1) Hainey, Thomas, Thomas Connolly, and Liz Boyle. "A Survey of Students' Motivations for Playing Computer Games: a Comparative Analysis of Three Studies in Higher Education." Proceedings of the European Conference on Games Based Learning (2009): 154-163. Education Research Complete. EBSCO. Web. 9 Mar. 2011.
Classification: Motivation theory, Psychology
Research potential: Self-determination theory; Self-efficacy theory; Attribution goal theory; Flow theory
Useful Quotes: “U.S. computer and video game software sales grew six percent in 2007 to $9.5 billion – more than tripling industry software sales since 1996.” - The Entertainment Software Association (2009)
" They suggest that intrinsic motivation is created by four individual factors: challenge, fantasy, curiosity and control and three interpersonal factors: cooperation, competition, and recognition. Interestingly these factors also describe what makes a good game, irrespective of its educational qualities."
"Three of the four highest rated reasons for playing games in all three studies were pleasure, relaxation and leisure, confirming that games are being played primarily for relaxation and enjoyment."
" In all three studies male students ranked shootemups as the game they play most frequently and females ranked them as one of the games they play least."
Useful Statistics: Tables within
Summary: In this case study, they use three studies to compare the motivations gamers have for play video games, what type of video games they preferred, and the skill they believe can be obtained by playing video games. Also they discuss the reasons for perserverence when the games difficulty scales and it showes the gender difference in the aformentioned questions.
2)Ding, Min. "A Theory of Intraperson Games." Journal of Marketing 71.2 (2007): 1-11. Business Source Complete. EBSCO. Web. 10 Mar. 2011.
Not Useful
3)Chumbley, Justin, and Mark Griffiths. "Affect and the Computer Game Player: The Effect of Gender, Personality, and Game Reinforcement Structure on Affective Responses to Computer Game-Play." CyberPsychology & Behavior 9.3 (2006): 308-316. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 10 Mar. 2011.
Classification: Personality; Case Study;
Research Potential: None
Useful Quotes: "For example, impulsivity might predict computer game play due to its correlation with boredom." - Watt, J., and Vodanovich, J. (1992). A profile of the impulsive personality. Psychological Reports 70:688–69
"Impulsives and extraverts, for example, would be expected to be more receptive to positive rather than negative reinforcements. Similarly, differences in skill may underlie differences in player persistence. Because game reinforcement is often contingent of game players skill, it might be expected that skill moderates the influence of game characteristics on affect and behavior."
"Within the low reinforcement condition there was a significant positive correlation willingness to play and Excitement. Conversely there was a significant negative correlation between Boredom and willingness to play. Neither Frustration nor Calmness was correlated with willingness to play. The same pattern of significant correlations is observed in the data from the high reinforcement condition."
Statistics: To be found
Summary: This study was to evaluate the ratio's of "negative reinforcement" and the willingness to continue play after difficulty is increased. Note that negative reinforcement in this study means the persistance of play after game goals can not be obtained. The effect of such negative reinforcement deterred players. "Within the low reinforcement condition there was a significant positive correlation willingness to play and Excitement. Conversely there was a significant negative correlation between Boredom and willingness to play. Neither Frustration nor Calmness was correlated with willingness to play. The same pattern of significant correlations is observed in the data from the high reinforcement condition."
4)
Classification:
Research Potential:
Useful Quotes:
Statistics:
5)
Classification:
Research Potential:
Useful Quotes:
Statistics:
6)
Classification:
Research Potential:
Useful Quotes:
Statistics:
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Previous Work
This is a paper I wrote for Interdiciplinary Praxis two years ago. My teacher told me to write towards my Senior Seminar topic so this has relevance and should be a good starting point for my paper. I will mine this for information that is useful to my final paper.
Video Games Effects on Children
Video games started their media conquest in the late 1940's and early 50's with games such as Missile Defense and OXO( a version of tic-tac-toe) on a cathode ray tube display(US patient 2455992). Over the years video games grew massively in popularity with the invention of consoles like Atari and VES (Video Entertainment System) it seemed that video games were to be the next media giant to sweep the world. The 80's brought different genre's for video games. Video game companies flourished and started pumping out games like Street Fighter developed by Capcom and Mario Bros. developed by Nintendo. Now, sales of consoles and video games are in the millions per year with companies competing with each other for popularity.
Despite how popular video games are there are a few contingencies that come with them. The NPD reported that Households with kid's 12 and under make up 45% of the total video game industry sales. They also suggested targeting these youths saying, "Overall, the NPD Group suggests that game publishers and developers would be wise to more aggressively target these specific kid and tween(ages 10-14) groups, as there is still significant room for growth. And this could be a huge help during such a recession where the overall industry is trending downward sales-wise("Video Game Blogger")." That being said, it's obvious the problems that arise when targeting kids as your marketplace. The problem is video games might have an adverse effect on children and teens; programming them making them more aggressive or prone to violence. However not all research suggest this. Research conducted by Anne D. Walling M.D stated, "It can develop many skills, for example, positive effects on divided attention performance, developmental issues and spatial and coordination skills(Walling 1)”.
Thesis
In short, the purpose of this study is to see whether video games, as a whole, have an adverse or positive effect on children. We will explore each individual aspect when they relate to children and how the video games effect them.
Child Psychology
People are subject to their environment. Things that people experience influence them in many different ways. In example, soldiers sometimes suffer PSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) when returning from war. However, most would agree that children are the most susceptible to influence psychologically than other age ranges. But how do video games affect children psychologically?
A study that took place in 2004 reported increases of aggression in children when they played violent video games saying, " Playing violent games increases aggressive behaviors, increases aggressive cognitions, increases aggressive emotions, increases physiological arousal, and decreases prosocial behaviors." (Douglas) The increase in these emotions are not only found in children, but are also reported in adults. The results of the case study reported the longer the children played the video games that had violence in them, the more they showed hostile qualities. Increasing at an average of 50%. This study shows how prolonged exposure to violent video games can have a negative effect on peoples aggression.
Another study done at Toledo, OH showed a desensitization in children. The study stated, "The present findings suggest that, over the long term, exposure to violent video games may be associated with lower empathy in some children, a possible indication of desensitization." (Funk) The desensitization was to things that would normally disturb a human being, but the children, being exposed to more at an earlier age thanks to video games, became less empathetic. Within their discussion cessions they recommend parents to carefully monitor their children's free time at least into early adolescence.
Although the majority of studies dealt with the negative effects on "prosocial" behavior, the next study was with children and them playing the Nintendo DS game Nintendogs. The study was to see if there was an increase in empathy in children, who have never had a pet or played Nintendogs, while they played with their virtual pet. All of the children used in this study had some increase in empathy. The children, who had never owned a pet or played this game prior to the study, showed increases in empathy showing a prosocial effect of video games.
Biology
This section will cover the effects of video games biologically on children. Sandra Hofferth monitored the years between 1997 and 2003 where video game play sky-rocketed and other non-media activities went down. Obviously, the more time you spend playing video game or watching video games will take away from your time being able to do the other various activities. The study did conclude that media, such as video games, were having a negative effect on other activities described above because time spent in one area takes away from another.
However, once again someone researched the pro-health effects of video games while studying children and the games. This is actually a case study concerning the video games DDR(Dance Dance Revolutio)n and Wii Boxing. This study was formulated to see if kids would prefer these games to other physical activity to become more active. The study concludes in saying that these games are a healthy, fun, interactive way to exercise by monitoring several (23 kids, 14 boys 9 girls) while gaming (Short, Kevin R.). The study was also successful in saying that for kids who are particularly fond of video games to increase their energy expenditure two or three times that of a child just watching TV.
On a semi-related note, Optometric Education states that video game play can increase cognitive skill and ability. Video game play, as stated in this journal, "In a study at the University of Rochester, it was noted that video games containing high levels of action may substantially increase spatial resolution abilities. This resulted in improved visual acuity and other visual skills."(Goodfellow) Visual skills such as hand eye coordination and an increase in visual sensitivity to movement.
Education
According to some of the research I've done, video games can be a potential source for educating our youth. This study was conducted to test video game play and educational instruction. The result of this study was concluded that video game play to teach was actually better than computer-aided assistance. This indicates that the students using video games to teach themselves remembered the information and/or learned more than the computer aided students. "This finding indicated that computer-based video game playing not only can improve participants’ fact differentiation/recall processes, but also promotes problem-solving skills by recognizing multiple solutions for problems. Additionally, more precise effects were detected by breaking the post-test scores into three sub-categories. When the researchers developed the items in Part 1, the objectives were to make the participants recall key facts, definitions, and concepts. As the results of Part 1 indicate, the participants in the experimental group have a better understanding of factual materials and concepts. Consequently, for finishing their mission, the participants in the experimental group know they have to memorize the key facts or concepts even if they were just playing a game." (Tsung-Yen, Chuang)
Conclusion
Overall, it seems there are some healthy, interactive things you can do with video games. They can be constructive, develop cognitive skill, and reinforce pro-social behavior. However, there are two sides to this coin. Video games and children can be a road to disaster. Mostly it depends on the household a child grows up in and how video games are used inside that household. When parents are attentive and watch their child's behavior when responding to video games, they can sensor what seems detrimental to their children. Video games are not the enemy of this study, but this study does show the effects of this media giant. So, be weary of what you put in front of children, other than that, it's no more harmful than TV.
Bibliography
US patient 2455992
"Video Game Blogger." Video Game Blogger. 12 09 2009. Video Game Blogger, Web. 24 Oct 2009..
Walling, Anna. "Do Video Games Lead to Violent Behavior in Children." Do Video Games Lead to Violent Behavor in Children 65.7 (2007): 1. Web. 24 Oct 2009..
Gentile, Douglas A., Paul J. Lynch, Jennifer Ruh Linder, and David A. Walsh. "The effects of violent video game habits on adolescent hostility, aggressive behaviors, and school performance.." Journal of Adolescence 27.1 (2004): 5-23. Web. 1 Nov 2009.
Short, Kevin R., Diana L. Graf, Casey N. Hester, and Lauren V. Pratt. "Playing Active Video Games Increases Energy Expenditure in Children." Pediatrics 124.2 (2009): 534-40. Web. 1 Nov 2009.
Funk, Jeanne B., Buchman, Debra D. Jenks, Jennifer, and Bechtoldt, Heidi." Playing violent video games, desensitization, and moral evaluation in children." Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology24.4 (2004):, p413, 24p Web. 1 Nov2009
Yueh-Feng, Tsai Lily, and David M. Kaufman. "The Socioemotional Effects of a Computer- Simulated Animal on Children's Empathy and Humane Attitudes.." Journal of Educational Computing Research 41.1 (2009): 103-22. Web. 1 Nov 2009.
Hofferth, Sandra." Media Use vs. Work and Play in Middle Childhood." Social Indicators Research 93.1 (2009): 127-29. Web. 1 Nov 2009
Tsung-Yen, Chuang, and Chen Wei-Fan. "Effect of Computer-Based Video Games on Children: An Experimental Study.." Journal of Educational Technology & Society 12.2 (2009): 1- 10. Web. 1 Nov 2009.
Goodfellow, Geoffrey, and Dominick Maino. "Just Fun and Games?." Optometric Education 32.3 (2007): 69. Web. 1 Nov 2009.
Video Games Effects on Children
Video games started their media conquest in the late 1940's and early 50's with games such as Missile Defense and OXO( a version of tic-tac-toe) on a cathode ray tube display(US patient 2455992). Over the years video games grew massively in popularity with the invention of consoles like Atari and VES (Video Entertainment System) it seemed that video games were to be the next media giant to sweep the world. The 80's brought different genre's for video games. Video game companies flourished and started pumping out games like Street Fighter developed by Capcom and Mario Bros. developed by Nintendo. Now, sales of consoles and video games are in the millions per year with companies competing with each other for popularity.
Despite how popular video games are there are a few contingencies that come with them. The NPD reported that Households with kid's 12 and under make up 45% of the total video game industry sales. They also suggested targeting these youths saying, "Overall, the NPD Group suggests that game publishers and developers would be wise to more aggressively target these specific kid and tween(ages 10-14) groups, as there is still significant room for growth. And this could be a huge help during such a recession where the overall industry is trending downward sales-wise("Video Game Blogger")." That being said, it's obvious the problems that arise when targeting kids as your marketplace. The problem is video games might have an adverse effect on children and teens; programming them making them more aggressive or prone to violence. However not all research suggest this. Research conducted by Anne D. Walling M.D stated, "It can develop many skills, for example, positive effects on divided attention performance, developmental issues and spatial and coordination skills(Walling 1)”.
Thesis
In short, the purpose of this study is to see whether video games, as a whole, have an adverse or positive effect on children. We will explore each individual aspect when they relate to children and how the video games effect them.
Child Psychology
People are subject to their environment. Things that people experience influence them in many different ways. In example, soldiers sometimes suffer PSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) when returning from war. However, most would agree that children are the most susceptible to influence psychologically than other age ranges. But how do video games affect children psychologically?
A study that took place in 2004 reported increases of aggression in children when they played violent video games saying, " Playing violent games increases aggressive behaviors, increases aggressive cognitions, increases aggressive emotions, increases physiological arousal, and decreases prosocial behaviors." (Douglas) The increase in these emotions are not only found in children, but are also reported in adults. The results of the case study reported the longer the children played the video games that had violence in them, the more they showed hostile qualities. Increasing at an average of 50%. This study shows how prolonged exposure to violent video games can have a negative effect on peoples aggression.
Another study done at Toledo, OH showed a desensitization in children. The study stated, "The present findings suggest that, over the long term, exposure to violent video games may be associated with lower empathy in some children, a possible indication of desensitization." (Funk) The desensitization was to things that would normally disturb a human being, but the children, being exposed to more at an earlier age thanks to video games, became less empathetic. Within their discussion cessions they recommend parents to carefully monitor their children's free time at least into early adolescence.
Although the majority of studies dealt with the negative effects on "prosocial" behavior, the next study was with children and them playing the Nintendo DS game Nintendogs. The study was to see if there was an increase in empathy in children, who have never had a pet or played Nintendogs, while they played with their virtual pet. All of the children used in this study had some increase in empathy. The children, who had never owned a pet or played this game prior to the study, showed increases in empathy showing a prosocial effect of video games.
Biology
This section will cover the effects of video games biologically on children. Sandra Hofferth monitored the years between 1997 and 2003 where video game play sky-rocketed and other non-media activities went down. Obviously, the more time you spend playing video game or watching video games will take away from your time being able to do the other various activities. The study did conclude that media, such as video games, were having a negative effect on other activities described above because time spent in one area takes away from another.
However, once again someone researched the pro-health effects of video games while studying children and the games. This is actually a case study concerning the video games DDR(Dance Dance Revolutio)n and Wii Boxing. This study was formulated to see if kids would prefer these games to other physical activity to become more active. The study concludes in saying that these games are a healthy, fun, interactive way to exercise by monitoring several (23 kids, 14 boys 9 girls) while gaming (Short, Kevin R.). The study was also successful in saying that for kids who are particularly fond of video games to increase their energy expenditure two or three times that of a child just watching TV.
On a semi-related note, Optometric Education states that video game play can increase cognitive skill and ability. Video game play, as stated in this journal, "In a study at the University of Rochester, it was noted that video games containing high levels of action may substantially increase spatial resolution abilities. This resulted in improved visual acuity and other visual skills."(Goodfellow) Visual skills such as hand eye coordination and an increase in visual sensitivity to movement.
Education
According to some of the research I've done, video games can be a potential source for educating our youth. This study was conducted to test video game play and educational instruction. The result of this study was concluded that video game play to teach was actually better than computer-aided assistance. This indicates that the students using video games to teach themselves remembered the information and/or learned more than the computer aided students. "This finding indicated that computer-based video game playing not only can improve participants’ fact differentiation/recall processes, but also promotes problem-solving skills by recognizing multiple solutions for problems. Additionally, more precise effects were detected by breaking the post-test scores into three sub-categories. When the researchers developed the items in Part 1, the objectives were to make the participants recall key facts, definitions, and concepts. As the results of Part 1 indicate, the participants in the experimental group have a better understanding of factual materials and concepts. Consequently, for finishing their mission, the participants in the experimental group know they have to memorize the key facts or concepts even if they were just playing a game." (Tsung-Yen, Chuang)
Conclusion
Overall, it seems there are some healthy, interactive things you can do with video games. They can be constructive, develop cognitive skill, and reinforce pro-social behavior. However, there are two sides to this coin. Video games and children can be a road to disaster. Mostly it depends on the household a child grows up in and how video games are used inside that household. When parents are attentive and watch their child's behavior when responding to video games, they can sensor what seems detrimental to their children. Video games are not the enemy of this study, but this study does show the effects of this media giant. So, be weary of what you put in front of children, other than that, it's no more harmful than TV.
Bibliography
US patient 2455992
"Video Game Blogger." Video Game Blogger. 12 09 2009. Video Game Blogger, Web. 24 Oct 2009.
Walling, Anna. "Do Video Games Lead to Violent Behavior in Children." Do Video Games Lead to Violent Behavor in Children 65.7 (2007): 1. Web. 24 Oct 2009.
Gentile, Douglas A., Paul J. Lynch, Jennifer Ruh Linder, and David A. Walsh. "The effects of violent video game habits on adolescent hostility, aggressive behaviors, and school performance.." Journal of Adolescence 27.1 (2004): 5-23. Web. 1 Nov 2009.
Short, Kevin R., Diana L. Graf, Casey N. Hester, and Lauren V. Pratt. "Playing Active Video Games Increases Energy Expenditure in Children." Pediatrics 124.2 (2009): 534-40. Web. 1 Nov 2009.
Funk, Jeanne B., Buchman, Debra D. Jenks, Jennifer, and Bechtoldt, Heidi." Playing violent video games, desensitization, and moral evaluation in children." Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology24.4 (2004):, p413, 24p Web. 1 Nov2009
Yueh-Feng, Tsai Lily, and David M. Kaufman. "The Socioemotional Effects of a Computer- Simulated Animal on Children's Empathy and Humane Attitudes.." Journal of Educational Computing Research 41.1 (2009): 103-22. Web. 1 Nov 2009.
Hofferth, Sandra." Media Use vs. Work and Play in Middle Childhood." Social Indicators Research 93.1 (2009): 127-29. Web. 1 Nov 2009
Tsung-Yen, Chuang, and Chen Wei-Fan. "Effect of Computer-Based Video Games on Children: An Experimental Study.." Journal of Educational Technology & Society 12.2 (2009): 1- 10. Web. 1 Nov 2009.
Goodfellow, Geoffrey, and Dominick Maino. "Just Fun and Games?." Optometric Education 32.3 (2007): 69. Web. 1 Nov 2009.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Working Bib
1.
Academic Journal
World of Warcraft and the impact of game culture and play in an undergraduate game design course.
Database: Academic Search Complete
2.
Academic Journal
Creating Games from Mathematical Problems.
Database: Education Research Complete
3.
Report
Serious Games - Research and Design for Game-Based Language Learning in a Global Perspective.
Database: Education Research Complete
4.
Academic Journal
Attitudes of older adults toward shooter video games: An initial study to select an acceptable game for training visual processing.
Database: PsycINFO
5.
Academic Journal
What is video game culture? Cultural studies and game studies.
Database: PsycINFO
6.
Report
Game-Based Assessment: can Games Themselves act as Assessment Mechanisms? A Case Study.
7.
Academic Journal
Motivational engagement and video gaming: a mixed methods study.
Database: Academic Search Complete
8.
Academic Journal
The Role of Structural Characteristics in Video-Game Play Motivation: A Q-Methodology Study.
Database: Academic Search Complete
9.
Report
Animating DGBL in Pre-School, Primary and Special Education: Three Case Studies.
Database: Education Research Complete
10.
Academic Journal
Sex Differentials in Students' Achievement and Interest in Geometry Using Games and Simulations Technique.Full Text Available
Database: Education Research Complete
11.
Academic Journal
An Ecological Approach to Prospective and Retrospective Timing of Long Durations: A Study Involving Gamers.
Database: Academic Search Complete
12.
Report
A Survey of Students' Motivations for Playing Computer Games: a Comparative Analysis of Three Studies in Higher Education.
Database: Education Research Complete
13.
Academic Journal
Video game experience predicts virtual, but not real navigation performance.
Database: Academic Search Complete
14.
Academic Journal
The Influence of an Educational Computer Game on Children's Cultural.
Database: Academic Search Complete
15.
Academic Journal
Warcraft and Civic Education: MMORPGs as Participatory Cultures and How Teachers Can Use Them to Improve Civic Education.
Database: Academic Search Complete
16.
Academic Journal
PERCEPTION OF YOUNG ADULTS ON ONLINE GAMES: IMPLICATIONS FOR HIGHER EDUCATION.
Database: Education Research Complete
17.
Academic Journal
Effect of Computer-Based Video Games on Children: An Experimental Study.
Database: Academic Search Complete
18.
Academic Journal
Excessive use of Massively Multi-Player Online Role-Playing Games: A Pilot Study.
Database: Academic Search Complete
19.
Academic Journal
Excellent gamer, excellent driver? The impact of adolescents’ video game playing on driving behavior: A two-wave panel study.
Database: PsycINFO
20.
Academic Journal
Development and validation of an instrument to evaluate the content effectiveness of video games: a pilot study.
Database: Academic Search Complete
21.
Academic Journal
Beyond the fascination of online-games: Probing addictive behavior and depression in the world of online-gaming.
Database: Academic Search Complete
22.
Academic Journal
Problems with the Concept of Video Game “Addiction”: Some Case Study Examples.
Database: Academic Search Complete
23.
Academic Journal
The Psychological Study of Video Game Players: Methodological Challenges and Practical Advice.
Database: Academic Search Complete
24.
Academic Journal
Is aggression in children with behavioural and emotional difficulties associated with television viewing and video game playing? A systematic review.
Database: CINAHL Plus with Full Text
25.
Academic Journal
A Theory of Intraperson Games.
Database: Business Source Complete
26.
Academic Journal
Form one students’ engagement with computer games and its effect on their academic achievement in a Malaysian secondary school.
27.
Academic Journal
Excellent gamer, excellent driver? The impact of adolescents’ video game playing on driving behavior: A two-wave panel study.
Database: Academic Search Complete
28.
Academic Journal
Effects of gender differences and spatial abilities within a digital pentominoes game.
Database: Academic Search Complete
29.
Academic Journal
Playing with History: A Look at Video Games, World History and Libraries.
Database: Education Research Complete
30.
Academic Journal
Parasocial Interaction with My Avatar: Effects of Interdependent Self-Construal and the Mediating Role of Self-Presence in an Avatar-Based Console Game, Wii.
Database: Business Source Complete
31.
Academic Journal
Using Video Games in Science Instruction: Pedagogical, Social, and Concept-Related Aspects.
Database: Academic Search Complete
32.
Academic Journal
Pathological Video-Game Use Among Youth Ages 8 to 18: A National Study.
Database: Business Source Complete
33.
Academic Journal
Experimental study of the differential effects of playing versus watching violent video games on children's aggressive behavior.
Database: Academic Search Complete
34.
Academic Journal
Personality Traits and Life Satisfaction among Online Game Players.
Database: Academic Search Complete
35.
Academic Journal
Do Aggressive People Play Violent Computer Games in a More Aggressive Way? Individual Difference and Idiosyncratic Game-Playing Experience.
Database: Academic Search Complete
36.
Report
Modelling Players' Behaviours and Learning Strategies in Video Games.
Database: Education Research Complete
37.
Academic Journal
The relationship between online game addiction and aggression, self-control and narcissistic personality traits.
Database: PsycINFO
38.
Academic Journal
Personality and enjoyment of computer game play.
Database: Business Source Complete
39.
Academic Journal
Subjective Well-Being: Evidence from the Different Personality Traits of Online Game Teenager Players.
Database: Academic Search Complete
40.
Academic Journal
Affect and the Computer Game Player: The Effect of Gender, Personality, and Game Reinforcement Structure on Affective Responses to Computer Game-Play.
Database: Academic Search Complete
41.
Academic Journal
Personality Differences between Online Game Players and Nonplayers in a Student Sample.
Database: Academic Search Complete
42.
Academic Journal
Game Player Characteristics and Interactive Content: Exploring the Role of Personality and Telepresence in Video Game Violence.
Database: Academic Search Complete
43.
Academic Journal
Personality traits and life satisfaction among online game players.
Database: PsycINFO
44.
Academic Journal
Violent computer games and their effects on state hostility and physiological arousal.
Database: Academic Search Complete
45.
Dissertation/Thesis
Individual differences in the effects of playing violent video games: Specific play rehearsals and changes in aggression.
Search WNCLN holdings
46.
Academic Journal
Play as a Consumption Experience: The Roles of Emotions, Performance, and Personality in the Enjoyment of Games.
Database: Business Source Complete
47.
Academic Journal
Correlates and Consequences of Exposure to Video Game Violence: Hostile Personality, Empathy, and Aggressive Behavior.
Database: Education Research Complete
48.
Academic Journal
THE IMPACT OF NEUROTICISM ON LEISURE SATISFACTION: ONLINE GAME APPLICATION.
Database: Academic Search Complete
49.
Academic Journal
Alien games: Do girls prefer games designed by girls?
Database: PsycINFO
50.
Academic Journal
Children, video games and physical activity: An exploratory study.
Database: PsycINFO
Search WNCLN holdings
51.
Dissertation/Thesis
Trait aggression and style of video game play: The effects of violent video game play on aggressive thoughts.
Database: PsycINFO
Academic Journal
World of Warcraft and the impact of game culture and play in an undergraduate game design course.
Database: Academic Search Complete
2.
Academic Journal
Creating Games from Mathematical Problems.
Database: Education Research Complete
3.
Report
Serious Games - Research and Design for Game-Based Language Learning in a Global Perspective.
Database: Education Research Complete
4.
Academic Journal
Attitudes of older adults toward shooter video games: An initial study to select an acceptable game for training visual processing.
Database: PsycINFO
5.
Academic Journal
What is video game culture? Cultural studies and game studies.
Database: PsycINFO
6.
Report
Game-Based Assessment: can Games Themselves act as Assessment Mechanisms? A Case Study.
7.
Academic Journal
Motivational engagement and video gaming: a mixed methods study.
Database: Academic Search Complete
8.
Academic Journal
The Role of Structural Characteristics in Video-Game Play Motivation: A Q-Methodology Study.
Database: Academic Search Complete
9.
Report
Animating DGBL in Pre-School, Primary and Special Education: Three Case Studies.
Database: Education Research Complete
10.
Academic Journal
Sex Differentials in Students' Achievement and Interest in Geometry Using Games and Simulations Technique.Full Text Available
Database: Education Research Complete
11.
Academic Journal
An Ecological Approach to Prospective and Retrospective Timing of Long Durations: A Study Involving Gamers.
Database: Academic Search Complete
12.
Report
A Survey of Students' Motivations for Playing Computer Games: a Comparative Analysis of Three Studies in Higher Education.
Database: Education Research Complete
13.
Academic Journal
Video game experience predicts virtual, but not real navigation performance.
Database: Academic Search Complete
14.
Academic Journal
The Influence of an Educational Computer Game on Children's Cultural.
Database: Academic Search Complete
15.
Academic Journal
Warcraft and Civic Education: MMORPGs as Participatory Cultures and How Teachers Can Use Them to Improve Civic Education.
Database: Academic Search Complete
16.
Academic Journal
PERCEPTION OF YOUNG ADULTS ON ONLINE GAMES: IMPLICATIONS FOR HIGHER EDUCATION.
Database: Education Research Complete
17.
Academic Journal
Effect of Computer-Based Video Games on Children: An Experimental Study.
Database: Academic Search Complete
18.
Academic Journal
Excessive use of Massively Multi-Player Online Role-Playing Games: A Pilot Study.
Database: Academic Search Complete
19.
Academic Journal
Excellent gamer, excellent driver? The impact of adolescents’ video game playing on driving behavior: A two-wave panel study.
Database: PsycINFO
20.
Academic Journal
Development and validation of an instrument to evaluate the content effectiveness of video games: a pilot study.
Database: Academic Search Complete
21.
Academic Journal
Beyond the fascination of online-games: Probing addictive behavior and depression in the world of online-gaming.
Database: Academic Search Complete
22.
Academic Journal
Problems with the Concept of Video Game “Addiction”: Some Case Study Examples.
Database: Academic Search Complete
23.
Academic Journal
The Psychological Study of Video Game Players: Methodological Challenges and Practical Advice.
Database: Academic Search Complete
24.
Academic Journal
Is aggression in children with behavioural and emotional difficulties associated with television viewing and video game playing? A systematic review.
Database: CINAHL Plus with Full Text
25.
Academic Journal
A Theory of Intraperson Games.
Database: Business Source Complete
26.
Academic Journal
Form one students’ engagement with computer games and its effect on their academic achievement in a Malaysian secondary school.
27.
Academic Journal
Excellent gamer, excellent driver? The impact of adolescents’ video game playing on driving behavior: A two-wave panel study.
Database: Academic Search Complete
28.
Academic Journal
Effects of gender differences and spatial abilities within a digital pentominoes game.
Database: Academic Search Complete
29.
Academic Journal
Playing with History: A Look at Video Games, World History and Libraries.
Database: Education Research Complete
30.
Academic Journal
Parasocial Interaction with My Avatar: Effects of Interdependent Self-Construal and the Mediating Role of Self-Presence in an Avatar-Based Console Game, Wii.
Database: Business Source Complete
31.
Academic Journal
Using Video Games in Science Instruction: Pedagogical, Social, and Concept-Related Aspects.
Database: Academic Search Complete
32.
Academic Journal
Pathological Video-Game Use Among Youth Ages 8 to 18: A National Study.
Database: Business Source Complete
33.
Academic Journal
Experimental study of the differential effects of playing versus watching violent video games on children's aggressive behavior.
Database: Academic Search Complete
34.
Academic Journal
Personality Traits and Life Satisfaction among Online Game Players.
Database: Academic Search Complete
35.
Academic Journal
Do Aggressive People Play Violent Computer Games in a More Aggressive Way? Individual Difference and Idiosyncratic Game-Playing Experience.
Database: Academic Search Complete
36.
Report
Modelling Players' Behaviours and Learning Strategies in Video Games.
Database: Education Research Complete
37.
Academic Journal
The relationship between online game addiction and aggression, self-control and narcissistic personality traits.
Database: PsycINFO
38.
Academic Journal
Personality and enjoyment of computer game play.
Database: Business Source Complete
39.
Academic Journal
Subjective Well-Being: Evidence from the Different Personality Traits of Online Game Teenager Players.
Database: Academic Search Complete
40.
Academic Journal
Affect and the Computer Game Player: The Effect of Gender, Personality, and Game Reinforcement Structure on Affective Responses to Computer Game-Play.
Database: Academic Search Complete
41.
Academic Journal
Personality Differences between Online Game Players and Nonplayers in a Student Sample.
Database: Academic Search Complete
42.
Academic Journal
Game Player Characteristics and Interactive Content: Exploring the Role of Personality and Telepresence in Video Game Violence.
Database: Academic Search Complete
43.
Academic Journal
Personality traits and life satisfaction among online game players.
Database: PsycINFO
44.
Academic Journal
Violent computer games and their effects on state hostility and physiological arousal.
Database: Academic Search Complete
45.
Dissertation/Thesis
Individual differences in the effects of playing violent video games: Specific play rehearsals and changes in aggression.
Search WNCLN holdings
46.
Academic Journal
Play as a Consumption Experience: The Roles of Emotions, Performance, and Personality in the Enjoyment of Games.
Database: Business Source Complete
47.
Academic Journal
Correlates and Consequences of Exposure to Video Game Violence: Hostile Personality, Empathy, and Aggressive Behavior.
Database: Education Research Complete
48.
Academic Journal
THE IMPACT OF NEUROTICISM ON LEISURE SATISFACTION: ONLINE GAME APPLICATION.
Database: Academic Search Complete
49.
Academic Journal
Alien games: Do girls prefer games designed by girls?
Database: PsycINFO
50.
Academic Journal
Children, video games and physical activity: An exploratory study.
Database: PsycINFO
Search WNCLN holdings
51.
Dissertation/Thesis
Trait aggression and style of video game play: The effects of violent video game play on aggressive thoughts.
Database: PsycINFO
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Abstract
The focus of this paper is to look at the relationships between the development of personality as it relates to growing up with video games. This study will look at the coined term "gamers" and compare them to people who didn't spend as much time on video games. The development certain traits, psychological and sociological, can be identified and linked specifically to extensive use of video games by gamers. The study will also look at the development of morals and how the trend of games becoming more realistic and giving more choice to the gamers. This medium of entertainment is unique because it lets users "live the experience." This presents interesting developments in choices by gamers in video games and also blurs the line between what we think is a morally right decision, and what seems to be morally wrong. Skimming the top of the Nature vs. Nurture debate, this research will identify the paticular effects of video games on development and what it means for us now and in the future, good and bad.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Focusing in...
Concept
As we discussed in class, my paper topic is "Video Games effects on the development of Morality and Personality." I believe, with the help of the class, we have determined that this topic can generate interest which is key to writing not only a interesting paper, but a good one. With this paper, I would be drawing connections between personality types and video game players (referred to as gamers in the paper). I would be looking at how video games helped "raise" people and what traits are congruent among gamers vs. people who didn't spend as much time on games. The morality issue would follow a discussion on personality because games are a specific type of media that let you "live the experience." Like books, television, and movies video games generally adhere to story lines. Unlike those aforementioned mediums of entertainment mentioned above though video games give you choice, letting the user decide how the story should progress. This simple ingenuity sets video games so far apart from the others that morality becomes a part of every decision in the games. Giving these experiences to children, letting them "live" as a spy who may have to make the decision to kill someone, or even a game like Sim's where choices are broken down so much as "when should I use the bathroom?" can have effects on the real development of morality in users.
Layout
The layout of the paper has been on my mind mostly when trying to develop this paper. This is a personality trait of mine though to think of the paper first as a piece of literary work and second as my paper idea. Probably because I believe if done correctly, this paper can flow fluidly from topic area to topic area. Below is a list of topic headlines that may become the order of parts in my paper. Beside some I will offer a brief description on what will be in that section:
Title Page
Abstract
As we discussed in class, my paper topic is "Video Games effects on the development of Morality and Personality." I believe, with the help of the class, we have determined that this topic can generate interest which is key to writing not only a interesting paper, but a good one. With this paper, I would be drawing connections between personality types and video game players (referred to as gamers in the paper). I would be looking at how video games helped "raise" people and what traits are congruent among gamers vs. people who didn't spend as much time on games. The morality issue would follow a discussion on personality because games are a specific type of media that let you "live the experience." Like books, television, and movies video games generally adhere to story lines. Unlike those aforementioned mediums of entertainment mentioned above though video games give you choice, letting the user decide how the story should progress. This simple ingenuity sets video games so far apart from the others that morality becomes a part of every decision in the games. Giving these experiences to children, letting them "live" as a spy who may have to make the decision to kill someone, or even a game like Sim's where choices are broken down so much as "when should I use the bathroom?" can have effects on the real development of morality in users.
Layout
The layout of the paper has been on my mind mostly when trying to develop this paper. This is a personality trait of mine though to think of the paper first as a piece of literary work and second as my paper idea. Probably because I believe if done correctly, this paper can flow fluidly from topic area to topic area. Below is a list of topic headlines that may become the order of parts in my paper. Beside some I will offer a brief description on what will be in that section:
Title Page
Abstract
- Introduction-Will probably touch on the development of video games and its early history, probably focusing more on how the users of that day received video games and the first video game nerds were developed.
- Game Studies- This will be where the bulk of the game studies information will fall, it will be the research that lets me tie development of personalities and games effects on the human psyche.
- Gamers vs. the world- This section will encompass a comparison of personality types of gamers versus societal norms, U.S. and World statistics. Differences will be made evident in the upbringing of the types. NOTE This section will probably be the hardest to write considering the amount of theoretical ties I will probably be making. Concepts will have to be made clear and evidence supporting it should be thorough.
- Development of Choice- This section will touch on video games again and their rise to give the gamer more power over what happens in the video games. Will mention games that had "groundbreaking" open-endedness in them and the ones that presented unique choices for gamers. This sections being a bridge to the next.
- Morality- Will have to think of a cooler title for this one but this is where I will talk about the issue of morality in video games and how they effect the development of morals. This section will also discuss some of the uses of video games and their draw to peoples moral query's and look to the reason why people make choices in video games.
- Cautionary notes- I'm sure I'm bound to stumble upon information identifying the negative effects of video games and there effects on the development of personality and morality so those snippets can go here for an encapsulation of this topic in this paper.
- Future- This section will look toward future applications of video games and see where the paper's shortcommings will be in the next few years :P Looking at developing technology and the direction the video games of the future as they shape the minds of future gamers.
- Conclusion- Final thoughts and shortcommings of the paper.
Felt good to get the layout down at least so I can see it. Know that this might not be the final layout of the paper and section headings may (and should) change when being developed.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Paper Ideas
The top ten worst games and why they failed - Doing a paper like this would have less academic research available and might be opinionated but the concept is solid, covering the failures of past games could set a theoretical framework for games by studying the successes of others.
Video games effects on the development of morality and personality- Lots of potential here, i could do surveys and compile information on my own, also from doing a paper on "video games effects on children" there is some crossover information.
Video games effects on the development of morality and personality- Lots of potential here, i could do surveys and compile information on my own, also from doing a paper on "video games effects on children" there is some crossover information.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)