Impact of games on society

Gaming is a huge part of almost everybody’s lives.  Gaming has had a very large impact on both society and individuals.  Within the past 30 years games have developed at an extreme rate.  Most modern games’ graphics and terrain is almost as real as it can get.  This could possibly influence people to act as if they are in a video game.

Medias Portrayal of Video Games having an influence on the community and universal can often lead people either way, negative to positive; The Actual Facts of them not affecting real life; the positive and the negative of video games (Good- Brings people together/Bad- Can cause addiction); What games have to offer.  If a game is good it can raise socialness between anti-social teenagers and adults as it allows them to use different types of communication with people all around the world.

Video games allow the gamers to learn the ability of following instructions, this is especially helpful for those with minor mental disabilities or autism who find it hard to follow instructions set to them. Also it helps these people with such needs develop their skills in logic and problem solving for example with the game Pokémon which is a role playing turn based strategy game, players will need to pick the best and appropriate move and strategies there battle plan to win

Games also help players train their brains in various other ways such as pattern recognition as in some games there are puzzles with remembering patterns to proceed games like the legend of Zelda implement this and want the user to be mentally prepared for the next set of levels so they add in many puzzles for brain training before you continue.  Also with first person shooter games such as the call of duty franchise many professional players know the best positing from studying the map they are fighting in as the best place to hide and shoot from without being detected.

The gaming industry has made a significant amount of money as big organisations such as Rockstar release their games which have high demands from the public. Ten years ago family’s would have to pay a large amount of money to spend quality time with each other but with gaming comes multiplayer support, this suggests they can play with or against each other, staying in with the family to play a family game is much cheaper than going to a theme park and can save them a lot of money, financially stabilizing them.

Many teenagers or children have been peer pressured into buying the latest games. Game development companies come up with ways to keep producing the same game, such as Call of Duty but with a few additional new features to enhance the experience of a game. When one of your friends has moved up to the latest game, then another friend then the third; you do not want to be left out even if you do feel it’s the same game. This can cost a lot of money with each new title branching towards £40 each per game

Quick thinking and strategic skills are also enhanced through games, such as the RTS genre which stands for real time strategy games, most notably StarCraft 2 where the fastest reaction and quick thinking can determine heavy outcomes and possible victories, many hard-core gamers prefer this genre as it can determine and compare players to show who is the very best and created a competitive atmosphere amongst the games.

Developers come up with clever ways to force addiction upon a game for a player, for example; gamers who spend a lot of time playing a game to beat their previous high score or a friend’s high score can impact themselves dramatically. The chances of them beating the score the first, second and third try are very slim. This can cause individuals to become anti-social and not communicate for long periods of time with other individuals such as family members or friends.

It is possible to go a full weekend without leaving your home just to play the latest game which you have been waiting for, for a long time. Gaming has impacted the way we communicate with our family and friends. Children usually, when they get home go straight to their games console as they find gaming a way to relive stress and escape reality. 30 years ago they would have gone over to a friend’s house to talk about their day.

There are also some concerns and negatives to video games. Many people become hard core video gamers after getting addicted; this means individuals spends most of the time playing their games in their bedrooms whilst being isolated from the real world. This can mean individuals spend very little time if not none with family and friends and also maybe spend less no time at all on homework and work or any physical sports causing a health concern.

People who are addicted to video games tend to live in a fantasy world and antisocial behaviour some who are too into their games create stress for themselves and do not play for pleasure they play for dominance however some of these players can be referred to as ‘ragers’ who tend to have an aggressive nature towards the game if they are losing and tend to lash out at their team mates in fits of anger, this causes a built up tension of stress on the person which is a health concern.

P2 – Types of Computer Games

There are also many different types of computer games, from RPGs (Role-Playing Games) to Puzzles there are many types, we’ll be talking about some of them.

Starting off with RPG games they mostly consist of the gamer controlling a group of characters in mostly a fantasy or science fiction game setting, some examples of such games are Dungeons and Dragons and Final Fantasy. The games usually rely on a very detailed story line with many challenges/quests on the way with the gamer controlling one or many characters along the way whilst increasing their attributes/levels.

Moving on to adventure games, in these type of games the gamer most of the time controls a central character travels along a story line completing missions and solving puzzles. An example of an adventure game would be Tomb Raider. Usually adventure games tend to be single player and the emphasis is focussed on the characters story so multiplayer gameplay is very hard to design.

Real time strategy (RTS) games are also a big category in computer game types. RTS games tend to be generally multiplayer games most of the time with the player positioning and moving in strategic manoeuvres to best there opponents.  One of the drawbacks of RTS games are that if you do not have sufficient internet connection you may lose out on key moments within the game.

Puzzle games are a genre for more of the casual type of gamers whereas the name implies is a sequence of puzzles for the player to complete, puzzle games offer good brain training and offer the player a sense of accomplishment for when they manage to solve a particular difficult puzzle, games such as Tetris and scribblenauts implement this type of gameplay.

Platform games are a really popular genre amongst gamers as many of them are flat side scroller that involve screens and simple functions such as moving and jumping, popular games that are platform games involve the Mario and Pokémon franchise which are considered to be the best selling franchises in the gaming industry.

Simulation games are games that take you to a first person point of view of the type of game you’re playing such as flight simulator games have you learning how to fly an aeroplane.

Sport games are a very popular genre in the gaming community as titles such as fifa and madden which let you play football are a booming success and has players playing with their favourite teams against other players or AI to win a match, these type of games bring a competitive atmosphere to gaming.

Stealth shooter games are games that use the stealth and assassination feature is there most core gameplay which has players hiding in shadows and not alerting the enemy, games such as metal gear solid are the best that express this genre.

Combat games are games were generally on a flat screen players control a character and can battle another character; games like Tekken and street fighter are good at portraying this genre.

First person shooters or fps games are very popular games amongst hard-core gamers in this current era. First person shooter games involve the player controlling a avatar with a gun and knife and in a first person point of view shoot and clear your way to victory, games such as call of duty and battlefield are the most popular portrayers of this genre.

Educational games are games that help the player learn as they progress though the game.  Games such as brain training teach players different categories of subjects and help the player learn.

MMO which stands for Massive multiplayer online are games which involve games on very big servers which can hold up to a great proportion of players which can play and communicate each other, games such as war craft implement this feature as this games are very popular in the gaming community.

D1- Psychological effects of games in society

Video games has psychological effects on individuals and society itself. there are many psychological effects such as how video games use sound, high score listings, competitive games, peer pressure, fun, educational value, expectations, levelling. Here I will be discussing how these factors affect people in general.

Sound in video games can have a huge impact on ones psychological effect. The sound for video games has become advanced as they are able to make the s

Dolby digital, DTS and surround sound are now found in most modern set ups, whether it is a PC set up or a home cinema system. Though this is a great leap in submersing people in games and video, doctors’ fear that a constant exposure to loud noises can cause mental and physical problems. This is because constant exposure to loud noises can cause problems to the ear drums; this means that your ears will become less sensitive to noises, essentially making you slightly deaf. In terms of mental health, loud noises can cause large amounts of stress to the person creating the noise as well as to the people who may be in the noise radius. Loud noises cause the brain to release large amounts of a stress-related hormone to the body, this can cause problems such as sudden anger, violence and even death.

Ever since the creation games, there has always been a competitive aspect of it. But with online gaming and socialisation of games increasing, competition between gamers has increased dramatically with people playing for up 12 hours a day to simply keep up and beat the competition. The psychological effects is that people will feel the consistent need to beat each other, thereby making unaware and disregard other parts of life. Competitiveness creates problems in terms of making people envious, hate and cause problems between people even in reality, especially with the introduction of MLG, a business structure for gaming.

Though peer pressure mainly affects people of a young age, even older adults can still be peer pressured into “playing just one more match” by their friends. Though this in itself is not a problem, peer pressure can make people spend unnecessary amounts of time and money in game, this is a concern as young people may commit crimes, steal or other criminal activities to fund their gaming addiction. This can be especially dangerous if young children borrow money from people, especially if they are unable to pay back the money.

Fun is the centre of all gaming experiences, gaming allows people to engage in a virtual reality where they do not have to worry about the issues and problem of the real world. This can be a very good experience for people of all ages, because it will reduce stress levels in the brain. Gaming can also be social, when the engaging in social activities the brain releases oxytocin, a chemical released when engaging in social activities; oxytocin reduces blood pressure and stress levels.

Games have always been questioned about their true educational value, but with more scientific evidence suggesting that games are a good way to engage and get young minds interested in learning, it is clear to see that games can be educational, in the right amounts and if they are appropriate. Games can also increase skills such as hand eye coordination, estimating and reflexes, games such as FPS and RTS are notable for the requirement and development of these skills.

With the overall development and design and gaming increasing, it is easy to see why people usually expect so much from the release of a triple AAA title and in most cases are left disappointed. This may be because of not enough development time or not enough funding, but either way 100s of thousands of fans are left disappointed and wishing for more upon the release of a video game.  This can leave people who are/were extremely addicted to the game depressed and felt disappointed. This in many cases has caused retaliation in many different ways, for example some gamers sent death threats on twitter and other social Medias to the developer and community manager of Treyarch, the studio who developed Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. 

The difficulty of games have always been a cause for stress and anger; the complete opposite purpose of a game. As games become more sophisticated and complex, it is easy to see why correct levelling is important in games; People may become very frustrated and even depressed at a single level of the game.