Games and healthBy Daniel Porter and Darcee Rafferty

History 90’s Onward

This was an error that saw many changes too the world of gamming. Before the nineties gamming on computers was limited but through the nineties and into the new millennium the bulk of the rise of PC gamming came into play, evolving to the point that it is just as good as using a console in terms of graphics and sound quality. It is also the era of the Massively Multiplayer online game.

1990 to 1993

Atari JaguarNEC Turbo DuoNintendo Entertainment System 2Panasonic 3.D.O. InteractiveSega CD for GenesisSega Master System IISNK NEO-GEOSuper Nintendo

During this era of gaming they were still using two dimensional gamming as standard with a lot of action and racing arcade style games.

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1994 to 1995

Atari Jaguar CDPanasonic 3DO FZ-10Sega CD for Genesis 2Sega CDXSega Genesis 2Sega Genesis 32xSega SaturnSNK NEO-GEO CDSony PlayStation

The era of the PlayStation a games system capable of 3D gamming. A must have console of the era.

http://pcsx.gpost.dk/screens.php

1996 to 2000

Nintendo 64Sega DreamcastSega Genesis 3Sony PlayStation 2Sony PlayStation PS1Super Nintendo 2

The creation of the PlayStation 2 a games system that continues to have new games released for it even today despite it’s replacement.

http://www.armchairempire.com/Reviews/GameCube/dragon-ball-z-budokai.htm

2001 to 2007

Microsoft X-BoxMicrosoft X-Box 360Nintendo Game CubeNintendo WiiSony PlayStation 2Sony PlayStation 3XaviXPORT

Our current gaming level. We now have graphics that can be extremely advanced.

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List of Positive effects Positive effects -

Playing video games demands an interactive involvement of the players. As a player, you start identifying with some character in the game and act for it. This excited state of mind has a positive effect on the player. It is also said that playing video games is surely better than watching television as video games are interactive.

Children can also improve their hand-eye coordination. A player has to watch on screen while simultaneously operating the joystick/mouse of the device in his/her hand to make moves. This requires the player to be alert and well coordinated. Moreover, he/she can see his actions taking effect immediately, thus getting a first hand experience of his/her actions taking effect.

Playing video games involves problem solving, planning, estimation and analysis of the moves or actions of both you and your opponent. This affects the player positively by developing in him/her problem-solving skills, analytical and estimation skills and quick decision-making.

In playing video games, you need to manage your resources such as the time, your armor or your people. This is a virtual activity but it evolves abilities of resource management and testing. You learn to recognize the types of situations and react to them with determination. You learn to map the virtual world scenarios to those in the real world.

Children with an inferiority complex, lack of self-confidence are seen to be gaining help from playing video games. Video games have also been included in the therapy for children with such psychological problems.

In playing video games, a child gets a sense of participation, a sense of achievement, thus building his/her self-confidence. Children, after playing video games begin to feel various emotions such as, feeling excited about their lives, they start

feeling positive and enthusiastic. This enables them to defeat their psychological disorders to a certain extent. A lonely child can acquire social presence after becoming a fan of video games!

Other health effects

• Research has shown that if you Google "gaming and medicine", you'll see there are tons of articles stating that gaming have also been used for medicinal purposes. They can be a powerful distraction for those undergoing painful cancer treatments, as well as helping to develop social skills for children with attention disorders such as autism.

Health benefits for gaming consoles

• Wii - The player must get in on the action and perform the moves they want to complete. For example, in a normal video game of tennis, you would hit the button to make the player swing, but with the Nintendo Wii, you have to swing the controller to make the virtual Mii player swing. It is as if you were really playing tennis.As a result, you have both a physical and mentally challenging gaming experience.The Nintendo Wii is probably never going to replace a full focused cardiovascular workout program, but it is a great option for gamers who spend a lot of time on the couch

Health Benefits cont..

• PsP 2-3 – Most players use hand and eye co-ordination as well as improving their mental health with problem solving skills. It can improve social health by playing consoles with friends or connecting the console via internet. Playstations also improve emotional health as players can feel different emotions such as anger, excitement and determination whilst playing various games. However the playstation has no physical movement unlike the wii.

Negative effects of gamming

The negative effects of gamming range from the purely physical to the deeply psychological in areas. Even in the average casual gamer you can find evidence of altered perception in regards to time i.e. a belief that less time has passed than actually has.

Basic Health

In terms of classic gamming the issue of health concerns is an important one. For starters most gamers, including casual gamers, play for periods that can easily exceed three hours at a time. Manny do not move from their position during the experience due to the fact that they are so immersed in the game. The results of this can range from eating excessive amounts of unhealthy food to dangerous periods of atrophy.

Alternative Health IssuesThe remote for the Nintendo WII or Wiimote is often considered to be the most physically harmful thing in gaming. The main issue is that the games require the player to flail around. Because the Wiimote is made of hard plastic it is an excellent bludgeoning weapon that has caused many injuries some of which have been serious.

http://www.engadget.com/2006/11/16/nintendos-wiimote-innovative-controller-or-potent-weapon/

Different types of games

RPG = Roll Playing GameFPS = First Person ShooterArcadeLogic games = e.g. tic tac toe and solitaire Text AdventureSimsSide Scroller = classic 2D shootersThird Person Shooter

Types of Gaming • Consoles – Wikipedia definition - A video game console is an interactive

entertainment computer or modified computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device (a television, monitor, etc.) to display a video game.

Eg ; Nintendo console, Playstation, Xbox Computer games- A personal computer game (also known as a computer

game or PC game) is a game played on a personal computer, rather than on a video game console or arcade machine.

There are 4 types of computer games . 1. Strategic – eg War Craft, Red Alert, Sim City, Generals, Command and Conquer

and so on. These games need to be played with caution and patience. 2. 1st person shooter - Games with the first person view gives an unique

experience, a feeling like you are inside the game. Eg; Shooting games3. 3rd person views- Starting from 3rd person controllers or 3rd person shooters

where you control a figure or person; but unlike in first person mode in this mode you view the game from an observer's point of view. Eg; Fighting games

4. Racing - These types of games are separately shown because the player has the option of changing the view of the game from first person to third person. Eg; Racing games such as Sports Car GT

Types of Games cont.. Arcade- An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine,

usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, public houses, and video arcades. Most arcade games are redemption games, merchandisers eg :such as claw crane, video games, or pinball machines.

Phones/Ipod/Ipad - telephone: electronic equipment that converts sound into electrical signals that can be transmitted over distances and then converts received signals back into sounds. The iPod is a portable media player designed and marketed by Apple and launched on . The product line-up includes the hard drive-based iPod Classic, the touchscreen iPod Touch, the video-capable iPod Nano, and the compact iPod Shuffle. The iPad is the first tablet computer developed by Apple Inc

Hand held games -A handheld game console is a lightweight, portable electronic device with a built-in screen, games controls and speakers.Handheld game consoles are run on machines of small size allowing people to carry them and play them at any time or place. Eg: Nintendo Ds or Playstation 3 Handheld devices

Projected average hours of mmorpg game play

From: http://www.nickyee.com/daedalus/archives/000758.php

References• Hartwork Blog 2006, http://blog.hartwork.org/?p=29, viewed 04/09/2010• Mac PCSX 2007, http://pcsx.gpost.dk/screens.php, viewed 04/09/2010• The Armchair Empire 2003,

http://www.armchairempire.com/Reviews/GameCube/dragon-ball-z-budokai.htm, viewed 04/09/2010

• oyvindhauge.com 2010, http://oyvindhauge.com/blog/, viewed\04/09/2010• The daedalus project 2006,

http://www.nickyee.com/daedalus/archives/000758.php, viewed 04/09/2010• Engadget 2006, http://www.engadget.com/2006/11/16/nintendos-wiimote-

innovative-controller-or-potent-weapon/ , viewed04/09/2010• http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/mind_brain/mental_health/ copyright 1995-

2010 , Science Daily LLC• http://www.gameinnovator.com/health.php Damien D, 2006 • http://www.buzzle.com/articles/positive-effects-of-video-games.html by manali

oak ,©2000-2009, 2010 Buzzle.com• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_video_games