Benefits

Education
There are a number of games on the market that are aimed at education. The best example is Brain Training for the DS which causes a lot of controversy about the educational impact of games. This game has sold millions of copies and gives the player daily tasks that improve their math, memory, reading and logic skills. They also claim that keeping your mind active with these activities can delay illness such as Alzheimer’s. However this cannot be proved and causes much debate when it was released.


Society
Games today are quite commonplace in the classroom, the family and the world. It is discussed by many and seen as a source of entertainment. Especially with features such as Xbox Live that allow people to socialise over the net while playing games. Playing games can be seen as a social benefit rather than being an anti-social activity.


Mainstream Technology
Companies use games to advertise their business and technology. A website that used to have information my now have interactive challenges or games added to make it more appealing. One example of this is Facebook. This may lead to developments were ads like you see on TV or the radio may appear in video games through an internet connection. TVs today use the red button when ads and promotions are shown and this could be used in games as well.


The Future
Many 3D games have advanced physicals and a lot of research is gone into making life-like simulation. Which the game industry thriving, a lot of money can go into such research and also make many jobs for animators, musicians, designers and programmers. It is one of the main reasons why the IT industry didn’t suffer in the latest credit crunch. Many games today use Human Computer Interaction and this is being advanced all the time. You may not realise it, but a lot of features in Microsoft PowerPoint were made by previous game designers because they knew how to implement HCI effectively. Such game features can be changes and you can see some of the smooth functions in Windows 7 today, such as the glowing effects it uses.


Concerns

Excess Playing Time
A single game usually consists of 10hrs to complete, an online game (e.g. Facebook games) can be played for 15-30mins at a time. With MMOs, these can be played for 100s of hours and can always offer new content. Games may also offer downloadable content to add game time, difficult time consuming achievements or collectables which involve multiple plays. This is one of the major concerns that people have about playing games and what puts them off it. Any form of entertainment is distracting, however it gives you time off and helps you relax. Some people go as far as comparing games to drugs because it can be so addictive. People have been taken to hospital for playing games too much and some have even died from not living a healthy active lifestyle.

Social Isolation
Another concern is the social isolation of games. This is probably linked into the term that people who play games are geeks or nerds. This is slowly dying away with the likes of Live and multiplayer games becoming more and more popular and gaming becoming mainstream. However games do not offer any form of primary interaction or communication with others. Sometimes playing too many video games can lead to people being shy, quiet and act abnormally.

Cost
Games can be expensive, especially for the latest and greatest new game that’s just out! A games console is typically £300-400 and is quite a major purchase considering what else that could get you. Many games are around £40 and people can be concerned with spending a lot of money on them, especially children. However some games offer hundreds of hours of gameplay and are well worth it if you compare the price of the game to the price of going out for a night. Some games are short and are easily a rip-off, however there is not any indication of how long a game is and if you will get your monies worth. As for the consoles, they are generally around for 5 years at a time and do not need to be replaced often, so to regular gamers this is nothing. However if your new to games, the price may seem a bit intimidating.

Separation from reality
After spending a large amount of time playing computer games, reports suggest that players who have psychological problems can lose their grip on reality and start to believe that the stories they are playing are actually real. People can believe that the situations could actually happen and give them false beliefs or information. However being separated from reality only affects those who are emotionally or mentally ill and unbalanced. It has been seen in the news and media that games can be the cause of tragic events. Such games that have got controversy would be Grand Theft Auto and Manhunt, for killings, stealing cars ect. Many parents are concerned with these stories, however it is only a tiny minority of unstable people that this affects. If someone has had psychological or mental problems, it is important that their access to violent or disturbing games is restricted.

Impact of education
Because of the time games can consume, many parents are concerned that games affect their education. Especially with children it is important that the use of games is limited and monitors. Some games can even help education, with puzzles and strategies.
Task 3 – Psychological Impact of Games

Computer games are popular because they are emotional, similar to how music and films can affect us. Just like an action movie can give you a rush, so can an action game. In a way, games feel more real because you are actually controlling it, which makes the interaction a lot more personal. A movie will never change its scenes, a song will never changes its tune. Game Developers use these psychological factors to attract people and improve their game experience. It can be very obvious or very subtle like the tiny details hidden in the background.

Use of Sound
Sound can easily affect your emotions, making you feel happy, sad or, unstoppable or terrified. Every emotion that we have can be made into a sound effect or piece of music. Developers use this as much as possible, which is why every game has an audio developer. High pitches or fast music tends to be uplifting, while slow music is used for more dramatic moments. Wind, traditional music and creaking noises can all be herd in those horror and survival games.

High Scores
Back in the day of arcades there was high score listings. This has since continued today. The high score list or sometimes today, rankings (A, B, C, D ect) become a motivation to replay games. It will keep you playing until you succeed, back in the day, a lot of money would be wasted on this, and then someone would come along and do the exact same thing to beat the previous person. Today you can publish your score online, to a global leader board. Many FPS games like Call of Duty also offer stats for the best player in the match. Call of Duty contains several score boards for all sorts of info, such as kills or game mode wins.

Competitive Games
Competition is the most popular motivator today, especially with friends, people will play for hours just to be the best and have bragging rights. Competition has always been a motivator, such as the Olympic Games or the World Cup. People from all over the world will come together to find out who is the best. Sometimes people become over competitive and will do anything they can to win. This leads to bad attitudes or trying to cheat. Overall, competitive games will make people spend time improving their skills and teach them on a physiological level to be good losers. Since games are online now, competition has been a major factor in game development.

Peer Pressure
If friends and classmates are all having fun playing the hottest game at the time, peer pressure will kick in and make you buy it! Peer pressure is psychologically very powerful, especially with young people because they want to fit in and be accepted. Advertisers are aware of this and use it to their advantage. If someone popular buys a game, everyone else will, until those that don’t have the game feel left out. The only way to fight peer pressure is being sensible with purchases, as not all of them will last. However if someone waits too long, by the time the get it, I’ll not be popular. Advertisers use the psychological power of reviews and some even have the review on the cover to show ‘10/10’ ect.

Entertainment
Games are generally fun and entertaining. They are a good way to relax in free time and forget about any worries, work or concerns that are ahead of you. People choose to have fun in many ways. However with games, you can have good music in the background, a good storyline from cut scenes and personally controlling your character. They are very popular and because of this, their quality has been getting better and better, along with the technology to produce them. There are so many different genres, there is something to suit just about everyone.

Expectations
When people play a new game, there are always expectations. Developers need to consider this and release entertaining and immersive demos to gain popularity. Many developers will add surprises or shocks to a game, it’s a psychological factor that keeps the player wanting more. Some storylines will have dramatic twists and turns or games with special perks or options for a person to choose. Regardless of the game, changing expectations and keeping the player on the edge is a great way of making them enjoy it more.

Levelling
Used more and more by a variety of games is the use of levelling to some extent and gaining new functions, features and abilities to use. Many games involve a character that begins fairly weak and as the game goes on they improve until they are unstoppable. The player will gain points and spend them on the features they like the most, making the game a whole lot more personal, playing the game the way they want to. Levelling comes from role playing games.  Psychologically moving up the ranks is very satisfying, like a promotion at a job.