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Nintendo Wii: Making Playing Video Games a Healthy Lifestyle?

Over the years, video games have received a bad rap for many different things. From the gory and detailed violence that some of them portray, to their prospective potential to draw people in to the point of addiction. There have been many lawsuits and complaints over the years regarding video games.

However, over the past decade, video games have taken a turn for the better in terms of reputation. Clearly, people who have been avid gamers, specifically since the beginning were not swayed by the various lawsuits that persisted over the years. However, as video games began to evolve, and appeal to a wider range of people, the naysayers that were so prevalent throughout the 1990s began to come around. Video games are still a viable pass-time for kids, teens, and even adults.

Additionally violence is still plentiful, and there are many games, particularly those in the massive multi-player online role-playing game genre that people still find addictive; however, there has been more of an emphasis on creating interactive learning games, as well as games that promote movement and even exercise. As a result, a larger fan base is emerging.

No system is more innovative in the area of bringing an interactive gaming experience to the player than the Nintendo Wii. The Wii presents a unique gaming environment in which the player moves around in order to control the character or other entity on the television screen. You can even sweeten the deal with a premium satellite service such as direct.tv. What better way to play your favorite video games with in HD viewing?

Additionally, the Wii released an entire program devoted to exercise and moving around called the Wii Fit. The Wii Fit provides an intelligent interface in which people can obtain their current stats, and then keep track of them over the course of a period of time to reach a specific goal they have set for themselves. The Fit is a fun and interactive way for people to play a video game and not even realize they are simultaneously burning calories. The aspect of this concept that is so appealing is that it works particularly well for getting kids who normally do not like going outside to play, to exercise inadvertently.

The Cost of Mindless Games

Image representing Facebook as depicted in Cru...

Image via CrunchBase

Facebook has become the most recognizable social networking site in the world. Millions of people populate the site every day to stay in touch with friends and family. It’s one of those things that if you aren’t on facebook you are in the small minority.

For all the good that Facebook brings to the lives of the people around it, there are some things that people need to be aware of when it comes to the games you can play. Many of these games, like Farmville and Cityville, are very fun and entertaining games but they come with a bit of a sacrifice.  When you sign up for these games you are allowing them to use your information.

This idea of sharing the information from your profile seems harmless, right? After all you might populate your friends user feed with a little bit of spam about the game, but there is more to the story than just that. You are giving them access to your personal information. This also allows them to access your friends profiles and their personal information. While you might not mind all that much, your friends certainly do.

The unfortunate part of this is that it’s difficult to play these very entertaining games without giving your friends information or access away. So, you have a decision to make. The personal choice to many is to avoid it to protect your own personal information. Facebook games are a fun way to pass the time, but there is always a price to pay for playing them. In this case it’s privacy.

 

Computers are a Boat-Load of Fun

Virtually anything can be created on computers, even love, and some things are there just to make it entertaining for the user. Everything is at the fingertips and there for the asking.

Popular activities, like sports betting (which can be virtual or real), and many other games can be found online. Do a local Google search (local.google.com) on the term ‘sports betting.’ Google also has some other cool tricks up its virtual sleeve to help a user find what exactly is wanted:

  • Get flight information by typing an airline’s name and flight number and Google will give details about the flight.
  • Type in a Postal tracking number to find the location of a shipped item.
  • Anyone can see who’s linked to their website or page. Just type in “link:” and type the URL immediately after the colon.
  • Researchers and students often need PDF files, and they can be found by typing in “file type:PDF” after search terms.
  • Google calculator – just type in the math problem and Google will answer it.
  • Type the stock symbol (e.g. msft for Microsoft) and get charts, prices and other good stuff.
  • Google definition – Type in “define:” and the word to be defined right after the colon.
  • Use Google for searches that are local to a specific area. Go to local.google.com and type in restaurants (or sports betting), and get results for that particular area.
  • Want to know who called? Simply enter an area code and phone number.
  • Get the local weather forecast by typing in “weather” and a zip code.

Whether it’s sports betting or the game of Life, the Internet is full of useful websites.

Computer Games Helping ADD Children Focus

Researchers are using video games to monitor the brain waves of children diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder. The tests hope to prove that playing video or computer games will help children with concentration and focus. Lack of concentration in ADD children is a major cause of learning problems in the classroom.

ADD children can learn to adjust the activity in their brain that requires them to focus, when the results of biofeedback displays on a monitor screen. With proper training, these adjustments become automatic. Using video games with ADD children helps to train their brain to focus in order to receive the reward of winning the game. Researchers based this on tests given to pilots to increase attentiveness on long flights.

Parents of the ADD patients tested, reported improvements in their child’s ability to focus, and in their social skills. They also reported that they noticed improvements in overall classroom performance and an improvement in their grades.

Researchers believe that by playing video games, ADD children can increase their attention spans, while reducing their hyperactivity and their impulsiveness. They train their own brain waves to complete a game because it is self-rewarding. Given motivation to win a game, patients tried harder to concentrate on the rules of the game.

Not all types of video games will aid ADD children. Certain games, especially violent video games, can trigger impulsiveness, as a type of caught up in the frenzy response, which is unhealthy for any child.

Learning games that reward children with points throughout game play are best. Alphabet, word, and math games that require identification of letters, spelling of words, or solving simple math problems, helps them to pay attention, in order to win the game.

Monitoring Computer and Video Games for Children

This is a picture of an XBOX.

Image via Wikipedia

Inconclusive evidence on both sides of the computer or video game debate regarding ill effects and benefits, leaves the job of limiting video game playing to parents.

As with anything in life, the old adage, too much of anything is not good for you, rings true in the world of computer games. If playing video games interferes with the essentials for a healthy environment, it becomes problematic. Limiting the type of games played, combined with the amount of time spent playing, can reduce the risks of bad habits regarding children and video game playing.

Educational Games

If children learn something, whether it is a skill or a technique for acquiring a skill by playing a particular game, it becomes a therapeutic tool. In determining the value of the game for educational purposes, parents should read the objectives of a video game.

If, however, they spend countless hours playing games with no obvious benefit, it can become detrimental to their mental well-being.

Age and Skill Level of Games

Parents aware of the learning style of their children can choose video or computer games that will highlight the child’s talents, or improve skills they lack. Games that stimulate problem-solving can boost a child’s self-esteem. Choosing the appropriate skill level for the age of the child will reduce a child’s frustration of the inability to play the game or win it.

Knowing your child and familiarizing yourself with the aspects of the computer or video games they play, will help to determine the value of game playing. It will also alert parents when children show signs of overdoing it, when playing computer or video games.

Making the Case for Computer Video Games

Child playing a video game

Image via Wikipedia

There have been arguments over the value of video games, computer or otherwise, since their inception. Parents frustrated by the endless hours their teens spend on the computer playing games, disagree with those with special needs children. Parents of children with any learning problem, ranging from children with learning style differences to children with autism, argue that video games helped their children learn.

Ways Computer Video Games can be teaching Tools:

For Research

When a video game requires players to search for clues or objects in order to reach the goal of winning the game, it can stimulate their ability to research information for school projects. The video game makes it fun to find things, or to find information.

For Reading and Comprehension

Video games geared toward pre-school children and even elementary school children, feature words on the computer screen along with other aids to help them play the game. Words like end or play, go or stop, and more, help children sharpen basic memorization skills that prompt children to recognize words more easily.

For Math Skills

Any video game that requires players to keep score, gives small children the stepping-stones to conquering basic math skills. After a time, children know which number comes next in a sequence when adding numbers together, to reach a certain score.

For Language Skills

Interactive computer or video games calling for participants to ask or answer questions, to take directions or give directions, helps children learn the give-and-take of interacting with others.

No two children learn in exactly the same way, and as with all things, moderation is the key. Parents can gain a better understanding of the attraction of computer video games by occasionally playing with their children.

Earliest Computer Games

Control board of a PDP-1 computer

Image via Wikipedia

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology holds the distinction of developing interactive graphical programs as early as 1959. Developed as a hobby, these early programs became the video game industry of today.

Mouse in the Maze

Mouse in the Maze players placed bits of cheese and maze walls, using a light pen. Players release the mouse and watch it make its way through the maze to find the cheese and get through the maze.

Tic-Tac-Toe

Players played a simple game of the popular child’s game, Tic-Tac-Toe, again using a light pen, against the computer.

Spacewar

In 1961, MIT students at MIT, programmed a game called Spacewar on a computer, new at the time, called the Digital Equipment Corporation Programmed Data Processor-1 (DEC PDP-1).

In the game of Spacewar, two players controlled a spacecraft, firing missiles at each other. In the middle of the screen was a star, hazardous to the spacecrafts. Credited as the first influential computer game, the creators distributed it with new computers, and traded it on what was then, a primitive form of the Internet.

Chase

In 1966, two men who worked at Sanders Associates in Nashua, NH, a military electronics contractor, Ralph Baer and Bill Harrison, created a game titled Chase. This simple game was the first displayed on a television set. The men created the light gun.

In 1967, Bill Rusch joined Baer and Harrison in developing TV gaming apparatus. In 1968, they completed a prototype that ran several games such as target shooting and table tennis. After working on the project secretly and painstakingly for months, the men presented a prototype to Sanders’ R & D department. In 1969, Sanders showed the first video game console to manufacturers and the world.

The older generation today marveled at the craze of video games. Now their children are experts at them and parents take lessons from their kids on the rules of the games.

The Demand Games Have on Computer Hardware

Since the mid 1990s, video games for the computer have been rapidly growing in popularity. Beginning with the widely acclaimed first person shooters such as Doom and Quake that helped pave the way for the computer gaming revolution, to the currently popular massive multi-player online role-playing games; computer gaming has never been more popular than it is now. When it comes to finding the right computer that will be able to maintain the latest releases of video games, there a quite a few things to consider.

To begin with, video games are becoming a great deal larger than they used to be; larger pertains to the amount of hard drive space that they actually take up after being installed. Ironically, a single game now takes up more space then the entirety of a top of the line hard drive in the mid 1990s; this is a simple testament to how drastically technology and the extent of a video game has become. While in fact many people who own computers have purchased within the last five years, so typically, hard drive space is not an issue unless the hard drive is filled with excess material; there are some people who have not purchased recently and lack adequate hard drive space as a result. So ensure you check the specifications of the game prior to deciding to purchase to ensure you have adequate hard drive space to handle the installation.

Another, and equally important element pertaining to the hardware of a computer as it relates to gaming performance is the memory. As with hard drive space, video games are requiring higher end memory to ensure the fluidity of the game runs without flaw. With the increases in technology and graphics design, video games are becoming more intricate and detailed in their finished product, and often require a great deal of memory in order to function properly.

Video Games Can be Educational?

Entertainment Center

Image by nexthttp via Flickr

Video games have long been a popular activity among younger generations over the course of the last few decades. From popular console gaming systems such as Atari and Nintendo, to the stunning graphics exhibited by most modern computer games; there are many entertaining options to choose from. However, video games have had a rocky past in how they have been perceived by parents and their theoretical hold over some children. Obviously, video games present an opportunity for hours upon hours out of the day to be dedicated to playing. Genres such as massive multi-player online role-playing games in particular have held a widespread reputation for getting people addicted to the game play, and even controlling how they are outside of the game.

Over the past decade or so, however, developers have become more innovative and receptive in their approach to please different demographics of game-players and parents alike. In this pursuit, video games aimed at education and learning have been developed, and widely received. These types of games come in a number of different forms; for the computer and for console gaming systems, as well as individual gaming units. Typically, these educational games bring in the fun and entertaining element that is generally associated with playing video games and combine it with learning.

The reason why these games have gained in popularity so much since their inception is due to the fact that they in short, make learning fun. Most children are not enthusiastic about learning because they are not stimulated by the material in which they are learning about. Educational video games solve the problem of children not being stimulated, and keep their attention to the material allowing for it to be absorbed in a natural manner. As the popularity for these games continues to grow, more innovative releases are hitting the market and pushing the limits for what kinds of educational adventures can be at the disposal of children and parents alike.

The Increase in Popularity of Online Gaming

Video games have widely been accepted as a viable pas-time for people of all ages. While in fact they have had a few rough patches in the past through various complaints by parents and the overall hold video games can gain on children and young adults; for the most part, video games are widely celebrated. Over the past few decades, the inception of new technologies and graphical achievements have opened a whole new world of gaming to people who had been gaming since the beginning, and people who were just taking it on. Due to this fact, there are more people who are playing video games now than ever before, and the numbers continue to rise. Among one of the most popular ways for people to get in their fix is via online computer gaming.

Online computer gaming really began picking up in the 1990s with various first person shooter titles that quickly gained in popularity. Since then, online gaming has branched out into other genres that are producing some extremely avid gamers. Among the most popular of the various genres is the massive multi-player online role playing games. Massive multi-player RPGs have enacted a new appreciation for online gaming in many people by solidifying the cooperation aspect of it and bringing players together in order to accomplish one common goal. Through various updates based in part by player feedback, these games are continuously refreshed with new content that keeps the players guessing and busy as they continue their adventure.

In addition to the massive multi-player RPGs first person shooters have remained a strong entity in the online gaming world, presenting players with stunning graphics and interfaces that are unmatched in the popular console gaming systems that also remain strong in the gaming world. Due to the performance enhanced hardware that many specialized gaming computers utilize, developers are continuously pushing the limits and capabilities of top of the line gaming experiences with each new title they release onto the market.

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