Blogpost # 8: Are you an addict?

Drugs and alcohol - what else can be the source of people's addiction? Do you think other else except the two famous examples given above? Sex? Other? Gambling? Another. Video Games? Yes! Video games can also be an addiction! Playing video games has been rampant all over the world. The audience can be children, teenagers, adults, our grandfather or grand mother. It does not choose people, everyone can play although every chosen games must be appropriate in our age. 

Do you know the meaning of "WU JI BI FAN"? In English, it means "Too much stuff is bad". We can relate it in addiction. I may say that your hobby might turn into addiction. Your hobby in alcohol, in drugs, or in gambling, all of it may turn into excessive hobby.

Now let's talk about video game addiction. I, myself loves to play video game. Everytime that I have my free time, I used to play poker but I cannot call myself as an addict or video game addict but you can call me a internet addict because I love browsing the net.

So, how can we acquire this kind of addiction. Is it like zombie that if some one who is a video game addict will bite you, you will also become one of them? Of course not! According to the article entitled "Video Game and Technology Addiction" by Mara Tyler that I found in a site "HealthLine" saying that the development of technology as well as games affect the obsession of the teenagers on it. 

The symptoms and signs of a video game addict were listed on her article. The first symptom is obsessiveness in technology device. If you are a person who is always looking for the gadgets from time to time, feeling like that you will die if your gadgets are not beside you. You may develop this kind of addiction. 

I remember one of my cousin, he is always looking for his PSP. Even though we are eating, he is still holding his gadget. He cannot sleep if he does not see his gadget beside him. That is why his father scolded him in the way he act. As a punishment, his game console was kept away from him.

The second symptom is loss of interest in other activities. A person who focus ONLY on playing video games and non other than that you may have this addiction. If in the past, you used to play outside, with your friends have time go shopping, you are still a normal person. Knowing how to manage your time besides facing your computer all day may be out of the topic.

Another sign is spending hours in playing. Video gaming for 24 hours a day, are you a zombie? Are you still a normal person? You forget to eat and to take a bath just to play that game. WOW, its craziness! It is not in a normal state if a person forget to eat because he enjoys playing. Showering, shaving, washing clothes, and brushing teeth may all be neglected in favor of gaming as it progress. 

Another symptom is increasing your social activities between the gamers. Playing video games and will talk to co-player to buy or to sell a certain things from that game. My brother is like that. He played "Cabal" which some of he sells some of his items that have no use for him. He will talk to his co-players if they need this, that and those. Then if they agreed on each other. The item is on the other player and the money is on him. 

The author also added to those signs is poor performance in school. Are you a student who has a failing grade because of an overnight playing of video games? Are you sleeping while your class is on going. Are you an absent-minded person during the class discussion because you are thinking about how to win that game? Better to leave that addiction if you do not want to ruin your future, kiddo. 

In addition to those symptoms above is failing to control your usual behavior. It may happen to a person who is really expose to violent games. Your emotion and your behavior is hardly to manage. You are always feeling irritated and depress same as feeling of anxious and guilty. 

If you are experiencing symptoms better to ask yourself. Am I going to leave the video game world? Or am I going to continue this kind of rotation? When video game is more than just a game... It is an addiction.

Although there are no specific treatment for video game addiction, some organization and rehabilitation is willing to fight against it. Organizations that are trying to combat the effects of game to those potential addict.

Though it cannot be cured but there are ways to prevent those symptoms given, I read an article entitled "5 Ways to Prevent Video Game Addiction in your Child" written by Chenda Ngak in a site named "Yahoo Shine" as long as video game is around parents have been struggling with the problem of controlling their children's video game habit. 

So the first way is switch to casual game. Many games now are so very addictive but not suitable for children such as World of War Craft. It requires supervision of the parent to their child. If you simply don't have the time to monitor your child's gameplay, try switching to casual games like Rock Band or Wii Sports. 

The second step is to create a reward system. For parent you may reward your child for having a good grades in his school. Because the most obvious example is giving your child a much-wanted game in exchange for good grades. It is not bad to trick your child if it is for his own good.

The author also stated to keep a strict schedule. Set a time for a certain things. Three hours for study and homework, one-hour for television or video games. And if your child has sport send him there. It is good for him to engage in outside world than creating your own world inside your house.

The fourth step is take a family trip. Family bonding will lessen the connection of the child in a video games. They will forget about their games because they are enjoying the company of their family. But if you are going for a trip, leave the game consoles behind because it may be a threat to enjoy your bonding.

The last is discuss the problem. Families that are faced with a serious problem must treat the addiction in a similar manner to other addictions. While video games aren't a physical problem, it is still worth your time to figure out why your child has this psychological disorder. You should ask yourself and your child if there are problems of depression and anxiety in the home. But do not ever punish your child.

There are many ways to prevent the game addiction. It is in the hand of the parents and also the children if they still want to continue playing games with so much obsession in to it. It is not bad to play video games but too much of it is. As what I said in my previous blogs, video games are just a stress reliever and entertainment. Do not let those games to break all the things that you need to do and all the opportunities outside to evolve yourself. 

Blogpost # 7: Video Games vs Films

Who knows the difference between the animation of the video games and the animation of the movies? Well, video games required the audience to interact while the purpose of the movies is to be viewed and to be watched.  Video games and movies are at war. We are consuming money and time in both things that we will enjoy. These two have greatly influenced each other over the years. Have you watched the Harry Potter Series? Have you played the Harry Potter game? See how they adapt each other From films to games and from games to films.

In terms of technology, if we talked 3 Dimensional, what comes up in your mind? It is either movies or video games, or may be both, right? In movies, animator only need to focus about what is going to be on-screen of vision. They do not have to worry about making several environmental objects because it is non-interactive. However, video games must work on 360 degree level. The two genres in entertainment industry is competing each other. 

As I was researching through the internet about video games and film industry, I found a website entitled "Destructroid: Video Game News and Community" with an article "Movies vs Video Games: Which did it better?" written by Chad Concelmo saying that the competition between video games and movies is a "battle of the ages".

In the article, the author compared the two situations that is similar between the video games and movies. He took specific scenes that are near identical featured in both genres. We can see that the aesthetics from both genres might be the same but it is really different.

The first example he gave was the flying refrigerator from the movie "Indiana Jones And the Kingdom of Crystal Skull" and from the game "Mother 3". The movie was neglected by the viewers and fans because of its "nuked the fridge" situation. Indiana was trapped in a city wherein the atomic bomb is about to detonate. To avoid the explosion. he climb on the fridge to protect himself and he and the fridge were blown away in safe place.

In the role playing game "Mother 3" which he said that there is similarity in the situation on the movie above, the main character named "Lucas" and his friend while leaving the Snowcap Mountain hop on refrigerator at the top of highest peak and launch themselves like a ski jumper before landing on the graveyard. Because of this creativeness, Chad gave his thumbs up to the game more than the film.

The next thing is the rocket launching of the film Apollo 13 and the game Final Fantasy VII. The film showed a very magnificent edition, animation, stellar effects and direction. Because of it true story, you feel like that you are there while the launching was going on. While in the Final Fantasy VII, similar to Apollo, it provides good editing and animation but it lacks a story, a story that the audience will be moved.

The third thing that he compared was the sniping game game and movie, the  "Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater" and  "The Hurt Locker". The MGS3 is an epic sniper battle for the author. The setting was in a jungle. For the author, controlling the war will make satisfaction for him. He decided to choose the MGS3 instead of the "The Hurt Locker" even though they have in common: stalking with each other with the deadly sniper rifles. 

The fourth situation is the train crash in the movie "The Fugitive" and the game "Uncharted 2: Among Theives". For those who does not know the story of "The Fugative", it is about a man who tries to escape from the police carrying in a bus. He was accused to be in jail for killing his wife. Going to the prison, the things went wrong, While the bus is rolling on the cliff, a train is fast approaching and then they died. Just kidding, they were safe. 

Common to this story is the game "Uncharted 2". It is one of the best produced video games ever. The train crash was remarkable in this game. The entire sequence - from riding and shooting on the back of the train, to climbing it as it hangs over a cliff - is exhilarating. But the author finds "The Fugitive" more interesting, more realistic and better.

Other situation is sandstorm. In the movie Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, the scene where Tom Cruise chasing an enemy through a whirling and violent sandstorm in Dubai. And in the game,  Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. After arriving at an enemy compound, playable character Yuri is engulfed by a giant sandstorm. Once the sandstorm fully hits, the rest of the level must be played with almost zero visibility.

There are so many circumstances that video game is greater than film and film is greater that video game due of its storyline, characters, music and of course its animation. Different genres but same or identical situation may be compared by the person. May be this game is much appreciated by me or by us than this film. And this film is more magnificent that this game. It is just in our eyes and taste if what entertainment we will love.

Reading other articles about this topic, I found a site named "The Telegraph" with an article entitled "Video Games bigger than film" written by Harry Wallop, saying, "More money was spent on video games than on films – including both trips to the cinema and films on DVD".

The article showed the evidences about games and films. On September 2009,  £1.73 billion was spent on video games, according to the data company GFK Chart-Track. According to the UK Film Council exactly £1 billion was spent at the British box office during the same period, with a  £198 million spent on film titles released on DVD and Blu-ray. This means that £500 million more was spent on video games than on films over the last 12 months.

The author introduced Tom Watson who said that video games industry should be taken seriously. "Like anything digital, Parliament has a very narrow view of video games. Too many politicians think video games are played by teenage boys staying up all night shooting things in their bedroom. And yes there are plenty of those, but there also a huge range of people of many different ages who love playing games."

I agreed to this statement. As we all know that only teenage boys are playing video games, but we were wrong, the adults are also love to play such games. Like the teenagers, they bought their own game consoles and staying up all night. 

Arguing about the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 to be the fastest selling game in history. Watson said that just debate about the violence content of it but not the history of it . Not the full story of the game.

Industry figures show there the number of games consoles being used in Britain has shot up from 13.5 million in 2008 ago to well over 25 million earlier this year, with enough consoles for nine out of every ten households in the country to have one.

I know that it will be a big loss for film industry if the mass media will continue patronizing the gaming industry as well as the games industry. However,  gaming industry or film industry are different genres they can be still together. Even though they are competing each other if which will be the best, their main purpose is to entertain the audience. To give happiness to the media. To serve as the stress reliever and most of all to unite the society as being one.

Blogpost # 6: Is it an Art?

Arguments and debates were spread over the internet about the topic: Is Video Game An Art? If you will ask me if it is an art, I will answer, "Yes, but it is still growing and developing as an art." Although I am not an artist, I appreciated every detail of the games. On how the programmers did their best to improve the storyline, the characters and the set-up of the games. But take note, I only say that it is "DEVELOPING" art but not an art yet. How can I say that? In my own perception, video game is a medium of art. We can use the video games to express our feelings and to show our creativeness.

As we define art, it is the product of the imagination, expression and emotion of the person through paintings, sculpture, photography, music, dance and other. Like the art, video game provokes emotional response, insire and reflect our social mores.

Computer programmer says that video games are art and designing them is. Just because they are not on a wall in a gallery somewhere it does not mean hours of work did not go into designing, creating, and crafting them.

Art can be seen, watched, listened, or read . Games can be played. But can you also play a work of art?

In the article entitled "Video Games Can Never Be Art" written by Roger Ebert in the site "Roger Ebert.com", he stood on his belief that video games cannot be art saying ,"To my knowledge, no one in or out of the field has ever been able to cite a game worthy of comparison with the great dramatists, poets, filmmakers, novelists and composers,"  though many people said that he must play games before saying such things. Due of those comment, he step out the issue on 2010 but give his words about the controversy.

Saying that video games can be never an art may be a foolish thing to say because never can define as long time or it will not happen. In his debate with Kellee Santiago regarding the video games and art, Roger conceded that Kellee might be right in saying that video games already are art. 

To elaborate on how Kellee convinced Roger, the lady presented a prehistoric cave painting, calling it "kind of chicken scratches on walls," and contrasts it with Michelangelo's ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Her point is that while video games may be closer to the chicken scratch end of the spectrum. Kellee then says that warning evolved in speech, writing began as a form of bookkeepping but it evolved as a storytelling or song. And the "kind of chicken scratches on walls" was on 3D film. 

Kellee said that baseball, chess, and even mah jong is not a form of art which Roger agreed. However, Kellee's definition of art came from Wikipedia, "Art is the process of deliberately arranging elements in a way that appeals to the senses or emotions," was not accepted by Roger because chess can be fit it the definition.

According to the article there is difference between art and game, you cannot win the art but the game you can.  Games has a rules, objectives, and outcome while art is subjective. Games without rules or points are just story, novel, play or dance. You cannot win them but you experience them. 

The author stated that Kellee phrases "Art is a way of communicating ideas to an audience in a way that the audience finds engaging."  Yet, for the author, what ideas are contained in Stravinsky, Picasso, "Night of the Hunter," "Persona," "Waiting for Godot," "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock?" 

Kellee now presented a sample game "Waco Resurrection". The game which the player fight against FBI agents. The author stated that the game shows brainless shooting-gallery because instead of inspiring his followers to play it it just showed to exchanged fire with agents. For the author, "Waco Resurrection" may indeed be a great game, but as potential art it still hasn't reached the level of chicken scratches.

The other game presented on their debate was "Braid". This game's objective is to explore our own relationship with our past. You will encounter enemies and collect puzzle pieces, but there is one key difference, you cannot die. You can go back in time and correct your mistakes. She said that chess cannot consider as art but the game is similar to the chess in terms of its rules, the taking back a move.

To conclude the article, video games is not yet an art or some are still lack of artistic value. Some are still evolving and need to develop more. May be there is a game that can be in a potential of chicken scratches. 

Another article that I found related on the article above is written by Patrick Holleman entitled "Can Video Games be Art?" in the site called "The Game Design Forum". The author started his article with Roger Ebert and his debate that I stated on my first article. 

This article breaks into three section. First is "what is art", followed by "what is play" and finally "how video games can be art?"

The author presented the movie entitled "The Hurt Locker" which is in the top-ten list movies of Roger Ebert. The movie is about a war between Iraq and United States, which Ebert said that it has a good work of art. If we are not in a military forces we might not enjoy it because who will enjoy war movies if we do not involved here. But the feeling of being excited, in action and in drama that the audience feel is what art means. They did not experience the actual war but the artistic war.

"Art allows the viewer, listener, or reader to experience something with their senses and emotions without actually experiencing it in reality" the author said and I agree with it. It is not new in film and also in music. We do not actually experience what the lyrics said but we enjoy and relate ourselves in painful and happiness in it. 

On the other hand, do you ever know the difference between game and play? Speaking metaphorically, game is a noun connected to play a verb. But what is play really means? The author did not give the exact definition of game but he cited situation. Seeing a puppies or kittens spar with each other is consider "playing" but they are not in in real fighting. Another situation is, children seeing their selves as pirates or one of the characters in their favorite game is is just a play.

But what will happen if the children imagine various scenarios while they are playing? It is just a kind of a play imitating an action without risking the real world outcome. If the children wielded their sticks in each other in an imaginary fight, they will not hurt.

Play, in its most essential form, allows the participants to experience an activity without actually engaging in that activity. Play is a way of understanding an activity, and a way of building skills for an activity, in a safe, controlled environment. Rules protect the participants of play and embody the safety and structure that allows a play experience.

Play and art have similarities, with these definitions. Both art and play are meant to allow participants to experience things that they are not actually doing. In both art and play the experience is a safe one, whether emotionally, or physically, or both.

But there is one question that still remain as unanswered, "Can play be art?" , "Can we play the art?" Those questions will be answered if the arguments and debates with each party will be cleared. Video games may become more artistic and it is now possible because of the technology and widening audience for it. 

Blogpost # 5: Video games in the Real World

You will not earn points by bumping others' cars. Street fighting does not involved fireballs. Princess cannot fly. You cannot have instant house by clicking the "Play" button. Lasers cannot slice or cut human. Toads do not talk. Plants do not shoot zombies. And most of all, people cannot live again after they died. See how the fantasy world or virtual word differ in the real world? 

We are the people who are confuse in the real world and go and find the way to the answers. In the virtual world, all answers will be reach easily so it will not be exciting. In virtual reality, we are the one who is controlling the situation. We want to jump out in the real world and go to the fantasy world where we replace the satisfaction of making discoveries by the joy of being in power.  

In this days, people are gradually missing their connection in the real world because of the satisfaction of what virtual reality can give. We can buy what we want in just one click and act in the identity of what characters we choose. It seems people lose their interest in the real world and want to stay in a fantasy. One of the examples of virtual reality is the video game which we are really enjoying because we can control the characters in the game. We can get what we want and we can have the power to unleash one's ability.  

As I researched through different articles about the reality and video games, I came up in a site named "Kotaku" with an article entitled "Please Stop Comparing Real Life To Video Games" written by Mike Fahey. In this article, the author stated that how people lived in this world with the influence of the video games. 

He began his article with a news about a fifteen-year old boy who was involved in a bank robbery as if he acted as one of the character in the video game he played. "It’s a bizarre, surreal case of a young man almost acting like a real-life action video game – nevertheless it was a robbery,’ the judge said." The psychologist suspected the game Grand Theft Auto which is the most and contains ultra violent storylines. 

Compiled by Chris Person are the articles from  news papers, comparing the real world events in video games seems to be the habit of the people. One of his compiled works quoted with these sentence, “Bicycling is not like a video game. You do not earn points for passing a certain number of riders, bravely challenging half-ton cars and many-ton trucks, riding through red lights, or scattering pedestrians”. 

I agree with this quotation above because as we can see, riders, not just bikers, are hurry and hasty in riding their motorcycles. They are like racing with each other as if they are racing with their death or with the grim reaper. They will not earn some point or coins just like Mario that every time he will pass the road there were coins scattered.

Another statement that he emphasize. When video games are like-real life. Actually, games did not invent crimes but it make the violent behavior of the child more aggressive like what happened on the fifteen year old boy. Bank robbery is common but because of what the child saw or played he will act like how the characters act.

Mike also stated how the real world can compare to virtual world . He cited an examples of having a little daughter who is cheese omelet is better than her mother's, like a video game. A man who sits in his car, listening to music for an hour, like he is playing video game. 

I want to conclude on his article that the players must be the one who control the game. They are the one who has power. Do not let the game characters controlled you. Do not let the game to influence you in the case that you need to hurt some one or to act as if they were you.

The other article that caught my attention is in the site called "The Real Truth" with an article entitled "Video Games: An Escape From Reality?" written by Jeffrey Davis. I stopped for a moment a think for the answer on his questions, "Is video game a paradise? "Why is society so wrapped up in them? What do studies and research show? Why are people so enthralled by these inventions, spending countless hours in front of a screen?"

For my answers in those questions above. I can tell that video game is a paradise for me because like what I had said on my previous posts, it is one of my stress reliever and it really entertains me. Computer games are not complaining if I had done wrong not like my mother who will shout at me. I can unleashed also my emotions to it like when I got angry because I cannot finish the game I will just throw the mouse. But if got angry with my friends I cannot throw them. For me, video games is really a wonderful world and creations. 

According to this article, games have rules but no laws. Rules are just the mechanics of the games but laws are the 'do's' and 'don'ts' written on the books. Laws are just for real world. Go ahead, kill them, rob a bank, steal a car, shoot the innocent, and no one cares. 

The author also answered his questions above.  "Why is society so wrapped up in them?" It is because people were escaping from stress. For many people, the world of video games is a perfect break from a reality filled with deadlines, stress and responsibilities.  Video game is one way to free themselves from pressure and tension and t gives them relaxation and fun. Also for the sports lover, game gives passion for them as they played baseball, basketball, volleyball and other sports related video games.

People also looks for social lives. The video games of today can be compared to the board games of previous generations. People once played board games as a form of social interaction. These games were generally a way of learning about and getting closer to family, friends or even dates. It was an opportunity to spend time with people and learn about how they thought. Board games offered a chance to socialize, stimulate the mind and enjoy interesting conversation. Human beings need this type of innocent social interaction. People were designed to engage with—talk to—each other.

Player can also choose on what will be the characteristics or appearance of their characters in the game they played. For psychologists, video game is one way we use to fulfill what we do not have. Video games doe not need your appearance of the real player but the appearance of the character. 

To sum up all these things, video games do not intend to hurt someone. But it intend to provoke someone to do some violence. In other words, we, people have the mind, the computer only had programs. It is in us if we will really become aggressive. Another is do not wish for the perfect world which all things are controlled by you because the importance of fun and adventure will be ignored. Last know the differences between the virtual world and the reality because in the end, if you are hoping to be in virtual it will be hard for you to cope up in the real world.  

Blogpost # 4: Not Just Bad Effects

Staying all night in front of computer, searching for games that can catch your interest, thinking of what games can motivate you to use your skills. Reading again from what I had written on the first sentence, identify the effects of video games to the players. There are bad and good effects in my statement, right? Well, for me, everything in this world, has its own pros and cons, good and bad effects, benefits and harms, or advantages and disadvantages.

As a teenager, I am fond of playing Chess because it can help me to think on how to checkmate my opponent. I also love playing word games that can expand my vocabulary words such as Text Twist and Scrabble. But my mother observed me that I spent more times sitting on the swivel chair and facing the computer than facing my books. She also noticed that everytime she will call me and order me to buy some stuffs in the store, I always say "Just wait" or "Later", that is why she called me lazy.

For parents, video games are just a time-waster and bad influence in terms of education because it corrupts the brain of the children. Violent video games are easily blamed by the media because of its bad effects and reason why the the children act violently or commit extreme anti-social behavior. But it was refuted by the scientists, psychologists and experts, as they stated, playing video games can boost the mind and can make us smart.

The statement above was  supported in the article entitled "Positive Effects of Video Games" written by Manali Oak in the site "Buzzle: Intelligent Life on the Web". It presented in this article what are the good consequences we can get from playing video games.

Manali started his article on how the video games are blame because of the actions of the children who were playing. They were become lazy, lack of social skills and cause of obesity. In America, video games were popular but as they observed, the longer the children played, the more the not-so-good effects will come out. However it can be beneficial. 

Video games involve 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 or her problem-solving skills, analytical and estimation skills and quick decision-making. Playing video games can enhance the interpersonal skill of the player. It demands the player to interact on the games that can show some excitement. Playing video games, based on study, can be more beneficial than watching the television.

The author stated that video games can also helped in managing you time or "time management". Some games required to be finished in a certain time so the player must consume his time wisely. According to Bavelier, "Action game players make more correct decisions per unit time. If you are a surgeon or you are in the middle of a battlefield, that can all the differences." Another effect of it is that, children can have the sense of participation and achievement. Of course games are played with an interaction, the player needs to cooperate and to participate to finish the game and reach the goal.

One more good effect that contributed by playing video games is improving the hand-eye coordination. When we are playing, our eyes are on monitor watching what is going to do and our hands are on keys to perform the moves. So the two parts of our body are moving simultaneously and it can developed our alertness. In addition of good effects, the children may teach their parents on how to play the certain game. The children developed the teaching skills. Once I remembered, when I introduced the game "Candy Crush" to my mother, she was amazed by it and asked me on how to play that. I really enjoy it, its like a bonding activity with my mother.

Manali also informed us that video games can channelized our emotions in a positive way. When we are angry, frustrated, or mad, we can vent it in video games instead of venting it out in a person. 

Even though video games are just a virtual world, we can also have some friends from it, from the online games. We do not see them but we developed a relationship with the others through these games. Another effect of it is the team spirits. Some games required partnership or team play that can improve the teamwork, cooperation, and leadership skill of the child.  

According to Nottingham Trent University Professor Mark Griffiths says that video games can help to ease the painful treatment of cancer. Another conducted study in 2004 of Butch Rosser to the surgeon of Laparoscopy, the surgeon who played video games are faster and more accurate in doing such job than those who are not.

The author concluded in his article that we must not just look on the consequences of the video games to us. We must realize that there is also good effects of it. We must realize on how video games can have a big impact on the child's development.

As I researched for another articles discussing about the effects of games, I found a site named "Pediatrics for Parents" with an article entitled "The Effects of Video Games on Children: What Parents Need to Know" written by Douglas A. Gentile, Ph.D..

In this article, he introduced first that development of computer games was so fast. It may turned to many
things. Computers become teachers also of the children because we are using it in the classrooms. Years past, computer games also entered our home. We spend more time in it that is why the parents, educators, and physicians questioned the impact of video games in children. Playing video games is not limited in adolescent boys but for girls also. They spend 5.5 hours per week in playing games. Recently, game consoles are producing some games intended for pre-schoolers which may increase the time spend by them in playing. Based on the study, playing and spending time in computer games is increasing while the hobby of watching television of the children has remained stable on 24 hours per week.

The author stated that video games are natural teacher. Children are highly motivated and actively engaged in playing games which can develop the virtue of interactive nature. Computer games also impart to children on how they can prevent or self-caring for asthma, and diabetes, and successful on sharing the attitude, skills and behaviors which is designed by the programmers. In study, the college students were allowed to play golf video game, as a result, they observed that they have the control in striking and hitting it.

In addition to those articles above, I want to include how does video game helped the children in solving puzzles and logic. When kids play games such as The Incredible Machine, Angry Birds or Cut The Rope, they train their brain to come up with creative ways to solve puzzles and other problems in short bursts. It also widens our concentration. A study conducted by the Appalachia Educational Laboratory reveal that children with attention-deficit disorder who played Dance Dance Revolution improve their reading scores by helping them concentrate.

Based on studies, video games introduce the kids to technologies and online world. It makes the children adapt and make  more comfortable with the concepts of computing. It also makes learning fun. Children attract on how the game was made, the characters, the rules and the storyline. It also improves our decision-making speed. People who played action-based video and computer games made decisions 25% faster than others without sacrificing accuracy, according to a study from the University of Rochester.

If you are not fond of playing video games because of the bad effects that you can get from it, why not observed some good sides of it. Bad and Good are always together. Do not just look for what consequences what we can acquire but also look for the good effects of what we can obtain from it. The researchers and I are not saying that you just need to play games to be intelligent, to have time management, to learn reading and writing. What I want to say is video games can also help us in terms of education and in our life.

Blogpost # 3: What to Play?

Back in time, people were already happy playing with standard brick games. But as the video game industry expanded through time with the help of technology, it is more appealing to the players to play different genres as they measure there skills. In movies, we are looking for horror, suspense, action, comedy, drama, and other categories. Same in video games, we are searching for a specific genre.

The market produces different kinds of games. There are many available game installers found in different gaming stores.  Choosing video games is another big decision. You are consuming your money and also your time in picking out what type of games do you prefer and in playing those things. A good game should get your interest, of course, and it can entertain you. Genres customarily describes the style of a gameplay. But do we know what genres of a game we are picking in the stores?

Upon my researching about the types of video games, I found an article entitled "Video Game Genres" written by Ted Stahl in a site "The History of Computing Project". Out of so many categories, he cited in this article at least 13 different genres of games. But I will just focus on five of it. The shooting games, adventure games, the role playing games, the platform and strategy or tactics.

                                            

The shooting game is one of the oldest games category because of the game Spacewar!. This game provide the player with an array of weapon to blow away the enemies in order to survive in the game. This game focuses on combat with missiles and guns. It may be a horizontal or vertical. But some games uses neither of this two methods. Other example of these games include Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, Duke Nukem 3D, Descent, Marathon, GoldenEye, Halo, Quake, and Time Splitters.

I remember when I was in my elementary days, I always play Space Invaders in the cellphone of my father. Then this 2010, my family became addicted in Plant vs Zombies game. A game that plants protected the brains from zombies by shooting them with their peas, fire, and others.

The adventure games which provides to solve a puzzle, to explore, but there is .of combat. The game that explores but initially these are text-based games like Colossal Cave Adventure. Years past, it became a puzzle-oriented text-based adventure but there is general lack of violence. 

Next is the role-playing game or RPG that draws the gameplay from Dungeons and Dragons. It is a special type of adventure games. It is more on quest and adventure and also on combat unlike the adventure games. There are three elements in these games, the number one is the quest itself. Second is the evolution or the level upping of your character through their quest and last is the management of your inventories, how you manage your acquisition and selling of items. 

The fourth is platform that began with the release of Donkey Kong on 1981. This game requires the timing and jumping to reach a certain goal or your destination while defeating your enemies. The most common and popular example of this game is the Super Mario Bros, which played in arcades, game boys and personal computers. 

The Strategic and Tactic Games. This game tries to capture the sense of realism for the game player to experience. It emphasize the thinking and planning skill to achieve the victory of the game. In this game, victory is achieved through strategic and superior planning. Some video games-inspired about this category are Ogre Tactics, Command and Conquer, Final Fantasy Tactics, and Worms.

The article talks about the various types of games, highlighting the main features and explaining their categorization according to the gameplay involved.

While reading other articles about types of video games, a certain article caught my attention. The site is entitled "Robin Lionheart's Webpages" with an article "Genre and the Video Game" written by Mark J.P Wolf. In his subtopic 'Iconography versus Interactivity'.

In this topic, he compared the differences between the genres of games and films same also in dance. How does the iconography so much important in genres of film but sometimes it does not needed in games such as Tetris, Pinball or Scrabble or any games that are non-narrative activities or games that are not populated with characters. In Hollywood, iconography is an important tool in analyzing those films as well and video games. On the other hand, interactivity is an essential part of every game’s structure and a more appropriate way of examining and defining video game genres.

Just like in dancing, we have Foxtrot, Cha Cha, Zumba, Ballet and Jazz, video games also has its different genres that we may connect in film. For examples, Space Invader that is shooting game but a science fiction in films. Mortal combat as an action movie and as an action game. The Hotel 626, it can be a horror game and horror movie. As narrative games grow more complex and cinematic, iconographic and thematic generic classifications from film will be able to be applied more usefully, but interactivity will always be an important factor in the way the games are experienced. 

The game’s objective is a motivational force for the player, and this, combined with the various forms of interactivity present in the game, are useful places to start in building a set of video game genres. The object of the game can be multiple or divided into steps, placing the game in more than one genre, just as a film’s theme and iconography can place a film in multiple genres or the hybrid category. For example, Pac Man, it is a collecting game but we can also classify this as an "escaping" and a "maze" game. 

As society observe, there are too many categories that can be found in every subject. It can be in film, dance, music, literature, and of course, video games. Categories were not made to confuse or to mess up in our mind. It was made to pick what we want and what suits to our taste and to our mood.  So just enjoy the categories that we are playing, watching, reading and dancing now.

Blogpost # 2: Mythologies in Video Games

Mythology has become widespread nowadays. We cannot just read it in literature, saw it in arts, and watch it in and big screens but also we can play it in video games. Mythology is the stories of gods and goddesses, and supernatural heroes and human in different cultures. It may be a Greek, Roman, Olympian, Norse or Egyptian Mythology. It inspired the video games to enrich their narrative world. They are such a good source to draw upon as they are culturally recognizable and this is no less true now than it was at the time of Homer.   

Characters play a big role in video games beside the rules of the games. They capture the imagination of the gamers, add spice and create stories on the games.

Some mythology-inspired video games are God of War, Valkyrie, Heroes of the Might and Magic, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Age of Mythology and even the well-known game here in the Philippines, the Defense of the Ancient. It is quite fascinating that the video game programmers think of the best way to introduce the different gods and goddesses in form of these games. 

Aside from those examples above, there is also a game which has a characters come from Norse Mythology, the Ragnarok. Ragnarok means "dooms of the gods" an "end of the world". In this game, the gamer will create his own character and choose what will be his job. A player choice of job will determine his or her strengths and weaknesses both in a party and outside of one. The characters are: Thor,the god of thunder. Hela, god, queen of Nifleim, Jormundgand, god, the world serpent. Loki, god, mischievous troublemaker. Balder, fair god murdered by Loki. Mjollnir, Thor's hammer. Gungnir, Odin's spear. Mimming, Freyr's sword. Gjall, Heimdall's Horn. Skidbladnir, a boat belonging to the gods. Ravens, benevolent monsters, messengers of Odin Nidhogg, monster, a dragon-like being who chews on the roots of Yggdrasil .

As I was going through different articles regarding Mythologies inspired video games, I found an article "Best Games Inspired by the Greek Mythology" by Miguel Rojas in a site entitled "Game Tweeps". It talks about top three examples of video games which characters are based on  Greek Mythology.

The author started his article on how the video games give life to mythologies, how video games make mythologies still popular these days and on how game designers re-tell the stories on how they want it to be. They develop the stories and give more spice on the characters. 

According to the article, the 'Age of Mythology' is one of the mythology-based video game and it is obvious on its title. This game is a combination of different mythologies, from Greece, Egypt and Scandinavia. This game is played by defeating your enemy and destroying their units and towns and building your own towns. From the Trojan War and culminating with the the fall of Atlantis, it allows the players to  fight as Hydra supported by Centaurs.

As you can see on the picture, there are three major gods presented, the Pharaoh, Zeus, the god of thunder, and Thor, a hammer-wielding god, which these gods represent the three myths as what I said on the preceding paragraph. 

For the author, it is true that having heroes and gods in this video game such Odysseus, Loki, Achilles, and Osiris, we can get our fill in mythology in an epic way. 

The article also mentioned the 'God of War'. It depicts extreme violence and brutal way of murdering, where the gamer will face bunch of demons and evils. The player will play the role of Kratos, a demigod who serves the Olympian Gods. Athena assigned Kratos to kill Ares, the God of War, who is responsible for Kratos killing his family accidentally. As Ares attack the Athens out of hatred for Athena, Kratos embarks on a quest to find the one object capable of stopping the god: the legendary Pandora's Box. After an epic quest, Kratos is successful and replaces the defeated Ares as the new God of War.

Throughout the game, the player will kill and defeat several Greek mythology like gorgons, cyclops, minotaur, satyrs, centaurs, and harpies that really portrays violence and combats. On the contrary, not all in this game is violence it also shows good doses of puzzle solving and platforms. 

The author also stated in this article, the adventurous aspect of Greek gods, the 'Titan Quest'. The players take the role of the hero, defeating the monsters in three ancient, classical world setting, the Ancient Greece, Ancient Egypt and Silk Road. M. Rojas indicated that the Greek mythology characters in these games were brought to life. The player will control a hero who has to fight his or her way through hordes of centaurs, undead, and alligator people in order to restore balance to a world apparently abandoned by the gods. Random historical figures pop up as well such as Leonidas, who gives the player his main quest.

Rojas stated, "Whether you have already launched yourself into the world of mythology within video games, or are yet to experience it, you can’t deny the timeless quality that historical Greek Mythology and Greek key design portray. It has, and surely will continue to inspire future generations to come, through the field of design."

I agree with him that mythology has a big part in inspiring, expanding, and developing the gaming industry and at the same time video game has also a role in maintaining the existence of mythology.

Another article I found regarding mythologies and video games is in website "Highline Community College" with an article entitled "Mythology in Videogames" written by Jackson Hardman. It presented here some video games' connection in mythology. It also show here the mythic beasts.

According to this article, in the game 'Jade Empire', we will observe how the Japanese Mythology depicted. The Ogre in this game is similar to oni or 'tengu' which means a tormenting spirit,  which collects the souls of the wicked on their deathbed. The character will travel form earth to heaven crossing the bridges. Based on Japanese mythology, bridge is connection between earth and heaven.  Cannibal Spirits of 'Jade Empire' are Jikninki in Japanese mythology which means a spirit that eats dead bodies. 

Aside from this information, the author also detailed the different beasts in mythology that may appear in games. The werewolf, based on the reference of the author, Encyclopedia Mythica, "The concept of werewolves, or lycanthropes, is possibly based on the myth of Lycaon. He was the king of Arcadia, and in the time of the ancient Greeks notorious for his cruelty. He tried to buy the favor of Zeus by offering him the flesh of a young child. Zeus punished him for this crime and turned him into a wolf. The legends of werewolves have been told since the ancient Greeks and are known all over the world." 

The manticore, a monstrous creature which inhabits the forests in Asia, especially in Indonesia, Malaysia and India. The manticore, considered to be the most dangerous predator in these regions, has the body of a lion and a head with human resemblance. The mouth is filled with three rows of razor-sharp teeth and the scaled tail ends in a ball with poisonous darts.

"Mythology is such a fascinating subject, it is easy for anyone who happens to be playing a game to be entranced by it and their suspension of disbelief is readily activated in order to find out what will happen in the end," said by a blogger named Kei. 

As for me, video games need a story line to entertain the gamers and players. That ability to relate to someone else is one that is apparent in all of us and human culture. Most of video games lose their story line, but there is hope due to the characters' story of the game will be build again. Character creation is very important in this element as it is what drives lore.