Videogame addiction – fact or fantasy?
I am a Warcraft widow, an affectionate term given to those who have “lost” a partner to World of Warcraft (WoW) as a result of excessive game-playing.
I have first-hand experience of the way games such…
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Analysis and Comment (20)
Anders Breivik, videogames and the militarisation of society
The ongoing trial of Norwegian right-wing extremist Anders Breivik has generated a great deal of media coverage, public debate and analysis.
Much of this has focused on claims made by Breivik that he…
Videogames, aggression, Anders Breivik – let’s not join the dots
“Violent videogames cause people to become violent in real life”. It’s a familiar refrain for anyone who has read a newspaper in the last 15 years.
Today, the media reporting surrounding the trial of…
From eyewear to ‘eyeware’: Google’s Project Glass and the future of augmented reality
Earlier this month, Google released a video (see below) announcing Project Glass: the development of a pair of glasses with a real difference.
Google’s augmented reality eyewear (or “eyeware”) will provide…
Swing when you’re winning: do gesture-based controllers push the right buttons for gamers?
Researchers at Baylor University in the US have conducted a study that reportedly shows players get more pleasure from videogames that use motion and gesture controllers (such as the Nintendo Wiimote…
Words With Friends, Draw Something … are you addicted to social gaming?
They are everywhere: people in cafés or supermarket queues, staring at their smartphones with determined concentration, occasionally shuffling yellow tiles of letters to use all of them in a killer move…
Everyone’s invited … so why aren’t more of us gaming?
To the uninitiated, videogames have a bit of a reputation for being a difficult media form. A control pad, for such people, can be a cold and grey device covered with alien buttons, intimidating and unwelcoming…
I want to play videogames when I grow up (and so should you)
Just like rock music in the 1950s, Dungeons & Dragons in the 1980s, and death metal in the 1990s, videogaming has been demonised by parent groups. For decades, gamers were portrayed as obese social…
R18+ classification for videogames … the quest continues
Late last week Federal Home Affairs Minister Jason Clare introduced a bill to parliament that takes Australia one step closer to an R18+ classification for videogames. No sooner had the classification…
Next level thinking: a way forward for the Australian videogame industry
For many years, the Australian videogame industry has been trying to carve a niche for itself internationally. There have been moments of success and moments of decline, but the sector’s true potential…
Gamification status: you score ten points for reading this article
A white paper was released this week stating that “Gen Y” employees could be better engaged and motivated by applying “game dynamics” to the workplace. Bunchball, the company behind the paper, would say…
Caught in the Red Cross-hairs: gamers and the Geneva Convention
“There is [a worldwide] audience of approximately 600 million gamers who may be virtually violating [International Humanitarian Law] (IHL),” read the Daily Bulletin of the 31st International Conference…
Pleasure centre: how video games affect young brains
Teens who frequently play video games have larger reward centres in their brains than those who play less often, according to a study published today in the journal Translational Psychiatry.
The researchers…
Hackers hit Steam: is it time to open the Valve on e-commerce regulation?
One of the world’s largest online video gaming networks, Steam, has been hacked and its 35 million users may have had their accounts “compromised”. And yes, “compromised” means their (encrypted) credit…
Bringing media classification into the digital era
Media classification in Australia is being dragged into the digital world. At the moment it’s based on analog legislation, unsuited for today’s convergent media. But proposals unveiled today will transform…
‘Gamers’ tag is a poor fit, whichever way you Foldit
The phrases “real world scientific progress” and “the power of online games” are strange bedfellows. Yet surprisingly, they found themselves thrust together in the media last week due to the publication…
Video games and creative culture: independent or bound by a common shoestring?
Talk creative cultures and you may think high-end and low-end, the starving artist and the toast of Manhattan. But what about video game makers? Where do they fit in?
The very idea of an independent video…
Video gamers kill cinema box office – suspects young, old, male, female
Ever heard the one about the morbidly obese (and probably mentally unbalanced and somehow dangerous) teenage “gamers” locked in their bedrooms playing online computer games?
Turns out, they’re really…
Video game classification? It’s time we all grew up
After many years of debate and deliberation Australia might finally be about to receive an R18+ rating for video games.
On July 21 and 22 the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General (SCAG) meeting will…
Fair game? Why we should back an R18+ classification
If you are in any way exposed to computer games on a regular basis, it won’t have escaped your attention that Australia does not have an R18+ classification for video games.
This is particularly strange…
Research Briefs (7)
Next-level gaming with stretchy videogame controllers
A new type of videogame controller could help pave the way for a more immersive gaming experience.
The designers placed…
Video games do not increase children’s attention spans
Parents of children with ADHD have been warned that while their child may be able to focus their attention for up to two…
Videogame tech enables cancer insights
Scientists at Wake Forest University are using the same graphics processing units (GPUs) found in video game devices to simulate…
Violent video games changes men’s brains
Playing violent video games for hours on end can change young men’s brains, including parts that control emotions and agressive…
UQ study confirms dangers of violent videogames
Playing violent video games leads players to see themselves, and their opponents, as lacking in core human qualities such…
Violent videogames change self-perception
New research has found evidence that playing violent video games leads players to see themselves, and their opponents, as…
Playing with climate change
An innovative online game has been developed to educate youths about climate change and sustainability.
The game, entitled…