When Gaming Is Good for You

A growing body of university research suggests that gaming improves creativity, decision-making and perception. The specific benefits are wide ranging, from improved hand-eye coordination in surgeons to vision changes that boost night driving ability.
People who played action-based video and computer games made decisions 25% faster than others without sacrificing accuracy, according to a study. Indeed, the most adept gamers can make choices and act on them up to six times a second—four times faster than most people, other researchers found. Moreover, practiced game players can pay attention to more than six things at once without getting confused, compared with the four that someone can normally keep in mind, said University of Rochester researchers. The studies were conducted independently of the companies that sell video and computer games.
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(clockwise from top left) Rockstar Games; Take -Two; Blizzard Entertainment; Activision; Electronic Arts; Blizzard Entertainment; Eli Meir Kaplan for the Wall Street Journal (cyclist)
Scientists also found that women—who make up about 42% of computer and videogame players—were better able to mentally manipulate 3D objects, a skill at which men are generally more adept. Most studies looked at adults rather than children.
Electronic gameplay has its downside. Brain scans show that violent videogames can alter brain function in healthy young men after just a week of play, depressing activity among regions associated with emotional control, researchers at Indiana University recently reported. Other studies have found an association between compulsive gaming and being overweight, introverted and prone to depression. The studies didn't compare the benefits of gaming with such downsides.
The violent action games that often worry parents most had the strongest beneficial effect on the brain. "These are not the games you would think are mind-enhancing," said cognitive neuroscientist Daphne Bavelier, who studies the effect of action games at Switzerland's University of Geneva and the University of Rochester in New York.
Different Games' Effects on Your Brain
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Learn how different games do different things to your brain
Computer gaming has become a $25 billion-a year entertainment business behemoth since the first coin-operated commercial videogames hit the market 41 years ago. In 2010, gaming companies sold 257 million video and computer games, according to figures compiled by the industry's trade group, the Entertainment Software Association.
For scientists, the industry unintentionally launched a mass experiment in the neurobiology of learning. Millions of people have immersed themselves in the interactive reward conditioning of electronic game play, from Tetris, Angry Birds, and Farmville, to shooter games and multiplayer, role-playing fantasies such as League of Legend, which has been played 1 billion times or so in the two years since it was introduced.
"Videogames change your brain," said University of Wisconsin psychologist C. Shawn Green, who studies how electronic games affect abilities. So does learning to read, playing the piano, or navigating the streets of London, which have all been shown to change the brain's physical structure. The powerful combination of concentration and rewarding surges of neurotransmitters like dopamine strengthen neural circuits in much the same the way that exercise builds muscles. But "games definitely hit the reward system in a way that not all activities do," he said.
Recap
Cognitive scientist Mark Blair and Robert Lee Hotz answer readers' questions
"There has been a lot of attention wasted in figuring out whether these things turn us into killing machines," said computational analyst Joshua Lewis at the University of California in San Diego, who studied 2,000 computer game players. "Not enough attention has been paid to the unique and interesting features that videogames have outside of the violence."
Broadly speaking, today's average gamer is 34 years old and has been playing electronic games for 12 years, often up to 18 hours a week. By one analyst's calculation, the 11 million or so registered users of the online role-playing fantasy World of Warcraft collectively have spent as much time playing the game since its introduction in 2004 as humanity spent evolving as a species—about 50 billion hours of game time, which adds up to about 5.9 million years.

With people playing so many hundreds, if not thousands, of different games, though, university researchers have been hard-pressed to pinpoint the lasting effects on cognition and behavior.
Blizzard Entertainment Inc. in Irvine, Calif., which sells World of Warcraft, StarCraft II and other popular games, did not respond to queries about whether the company supports gaming research or conducts its own studies. Neither did RiotGames Inc. in Santa Monica, which markets League of Legends.
The vast majority of the research did not directly compare gaming with hours of other intense, mental activities such as solving math equations. Almost any computer game appears to boost a child's creativity, researchers at Michigan State University's Children and Technology Project reported in November.
A three-year study of 491 middle school students found that the more children played computer games the higher their scores on a standardized test of creativity—regardless of race, gender, or the kind of game played. The researchers ranked students on a widely used measure called the Torrance Test of Creativity, which involves such tasks as drawing an "interesting and exciting" picture from a curved shape on a sheet of paper, giving the picture a title, and then writing a story about it. The results were ranked by seven researchers for originality, length, and complexity on a standardized three-point scale for each factor, along with detailed questionnaires.
In contrast, using cellphones, the Internet, or computers for other purposes had no effect on creativity, they said.
Several new studies shed new light on how videogames affect the brain and behavior -- and it's not necessarily for the worse. A new study suggests videogames boost creativity in children and offer other neural benefits. Lee Hotz has details on Lunch Break.
"Much to my surprise, it didn't matter whether you were playing aggressive games or sport games, not a bit," said psychologist Linda Jackson, who led the federally funded study of 491 boys and girls at 20 Michigan schools.
Even so, researchers have yet to create educational software as engaging as most action games. Without such intense involvement, neural circuits won't change, they believe. "It happens that all the games that have the good learning effect happen to be violent. We don't know whether the violence is important or not," said Dr. Bavelier. "We hope not."
Until recently, most researchers studied the effects of gaming on small groups of volunteers, who learned to play under laboratory conditions. Some scientists now are turning the commercial games themselves into laboratories of learning.
In the largest public study of electronic gaming so far, Mark Blair at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia, is analyzing the behavior of 150,000 people who play the popular online game called StarCraft II, pulling together more than 1.5 billion data points of perception, attention, movement and second-by-second decision-making.
By analyzing so much game play, he hopes to learn how people become experts in an online world. That may shed light on how new knowledge and experience can become second nature, integrated into the way we react to the world around us.

Online Games

ROLE PLAYING GAMES
Role Playing Games also known as RPG's have been around for many years. Many people are familiar with the original tabletop Dungeon's and Dragon's game that was developed in the 1970's. The basic function was to let players take on the identity of a character and play against other players that assumed their own identity. The players work their way through various scenarios of the imaginary world.
As computers and the Internet have evolved, RPG's have gone virtual and are now online. There are many types to choose from based on themes and they are just a click away. In fact, there is a new acronym to explain the online version - MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game). Just typing RPG or MMORPG in any Internet search engine will return more results for games than you would ever care to know. One of the more popular ones is RuneScape, www.runescape.com.
Like other online activities, such games are very addictive and will occupy players for hours. One area of concern is unlike the tabletop RPG's from the 70's people playing RPG's are playing against people they do not know.

VIDEO GAME SYSTEMS
Many parents consciously make an effort to keep computers out of their children's bedrooms but never consider the video game console.
Units like Microsoft's XBOX 360 and Nintendo's Wii do more than just play games - they are computer systems with network capabilities that can access the Internet. Even if you do not connect the unit to your home Internet connection via a network cable some systems can still access wireless networks. That's right - little Johnny can potentially sit in his bedroom using his game console and connect to a neighbor's unsecured wireless network and surf the Internet without anyone knowing.
Additionally, these units have the potential to connect to an online Internet service allowing online communities in order to play against other players with the same equipment. Players can message each other or install a webcam and headset or microphone for players to see and talk to each other. Yes, there are adult predators in these communities as well. Microsoft's service is called LIVE and can be accessed for a yearly service fee. LIVE service is also available for players using their computer to interact.

"Online Games" - Most Relaxing Experience Want to Unwind - Play Online Games

Recently, many new online gaming services have been introduced. The world is having a visible affect on the online gaming industry, as more and more people turned towards playing and enjoying online games.
Games on net were once an imaginary phrase, but since the introduction of thousands of user friendly and easy operating games on the Internet, people are finding that fiction has become reality.

But, now you can read about what you want to learn and play free online games at paying no money. This is the ultimate playing way for anyone frightened by the complex layout of games. To play online games, read introduction to the games and play along.

Another main reason people want to play free online games is to get refreshed from the monotonous and hectic routine. With games on net, all of that excitement can be put into action. The people may choose to play free online games for recreation. Many people just want to chill out at the end of a day, and playing with a pool or slot machine etc. doesn't provide sufficient amusement.

According to a leading company's survey on online gamers, women around or above age 40 are the informal gaming hardcore, playing games at an average of nearly nine hours a week. As far as men of all age group are concerned, they spend nearly six hours gaming while women of all ages average to around seven hours per week. This show increasing urges to play online games in all age groups and both genders.

The report also unveils an interesting point, 54 percent of adults said that they play games to wipe-off stress and the 20 percent of teens who play for just relaxation.

With free online games one can experience the excitement of playing, without the fear of losing any single cent. Many sites on the Internet also let you to post messages in forum and even facilitate to chat with friends while you play.

This is excellent news for gaming authors and websites, as the more-n-more people are moving towards playing online games on net, the more excitement around the globe will be.

All in all, it can be pretty relaxing experience and certainly it is becoming very popular time-pass.

Allen Brown is a freelance writer for http://www.1888FreeOnlineGames.com the premier website to play thousands of free online games including arcade games, action games, card games, flash games, strategy games, puzzle games and more. He also freelances for http://www.1888SoftwareDownloads.com

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4 Pics 1 Song - Addictive Puzzle Game For IOS

Not long ago there€™s a great game known as 4 Epics 1 Word on Facebook as well as smartphone that gain a lot of attentions simply because IA€™s simple and yet fascinating game play. Generally at that game you must speculate what hidden word on the puzzle by checking out 4 unique pictures with a same common point behind it. That game is accessible for Facebook and thus a lot of Facebook users contend with their friend and giggling at the result for certain. 4 Epics 1 Song is identical game but this time OA€™re not simply guess a single word but an entire title from a song, ETA€™s take a look at how interesting this game beneath.

Feature

Much like 4 Epics 1 Word, you are going to face 4 various images together with hidden indicating on I, your task is to find that secret meaning and then figure the song title with the clue. Not like Song the place you have to also think by hearing the music, within this game the difficulties could be more challenging particularly when you DNA€™t even know the song. But if you play it with your friend it's going to provide laugh and entertaining without a doubt. The game need a depth thinking for certain, initially it seems like quite tough to figuring out the clue however when you get familiar with it, IA€™s be a little more fun and easy to play.

You will see different picture range between automobile, illustration, goods, plus more. These pictures shown by the show picture, real picture, and much more. Numerous images identify what best and easy clue on it whilst the other requires a quite logical thinking. Once you guess the right answer, you will see the musician who sings it as well as the title and how many per cent you can guess it correctly. There are several achievement that you could unlock each need specified success to reach.

There are lots of tunes you will want to guess, together with coop mode you may get hours of fun together with your friend and much more knowledge of music from so many artists. One thing that the creator have to concern is some user complaining about having new content so they can play a lot more music with 4 Epics 1 Song, if you want simple and enjoyable game 4 Epics 1 Word is certainly what you should play within your mobile phone. You are able to grab this game on i-Tunes for free.