Game Playing and Asperger’s

“Skewed coverage of academic report in the Dire Mail (sorry, Daily Mail) : Computer game addicts warned they could start behaving like autism sufferers. Of course the report warns no such thing, as discussed here at Spong: Daily Mail muddles cause and effect .”

Author: Daniel Livingstone, Learning Games Blog, 8th April 2008

Full article available here.

Brain Teaser Puzzle Games – Happy Neuron

Scientific research shows that to stay fit and at the top of our game, our brains need exercise just like our bodies.

Happy Neuron online brain games are scientifically-developed to stimulate your brain in a challenging and fun way, keeping your mind fit at any age.

Happy Neuron CEO and cognitive psychologist, Dr. Michel Noir, designed these games to specifically target the five major cognitive functions of memory, attention, language, executive functions and visual/spatial. Increasing scientific evidence shows that actively participating in appropriately designed brain fitness workouts can help defer the onset of diseases like Alzheimer’s.

Based on personal progress, Happy Neuron ensures individuals are making the most of their mind workouts. A personalized “virtual coach” prepares personal brain workouts based on player usage and performance. In addition to comparisons to the top 25 percent of players, users will see how they are performing in relation to the average score of their peers. The unique coach feature gauges mental achievement levels and progression based on other players of the same gender, age and education level. Each player is given insight into areas of cognitive strength and weakness and personal progress is charted for each function.

HAPPY NEURON Targets

· Memory – working memory (15 sec.), short-term memory (up to 60 sec.) and long-term memory

· Attention – hones the ability to concentrate and focus on critical information

· Language – exercises speed, strength and comprehension of verbal and written expression

· Executive Functions – strengthens the highly complex functions of logic, strategy, planning, problem solving and deductive reasoning

· Visual and Spatial –processing information in a 3-D world and interpreting visual information

HAPPY NEURON Features

· Offers 32 different online games and more than 1500 hours of game play – including unlimited access to one free game in each cognitive category

· Easy access – players can log in from any computer with internet access

· A “Virtual Coach” to track progress and compare results to other players of similar gender, age and education levels. Games are then recommended to improve an individuals’ area of weakness.

Happy Neuron games are available now at www.happy-neuron.com

Personalization with Mental Exercise

The market has witnessed a surge in the mental fitness software industry. More companies are purporting to be the best at training your brain and helping to sharpen cognitive or thinking skills.One primary concern for this industry is to create software that is both fun and personally relevant. In fact, a primary focus of FitBrains is to be the leader of fun and personal relevance within the industry of mental exercise software. I believe that games can be both fun and have real life and personal value to a consumer.

We are all confronted with life’s daily challenges, each of which places demands on our brain for solutions or action. It is within this arena that FitBrains has captured the personal value: creating games that actually tap into real world challenges for the consumer. How many times have you lost a pair of socks in the laundry, forgotten the name of someone you met, misplaced your car keys or perhaps the car itself in the parking garage? Life provides us with real world games and the opportunity for real world mental exercise.

FitBrains takes this reality and champions mental exercise for the fun and personally relevant. We believe your arousal level will increase and you will be more deeply engaged in the mental exercise. Why? The task is more valuable or meaningful to you as a person. Companies that simply develop memory games or language games without the value of personal relevance are simply tasks to be completed. Personalization sparks long term commitment by the consumer for a healthy brain.

Author:  FitBrains, 28th February 2008

Mark Baxter, Fit Brains and the Power of FUN!

Hello!  My name is Mark Baxter, and I am a Co-founder and the Vice President of Product Development here at Fit Brains.  I have a background in Psychology and have over 8 years of experience in the Games & New Media Industry creating top-quality games for broad audiences, including several hit titles on entertainment portals including Shockwave, Yahoo! and RealArcade.

I will be regularly blogging on a variety of perspectives related to Health and Entertainment, with a significant focus on Brain Fitness.  As such, I will be exploring topics relating to Psychology & Mental Wellness, ‘Serious’ & ‘Casual’ Gaming, and Online Social Communities.  Serious Games – defined as interactive content that uses entertainment for the purpose of education and/or training – has only recently gained wider acceptance with the advent of industry gatherings like the Serious Games Initiative in 2002.  This genre is growing quickly and covers a wide range of topics, including: education, corporate training, health and environmental awareness, to name just a few.

Increasingly our society is becoming aware of a concept that has long been at the foundation of effective children’s education: fun can be a great motivator for learning and growth!  Fortunately, at Fit Brains we very much believe that the value of fun as a motivator applies to adults as well.  If we can make important aspects of our daily routine more accessible and engaging, we are more likely to do things we might not be as motivated to do – especially items like long-term health goals that are often difficult to maintain.

For instance, do you have greater interest in enjoyable physical activities like golf or rollerblading, or a prescribed fitness regimen?  Are you more likely to stick to a diet with food that’s healthy but bland, or food that’s healthy and tastes good?  For most, the answers to these questions are self-evident; any task that can be made more enjoyable will also be easier to integrate more consistently into our daily lives.  In the coming weeks and months, I will be exploring a variety of ways that Serious Games are gaining mainstream acceptance, and also take a look at the growing body of research that demonstrates their value in our everyday lives.

We believe that entertainment is a great motivational tool for healthy living.  Our goal is to provide you with a wide variety of entertaining games & activities that have a solid foundation in cognitive science.  At Fit Brains, we harness the power of FUN to help you keep your mind healthy and sharp!

 

Author: Mark Baxter, FitBrains, 3rd December 2007

Brain Health Lifestyle #1

Mental Activity 

By now you are well aware of the importance and power of “brain reserve,” the buildup of protective neuronal connections across the lifespan. Brain reserve is one outcome of brain health and is believed to be able to delay the onset of neurodegenerative disease such as Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). I have proposed a five factor brain health lifestyle that includes Socialization, Physical Activity, Mental Stimulation, Nutrition, and Spirituality. Each of these major factors is critical to the health of everyone. As an integrated and proactive lifestyle, the activities and behaviors within each factor can help to shape a healthy brain, beyond what is generated from a passive brain.Mental Stimulation is one of the major brain health lifestyle factors. Most people think of the brain as a cognitive or thinking system. While this is certainly true, your brain is far more than simply a thinking system. Your brain is responsible for your emotions, movement, sense of well being, imagination, creative and artistic side and so much more. The brain as a thinking system is certainly well accepted and deservingly so.Research has underscored particular activities that reduce the risk of dementia (brain healthy) and fit well into the mental stimulation slice of my brain health lifestyle. These include:

• Reading and writing
• Learning a second language
• Sign Language
• Travel
• Board Game Playing
• Computerized Brain Exercises
• Puzzles
• Musical instrument playing

Obviously, FitBrains provides an important tool and resource for you to stimulate your brain on an ongoing basis. The key element to making mental stimulation a brain health activity is to engage in the “novel and complex.” Tasks that represent the novel and complex for you probably will stimulate your cortex and lead to the development of new neural connections. This is what leads to the buildup of brain reserve. In this scenario, mental stimulation using activities such as FitBrains can be considered a health promoting activity, and one that should be included in a proactive brain health lifestyle.

Author: Dr. Paul Nussbaum, FitBrains, 17th December 2007

Down Time for Your Brain

Dr. Nussbaum has used this blog to articulate his five part brain health lifestyle for all to consider. These five components include Mental Stimulation, Physical Activity, Socialization, Spirituality, and Nutrition.  Research has provided specific activities and behaviors that fall into one or more of the five components of the lifestyle. The critical thing for readers is to review their own lifestyle currently and try to incorporate the research based activities into a proactive approach to brain health. Spirituality is a broad term that I use to refer to turning inward, slowing down, and introspecting. This process of slowing down may be important to brain health as research indicates animal brains stop developing when exposed to environments that are too stimulating. Baby boomers, those born between 1946 and 1964, are notorious for a fast-paced life with multitasking and stress production. While this type of lifestyle may be necessary at times, it also has its consequences, particularly on health.

Dr. Nussbaum supports 30 minutes a day to slow down, turn inward, and to simply turn off the environmental input. This might actually include turning your phone, ipod, and other communication device off! Research indicates slowing down can reduce stress which may then have positive effects on both the heart and the brain.

Daily prayer enhances the immune system, attending a formal place of worship relates to a longer and happier life, and U.S. physicians indicate prayer is important to the overall wellbeing to their patients. Meditation and relaxation procedures have also been shown to relate to positive health outcomes. These and other ways of simply slowing down are both advised and necessary.

Have a great night sleep!

Author: Dr. Paul Nussbaum, FitBrains, 25th January 2008

Brain Fitness Roadmap – Past, Present and Future

As we enter a new year, I like to reflect on the past year and what that means for the one ahead. It’s been five years that I have been developing the brain fitness market, and have seen a lot of changes – both positive and negative. When I first started, there was minimal interest in the concept of exercising your brain. In the last two years however, there has been an explosion in interest from adults of all ages and media coverage and I have been interviewed by leading publications such as the Wall Street Journal, NY Times, Women’s Health.

This has been great news for both the industry and the general public. We are witnessing a shift in society, and a general awareness about the importance of brain fitness. We saw a similar shift in the 1980s with the physical fitness movement. Researchers and the medical profession pushed the positive health benefits of physical activity, but it took a while for society to fully integrate physical exercise into daily life. Thanks to recent scientific research we now know that the brain is malleable and we can build brain connections at any age. Just ten years ago, this was not thought possible.

Nintendo has also helped open up the brain fitness market with their extremely successful Brain Age game. This has, of course, created numerous copycats and flooded the consumer market with one-off and weak products. Yet, I am thankful to Nintendo as they were able to bring awareness of brain fitness to the general public. They had seen the success of their game in Japan and realized there was an aging population worldwide. In addition, they had the resources to market Brain Age and tap into this underserved area. Many people in the scientific and brain fitness community scoff at their game, finding it scientifically weak and a disservice to the consumer. I would have to agree that their product is scientifically weak and I have many of my own complaints. However, Nintendo has hit on something that I understand. They implemented the concepts of “engagement” and “fun factor” and it is one of the main reasons for their success.

So, what does this mean for 2008 and the next five years? There are those who say that the brain fitness market is becoming saturated and is in its later stages. I have seen the market develop up until now, and couldn’t disagree more. Brain fitness is still in its infancy and will see real growth in the next five years. Awareness about brain fitness has now passed the tipping point but we are still falling short in the area of “adoption” into our daily lives. The companies that truly understand what individuals are looking for will be rewarded with enduring customer loyalty. For us at Fit Brains, we believe the “adoption” of brain fitness will be answered through “relevancy”, “motivation” and a “fun factor”. Yes, it is possible to have fun and be scientific too – it just hasn’t been done! Some doctors and people might argue this, but it’s the key to full integration into daily life. People don’t stick with things they don’t enjoy, especially things like long-term health goals that are often difficult to maintain. If we can make an important aspect of a daily routine more accessible and engaging, people will be more likely to do them.

The team here at Fit Brains is extremely excited about 2008! We plan to have our first launch very shortly. Fit Brains will provide a full and varied brain workout that is fun and engaging. We hope people of all ages adopt a brain fitness routine so that we can keep our most important asset strong and healthy!

Author: Michael Cole,  FitBrains, 7th January 2008

Playing Computer Games – impact on health (part 2)

Mental Health

Photosensitivity

A well established negative consequence of computer game play in epileptic individuals is the risk of seizures in those who are photosensitive. Seizures are more likely to occur at times of high-intensity flickering images and scene changes, however, these seizures were a chance occurrence in the studies undertaken. Goldstein (2003) dismisses this affect as it is non-attributable to everyone but those who are photosensitive.

Computer games are not the only things that have a risk factor for photosensitive individuals. Some TV shows like MTV’s animations have flashing images and lights, so do most action movies and even mood beams (plastic characters which emit coloured lights) come with warnings for epileptics.

Brain Activity

Evidence has shown a change in brain activity while playing computer games which suggests a positive affect. The hormone and neurotransmitter, dopamine, has been found to be released in humans during computer game play through ‘goal-directed motor’ tasks in Koepp et al. (1998).

‘It has been suggested that such dopaminergic neurotransmission is involved in learning, reinforcement of behaviour, attention and sensorimotor integration, which is known as effective learning’ (Underwood et al. 2007)

This is an area which requires further exploration as it is relatively new in medical research.

In Japan, scientists and the university in Tohoku, in 2001 made claims that computer games stimulate areas of the brain which do not help in the development of the frontal lobe, which controls behaviour, memory, emotion and learning. Instead they stimulate areas which are devoted to movement and vision, which are not as crucial in a child’s development as the frontal lobe.

Researchers are concerned by this, including Professor Ryuta Kawashima who believes:

‘… children must be encouraged to practice basic mathematics, as well as learning reading and writing which also boost the frontal lobe. He is convinced that children who play video games excessively will not develop their frontal lobes and will consequently be more prone to violent acts, as they will be less able to control their behaviour.’ (ZDNet.co.uk 2001)

Later in Japan in 2004, Brain Training for the DS was launched, a game based upon Kawashima’s research which targets the frontal lobe of the brain, the area of crucial importance in human development.

Research into the brain over the last quarter of a century has uncovered an important characteristic of the brain termed neuroplasticity. This is the ability of the brain to regenerate brain cells and effectively reorganise itself. A common metaphor for this is ‘rewiring’ but this does not accurately portray the brain’s malleability. The brain regenerates and reorganises itself dependant on the stimuli it receives.

This leads us onto the research of social psychologists who show that people from different cultures actually think differently. The environment we live in does affect how our brain develops. Steven Johnson (2005) picks up on this and discusses the digital divide between generations who have been brought up with technology and those who have not. The ‘digital natives’ simply think differently, they have been exposed to digital technology at a very young age and their brains have developed accordingly. This is a much debated topic in current talks between researchers from many fields.

Mental Health Games

Biofeedback and affective games are increasingly emerging in the market, which promote mental health in their players. Games such as Luminosity, Brain Training and Journey to Wild Divine encourage mental health through stimulating certain parts of the brain. Some promote learning and literacy, some cognitive ability and others help to control emotions and stress.

Other games are now being developed to promote mental health in teens and children who suffer from emotional issues like depression. Earthquake in Zipland is one such game which helps children to deal with their parents divorcing.

Violence & Aggression

Violent ad aggressive behaviour was mentioned previously in the physical health section of this text, however, the origin of this behaviour is mental health. Discussed above in brain activity is the affect a person’s environment has on the brain and subsequently behaviour development.

This involves not only the person’s daily activities but also their social experiences with family and friends and of course their childhood experiences.

There is much debate about violent and aggressive behaviour in children and it is easy for people to blame computer games, especially shooters. On the positive side, however, the point of catharsis has been mentioned. This point argues that computer games actually dispense of aggression and violence in the form of pent up energy, decreasing the need for people to act out in their behaviour.

Most children do understand the difference between games and real life, and violent behaviour is only developed in those with more vulnerable personalities. There is evidence in the US that the rate of violent crimes has actually decreased in the same duration of time that computer game playing has increased.

A lot of the assertions that computer games promote violent and aggressive behaviour are not based on empirical evidence, but the issue is more and more reflected upon as computer games are developing more realistic violent representations. There is currently an idea afloat on ‘backward causation’ which suggests that children who show aggressive behaviour may be more attracted to play computer games which simulate violent behaviour. Any evidence linking computer game play to the cause of aggressive behaviour is tainted by this backward causation notion. Additionally, most research is based upon fantasy or virtual violent behaviour and not real life behaviour, which nullifies the claim that games promote aggressive behaviour and supports the catharsis hypothesis.

Attention Spans

A common opinion of young adults today is that they are rude and have very short attention spans. They lose interest and patience easily when it comes to traditional teaching. When it comes to activities that do interest them, such as playing computer games, communicating on the internet or listening to music, they become completely engaged and can spend hours doing these activities. Prensky (2001) brings up a good point:

‘Is it that they can’t pay attention or that they don’t? … Traditional training and schooling just doesn’t engage them. It isn’t that they can’t pay attention, they just choose not to.’

While on the subject of attention spans, within the recent decade, two syndromes have emerged; attention deficit disorder (ADD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which was known previously as hyperactivity. Both of these disorders are diagnosed in a vast number of young children and many are prescribed medication for treatment. The diagnosis of many children is not always correct as symptoms can be confused with current digital native behaviour, for example, multitasking, doing a lot of things at one time may seem like the child can not concentrate on one thing at a time for a prolonged period.

‘Determining whether a child’s attention deficit is a result of illness or of boredom is not always easy, and we don’t always get it right. But even when we do, interestingly enough, it is video games – the holders of even these children’s attention – that are increasingly used to retrain children’s brains and help them concentrate…’ (Prensky 2001)

Therapy

Prensky in the previous quote picks up on the fact that computer games are now more and more being used for therapy of disorders which are thought to be initially related to the play of computer games. There are games which promote focus and concentration skills in children, just like there are games for all kinds of health, physical and mental, issues.

Computer games can not only be used as a therapeutic activity, but it is becoming increasingly known of their use within therapy sessions with children. For example, they can be used as a form of ice-breaker between therapist and patient, as they create a social plane on which the two can communicate. They can also make it easier for therapists to receive cooperative behaviour from patients, as the child is more likely to accept the therapist, thinking they are ‘cool’ and ‘with’ the technology trends. Not only can computer games be used in these ways, as an ‘ice-breaker and rapport-builder’, but they can also create a situation which enables the therapist to deduce the child’s cognitive and behavioural performance, including; problem solving abilities, their ability to predict consequences and their actions prior to them, the ways in which they release aggressive energies, their level of control, they way they deal with winning or losing, their enjoyment of cognitive activities, their visual working memory and their hand-eye coordination, and also the ways in which they organise and strategise their objectives.

Conclusion

When it comes to assessing the effects of computer game play on health, both physical and mental, one must be aware that this is a relatively new field which is being researched by people from many different industries. A lot of studies carried out are not based on empirical evidence and it is difficult to deduce anything for certain without concrete evidence. Press bias further distorts from the reality and the emergence of new types of computer games nullifies previous claims, as these were made on traditional game genres.

Of course it is given that when health is concerned, a balanced lifestyle is the way forward. Parents should be encouraging their children to take part in physical activities outside, just like everyone is encouraged to exercise and engage with the outdoors. However, just because people spend some time of the day indoors playing computer games, does not necessarily mean they are doing something detrimental to their health.

The director general of Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), Roger Bennett, commented in an interview against claims of computer games causing brain damage, back in 2001:

“For too long now, our industry has been the target of ill-informed criticism and scaremongering… We want to help those who weren’t brought up on computer games to understand this exciting new medium and the part that it can play in a healthy balance of learning and leisure activities for all age groups.”

Communities have been forming over the past couple of decades, as this topic has been increasingly discussed, and groups such as the Serious Games Initiative and the Games for Health conferences have been providing insight into this area, with research, development projects and services.

Author: Alexandra Matthews, Gaming & Learning

Copyright Gaming & Learning 2008

Playing Computer Games – impact on health (part 1)

The effects of computer game play on health is a vast and highly debated area. More so now that studies have uncovered more positives than before. One point worth mentioning here is the reluctance of the press to report on studies of nil findings which may cause bias towards papers of findings of negative effects. One must not trust everything one reads as there exists the natural urge of the press to write with the aim to shock or intrigue their readers.

Again, this text hopes to simplify the areas of discussion, as they do overlap and relate to one another. This post will first look into the physical health effects of computer game play and the issues discussed surrounding it. This will include addiction, violence and aggression, as although these are also mental issues, they have simultaneous effects on physical health. After the physical health aspects are unravelled, the text will move on to the examination of debated mental health matters.

Physical Health

Addiction

Marc Prensky in his book Don’t Bother Me Mom I’m Learning (2006) brings up Dr. David Walsh’s ideas around computer games and addiction:

‘Walsh uses the term “addiction” incessantly, never mentioning that there may be other factors than games, such as co-addictions or addictive personalities, which lie at the root of many people’s problems… he doesn’t mention or explain that a number of other pastimes, such as competitive sports, produce the same effects.’

Walsh shares his views with many other critics, however, more recently, issues have emerged which nullify the accusation that computer games promote addictive behaviour. For example, Prensky above says that Walsh fails to mention the number of other activities which have the same effect and that addictive behaviour is more likely to result in people who already suffer from addictive personalities. These people are susceptible to all types of addiction. Computer games do not promote addiction in those who are not susceptible.

Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome

A British Medical Journal, published in early 2002, included a letter about a 15 year old boy who developed an injury know as hand-arm vibration syndrome. This injury is commonly associated with people who use handheld vibrating tools excessively, such as pneumatic drills. According to the publication, the boy developed the symptoms of the syndrome after playing up to 7 hours a day on his PlayStation controller with the rumble option enabled.

Sony responded by saying that consumers must adhere to manufacturer’s recommendations and stress to take breaks after every hour of play. Sony thoroughly test their products, however, this is the first time they have encountered a case like this one.

Many controllers incorporate force feedback technology and all are optional, as it can be disabled and enabled with ease. As with any product, manufacturers do provide recommendations for the use of their products. With excessive use, as reported in the mentioned publication, it is inevitable that there will be consequences.

Death

A few cases of death have been reported in the press, all linked to excessive play of computer games. In 2002 a man was found dead in the toilets of a cybercafé in Kwanju, South Korea, where he was said to be previously glued to a computer, deprived of proper nutrition and sleep. Earlier in the same year, a mother in Louisiana sued Nintendo who allegedly caused her son, a 30 year old, to suffer seizures and consequently death. He was said to play an average of 48 hours a week.

Violence and Aggression

Violent and aggressive behaviour not only negatively affects the lives of the people who act out the behaviour, but also the people around them.

Dr Craig Anderson is one man who believes:

‘… violence in media causes violence in people who use those media. While most of his evidence is based on studies of TV, some involve games.’ (Prensky 2006)

It is not surprising that children who are exposed to a lot of violence in their lives are more likely to show violent and aggressive behaviour. This reflects the ‘nature or nurture’ debate and all boils down to parental responsibility. It is argued that parents have the responsibility of regulating the types of media content available to their children. As is the same with movies, computer games come with age and content notifications.

However, it does not all remain on the parents’ shoulders, as each and every child is different. Many understand that computer games are fictional and that such behaviour in the real world is unacceptable. Others, who are more susceptible to the influence, much like addictive behaviour, may have different reactions.

A point that is made by Prensky (2006) is that research studies, like Anderson’s, only measure the effects of computer games on violent and aggressive thoughts and behaviour, in the short term. Whether these behaviours are caused in the long term is still highly disputed, and of course, other activities show the same effects, such as rugby or football.

Emes 1997 cited in Prensky 2006 provides evidence of computer game playing being a ‘beneficial coping strategy’ as the activity encourages the release of aggressive energy.

Serious Games & off-the-shelf Games

In the 90s, along with the increased ability of games to provide more realistic graphic scenarios and the failure of edutainment to demonstrate profitability, a re-examination of the idea of games for non-entertainment purposes occurred. These games were later coined a ‘serious games’ by the development of the Serious Games Initiative in 2002.

Serious games have been used as tool to train personnel in a vast number of occupations, brought on by their ability to simulate real life situations. These games are incredibly popular within sectors which provide jobs of high risk, for example, the military. Employees become more skilled through practice in the virtual world.

Serious games have been used throughout healthcare to train staff, as therapy for patients or tools to enhance therapy.

Ben Sawyer from the Serious Games Initiative commented during an interview about the use of off-the-shelf computer games by surgeons and how the activity has improved results in healthcare.

‘Dr. James Rosser at Beth Israel Medical Center in NY is using games like Silent Scope and Super Monkey Ball as warm-up exercises before laparoscopic surgeons begin operating. The early results show this to be highly beneficial to their work.’ (Sawyer 2004)

Dr Rosser also found through study that surgeons who played computer games at a young age made on average 40% less mistakes during surgery. Games such as Silent Scope and Super Monkey Ball encourage steady and accurate balancing movements and help to warm–up and focus surgeons before performing intricate surgery.

Concerning children and health, exercise, obesity and nutrition are currently hot topics in the media. There are serious games available designed to educate and inform children on these subjects.

‘Depression and suicide? There are games for that too. Juvenile diabetes? Yep. Phobias? Smoking? Social adjustment? Safe sex and preventing socially transmitted diseases? Dealing with divorce? There are games for all of those.’
(Prensky 2006)

There is evidence supporting the benefits of playing health related serious games, such as the results of Debra Lieberman’s work, which show that:

‘Kids with chronic conditions who played the disease management games at home for six months reduced their urgent care and emergency visits by as much as 77 percent, while there was no change in clinical visits for kids who played non-health related entertainment video games at home for the same amount of time.’ (Prensky 2006)

Health and wellness is a much discussed area even within the game industry, with internationally renowned annual conferences such as Games for Health.

Exercise

Common opinion in the anti computer games camp is that they encourage laziness instead of physical activity. However, games have changed greatly, especially in the last decade, and we are now witnessing the emergence of games which actually promote physical and cardio-vascular exercise.

Games like Dance Dance Revolution, EyeToy and Yourself! Fitness. Wii Sports also encourages physical movement, especially boxing and tennis, and even more so with the new Wii Fit. There is even a Wii healthy website (www.wiihealthy.com) which introduces Wii Fit and also provides 10 week workout plans for weight loss with Wii Sports. Some schools in the UK have even incorporated the use of the Wii into their PE lessons to encourage those students who would normally skip the lessons, to get fit.

In a study carried out in 2007 by Liverpool John Moores University, researchers, lead by Professor Tim Cable, compared levels of activity in gamers using the active Wii controller compared to gamers using traditional seated and inactive joypad-controlled consoles. Results showed that more active gameplay, such as that of the Wii, increased energy expenditure high enough to help burn calories and increased heart rates to values of 130 bpm compared to the inactive controller’s result of 85bpm.

Optical Aptitude

A research group at the University of Rochester have carried out studies of visual stimuli in action games and the effects game play has on optical aptitude.

‘… people who played action video games for a few hours a day over the course of a month improved by about 20 percent in their ability to identify letters presented in clutter—a visual acuity test similar to ones used in regular ophthalmology clinics.’ (ScienceDaily 2007)

Computer games of the action genre improve bottom line standards of players on traditional eye charts, also improving both centre and peripheral vision. These results suggest that similar games can be made for those that suffer specific visual imparements, such as amblyopia, to increase their optical acuity.

Professor Daphne Bavelier, a member of the research group on brain and cognitive sciences stated:

‘These games push the human visual system to the limits and the brain adapts to it. That learning carries over into other activities and possibly everyday life.’ (2007)

Distraction

Handheld computer game consoles have shown to be incredibly effective distraction tasks for children who suffer from skin ailments and self-afflicted harm like neurodermatitis. An 8 year old boy was given a Gameboy as a distraction element to stop him picking at his face and causing more damage. It was a highly effective strategy and consoles, like the Gameboy, are now used increasingly for the same distraction purpose.

Nintendinitis

There have been many cases in medical literature on other negative effects of computer game play, including auditory hallucinations, enuresis, encopresis, wrist/neck/elbow pain, tenosynovitis (also called ‘Nintendinitis’) and peripheral neuropathy. Some of these effects are very rare and symptoms were treated by simply not playing the games which caused them.

(see part 2)

Author: Alexandra Matthews, Gaming & Learning

Copyright Gaming & Learning 2008

Video games now in gym class

Years ago, gym teachers waged a war with video games, blaming them for turning children into couch potatoes.For hours on end, children were glued to their seats while their fingers ran rampant over controllers. That all changed when physical education teacher Don Prorok’s brother bought a Nintendo Wii over the summer.“I was playing in the garage and I was tired and sore all over,” Prorok said.When the school year began, Prorok and the other gym teachers at Chelsea Intermediate School wrote a grant proposing to buy the Nintendo Wii systems to implement into the physical education curriculum. The interactive video game forces players out of their seats and makes them use their arms and legs, which allows for a cardio workout.

Prorok said that convincing administration wasn’t difficult at all.

“They loved it and they were right on board with it,” he said. “Our administration really supports us in what we do.”

The school bought seven systems with 28 controllers, also purchasing Wii Sports game that comes with tennis, bowling, boxing, baseball and golf. The whole school can use the systems, but the gym classes have priority.

Fellow gym teacher Kay Elam said that they were all excited about the game because it brings technology into the classroom and helps develop positive attributes in the children.

“It’s developing more sportsmanship and comradery among the kids,”she said.

Fourth-grader Hannah Stovall said she received a Nintendo Wii for Christmas and that she enjoys the active games.

“I like that you don’t have to do it with the controller, you can actually use motion,” she said.

Madeline Vaughan enjoyed the Wii system for very different reasons.

“I think its the ability to play video games at school,” Madeline said, laughing

Prorok said that incorporating the video game into the curriculum was his way of trying to be innovative, as well as beating the enemy at his own game.

“They’re going to play video games anyway, we might as well steer them to the right ones,” he said.

John McGinn, also in the fourth grade, said that he enjoyed how active the game was and how fun it was.

Steven Ogbonna said he enjoyed how life-like the game was.

“Its how real life, it’s real actual physical education,” he said.

Prorok said that another reason he brought the Wii system into the school is because of the friendliness of the game.

“That’s why I love Nintendo games, there not like shooting games,” he said. “I mean how can Mario be mean?”

Author: Shenequa A. Golding, Southtown Star 20th January 2008