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Experts Tout Board Games for Fun Learning
Disconnect the Xbox, uninstall the computer game software and close the laptop. You want your child to have fun but learn at the same time, at a fraction of the cost? Play a board game, experts say.
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Researchers to Study Interaction in Virtual Worlds
Researchers at The University of Nottingham, SRI International in Silicon Valley California, two Canadian universities — Simon Fraser and York — and online games developer Multiverse are to begin a new three-year international project examining online behaviour in virtual gaming environments.
The Virtual Environment Real User Study (Verus) will explore the relationships between the real-world characteristics of gamers and the individual activities and group dynamics of their avatars in online virtual worlds.
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Combat Games Disrespect War Laws, Report Claims
Videogames should respect the real-world rules governing wars, a report has concluded, following research into how many videogames break them.
A study of 20 titles, including many from the Call of Duty and Tom Clancy series, carried out by Pro Juvenile – an organisation which aims to protect kids from unlimited videogame violence – and Trial, which fights to prevent people who commit war crimes getting away with it, found that most of the games contained “elements that violate… international standards.”
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Terror Research Focusing on World of Warcraft
The ways in which ordinary people play popular online computer game World Of Warcraft (WoW) – and go on in-game missions called “quests” – can be used to study how real-life terrorists operate, a recent groundbreaking study reveals.
The United States military and law-enforcement arms have taken an active interest in the findings, with a view towards developing better understanding of how terrorist groups form, operate and adapt to challenges.
The research is already being “fed into Iraq,” reported the Guardian newspaper.
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Research Jerking: Bad Guys in Games Exhibit Bad Behaviour
Stop the presses! According to The Statesman, the University of Texas has conducted two studies into computer game avatars and the sociological effects they have on game players.
The researchers have concluded that choosing a ‘negative avatar’ will make you more likely to exhibit aggressive and antisocial behaviour in the game. Well, what do you know?
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Michigan State Faculty to Investigate Exergames
Three Michigan State University faculty members received a $284,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to explore how digitally delivered games such as Wii Fit and Dance Dance Revolution can improve health.