How has the Internet Evolved the Videogame Medium?

In this chapter we review and discuss the impact of mass adoption of the Internet and its assorted technologies is having on the evolution of the videogame medium. Specifically, we reflect on how the Internet has enabled the creation of novel game platforms and types, triggered the improvement of game development process, expanded the game audience and increased innovation in game creation. Crucially, the Internet has transformed videogames into a massive socialization platform with far reaching consequences into society and economy.

Meaningful Video Games

The development of more meaningful video games is becoming increasingly possible by recent advances in video game technologies, neurosciences, and biofeedback. In the near future, meaningful video games will be designed to facilitate personal-psychological transformation. Unlike “serious games” that focus on education and “conditioning” the mind, meaningful games will cultivate emotional intelligence, somatic awareness, and archetypal integration in order to “un-condition” the mind and thereby facilitate psychologically meaningful personal transformations. Meaningful game research will access the dynamics of psychological transformation in order to enhance archetypal awareness, intuition, and insight on the part of players. Within the genre of meaningful video games, Drama-Based Games (DBG) add an unprecedented dimension for psychological engagement and decision-making. Because they extend psychological player immersion to the dimension of “physical” interactivity, (DBG) incorporate the full range of psychological functions defined by Carl Jung. Because psychological experiences are correlated with physiological processes, DBG may be used as research instruments for quantifying diverse biometric-psychological interactions that occur during game play. Advances in electronics now enable the real-time and non-intrusive capturing of physiological data such as brain waves (e.g., electroencephalography), heart-rate variability, skin response, and facial expression. This data can provide an objective basis for measuring dimensions of the cognitive unconscious in test subjects as they respond to game experiences. The ultimate goal of research is to provide veridical data relative to the psychological parameters of an increasingly mediated global environment—a Psychecology—and to study the ensuing world-view.

The Contribution of Videogames to Anti-Social Attitudes and Behaviours amongst Youngsters

Using questionnaires and interviews, the video-gaming habits of 136 youngsters, ranging from the ages of 9 to 15 years, were assessed, taking into consideration their age and gender. It was found that many youngsters are playing games which are not appropriate for their age group, and that long hours are spent at computer screens on these games without parental control or supervision. In fact, most parents do not even know what games their children are playing never mind whether they are rated as suitable for their age group. In addition, differences between boys and girls were significant, allowing us to confirm that boys prefer more action-oriented games while girls choose simulation games. Although the small-scale nature of this study does not allow us to generalise its conclusions, its findings are relevant and can point the way for future studies of this type. The centrality of video games in the lives of children and teenagers today is such that these and the practices they engender need to be taken into account when considering the rise of anti-social, aggressive, and at times violent attitudes and behaviours amongst youngsters.

Mobile Gaming

The continued evolution of mobile technology provides for new means of interaction and engagement in our daily lives. The interconnectedness, availability, and rapid adoption of mobile computing means users can expect to have access to data and information on their terms. Likewise, games and means of play are increasingly common on mobile devices. This chapter seats a discussion of mobile game development within the context of place and space to reveal how we can improve our understanding of mobile interaction and begin to merge our view of physical and digital spaces. By applying the ideas of place and space to mobile game development, game applications can encourage users to broaden their view of the spaces around them and strengthen the developments of interactions in a mobile world.

Video Games as Aggregating Mediums and Resulting Products of Several Visual Communication Languages

Finally, we examine the importance and function of motion graphics inside the game experience and the game contexts in which this communication feature is applied.

Pluralistic Coordination

Two questions are examined. Why is coordination hard to achieve when teams are diverse? Are there conditions under which players of MMOGs can learn skills of effective coordination and transfer these skills to real teams? A pluralistic network is a social system in which people are committed to working together effectively despite cultural differences. A core set of eight practices enables a network to be pluralistic. An experiment with the World of Warcraft game confirmed that the game can significantly accelerate learning of those practices. To enable the skills to be transferred to the real world, the game must be augmented with a reflective learning environment.

Playing with Violence

This chapter intends to contribute to the clarification of the controversy surrounding the short-term effects of playing violent games [VG] on aggressive and prosocial behavior, aggressive thoughts, feelings, and physiological measures. An updated review of research on the effects of playing VG on the main variables under analysis is reviewed and some theoretical approaches, as well as methodological concerns, are addressed. Finally, questions that remain unanswered are discussed and future areas of research in this area are suggested.

Gamer Talk

A qualitative case study of student game play is presented, describing how game player communication becomes increasingly complex, efficient, and impenetrable by those who have not actively played the game. Transcripts of gathered video tape reveal how student ‘gamer talk’ became increasingly implicit, using terminology provided by the game and their shared context of playing the game. Over time, communication among game player group members generally became more efficient and less penetrable by members outside the group (such as new players), as players engaged in culture-building activities around their shared context. However, players occasionally became more explicit in their communication when grounding was required to reach shared meaning, such as in instances where players disagreed on the purpose of a particular game feature or strategy. Finally, implications are offered to suggest ways in which gamer cultures can be made more accessible to game designers and those guiding classroom interactions.

Questing for Standards

This chapter reports on movements toward de facto standards for role playing games in the freely accessible and configurable shared virtual environment of Second Life. All users can not only freely join, but also construct and implement role playing games of their own design. Consequently, new games are constantly emerging, and others either persisting or failing. The resulting body of practice has implications for business, technological, and social dimensions of computer games. To elucidate these implications, this chapter presents the case of the Role Play Nexus, a venue created for role playing game designers, managers, and players to share experiences, questions, resources, and proposals for sustainable ventures and communities in Second Life. Issues, controversies, and problems are identified, and solutions and recommendations discussed. Source material is drawn from transcripts of public lectures, discussions and demonstrations, from interviews, and from participant observation.

Law, Architecture, Gameplay, and Marketing

This chapter introduces readers to a broad range of legal issues relevant to game designers and developers touching such topics as intellectual property protection, player disputes, employment, licensing, and taxation. It provides an overview of relevant law, but primarily focuses on how to bring legal considerations into game design, software development, and business planning so as to minimize one’s legal risk. The Principle of Severability is also highlighted as a way to increase users’ willingness to contribute content; it is then extended to offer guidance in setting up a Litigation Savvy Development process.