27-06-2012, 12:57 PM
Games A New Medium Emerges People Play
Games A New Medium.pdf (Size: 949.72 KB / Downloads: 23)
Not quite true, Marcus. Research in game
play theory and practice indicates that
computer games do affect children – and
adults, as well – helping them to learn,
socialize, surmount cultural differences,
conduct business and, believe it or
not, make the world a better place.
Social Value
While millions of consumers spend
billions of hours just playing –
Microsoft Xbox Live has more than 6
million members worldwide –
millions more are turning to games
for more than entertainment.
Take the U.S. military. As many
as 100 video games currently are used
in military training programs, and
in 2006, the Department of Defense
reportedly allocated $120 million for the
From the Mouths of Babes
UCI Professor Patricia Seed first
realized the potential of computer
games when she saw her then
8-year-old son engrossed in a
game set in the Middle Ages.
“His vocabulary included words like
‘arquebus’ and ‘paladin.’ Watching him
and seeing how much he was learning,
I thought, ‘this is clearly working.
He’s learning and I’m not forcing it
down. He thinks it is great fun to
learn all these interesting things.’”