Video Games Cheat

We’ve all heard the many sayings from our parents: “Stop playing video games, they’re no good for you” or “If you keep playing video games you’ll become stupid!” I’m here to prove these wrong. Video games are not always mindless graphics put onto the TV or computer for your child to become zombies. Video games can have a lot of positive effects in all actuality.

There are two major positive things video games do: provide interaction and inspire creativity. Each has different effects on the child. Taking a look at both and really understanding them could help parents make the right decision about video games.

First we have provide interaction. It is just what it says. The video game provides a way for the child to interact with something. It’s a lot better than just watching some TV show or movie. They’re not sitting there mindlessly. They actually have to think about what they’re doing. A lot of games provide a surprisingly entertaining and educational amount of problem solving in them. This is very good for stimulating the child’s mind and getting them to think out of the box. It’s a much easier process to get them to do this than a bunch of pointless word problems for homework.

How do you know this is interaction is positive? Look at the most recent television shows for kids. Most if not all of them have the child interacting in some way. Some shows get the kid to dance, to jump, to move in some way. Some ask them questions or have them singing along. The list goes on and on of how they benefit the child’s learning. Lots of video games are like this. Even non-educational video games provide a healthy amount of learning and exercise for the mind.

More importantly, for me as a writer, I find that video games provide a great amount of inspiration in creativity. I grew up playing video games. It’s not the only thing I did, I wasn’t just sitting on the couch all day playing them, but I did play my fair share. Did it have a negative effect on me? I think not. I did well in school regardless of the video games. I stayed healthy regardless of the video games. I took up an interest in writing from the video games.

Video games present a lot of information to kids. In my case, and probably like many others out there, I was inspired by them. I took plots, characters, worlds and everything I loved about them and started to write my own things. They made me be creative and develop my own stories to tell. At first it might have been similar adaptations to the game since I was young and still not that experienced in writing and reading. But like books, video games helped me develop my ideas in my head and focus me on a path of motivation and creativity.

I hope parents don’t stop their kids from playing games. They should allow them to but of course with supervision and direction. Not every game out there is good for a kid. Parents should know what their child is playing. They should look into what the games are about. They may help the child in more than an educational way. It could make them be a more creative person, even boosting their self-esteem and interest in writing and the arts as it did for me. The parent should even try playing the video game. It’s never too late to be inspired by them.

Jake Rose is an artist and an author on http://www.Writing.Com/
which is a site for Creative Writing.

Share This

When one thinks of video games, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Graphics, sound, etc., but certainly not music. Because of the major technological advance within the 10 years, video games and music is something that now walks hand in hand. The more complicated and realistic, the better the music will be.

In the early days of videogames, music played no great part when it
came to playing a game. Sounds were used simply to illustrate actions.
Take for example Pong, one of the original commercially available
computer games, developed in the 1950’s. It comprised of two ‘bats’
represented on screen as rectangles and a ball. The object was to play
a kind of tennis game, while bleeps represented the ball hitting the
bat. The game was basic but it caught the imagination of players
around the globe. In 1972 the Magnavox Odyssey was released in the US,
the first games console ever made. However it was a completely silent
machine. It was not until Atari released the Atari Video Computer
System in 1977 that sounds really made impact upon games. These were
still only very basic sound effects though.

What came next could be described as the beginnings of video game
music. Space Invaders, a basic arcade game arrived with a menacing
tune set to put fear into its players. The tune actually became more
frantic as the ‘Invaders’ came closer to their goal, while the player
tries to destroy them. This had the effect of raising the blood
pressure and heart rate of its players, absorbing them fully into this
world. The game was phenomenally successful due to the fact it was the
first interactive audiovisual game that made its players feel an
adrenalin rush.

Over the next 10 years, games were to become more sophisticated along
with their sound tracks. Through the eighties, well known games such
as Pacman, Donkey Kong and Tetris all arrived with unique soundtracks
played through low-tech sound processors. Individual composers, such
as Shigeru Myamoto, creator of music for the Zelda series of games,
became recognised through their work on games, and in 1989 Michael
Jackson saw the potential video games had for promoting music,
releasing his own title, Moonwalk. It featured synthesised versions of
Billie Jean and Beat It. He was to pave the way for many artists who
have contributed to computer games in more recent times.

It is indisputable that since the release of the Playstation, Sony has
dominated the games industry, with Nintendo lagging behind. The newest
console from Sony, the Playstation 2 does everything the PSX did, but
with much improved graphics and sound, and a DVD player. It can be
connected to the net for online gaming and web browsing. This machine
is a true multimedia system. Nintendo has caught up slightly with the
game cube, and Microsoft has made their entrance with the X-Box, both
offering high quality sound and visuals. Sony’s success can be put
down to the fact they applied quality music and video to their games
from the start.

With CD quality sound now commonplace on consoles, the music within a
game is no longer limited to synthesized sounds. This allows the game
environment to become more atmospheric. This also means well known
music can be placed within a game. When Sony released the play station,
it was not long before they released their groundbreaking title,
Wipeout. This game was a high energy racing game, accompanied by a
fast and thrilling soundtrack featuring such artists as the Chemical
Brothers, Orbital and Leftfield. Within the game it was possible to
select the track you wished to be heard as you raced through winding
tunnels and over vast canyons. The music in this game was possibly
more important than the game itself, and indeed the soundtrack was
released as an album. This illustrated the soundtracks importance
within a game, akin to film music, and paved the way for musicians’
involvement in the games industry. The follow up titles in this series
also involved acts such as Prodigy, Underworld and in the most recent
version, DJ Sasha. A host of acts have appeared on games since. Mogwai
created the soundtrack for Actua Ice Hockey 2 and Ash earned ?600,000
in royalties for their track on Gran Turismo. Grand Theft Auto is
known for its in game radio stations, and Grand Theft Auto 4: Vice
City, Interactive eighties themed version of the game boasts several
selectable radio stations with a variety of artists from the Eighties
including Gary Newman and Blondie Again the soundtrack to this game
will be released as an album. So it seems that, as the case is with a
good film, the soundtrack to a game provides as much of the experience
as any graphics.

The music industry is set to benefit from this relatively new medium.
Artists being heard on games are able to promote their music directly
at their target audience, 18-25 year olds, while collecting royalties
from the sale of the game. The artist’s appearance also works as
promotion for the game, meaning the two industries work well together.
Music is also significant as far as determining the quality of a game.
The soundtrack plays a very important role; similar to the way it
works in film. However, there are of course, major differences between
games and film In fact it seems the music within a game is more
important than it is in film, interacting with the players reactions
and completing the full experience.

Over the next few years, consoles such as the Playstation 2 will start
to integrate more in homes, becoming as common as items like video
players or stereos. This new entertainment system encompassing
audio-visual playing with multimedia capabilities will replace the
need for such items. It is important therefore the music industry
keeps up with this medium in order to continue benefiting from it

Mary Anne Winslow is a member of Essay Writing Service counselling department team and a dissertation writing consultant. Contact her to get free counselling on custom essay writing.

Share This

If you’re like most parents, you’re probably confused over the number of reports that argue against the use of video games as entertainment. Some of the information in these reports is quite convincing. After all, they’re written by psychology experts, child educators, and social science professors from esteemed colleges or other similar institutions. And the arguments presented within these reports make sense. They’re based on years of research and they may even resonate with experiences you’ve had with the children in your very own social circle.

On the other hand, it’s important that some of this information be taken with a grain of salt. Rarely will you see a report that argues on the side of video games, and that outlines the positive attributes that time spent with a Nintendo system or Sony Playstation generates. With all the negativity surrounding these products, one could easily think that Nintendo and Sony were evil manifestations of the devil himself! But this couldn’t be further from the truth.

The Nintendo system and Sony Playstation are mere platforms for video games that range from educational lessons to downright questionable material. We can’t argue against the latter. There *are* some inappropriate video games in the public, but does that mean parents have ban the entire video gaming industry altogether?

Absolutely not - and to do so, in our humble opinion, would be detrimental to childhood development. That’s right - detrimental. We don’t believe this claim is a leap of faith, because just as there are reports that dissuade video gaming, there is a tremendous amount of evidence that suggests why video games are an important part of growing up. This evidence points to things like hand and eye coordination, the ability to focus, perseverance, and improving problem solving skills.

This evidence should give parents a bit of comfort in knowing that the gaming industry in itself is not the issue. The issue is instead, the parents’ choice of video games that are allowed in the home.

Buy Video Games, get Online Video Game Rentals on our site.

Share This