The General Public, There Is Really No Exact Definition Of What A Game?

The video games of today take many forms, ranging from immersive fantasy worlds, to simple point and click programs with little, to no plot. Some games aim only to demonstrate an educational concept in a fun and interactive way, while others allow the player to step out of reality and enjoy a world of their own making. It is this wide variety of game types that makes it impossible to judge "video games" as a whole. For this purpose of this essay, I will acknowledge video games as belonging to one of two camps - violent, nonviolent, or educational.

The increasing popularity of video games has raised some concern in society. The question as to whether or not this concern is justified has been raised a multitude of times. However, it is reasonable to believe that video games’ impact on society is not a negative one as there are many beneficial aspects to gaming, there is no solid proof of issue with video games, and they are enjoyable.

The video games have been marked with a considerable advancement since its first introduction in 1970s. Emergence of the modern technology and social networks has enabled games to expand and explore new means and forms of its application (http://www.statista.com/topics/868/video-games/ ).

According to the article “Be a Gamer, save the world” by Jane McGonigal, in the world, we are living in, games are able to be the main element in answering to the challenges of the real world. Although, there are some people who think that playing a game is the waste of time and make mind to not work normally. There are quite a lot of people in the world that they are spending a lot of money and time for playing video games. It doesn’t mean those people who are playing games don’t care about real life and they don’t have any work to do, but they have jobs, children, parents and they are students in schools. Also, they have other life responsibilities to care about. There are some great points in the games that are beneficial for players.

Now that technological companies all over the world have set most of the seven billion individuals in the world with a computer, smartphone or tablet, it is time for better software to use with them. This is where games come in. Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello stated in a recent interview that PC gaming is the ‘fastest growing platform’. This shows the growing interest in gaming bearing in mind that gamers also have the means to play on. The term ‘gamer’ refers to an individual that plays a game or games, typically a participant in a computer or role playing game. The gaming community has grown so wide in the last few years because of the shift from single player games to multiplayer games on the internet

In “Why Games Are Good For You,” an excerpt from the book Everything Bad is Good for You: How Today's Popular Culture Is Actually Making Us Smarter, the author Steven Johnson defends gaming as a valid form of entertainment against its conventional opponents and delves deep into its benefits. Firstly, Johnson presents the old conventional argument of beneficial reading as opposed to the colossal time-wasting

Tom Bissell presents an article in 2010, to college students of which is “Why Video Games Matter.” Bissell isn’t intending for the argument to be about video game criticism, the history of the gaming, or an assessment of anything. On the contrary, he wants to articulate his own opinions and thoughts on what playing games feels like, why he plays them, and the questions they make him think about. Being a gamer myself, I have also endured the struggles of what being obsessed with a video game feels like. It is understood that when first purchasing a video game, all one thinks about is getting home and popping it in the console, disregarding everything else that is happening in the vicinity.

In the past 30 years, video games have had a major impact on how people spend their leisure time. The first generation of video games were nothing more than simple geometric shapes, one or more of which could be controlled by the game player. Each generation of games always uses the newest technologies available, leading to more impressive graphics and realism. Along with these modern technologies come more realistic violent acts and situations. Also with each new generation of video games, people are spending more time and money on them. The term video games will be used to define any interactive multimedia in which the human player has control over the main "character" in a simulated game world. This can include all types of video games such as those played on arcade machines, home consoles, hand-held consoles, and personal computers.

There are game-related controversies, such as they increase obesity rates, distract students from school work, and promote aggressive behavior. All of these issues are valid concerns for parents to have when deciding whether or not to let their child play. although there is no conclusive evidence to show that video games are a direct cause for these problems. In fact, the only support to claims against video games is that these traits are sometimes prevalent in young gamers.

Before one can begin to analyse games in terms of their engagement and participation qualities, a definition of what a game is and the characteristics that make them effective must be established. Koster defines games by saying they are, ‘iconic depictions of patterns in the world…games are puzzles to solve’ (2004, p. 34), indicating that games are simply non-threatening representations of reality designed to teach the player skills that they will first have to discover for themselves. According to Koster the skills games intend to teach are often, ‘things that we can absorb into the unconscious as opposed to things designed to be tackled by the conscious, logical mind’ (2004, P. 76) which is something that can be seen in both Guitar Hero and Candy Crush. On the surface, Guitar Hero is a game about being a rock star and playing music, but the way the game is played aims to improve hand-eye coordination

As we all know that "Video Game" or "Virtual Sport" is one kind of art. Earlier this form of art was used to only entertain people and it was a tool of entertainment and also for passing the leisure time. However, now-a-days, many video games are not just a tool of entertainment, but also a tool to reform a society. The mentioned games earlier in this paper are some of them. The video game developers of these games didn't make these games for money alone, but also with a view to change the whole society and create a better place to live all the individuals equally. These games convey a very important message to the students, parents and teachers. It focuses on the very important issues of our society. In some of the high schools, colleges of Netherlands and Switzerland, The course instructors of History courses instructs their students to play Assassin's Creed games rather than only focuses on class notes to understand and visualize the historical events very deeply. Same theory goes to the Psychology Department of educational institutes as well. They suggested to play the games like The Walking Dead, Life Is Strange to improve the style of thinking and positive decision making.

Gaming, a word known all too well and the availability of games is practically limitless, appeals to various age groups, genres, and consoles. Unfortunately, virtual games also have a stereotype unsuitably attached. When countless individuals hear the word gaming, they immediately tend to think it’s a waste of time and resources without comprehending the experiences or learning aspects. Some of the benefits of gaming include providing a creative outlet used to express oneself, can assist in developing improved multitasking skills, and sharpened eye-hand coordination. The gaming world, therefore, is more than what meets the eye.

It has been commonly agreed that “ The very first video games were the result of experiments and hobbies in the 50s and 60s, created within university confines” (Mirasol). The beginning of video games, similarly to the origin of all art, came about because humans were learning to express themselves in new and exciting ways. The college men were designing their games with as much devotion as the very first cave drawers, and because the origin of video games and the first art forms are so similar, than it is clear that videogames are an art form in their own right. Over time, as all things do, art began to change, and likewise, what was the definition of a video game began to change too, as the idea of what a screen based game could become came to light. In the beginning of its creation, the video game was just entertainment at its best, a means to escape the world for a short period of time.

Many Studies have been done trying to connect video games to major acts of violence or prove that they harm the brain, but because of the complexity of the issue few of them provide a clear answer.”There are millions of individual games, hundreds of distinct genres and subgenres, and they can be played on computers, consoles, hand-held devices, and phones.However, while it might be impossible to provide a simple answer to the question of whether or not video games are harmful, it is possible to gain a deeper understanding of how they might affect people.”,Game experts Daphne Bavelier and C. Shawn Green state, and because of the personal nature of how games affect people personally we should look at the effects on a more case to case

Games are compelling because it provides players several uses such as allowing players to pass time, to procrastinate, to cheer oneself up or to play just for enjoyment (Phillips et al. 1995). As an entertainment source, games allow people to enter a world of fantasy and escape the boredom of reality (Sherry 2004).