Video games reduce youth crime in Edinburgh

The Moredun area of Edinburgh has high youth crime rates. Motor vehicle related thefts are about double than the average of rest of Scotland.

The police in Moredun is taking a very unorthodox approach to reducing youth crime rates in the area. They are holding weekly video game tournaments between the local Police Youth Action Team and a group of about 30 local youths who are known regular offenders.

The results have been phenomenal so far. Before the tournaments began, the police received 92 complaints of youth crime per month. They now receive 53 complaints on average every month.

The Edinburgh police is considering rolling out similar tournaments across the rest of Edinburgh.

Video games bring families together

A recent study by The Entertainment Software Association found out that 35% of all parents play video games, and 80% of the game playing parents play video games with their children. Two thirds said playing video games with their children has brought the family closer together.

85% of the game playing parents also said the parents, not the Government or retailers, should take the responsibility of monitoring their kids' exposure to video games. 60% of the parents said it's not the Governments job to regulate games sales in order to "protect" children from violent or sexually suggestive video games. Given that 73% of these parents are regular voters, the various video game related legislative efforts might very well do more harm than good to the re-election efforts of politicians trying to score "easy" points with their constituents with video game related bills.

Exer-gaming helps you lose weight while gaming

Exer-gaming or exertainment is a term used for video games that also make you exercise.

The hit product of this genre of games is the Dance Dance Revolution franchise (DDR) first released in Japan in 1998 as an arcade game. Over 90 different versions have been produced since then both as arcade and video games on Sony PlayStation (original and PS2), Nintendo GameCube and Microsoft XBox. The video game releases alone have sold more than 2 million copies. DDR arcade cabinets can be found in regular arcade halls and increasingly also in fitness clubs.

DDR is a rhythm game usually played on a dance pad with up, down, left and right panels. The dance pad is set on the floor - the arcade cabinets have elaborately constructed sets that incorporate the dance pads sometimes with hand rails. The game will display the arrows in ever increasing speeds on the screen. The player is then supposed to hit the panels on the dance pad with their feet as they appear on the screen. The arrows are synchronized to beat of the music played during gameplay, so if the faster the beat, the faster the arrows will appear and if there's a pause in the beat, the arrows will also pause. The gameplay is not entirely unlike the classic 80s party game Simon.

The State of West Virginia recently made a decision to purchase Microsoft XBox video game consoles and DDR games for all of its 765 public schools to fight childhood obesity.

While DDR is the most popular of the rhythm game genre, as these games sometimes are labeled, there are a wealth of options to choose from. Following is a short list of examples from most of the different sub-genres:

• Britney's Dance Beat (yes, that Britney).
• Drumming games, which include a drum controller. The idea is still the same as DDR's, but instead of hitting the dance pad with your feet, you hit the drums with your hands.
• PaRappa the Rapper was probably the first rhythm game that attracted considerable support from gamers.
• Space Channel 5 was an extremely popular rhythm game on the Sega Dreamcast game console.
  
• Karaoke games are another popular rhythm game sub-genre. They can't really be labeled exer-gaming games though. Probably the most popular game in this genre is Karaoke Revolution.
  

Another major exer-gaming product group is exercising equipment incorporating games or connecting to video game devices. They either come with special software as in the case of the Peak Training System or various Tacx products designed for indoor cycling or just with the exercising equipment like The GameBike, which acts just like regular controllers on the PlayStation2 and XBox video game machines.

A very exciting new product group is made of devices that use digital cameras and motion recognition software to "see" how the players are moving and then translate them into movement of a virtual representation of the player. Applications range from virtual golf games and Kick Ass Kung-Fu to EyeToy (r).

Exer-gaming is one of the most quickly growing video game markets. The reasons are easy to understand when you look at the statistics of childhood obesity; 16% of boys and 14.5% of girls ages 6 to 11 were obese in 1999 and 2000. While going out for a quick jogging session might not appeal to children much, put them on a DDR dance pad with their friends, and the story is entirely different.

Here's an excellent roundup of exer-gaming.

Gaming for God - Christian online gaming communities

+CGO+ or Christian Gamers Online is a three hundred member online gaming community. The members are all actively religious Christians who love playing video games. For them online gaming is a great way to connect and communicate with fellow Christians, and also to spread the word of God.

Other Christian online gaming communities, such as Men of God International use online gaming primarily as a tool to evangelize. In fact, Owen Parker, of MGO, says "We're more than just a gaming clan-we're a full-blown ministry". They've essentially formed a virtual church with Sunday services, outreach programs and counseling services.

The emergence of these communities is explained by the increasing popularity of game playing and online game playing among Americans and especially young people. If there are missionaries in war torn places like Darfur and Afghanistan, why would online games be any different? Just like Parker of MGO explains, taking the ministry to the network-connected masses is just culture catching up with technology.

An online adult gaming community I belong to has a number of devoted Christian members. They hold regular Play and Pray nights on XBox Live.

The person who started the Play and Pray nights works as a Pastor of Media at a large church in North Carolina, where he oversees all broadcast and worship media, and graphic design and publication teams. He writes about the Play and Pray nights:

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I got the idea for ‘Play and Pray’ after I saw that several people in the online community I’m a part of were Christians, or at least interested in Christian things. I asked a few people if they would be interested in getting together before some games, sharing, and praying. We set a time and it happened. The Halo 2 Live interface really worked well, and when we got finished we launch into some custom games. We started meeting about once a week.

Later we started doing a Bible study as part of it. We even went through Rick Warren’s book, “The Purpose Driven Life”

The number of people who attending has ranged anywhere from 2 to 11. Not everyone who comes is a Christian, sometimes people just need some prayer and encouragement, or just to talk.

We are all just normal people with everyday problems, with one common factor: we love to play video games. The people who take part in Play and Pray get to know more about each other than their favorite gametype. They share real concerns and real joys. I have made some very close friends through this, even though I have never seen their face. The praying together brings us closer than simply playing together could.

It has never been my intention that this be anyone’s church. While this is a great thing, it can never take the place of attending church in person. That kind of corporate worship and interaction is just beyond the limits of the Live interface. But it is a very easy way for people who are interested in knowing more about Christ, but don’t want to go to a church, to be introduced to Christian ideas.

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A regular participant in the Play and Pray nights writes:

The main reason why I decided to give Xbox Live a try was because I wanted to get away from the rest of the world for a while and just relax, let me mind go, and just enjoy doing something that I always have fun doing: playing video games. To me, it was just a great stress reliever. Well, that seemed to turn around very quickly when I realized that my competitive juices were probably going to get the better of me, and not only that, everyone else that I played with just seemed to take the game WAY too serious. I can't stand listening to people curse, take the Lord's name in vain, and just have a flat out disrespect for everyone around them. Not to mention the cheating, cheating, and more cheating.

I had searched for "Christian Gaming" sites before, but I never found one that suited me at all. It seemed to be all about PC gaming, which I have never been a fan of. Sooner or later, I came to find the "Play and Pray" meet-up that took place at different times of the week. I was tripping out. I had been looking everywhere for some fellow believers who I could just have a great time with, play games, and just fellowship in the Lord.

I have never been able to make the majority of the meet ups, but when I have, it's been a real blessing and a real fellowship. It was never fake. Whenever someone can get on a service like Xbox Live, and have prayer requests, prayer time and Bible study, you know that it's real. Not being able to see these people, you really have to listen to what they are saying, and you feel for them and hurt for them when they go through struggles. "Play and Pray" blended worship and gaming, and that's not a bad thing.

I am thankful for the Lord allowing me to find the "Play and Pray." I have met some amazing people who love the Lord and just want to serve Him. But, like anybody, these people go through struggles and pains, and to have a place like Xbox Live where we can connect and speak to one another about our problems, it's truly an amazing thing. I know for a fact that if I have something going on and I need prayer, I can send a voice message to one of these people and I know they will lift up prayers for me.

That's great, and it's something that I'll always cherish.

Social commentary or art? Maybe both

Alex Chan, a 27-year-old Parisian of Chinese descent, lives in the North Paris suburbs rocked by the riots. He thought the coverage on the riots didn't quite capture the true essence of what was going on in his neighborhood. He decided to do something about it.

He bought the Lionhead Studio's new video game Movies and spent a week directing a 13-minute short film called The French Democracy using the video game. For $50 USD and a week of his time he was able to get his thoughts heard around the world. The return on investment can't get any better than that.

Using video games to make films is called Machinima. Chan's machinima creation may be the most well known, but the genre has been popular for quite some time.

Video games helping in disaster recovery planning

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is funding development of a series of video games designed to help prepare first responders to deal with different disasters.

The games are being developed by University of Illinois at Chicago and its The Center for the Advancement of Distance Education (CADE).

There are multiple benefits to using interactive video games for training such as this, some of which include reduced training costs, wider variety of scenarios available to trainees and better participation. The video games are not designed to replace existing training methods, but to supplement them.

Video gaming myths debunked

PBS has published an interesting essay on often cited myths about video games by Henry Jenkins, Professor of Literature and Comparative Media Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

None of the following eight myths are true according to Professor Jenkins:

1. The availability of video games has led to an epidemic of youth violence.
2. Scientific evidence links violent game play with youth aggression.
3. Children are the primary market for video games.
4. Almost no girls play computer games.
5. Because games are used to train soldiers to kill, they have the same impact on the kids who play them.
6. Video games are not a meaningful form of expression.
7. Video game play is socially isolating.
8. Video game play is desensitizing.

Who are these video gamers anyway?

The mainstream media and detractors of video gaming culture often refer to video gaming as somethings only kids do. The Entertainment Software Association publishes industry key figures yearly and they show a completely opposite view.

Here are some highlights. Please refer to the PDF file linked for a more complete picture.

The average age of a gamer is 30. 19% of gamers are over the age of 50. The average age of the most frequent game purchaser is 37.

The Ziff Davis Digital Gaming in America (DGIA) study lists mean income of $69K for computer gamers and $62K for video gamers.

Not only are gamers getting older, but they are getting increasingly affluent. Hardly the demographics for politicians to ignore and stomp on.

Fatal1ty - Professional Gamer

Jonathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel is 24 years old. He's been a professional gamer since 1999. He's made more than $350,000 in tournament winnings since he started. He's got a computer gaming product line licensing his name. He's the Tiger Woods of professional gaming.

To understand what professional gaming is all about, you have to understand the business side of it. There are 300 million gamers in the world, who will spend $34B this year on gaming hardware and software. By comparison worldwide box office ticket sales worldwide come to about $21B.

Fatal1ty competes in the Cyberathlete Professional League. CPL is sponsored by some of the biggest computer companies in the world, including Intel and nVidia. The 2005 CPL World Tour Finals in New York city later this year have a cash prize pool of $500,000. The finals will be covered by MTV.

CPL is only one of several similar professional gaming leagues. Probably better known is the World Cyber Games, sometimes referred to as the Olympics of cyber gaming. WCG runs national qualifiers, and the national champions compete in the WCG Grand Finals, currently happening in Singapore. 2006 Grand Finals are going to be in Monza, Italy. WCG's main sponsors include Intel and Samsung. The WCG Grand Finals has a cash prize pool of roughly $435,000.

To be successful as a professional gamer Fatal1ty trains 8 hours a day in his basement where he has 4 PCs networked together. He studies the games he plays, watches videos on his opponents to know their weaknesses and varies his gamestyle against different opponents to gain an advantage. Poker and football fans will instantly see a striking similarity to how professional poker and football players prepare for their games.

People don't call Fatal1ty the Tiger Woods of professional gaming only because of his gaming skills, but also because his business savvy. He's licensing his name to several computer manufacturers, which are putting out Fatal1ty branded computer equipment. Along with the hardware, he's got apparel and accessories on sale at his online store.

Time will tell if professional gaming will ever reach the popularity of professional sports, but professional gaming is booming right now. Prizes are getting bigger, more and more sponsors are interested, TV networks are competing to cover events and public interest is greater than ever. It sure isn't just for kids any more.

Update: Fatal1ty wins big in the CPL grand finals, which puts his total winnings for the season at $231K.

The 2005 Child's Play charity website is up

Child's Play is a charity founded by the Penny Arcade owners Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins (or Gabe and Tycho). In 2003 they had an idea to rally the video gaming community they had built around Penny Arcade for a good cause. They figured their 150,000 members would willingly and generously give to charity. And they were right. Through Child's Play people have sent nearly a million dollars in toys, games, and cash to the sick kids in Children'’s Hospitals around the nation.

Penny Arcade works with hospitals, this year for the first time outside of the US as well, and Amazon.com to set up Amazon.com wishlists for video games, toys, and movies. Donators can then go to Amazon.com and purchase items on the wishlist to be sent to the hospital.

Please give generously. I know I will.

Video games as a means to escape physical pain

Steven Burkeland has a club foot, a birth defect that has forced him to go through several surgeries, one of which left the nerves in his foot damaged. Apparently the nerves do grow back, but painfully so. Steven says he's happy just to be able to walk.

Steven's also an avid video gamer. He's 18 and has played video games since the age of 12. He says:

"In games, I can run, I can jump, I can play sports, and I can defeat fantasy creatures and save the world. Video games take my mind off my pain and allow me to live at least through the characters as a normal person."

His parents are well aware of his video gaming habits and when he was younger actively monitored his game playing. They also pay close attention to game ratings.

"Please, if you care so much about your children," his father said, "take a minute when you're with them buying games and read the rating box and why it's rated that way."

Steven maintains a role playing game site called The RP Site.

Overcoming physical handicaps and societal prejudices in Virtual Worlds

Wilde Cunningham is famous in Second Life, a popular virtual world game. He's well liked and respected. The story is quite different in real life.

Wilde Cunningham is actually a group of severely physically disabled people almost all of whom are confined into a wheelchair. Many of them can't use a mouse or a keyboard, so they require some help playing the game. The group takes votes on how to respond to situations presented in the virtual world, and their friend, an employee at the care center they're living, acts on what the majority decides.

They're using the virtual world as a form of therapy, a way to overcome their physical disabilities, but more importantly to communicate with "normal" people without the disabilities and prejudices getting in the way. They're also raising funds by keeping a virtual gift shop.

In real life "normal" people flinch at interacting with the Wildes. Their severe disabilities turn people off quite involuntarily. In Second Life they can walk, fly, talk, flirt and befriend "normal" people without the prejudices coming in between. It is impossible for the Wildes to get that level of interaction with "normal" people outside of virtual worlds.

Please read the four part article on the Wildes written by W. James Au. Also see Live2Give, a collaborative project to help develop an online virtual community for people dealing with cerebral palsy and similar physically disabling conditions.