Facinating Facts About Video Games

Sun, 25 Mar 2007 23:21:03 GMT

clipped by: missangelyss

In the original Space Invaders, the fact that the aliens started moving faster the more of them you shot was actually a bug. On the monitor, the screen refresh rate was linked directly to how many graphics were on the screen at the time - so the fewer aliens there were, the faster it was to draw them, and the faster they moved.

Pac-Man was originally called Puck-Man, from the Japanese word "paku", which means to open and close one's mouth. The name was changed for fear that when the game was released in the US, pesky teenagers would find it entertaining to amend one of the letters and create a more amusing name. Can you guess what that word was, kids?

The first video game death was in 1981, when 19-year-old Jeff Dailey died of a heart attack while playing Berzerk. This isn't the only death to have occurred while playing this game, either: 18-year-old gamer Peter Burkowski managed to get himself in the high score table twice in 15 minutes and then promptly collapsed.

Tags: video games, facts

Why Do We Play Video Games?

Thu, 15 Feb 2007 18:21:27 GMT

clipped by: missangelyss
clipper's remarks: I thought this was interesting. Yet, I have to agree with many of the comments to this article which say that it's splitting hairs to say that the reason we play games is the positive feelings it generates. Doesn't that mean it's fun?

Clip Source: blog.wired.com

If you've ever been asked why you play video games so much, and you answered, "Because they're fun," it turns out that you are, in fact, a damn dirty liar. According to a study published in the January issue of Motivation and Emotion (sounds like a chick mag to me...all those feelings), video games can fulfill a number of psychological needs, opportunities for achievement, freedom and even a connection to other players. Surprisingly, "fun" was found to be a far less motivating factor.

"It's our contention that the psychological 'pull' of games is largely due to their capacity to engender feelings of autonomy, competence and relatedness," said Richard Ryan, lead investigator for the study. Ryan also suggested that gaming can "[enhance] psychological wellness, at least short-term." So next time your girlfriend accuses you of spending more time with the PlayStation than you do with her, just tell her it's for health reasons.

Tags: video games, psychobabble

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Facinating Facts About Video Games

Why Do We Play Video Games?