Some of these stories are incredible shocking and somewhat sad, In South Korea, there is a guy who played the game "Starcraft" to death. Another example is someone in Japan let his "real life" friend borrow his online account and the borrower changed the password in order to have control of the online character. The owner's friend was murdered later that week by the owner. Assumptions are always made that games bring a negative influence. This is only affected by the type of games one plays and how he interprets the game.
The real question that no gamer can answer to himself is how? How can these games become so addictive? How do video games create a compulsive behavior that makes the gamers stay glued to the screen? And do these companies try to create this affect?
The answer is simple: yes;,companies try to create this affect eventually.
Companies such as Pop-Cap which is mainly responsible for games like "Bejeweled" and other games. A big tactic that is used for these games is releasing a demo version that is available for free, but in order to play the full version, you need to pay, results in becoming a big hit. This triggers the gamers to want the game more now that they have had a "taste" but not the whole meal.
Although I believe that no video game producer sits down on his chair and tries to find ways to make the gamer addicted, but they always produce a product that is interesting which then links to the Addictiveness. Afterall, producing video games is a business and the more popularity the game have, the more income goes to the company.
So what makes games addictive? Well from a personal standpoint of being addicted to video games such as "World of Warcraft" and "Call of Duty," a new feature is taking video gaming to a new level. Xbox 360's LIVE option is now the most popular way to communicate to other players around the world. Instead of having a social life, gamers just take the time to socialize during the video games through the online connections.
So are these games bad? Well personally, I believe video gaming does get to the point of dangerous just like everything else in life. People give blame video games for things like school shootings, violence, and anti-social kids. But since these video games are becoming more popular, people sometimes forget the affects of drugs or home lifestyles. Games like "Grand Theft Auto" can lead to making someone more violent or develop different ideas, but the gaming can't take all the blame. If it was true that video games like these make kids more violent, there would have to be million more violent cases and murders. The problem begins with the parents or how they are raised and their beliefs. Personally, I have played "Grand Theft Auto" and I don't feel any actual pleasure or desire to shoot a gun. I acknowledge that it is a video game and that it is not realistic. When people ask me if I think video games are dangerous I think more of the social affects that they have on people. These games separate kids from their friends and parents and take advantage of the “online world.”
Surprisingly, there is a good side to video games. One can say that kids playing video games get them away from drugs or from the negative environment they live in. Others say that videos game that are sports related develop hand-eye coordination. Although I believe that this is true, I think that playing the actual game is the best way to develop these skills. The military now uses 3-D virtual games which try to simulate the battlefield or how they would react to certain situations. So this brings me back to my main point, there are thousands of video games that all differ from one genre to the other. Calling video games a "hazard" is an overstatement. It all depends on what the gamer plays and how he interprets the game.
The home environment, and the neigborhood and school environment as well are the real danger.
On the other hand, my sons had learned English because of Zelda and Final Fantasy that stimulated them to do that in order to understand the game, and there are lots of video games that are based in very good stories with the greatest moral values.
The only thing that is really dangerous is the effects of the over-exposure for our health, but all the consoles give us very good advises to avoid that, in their handbooks -specially preoccupyng is epilepsy-
To rest half an our for every hour you play is good enough to avoid health problems.
Very good article, my congratulations, keep writing, you are good