Addictive Games

From the Angry Bird 3-stars mania, to Candy Crush Saga obsession, and then to the most recent Flappy Bird infinite sensation (and its clones), we can conclude that addictive games have their place in our heart; or at least in our smartphone. This pattern is obvious, addictive games are here to stay and will be continually appears in different form.

This actually sparked my curiosity, so I started to scout for articles related to addictive game. And I found this blog by NICK BILTON, Disruptions: Using Addictive Games to Build Better Brains, listed on the The New York Times. Apparently, there are researches and studies done on the effect of addictive games. Although the article did not provide details on how and what benefits do addictive games have on us, but at least it indicated video games does have the potential to “make our minds stronger, faster and healthier.” I guess we just need to stay tuned and see what constructive developments spur out from these researches.

Here is the [link] to Nick’s article.

Brain Training and Video Game

There are many categories of game in the market; "Casual", "Role-playing", "Strategy", just to name a few. When it comes to a video game pick with beneficial attributes, "Puzzle" type is probably the category of choice for most. This is because “Puzzle” tends to convey an image of brain-training, which is most certainly and proven to be true. A great example is Lumosity.com, a collection of neuroscience exercises that design to look just like “Puzzle” games.

With that being said, it is easy to overlook the others. Each type of video game provides different constructive element to the gamer, some of which are hard to notice. A recent research from Oxford University (summarized by Gamespot.com) mentioned that "Action" type games may help manage dyslexia, a condition of learning disability affecting reading, writing and spelling. [Here is the link to the Gamespot article by Eddie Makuch]

"Action" game requires the person in front of the screen to shift attention quickly between objects. This type of games consists of hundreds and thousands of visual and audio cues in order to keep the game engaging and refreshing. Simply put, it requires player to react quickly as sounds emerge and things pop up on the screen. Think about “Super Mario Bros.” The main point is to not only focus on Mario himself, but also other characters and objects appear from the right side of the screen; music and other audio clips also play the role of setting the tone and stimulation.