ONLINE GAMES 22nd/ 26th MAY, 2017 ITALY

The History of Games The history of games date to the ancient human past. Games are an integral part of all cultures and are one of the oldest forms of human social interaction. The common features of games include uncertainty of outcome, agreed upon rules, competition, separate place and time, elements of fiction, elements of chance, prescribed goals and personal enjoyment. Games capture the ideas and worldviews of their cultures and pass them on to the next generation. Some of the most common pre-historic and ancient gaming tools were made of bone.

The history of video games goes as far back as the early 1950s, when academic computer scientists began designing simple games and simulations as part of their research. Video gaming did not reach mainstream popularity until the 1970s and 1980s, when video arcade games and gaming consoles using joysticks, buttons, and other controllers, along with graphics on computer screens and home computer games were introduced to the general public. Since the 1980s, video gaming has become a popular form of entertainment and a part of modern popular culture in most parts of the world.

The first video and computer games, such as NIMROD (1951), OXO (1952), and Space war! (1962), were for one or two players sitting at a single computer which was being used only to play the game. Formerly, playing games was complicated, now games became a way better, there are a lot of types of games, different animations and different gaming technologies.

Today board games are forgotten and replaced with online and video games. Today teenagers are not even interested of the games that were played 20 years ago. At present, they are only interested in the video or online games. Unfortunately, if the old games are be forgotten, the history of playing board games will slowly be forgotten with them too.

The Results of the Survey I have questioned 45 people of 3 different age groups, I can even divide them into different generations. They were all given the same 12 questions. Having analysed the answers of the questionnaire, I can make a conclusion on how people of different generations think about online games. I’m going to talk about them here. I won’t say random things, I will only say what the statistics show. A great difference between the elderly, the parents and the teens is obvious.

Teens (1) All teenagers of nowadays are familiar with board games or online games. 14-18 year old teens don’t seem to be interested in board games; they are more likely to like online games. Most teenagers think that games have changed the way they communicate. Or should I say not communicate? Because it looks like games made teens unsociable after they were introduced to the “virtual world” (aka games). They don’t seem to be admitting that games have affected their mental states but according to the statistics online, we can say that today’s teens are more depressed, anxious, more likely to be aggressive and not sociable as I’ve already mentioned.

Teens (2) Only 1/3 of them answered that online gaming hadn’t changed the mental states of the ones who play. I was not surprised about the teens saying that they have got smart gadgets because even a 5 year old can be carrying a smartphone and it isn’t surprising nowadays. Most teens have said that games help with education. And, sadly, all of the questioned ones said “yes” when they were asked if they know a person who is addicted to playing games. All 15 people agreed that games are popular between teenagers. A lot of teens said that it depends on the type of games whether it makes the person violent or not. So, we can assume that teenagers these days like games and are not bothered about the consequences of playing too much or playing the wrong kind of games.

Parents/Grandparents (1) These statistics are very similar so I will put them together. Of course, all of the 30 people, who were questioned, have played board games, but not all have been introduced to the online game world. Almost all of them agreed that online games have changed the way teens communicate among themselves and their parents. There is less communication left between teens and playing games online for too long not only interrupts with their daily activities but also it had affected their mental states.

Parents/Grandparents (2) All of the people from parents’ generation say that they have got smart gadgets or devices and a big percentage of the elderly say that they have also got smart technologies. Their opinions stood out when it came to the question if games help teens with their education: most parents say that it depends on the game and the grandparents say that games don’t help teens with their education at all.

Parents/Grandparents (3) More than a half of the questioned parents/grandparents have agreed that a person can get addicted to playing games, and, sadly, they know people that have already become addicted to playing games. Almost all of them say that violence outbreaks develop depending on the game genre. None of the elderly seem to like online games. Most of the parents don’t like games too. It was a 50/50 answer when it came to the question if games are harmful to people’s health in general: some say “yes”, some say “no” and some say that they don’t know. And the last question (if games are popular these days) was a big “yes” from both generations.

To sum up: We can say that parents/grandparents do not like games and they surely don’t like the influence of games on teenagers. The opinions about online gaming are different between the teens, the parents and the grandparents. Games to teens are a fun time hobby (to some they are as a daily routine to play for hours).

For parents they cause a huge headache (because they see and realise the threatening situation that their child is becoming addicted, unsociable or doing bad at school). For grandparents it’s also infuriating because teens and kids in general don’t have a childhood or adolescence, according to them children waste their time in vain while playing games. Speaking about me, I agree with the parents because I know a lot of cases when online games have ruined teens’ lives. So, I it’s obvious, online gaming has fundamentally changed teenager’s cultural behaviour.