The Psychology of Video Games

The Psychology of Video Games PDF Author: Celia Hodent
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000194760
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 105

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Book Description
What impact can video games have on us as players? How does psychology influence video game creation? Why do some games become cultural phenomena? The Psychology of Video Games introduces the curious reader to the relationship between psychology and video games from the perspective of both game makers and players. Assuming no specialist knowledge, this concise, approachable guide is a starter book for anyone intrigued by what makes video games engaging and what is their psychological impact on gamers. It digests the research exploring the benefits gaming can have on players in relation to education and healthcare, considers the concerns over potential negative impacts such as pathological gaming, and concludes with some ethics considerations. With gaming being one of the most popular forms of entertainment today, The Psychology of Video Games shows the importance of understanding the human brain and its mental processes to foster ethical and inclusive video games.

The Psychology of Video Games

The Psychology of Video Games PDF Author: Celia Hodent
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000194760
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 105

Get Book

Book Description
What impact can video games have on us as players? How does psychology influence video game creation? Why do some games become cultural phenomena? The Psychology of Video Games introduces the curious reader to the relationship between psychology and video games from the perspective of both game makers and players. Assuming no specialist knowledge, this concise, approachable guide is a starter book for anyone intrigued by what makes video games engaging and what is their psychological impact on gamers. It digests the research exploring the benefits gaming can have on players in relation to education and healthcare, considers the concerns over potential negative impacts such as pathological gaming, and concludes with some ethics considerations. With gaming being one of the most popular forms of entertainment today, The Psychology of Video Games shows the importance of understanding the human brain and its mental processes to foster ethical and inclusive video games.

Getting Gamers

Getting Gamers PDF Author: Jamie Madigan
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
ISBN: 9781538121337
Category : Video games
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
A psychologist and life-long fan of video games helps you understand what psychology has to say about why video games and mobile game apps are designed the way they are, why players behave as they do, and the psychological tricks used to market and sell them.

The Gaming Mind

The Gaming Mind PDF Author: Alexander Kriss
Publisher: The Experiment + ORM
ISBN: 161519682X
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 259

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Book Description
Are videogames bad for us? It’s the question on everyone’s mind, given teenagers’ captive attention to videogames and the media’s tendency to scapegoat them. It’s also—if you ask clinical psychologist Alexander Kriss—the wrong question. In his therapy office, Kriss looks at videogames as a window into the mind. Is his patient Liz really “addicted” to Candy Crush—or is she evading a deeper problem? Why would aspiring model Patricia craft a hideous avatar named “Pat”? And when Jack immerses himself in Mass Effect, is he eroding his social skills—or honing them via relationship-building gameplay? Weaving together Kriss’s personal history, patients’ experiences, and professional insight—and without shying away from complex subjects, such as online harassment—The Gaming Mind disrupts our assumptions about “gamers” and explores how gaming can be good for us. It offers guidance for parents, clinicians, and the rest of us to better understand the gaming mind. Like any mode of play, at their best, videogames reveal who we are—and what we want from our lives.

The Gamer's Brain

The Gamer's Brain PDF Author: Celia Hodent
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1351650769
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 387

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Book Description
Making a successful video game is hard. Even games that are successful at launch may fail to engage and retain players in the long term due to issues with the user experience (UX) that they are delivering. The game user experience accounts for the whole experience players have with a video game, from first hearing about it to navigating menus and progressing in the game. UX as a discipline offers guidelines to assist developers in creating the experience they want to deliver, shipping higher quality games (whether it is an indie game, AAA game, or "serious game"), and meeting their business goals while staying true to their design and artistic intent. In a nutshell, UX is about understanding the gamer’s brain: understanding human capabilities and limitations to anticipate how a game will be perceived, the emotions it will elicit, how players will interact with it, and how engaging the experience will be. This book is designed to equip readers of all levels, from student to professional, with neuroscience knowledge and user experience guidelines and methodologies. These insights will help readers identify the ingredients for successful and engaging video games, empowering them to develop their own unique game recipe more efficiently, while providing a better experience for their audience. Key Features Provides an overview of how the brain learns and processes information by distilling research findings from cognitive science and psychology research in a very accessible way. Topics covered include: "neuromyths", perception, memory, attention, motivation, emotion, and learning. Includes numerous examples from released games of how scientific knowledge translates into game design, and how to use a UX framework in game development. Describes how UX can guide developers to improve the usability and the level of engagement a game provides to its target audience by using cognitive psychology knowledge, implementing human-computer interaction principles, and applying the scientific method (user research). Provides a practical definition of UX specifically applied to games, with a unique framework. Defines the most relevant pillars for good usability (ease of use) and good "engage-ability" (the ability of the game to be fun and engaging), translated into a practical checklist. Covers design thinking, game user research, game analytics, and UX strategy at both a project and studio level. Offers unique insights from a UX expert and PhD in psychology who has been working in the entertainment industry for over 10 years. This book is a practical tool that any professional game developer or student can use right away and includes the most complete overview of UX in games existing today.

Mind At Play

Mind At Play PDF Author: Geoffrey R. Loftus
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Video games
Languages : en
Pages : 210

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Book Description
Analyzes the fascination of computer games, discussing reinforcement, the arcade subculture, etc.

Video Games and Well-being

Video Games and Well-being PDF Author: Rachel Kowert
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030327701
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 176

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Book Description
This book examines how video game mechanics and narratives can teach players skills associated with increased psychological well-being. It integrates research from psychology, education, ludology, media studies, and communication science to demonstrate how game play can teach skills that have long been associated with increased happiness and prolonged life satisfaction, including flexible thinking, openness to experience, self-care, a growth mindset, solution-focused thinking, mindfulness, persistence, self-discovery and resilience. The chapters in this volume are written by leading voices in the field of game studies, including researchers from academia, the video gaming industry, and mental health practitioners paving the way in the field of “geek therapy.” This book will advance our understanding of the potential of video games to increase our psychological well-being by helping to mitigate depression, anxiety, and stress and foster persistence, self-care, and resilience.

Glued to Games

Glued to Games PDF Author: Scott Rigby
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 0313362254
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 201

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Book Description
This book offers a practical yet powerful way to understand the psychological appeal and strong motivation to play video games. With video game sales in the billions and anxious concerns about their long-term effects growing louder, Glued to Games: How Video Games Draw Us In and Hold Us Spellbound brings something new to the discussion. It is the first truly balanced research-based analysis on the games and gamers, addressing both the positive and negative aspects of habitual playing by drawing on significant recent studies and established motivational theory. Filled with examples from popular games and the real experiences of gamers themselves, Glued to Games gets to the heart of gaming's powerful psychological and emotional allure—the benefits as well as the dangers. It gives everyone from researchers to parents to gamers themselves a clearer understanding the psychology of gaming, while offering prescriptions for healthier, more enjoyable games and gaming experiences.

The Video Game Debate 2

The Video Game Debate 2 PDF Author: Rachel Kowert
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000224287
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 160

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Book Description
This student-friendly book provides an accessible overview of the primary debates about the effects of video games. It expands on the original The Video Game Debate to address the new technologies that have emerged within the field of game studies over the last few years. Debates about the negative effects of video game play have been evident since their introduction in the 1970s, but the advent of online and mobile gaming has revived these concerns, reinvigorating old debates and generating brand new ones. The Video Game Debate 2 draws from the latest research findings from the top scholars of digital games research to address these concerns. The book explores key developments such as virtual and augmented reality, the use of micro-transactions, the integration of loot boxes, and the growth of mobile gaming and games for change (serious games). Furthermore, several new chapters explore contemporary debates around e-sports, gamification, sex and gender discrimination in games, and the use of games in therapy. This book offers students and scholars of games studies and digital media, as well as policymakers, the essential information they need to participate in the debate.

The Engagement Game

The Engagement Game PDF Author: Jamie Madigan
Publisher: Simple Truths
ISBN: 9781492697176
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
What if all workplace cultures were as well-crafted as video games? Effective workplaces and popular video games have a lot in common. The things that make employees happier, more motivated, and more productive leverage the same underlying psychology that makes video games engaging, but sometimes the lessons for work are easier to see when presented in the context of play. The Engagement Game is a leadership and management book that shows how organizational culture and leadership can be super-charged by applying the same principles that video game designers apply when creating a new game. This quick, one-hour read will show you how to do this by blending industrial-organizational workplace psychology with insights on good video game design. This will help you become a better leader, manager, coach, and coworker. You don't have to be a hardcore gamer to benefit from this book. It is for anyone looking to create a positive work experience for their team. This book covers topics including: How games lay out their tasks, goals, and challenges so that they motivate people to do amazing things The ways in which games encourage problem solving and growth mindset Why expanding skills, building self-confidence, and finding opportunities to innovate feel so natural to those who play a lot of games How social information is framed in games so as to engender fruitful competition and cooperation What multiplayer games can tell us about building cohesive, high-performing teams How to create shared experiences and values that can craft a great organizational culture and shared expectations for the right kinds of behaviors Which is all to say that you could learn a lot from video games about how to be an effective leader and manager. Ready? Game on.

The Video Game Debate 2

The Video Game Debate 2 PDF Author: Rachel Kowert
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000224244
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 130

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Book Description
This student-friendly book provides an accessible overview of the primary debates about the effects of video games. It expands on the original The Video Game Debate to address the new technologies that have emerged within the field of game studies over the last few years. Debates about the negative effects of video game play have been evident since their introduction in the 1970s, but the advent of online and mobile gaming has revived these concerns, reinvigorating old debates and generating brand new ones. The Video Game Debate 2 draws from the latest research findings from the top scholars of digital games research to address these concerns. The book explores key developments such as virtual and augmented reality, the use of micro-transactions, the integration of loot boxes, and the growth of mobile gaming and games for change (serious games). Furthermore, several new chapters explore contemporary debates around e-sports, gamification, sex and gender discrimination in games, and the use of games in therapy. This book offers students and scholars of games studies and digital media, as well as policymakers, the essential information they need to participate in the debate.