Category Archives: Education

A study conducted by Texas A&M International University has found depression, hostility, and stress was diminished in male and female young adults who played violent games.

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Grade school children are being shown imagery from Grand Theft Auto in a project that is aimed at preventing them from becoming violent members of society.

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Assistant Telecommunications Professor at the University of Indiana, Lee Sheldon, has decided to switch out the traditional grading program in his two classes, and has replaced it with experience points.

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According to a study conducted by Denison University in Ohio, videogames can hurt knowledge retention in school and with homework.

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Remember last week when Big Brother’s Dr Linda Papadopoulos announced that she was set to release a report on children being sexualized in the media and videogames?

It’s been released.

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Epic has announced the winners of its Make Something Unreal contest, with the grand prize for the best mod created of UT3 using the Unreal Development Kit going to The Haunted by Michael Hegemann and The Haunted Team.

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Looks like those who plan on attending Cambridge University or just wish they could, will be able to study games, comics, and popular books alongside “time-honored classics” at a new children’s literature center.

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Research conducted by MyVoucherCodes has concluded that one in five ladies have dumped their partners because of gaming habits or excessive web usage.

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During the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo going on in Vegas alongside of CES, Ron Jeremy stated that since the porn industry only caters to those 18 and older, videogames were a far worse influence.

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Those that live in DC, near the US capital or who just fancy a road trip, will be pleased to know that the Smithsonian American Art Museum plans to host an Art of Video Games exhibit.

The game-themed showcase will “show the development of visual effects and aesthetics during four decades” of vidoegames.

Neato.

Bad news though – it won’t hit the museum until 2012. The world ends that year, ya know.

More through Joystiq.

The UK Government does not plan to provide tax relief to the country’s games industry, it was revealed today.

According to the Guardian, Chancellor Alistair Darling’s pre-budget report does not include measures providing tax breaks despite the sector pumping more money into the economy than the region’s film industry.

TIGA claims that this failure to introduce tax breaks will result in the sector’s decline, but at the same time, commended the government for its predicted £10 million investment in gaming centers of excellence in Dundee and Manchester – which are expected to create 30 new companies and 400 new jobs within three years.

More through CVG.

Activision plans to launch the ratings awareness program started by Vivendi in 2008, which will provide education and information to parents regarding children and the videogames they play.

Called The Ratings Are Not a Game, Dr. Cheryl Olson from the Center for Mental Health and Media at Massachusetts General Hospital will preside over the program, the purpose of which is to help parents make intelligent and informed decisions regarding games they allow their children to play.

“I’m pleased to partner with Activision on this initiative, and applaud their consideration for parents’ concerns,” said Olson. “As a parent myself, I know there are so many things to worry about and not enough time, especially during the holiday season.”

Also being used to promote the ESRB, seven videos based on different aspects of gaming are to be released. The first two will focus on using games to teach puzzle solving techniques, and how parents can identify age-appropriate games.

“These videos give practical research-based advice on how to help your kids – and your family – get more out of videogames, and how to watch for and limit electronic gameplay,” added Olsen.

Thanks, GI.biz.

According to recent report from the NPD Group, 44 percent of US consoles users are female.

Titled Gaming Device Profiles, NPD retrieved the data via an online survey completed by 20,893 participants in January 2009.

The study also concluded that 24 percent of gamers are between the ages of two and 12 years old, 20 percent are between 25-34 and and 35-44 year olds make up 17 percent.

The report also concluded that 32 percent of gamers own a Wii console, and 14 percent of those also own A PS3 and 26 percent an Xbox 360.

On the flip side, 360 gamers make up 20 percent of gamers, 42 percent of which own a Wii but only 18 percent own a PS3.

PS3 owners make up ten percent of all gamers, 42 percent of which own a Wii and 34 percent own an Xbox 360.

Full thing over on Edge.

Will Wright has spoken with the Chronicle of Higher Education regarding educational games and how valuable these products are to the learning process.

The games creator says that games are better at inspiring students to learn, rather than educating them.

“If you look at what people are doing with this technology it is, or has been, mostly directed at 12-year-old boys,” he said during a video interview. “But it has the potential to do a whole lot more.”

He says that games are created with more of the “idea” of being educational in mind, rather than making learning fun.

View the full thing through the link.

Via Kotaku.

Liverpool councilors wish to create a National Games Academy, thus making the city a thriving place for games development education, according to the Liverpool Daily Post.

The proposed £5 million Academy would offer art, business advice, high-speed links to MediaCity in Salford, intellectual property, programming and technology training, and work placement learning.

“The city region is the UK’s leading games developer catalyst and we need to capitalize on that,” said councilor Gary Millar. “The Games Academy has every chance of catching the imagination of the next generation of gamers and workers, and inspiring people to up-skill and get involved.

“It would also provide the employers with a hub for well-trained potential new employees with which they can grow their businesses.”

Bizarre Creations and Sony Computer Entertainment Studio Liverpool currently employ 1,500 folks in the city.

Via Edge.

The Joan Ganz Clooney Center from the Sesame Workshop has issued a report called Game Changer, and it states that the government and special interest groups should give gaming a little slack.

Instead, research should be conducted on the positive effect it has on children, because according to the report, games can be educational, physically, and beneficial when used in the classroom.

Sesame Workshop and the Ganz Clooney Center’s purpose is to “foster innovation in children’s learning through digital media”.

More through Kotaku.

The UK government plans to open a Usability Center for Video Games to offer training, development skills, and general knowledge to those who plan on working in the games industry.

It’s be located near the BBC’s MediaCity headquarters in Salford, Greater Manchester, and the government hopes the center will be “national resource” to “meet the industries’ needs”, and take advantage of the BBC’s Children’s and Sports Department, Interactive Education and Literacy Department, and R&D operations.

No word on when the ribbon-cutting will commence.

More over on Eurogamer.

Dr Richard Wilson, CEO of TIGA, has said that he welcomes the lessening of restrictions on Indie developers and feels small companies like this need to be nurtured.

The game-development trade association recently made it easier for smaller groups to join, and Wilson says each need a helping hand due to expense restraints.

“It is much more expensive and it requires many more people to develop a video game today in comparison with 20 years ago,” he said. “At the same time relatively small teams can now develop flash games or games for mobiles and be very successful.

“It is crucial that we nurture small start-up businesses, which is why Tiga made the strategic decision to welcome small developers into our membership.”

He also says that higher education will play a big part in the industry, and the government needs to step up to the plate in order for it to compete with global markets.

“UK higher education has an excellent record and broadly speaking we are second only to the US in terms of the quality. However we don’t spend enough on higher education, the UK currently spends about 1% of GDP, whereas the US spends 2.9%.

“Unless higher education is properly funded UK game developers and businesses in general will find it hard to recruit good quality staff.”

More over on IGN.

SCEE has launched a new online campaign to boost PSP’s popularity with children ages 8-15.

Called pspinyourhands, the community-focused campaign has interactive activities on the site and plans to run competitions ranging from free PSPs or a family holiday as a grand prize.

“PSP is going for a younger market, which isn’t something we’ve really done before,” said PSP product manager to New Media Age. “Our heartland is 16-24-year-old men and always will be — they won’t be neglected in the slightest.

“But the summer’s game releases, such as Harry Potter and Petz, as well as the launch of the new colors, are certainly appealing to an 8-15-year-old audience.”

More over on Edge.

Gearbox has posted a wanted listing for paid summer interns over on its site.

The Contractors of Gearbox Software program allows selected applicants to work with staff on titles currently in production.

You must possess previous experience in gameplay, level or mods design and cannot be currently employed with a development studio.

Submissions are being accepted on the Gearbox site until May 20. The intern program starts June 15 and may lead to a permanent placement at the Dallas studio.

Via Joystiq.