EEG News

Science Seeks Answers to Effects of Game Play

There's long been talk about the effects of video games on players, but scant little actual research that could test anything other than behavioral signs (i.e. how you respond to people after playing). Scientists are now looking for ways to measure more accurately how interactive entertainment affects players, according to this BBC News story.

Dr Thornton's research with Dr Jon Purdy involves measuring mood with psychological questionnaires, and using computer software, they can monitor alertness and cognitive function.

"We are also measuring heart rate to look at how games activate human bodies and analysing spit for hormones", said Dr Thornton. "We are hoping to be able to compare that with sportsmen and women playing physical games."

I'm always skeptical of any research that proposes to definitely answer a question, but it's certainly interesting to see the body of actual scientific knowledge growing around the game industry – particularly since, as the BBC News also points out, the gaming industry grew 100 percent over the last six years in the United Kingdom.

Interactive technology – whether it games, mobile computing, or desktop applications – are pervasive, and while I'm a firm believer that this is, in and of itself, nothing to be worried about, it's certainly good to know that there are actual scientists who trying to figure out what this might mean for us.

Genome Gets Game Boost

The Human Genome Project is getting some much-needed help from game developers-turned-science- geeks who devised analysis tools for teams analyzing human DNA, according to this Wired News article.

What these folks are finding out – and what consumers electronics people have known for years – is that gaming technology sits on the cutting edge of what we can do with graphics, rendering, processing and user interface. The reason the industry is racing past the $11 billion benchmark is because companies spend loads of time and money pushing current technology over the side of the cliff.

Once the industry's stigma fades away, people will begin to harness the power being created to change the way we learn, communicate and play.