Thursday, November 27, 2008

TV, Games and Epilepsy

IncGamers favourite psychologist, Dr Guy Cumberbatch has shed some light on the relationship between epilepsy and videogames. Last week, we reported that a Swedish boy had suffered an epileptic fit after playing World of Warcraft ( Buy wow gold ): Wrath of the Lich King for 24 hours. After a hospital visit, a doctor said that the boy had suffered from high concentration, lack of food and sleep. We asked Dr Cumberbatch, director at the Communications Research Group, about the link between videogames and epilepsy, if indeed there is one. “There is such a thing as ‘videogame epilepsy’ which is really a special kind of epilepsy: photosensitive epilepsy triggered by flickering or flashing lights,” he said. He explained although flashing sequences in games can trigger epileptic seizures, the low refresh rate of a television is a more likely culprit, with the higher frequencies (75Hz to 100Hz) being favourable. Dr Cumberbatch also told IncGamers that Ofcom (the Office of Communications), the regulator and competition authority for the communications industry in the UK, has guidelines and rules relating to the degree of flicker on TVs. “Surprisingly, while Ofcom specifies what duration and frequency of flash or flicker is acceptable on broadcast television, the regulator seems to have forgotten to include videogames,” he said. “This really is an anomaly because, compared with watching TV, game players tend to get closer to the screen (too close!) which makes photosensitive seizures more likely.” “However, we need to remember that as a disease category, epilepsy is a fairly common disorder and most often appears in puberty where it is four times more frequent in boys than in the general population,” he continued. “This means that a fair number of young people will have their first seizure while playing a videogame simply because this is a common activity.” Dr Cumberbatch also explained that in cases where an epileptic seizure was recorded during gameplay, the most likely cause was fatigue from extended play sessions. He advises regular breaks while gaming.
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Posted by JImmy in 05:14:55 | Permalink | Comments (1) »

Excessive gaming not an addiction: Research

Washington, November 26: Majority of young people who seek treatment for compulsive computer gaming are not addicted, according to a research carried out by a treatment center which offers help to people addicted to video games.
Keith Bakker, founder of the Smith & Jones Centre in
Amsterdam, Europe’s only clinic for treating game addiction, has said that 90 percent of the people he sees are not addicts.
After treating hundreds of young gamers since the Smith & Jones Centre opened in 2006, Bakker now realized that instead of a psychological problem, compulsive gaming is a social problem that could be helped better by a stronger involvement from parents and teachers.
Since the opening of the clinic in 2006, Bakker, having treated a number of compulsive gamers, has found that only 10 percent of gamers are true addicts who show addictive tendencies to gaming, as one would to other substances, such as alcohol and drugs. Bakker thinks the traditional addiction counseling is not the way to treat the other 90 percent people who may spend four hours a day or more playing games such as World of Warcraft ( Buy wow gold ).
“These kids come in showing some kind of symptoms that are similar to other addictions and chemical dependencies,” he said. “But the more we work with these kids the less I believe we can call this addiction. What many of these kids need is their parents and their school teachers - this is a social problem.”
The clinic has started to alter its treatment program for the compulsive gamers to focus more on developing activity-based social and communications skills to help them rejoin society. Bakker suggests that parents can be the best solution for stemming excessive gaming.
“This gaming problem is a result of the society we live in today. Eighty percent of the young people we see have been bullied at school and feel isolated. Many of the symptoms they have can be solved by going back to good old-fashioned communication,” he added. “In most cases of compulsive gaming, it is not addiction and in that case, the solution lies elsewhere.”
Bakker suggests that compulsive gamers can leave gaming behind and rebuild their lives if we offer them a place where they feel accepted and where their voice will be heard.
Video game addiction, also called video game overuse, is a proposed form of psychological addiction composed of a compulsive use of computer and video games, most notably massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs).
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Posted by JImmy in 05:13:52 | Permalink | Comments (1) »

Sex text teacher told she faces jail

A PRIMARY school teacher who sent a series of sexually explicit texts to a 14-year-old boy has been warned by a judge that she may be jailed.
Lynn Walls, 42, began sending texts to the victim, who lives in
London, after making contact with him through the hugely-popular interactive computer game World of Warcraft. She also encouraged him to send graphic replies to her messages and described in disturbing detail what she would like to do to him.
Walls, who teaches at a primary school in County Durham, was arrested after the boy’s father found the texts and contacted police.
Yesterday Walls, of Rose Street East, Penshaw, Sunderland, pleaded guilty at Newcastle Crown Court to inciting a child to engage in sexual activity in November last year. She was remanded on bail after sentence was adjourned for a probation report.
Walls, who is currently suspended from her teaching post, was ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register. The length of time she must register will be determined when she is sentenced.
Judge Guy Whitburn, who described the case as very disturbing, told Walls she would get maximum credit for her guilty plea. But he warned: “A custodial sentence cannot be ruled out.”
Last night a Durham County Council spokesman, who refused to reveal which school Walls teaches at, confirmed that she remains suspended from her duties.
World of Warcraft ( Buy wow gold ) is one of the biggest interactive internet games in the world and has 11 million subscribers who go online to take part in the role-playing fantasy.
Created by Blizzard Entertainment, it involves a fictional universe in which the games are set and in which players can take each other on using their own specially-created characters. An upgrade earlier this month attracted massive interest from players. Gamers were first introduced to the universe in the original Warcraft: Orcs and Humans.
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Posted by JImmy in 05:12:50 | Permalink | Comments (1) »

Gaming not an addiction, parents to blame

Compulsive gaming a response to feelings of anger and isolation.
The issue of ’gaming addiction’ has been hitting tabloid headlines of late, following the recent release of a new expansion pack to Blizzard’s mighty World of Warcraft ( Buy wow gold ) earlier this month.However, a specialist from Amsterdam’s Smith & Jones Centre claims that compulsive gaming is NOT an addiction and should not be treated as one.Keith Bakker is the founder and head of Europe’s first clinic to work with young gamers. He and his staff prefer to consider compulsive gaming as a social rather than a psychological problem in the young people they work with.”These kids come in showing some kind of symptoms that are similar to other addictions and chemical dependencies,” Bakker told the BBC, talking about the youngsters he works with, many of whom seem addicted to MMOs (WoW being by far the most popular of the genre).Parents and teachers failing”But the more we work with these kids these less I believe we can call this addiction. What many of these kids need is their parents and their school teachers - this is a social problem,” adds the addiction specialist.”Eighty per cent of the young people we see have been bullied at school and feel isolated. Many of the symptoms they have can be solved by going back to good old fashioned communication.”The root of the problem in under-18s, in Bakker’s considered and experienced opinion, is bad parenting. Not addictive videogames.”It’s a choice… These kids know exactly what they are doing and they just don’t want to change. If no one is there to help them, then nothing will ever happen.”The Smith & Jones Centre has carried out research which strongly suggests the compulsive gamer’s feelings of anger and powerlessness pre-exist the desire to play MMOs and violent videogames.”In some cases these people find each other in the gaming world and form a bond based on those feelings of alienation and anger,” the BBC reports.
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Posted by JImmy in 05:12:00 | Permalink | Comments (1) »

World of Warcraft Movie Still in the Early Stages

World of Warcraft （ Buy wow gold ） is definitely a huge game these days. With over 11 million paying subscribers every month, the game dominates the MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) market and enjoys a vast amount of popularity with the fans.Its latest expansion pack, entitled Wrath of The Lich King, has only confirmed the success of the game, as it has registered over 2.8 million units sold in the first 24 hours, making Blizzard, the company behind it, extremely pleased. After all, the best selling PC game in history is something every developer would want to have in its trophy case.All of this attention with WoW has made a few analysts wonder about the old plans regarding a movie based on the action of the popular game. In response to those questions, Frank Pearce, the director of product development at Blizzard, has revealed to MTV Multiplayer that the project is still in the first stages of development. He went on to say that Legendary Pictures, the company tasked with the creation of this movie, is still looking for screenwriters.”Legendary Pictures is currently trying to assign some names to write the screenplay and find someone to direct it, so it’s still really early in production,” Pearce said. “They want to make sure they get the right talent for those different parts, especially the screenwriting, because that’s the foundation for the movie.”A pretty interesting piece of news, which might make a few fans send their own creations to the movie studio for the chance to get to work on this project. But it’s definitely good to hear that Legendary isn’t rushing this title and ensures that all of the WoW fans will receive a quality experience.Let’s just hope that this movie will wash away the bad reputation that game-based
Hollywood titles have created and will offer movie fans reasons to enjoy this new flick.
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Posted by JImmy in 05:11:07 | Permalink | Comments (1) »

World of Warcraft Goes Atari 2600?

The fictional Atari 2600 WoW release has gone from being just a great joke to becoming a reality.
Initially just an April fools prank from Blizzard, World of Warcraft: The Molten Core was to be the first WoW title to hit a gaming console - albeit a console that stopped being produced 16 years ago. Hilariously, the folks over at Gamer’s University have made the fabled Atari 2600 game a reality.
Though it’s technically a PC port of an Atari game that doesn’t truly exist in cartridge format, The Molten Core is available for free download. The game nails the old school vibe perfectly and is meant to be played by two players at once via joysticks. However, it does work with your keyboard, and the controls can be conveniently re-mapped. The game doesn’t quite follow the specs Blizzard jokingly promised, but it’s an entertaining jaunt nonetheless.
The gameplay description tells all: “You are a mighty warrior and a mystical healer trying to clear the molten core of its evil and collect teh (sic) loots. Warrior - to attack an enemy, move yourself close enough and press your button. Priest - to heal warrior and self, press button while having mana. While fully healed, attack enemies with your wand for extra damage.”
Your quest is to obtain each boss’ loots in order to be “L33T” enough to defeat the next one. Conquer them in the improper order and you’ll fail. Sound bitchin’? It is.
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Posted by JImmy in 05:10:17 | Permalink | Comments (1) »

Felicia Day gives the rules for World of WarCraft romance

This could be one of the geekiest things I’ve ever talked about on Opposable Thumbs, but the content is sure to be relevant to the interests of many, many readers. The Guild’s Felicia Day, who is an avid World of WarCraft player in addition to being female and pretty much awesome, has posted her tips for getting a female’s attention in-game. Her first bit of advice is pragmatic: “Well, most of the female avatars in World of WarCraft are actually guys,” she explains. “So if you’re a guy looking to meet girls, you need to make sure to put the person you’re interested in through that vetting process.”
What other advice does she have for MMO players looking for love?
Don’t be a noob.”Yeah, I hate to say that, but if you’re a noob, you probably won’t get a second glance. Just like in real life when a guy drives a Ferrari, it might not be an automatic thumbs-up, but it does catch the eye.”
Questing is better than gifting. “You could definitely send a gift or two through game mail, but I wouldn’t just keep sending them. Helping someone out on a quest or helping them level up would definitely be appropriate and a good way to get their attention.”
You have to look the part. “Your set pieces need to match because I like a guy with detail. You don’t want to look haphazard. I understand when you’re leveling, you need to take what you can get, but there are always ways to refine the way you look. So tailor your look so it is not horrible-looking together with your set pieces and your equipment.”
Don’t be afraid to meet in real life. “I think you should definitely take it offline. I dated a guy once who had a great speaking voice, but there was just nothing there when we were together. That happens; people have ‘keyboard chemistry’ as I call it in the show, and they get together in real life, and it’s not what they were expecting.”
Be sure to check out the entire interview over at Asylum; it’s good stuff. The idea of women having such strong ideas about what they look for in a man while playing World of WarCraft, is pretty wicked stuff. Does anyone out there disagree with these suggestions? Have you ever found virtual love online? Share your thoughts and stories.
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Posted by JImmy in 05:09:24 | Permalink | Comments (1) »