THE LATEST NEWS FROM THE COMPUTER AND VIDEO GAMES INDUSTRY

This newsletter contains the latest news and stories about the fastest and most exciting part of the entertainment industry – Computer and Video games. It has been put together by aDeSe, the industry trade association to make more people aware of the latest developments in our business. If you would like any further information on any of the following articles please contact:

Ana Neira Image Profile Tel: + 34 91 351 16 57 E-mail: [email protected]

COMPUTER GAMES ARE ENABLING ANIMATED MOVIES TO BE MADE ON HOME PC’S

A new technique called, , is revolutionising the way animated films are made. It enables anyone to use the powerful games engines , like those provided with Quake and 2004, to create animation films on their desk top PC. It allows animators, designers and technology enthusiasts to create films in a real time virtual 3D world. This is already being adopted by leading animators, and is now reaching Hollywood.

The most exciting thing about this development, is that it enables anyone to produce a potentially broadcast quality animated film from their computer, with games that can be purchased from any high street store. It should lead to a huge growth in independent animated films, that previously have been inhibited by cost.

If you want to find out more about this innovative technique it is worth reading the first book on Machinima which has just been published by Paraglyph Press; “3D Game-Based Filmmaking: The Art Of Machinima”, written by Paul Marino. Paul can be reached through the website: www.machinima.org. As he says:

“I think Machinima is a huge step forward in the democratisation of animated film making, and I aam really excited to be getting the word out and helping the next generation of animated film makers.”

US ARMY SETS UP STUDIO

The US Army has set up a special studio that will help train soldiers for the battlefield. The US Army has a game division with a team of 15 game developers. They produced their first game in 2002, which was called America’s Army, and has been used as a recruitment tool, enabling those interested in the army as a career to down load the game free.

Recently the Army Game division put on a demonstration of how a game can be used to train soldiers. They showed one game demo where soldiers were at a check point in Bagdad and how a soldier should react to different scenarios. There were several people in the game , driving cars, walking the streets, and also a Trainer that was off to the side watching his soldier react to different scenarios.

GAMES AT WORK MAY BE GOOD FOR YOU

Many big companies ban games which come as standard on many computers, because they think they are just a waste of their employees time. However, potentially these games could play a positive role in the work place, according to the recent research study conducted by scientists from the university of Utrecht, in Holland.

This study was started last year, and looked at the effects of game playing on 60 employees in a Dutch insurance firm. The team measured changes in work and job attitudes. The employees were randomly split into two groups, one who were allowed to play games for up to one hour a day, and a control group who were denied the chance.

The results indicated that instead of being a waste of time, they helped personal productivity and made people feel better about their jobs. Professor Goldstein who is leading the project explained that games could be used as a “… strategy to break up the day and help people work more effectively because it gives their brain a break from complex work tasks. I compare games with a coffee break. If you are like me you use them in a strategic, functional useful way.

Professor Goldstein intends to do a much larger scale study next, using more complicated games which involve strategy decisions and role playing. He explains: “I can imagine different games having different effects.” He is now looking at ways of integrating game playing closer to the actual activity in the workplace. We will keep you posted on developments.

GAMES CAN BE SERIOUSLY GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH

This month in Madison Wisconsin in the USA, over 100 attendees spent two days covering the use of games and game technologies in healthcare. This has led to over 20 projects being developed using interactive and emerging game technologies to improve consumer health education, and professional clinical practice including disease and injury prevention, service delivery, and professional education and training. This event was developed by the Serious Games Initiative, details of which can be found at www.seriousgames.org.

This is another example of the fact that computer and video games are no longer confined to entertainment applications. There is a growing market for non - entertainment applications, from a wide range of organisations and corporations. For example at an earlier conference in San Jose, California, last March, there were many applications on view from “English Taxi, created by the British Consulate in Beijing to teach language skills to Chinese students, to the National Association of Homebuilders, meanwhile, weighed in with a Build a Home of your Own game, commissioned to instruct communities about the intricacies of the public-planning aspects of real estate development.

Watch this space. With an explosion of inexpensive graphics and simulation graphics and visualisation engines, and the increased presence of broadband data networking

PLAYING VIDEO GAMES IMPROVES VISUAL SKILLS

A recent American research study funded by US Government’s national institute of health indicates that regular players have better visual skills than the rest of the population. Researchers Shawn Green, and Daphne Bavelier pitted keen players of computer games against people who never play in a series of psychological tests that measured basic visual skills.

Keen players were vastly better at the visual tasks that were set them, especially when the tests were made more difficult. They were particularly good at spotting details in busy, confusing scenes and could cope with more distractions than average.

The two researchers have published their results in the Journal “Nature”. In the article they wrote that: Video game playing enhances the capacity of visual attention and its spatial distribution.”

THE WORLD’S ONLY GAME DESIGNED TO BE PLAYED WITH YOUR BIG TOE

Red Games in the UK have just announced the release of Jiglit, the first video game in history designed to be played with your big ( or little ) toes. The game is an exciting multiplayer game, where for maximum fun, you play with your big toe as they do in the alternative dimension “Flipside”, birthplace of Jiglit.

The game supports four players feet in real time, along with a different single player mode to play, practice and hone your skills.

You can visit www.redgames.net to download the free trial version of Jiglit America Edition. Video Games will never be the same!

BOOK REVIEW – A BOOK ABOUT GAMES AND EDUCATION

“What Video Games Have To Teach Us About Learning and Literacy”, by James Pul Gee explores games and their potential as learning tools. Paul Gee is Tashia Morgridge Professor in the department of Curriculum and Instruction in the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He sees games as providing kids with experiences that incorporate principles crucial to human cognitive learning.

Professor Gee sees computer and video games as providing the potential to be highly effective educational tools. He is excited by the way that they capture kids’ imaginations, but also can have a positive effect on their development.

As he says on P46: “Video games have the potential to lead to active and critical learning. In fact, I believe that they often have a greater potential than much learning inn school.”

The book is published by Palgrave Macmillan in New York. Professor Gee can be reached at [email protected]

Professor Gee’s findings are in line with the following study conducted in the UK a year earlier:

VIDEO GAMES STIMULATE LEARNING

This research study by the TEEM, or Teacher’s Evaluating Educational Multimedia has been submitted to the UK government’s Department of Education. It was conducted by Professor Angela McFarlane.

It concluded that simulation and adventure games such as Sim City and RollerCoaster Tycoon, where players create societies or build theme parks, developed children’s strategic thinking and planning skills. The investigation of 700 children aged 7 to 16 also found that far from being a solitary activity, children preferred to play games in pairs or small groups.

Professor Angela said there was “much to learn from the games industry in terms of developing scenarios that really challenged and engaged children , rather than reproducing text books on screen.”

You can contact and find out more about TEEM at www.TEEM.org.uk

FANTASY GAMES ARE “NOT FOR GEEKS”

Three Psychologists have completed a study at Nottingham Trent University in the UK of 540 people who play computer games on-line. The findings dismiss the stereotype of a pimple-faced teenager locked in his bedroom. Instead , today’s player is just as likely to be a well paid professional – male or female – aged in their 40’s.

Dr Griffiths one of the research team explained: “There is an image that people who play on line games excessively are nerdy and geeky, This is not the case. Games are growing up with the people who play them. If we do this study in 10-20 years, there will be people who are in retirement and are playing computer games.”

This study found that over 60% of on line players were older than 19. You can find out more about this study, or take part on-line at www.gamingresearch.co.uk. ….