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ETHNOGRAPHY OF A VIDEO ARCADE: A STUDY OF CHILDREN'S BEHAVIOR AND THE LEARNING PROCESS. Meadows, Linda Kay, Ph.D. The Ohio State University, 1985

© 1985 Meadows, Linda Kay All rights reserved

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UMI ETHNOGRAPHY OF A VIDEO ARCADE:

A STUDY OF CHILDREN'S PLAY BEHAVIOR

AND THE LEARNING PROCESS

DISSERTATION

Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

for the degree

Doctor of Philosophy

in the

Graduate School

The Ohio State University

By Linda K. Meadows, B.A., M.A.

The Ohio State University

1985

Reading Committee

D r . 0j o Arewa Approved By

Dr. Suzanne Damarin

Dr. Elisa Klein

Dr. C. Ray Williams Dr. C . Departmfe Educational Theory and Practice Copyright by Linda K. Meadows 1985 To my dearest friend, B.J. and in memory of my mother

ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Many people have supported my pursuit of the doctoral degree. Without their encouragement my studies might not have been completed at all. Among those who have helped make it possible for me to fulfill this personal goal are the following people to whom I gratefully pay tribute.

My good friend Brenda Stearns has been a sage and understanding counselor. My colleague and friend Mac Woody gave me thoughtful suggestions and was a wonderful resource.

One of the kindest and most sensitive people to whom so many graduates are beholding is Nancy Graham, who solves all problems and lends a warm, very human dimension to the program. I am indebted to my rapier - witted friend

Jim Finkelstein without whom my course of study would not have been initiated. Many thanks are due the participants in the study and Aladdin's Castle for their cooperation.

My precocious informant, Dave, was an invaluable aid.

My family has always been a positive and stabilizing influence in my life. Thanks Dad, Tuff, Darrell, and Mike.

I am especially grateful to my dissertation committee:

Ojo Arewa, whose genius and humanness formed the foundation of my work; Suzanne Damarin, whose keen intellect sharpened my outlook; Elisa Klein, whose brillance in interpreting

Piaget enlightened my observations; and Ray Williams, my iconoclastic advisor and humanistic scholar, whose balance of affect and intellect shaped my world view and served as a model of academic excellence.

I can't thank Betty and Lynn enough for helping me produce this document. They're word processing magicians.

There are so many others who sustained me - all my wonderful friends and associates. Some of them have no way of knowing how they touched my life. I pay homage to them all.

iv VITA

Linda K. Meadows 1509 Westminster Drive Upper Arlington, Ohio 43221

Education: BA, Marshall University MA, The Ohio State University

Employment History: 1985-Present Deputy Director for Development The Ohio State University, Research Foundation

1980-1985 Associate Director for Development The Ohio State University Research Foundation

1975-1980 Assistant Director for Development The Ohio State University Research Foundation

1974-1975 Staff Associate, The Ohio State University, Research Foundation

1972-1974 Information Specialist, The Ohio State University, Research Foundation

1971-1972 Copywriter, E& E Insurance, Columbus, Ohio

1969-1971 Statistician, Wholesale Tours, New York, New York

1968-1969 Spanish and English Teacher Huntington, W. Va.

Fields of Study: Early Childhood Cognitive Development Second Language Acquisition Qualitative Research Methodology Policy Studies in Educational Research

v TABLE OF CONTENTS

DEDICATION ...... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...... iv VITA . . . vi LIST OF CHARTS ...... ix LIST OF T A B L E S ...... x SUMMARY ...... xi

CHAPTER

I. INTRODUCTION ...... 1

Problem Statement ...... 3 Significance ...... 7 Limitations ...... 7

II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE ...... 9

Learning and P l a y ...... 9 Video Games ...... 18 The Metaphysical Computer ...... 28 Videogames, Television and Violence ...... 32 Sexism in Videogames ...... 38 Video Game Design ...... 41 Educational Attributes of Video Games .... 53

III. METHODOLOGY...... 69

Naturalistic Inquiry ...... 69 Research Design ...... 72 Participant/Observation . . • ...... 77 Schedule of Observation ...... 83 Data Analysis ...... 85 M a p ...... 92

IV. RESULTS ...... 93

How Children Learn the G a m e s ...... 94 One Player Versus Two Player ...... 109 Why Children Like the G a m e s ...... 112 V i o l e n c e ...... 127 Gender Differences ...... 150 Game Preferences ...... 158 Arcade Games and Home G a m e s ...... 177

vi TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued)

P a r e n t s ...... 179 Attendants...... 187 Rules of P l a y ...... 192 The Corporate Arcade...... 198 Demographics ...... 202

V. CONCLUSION ...... 217

BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 228

APPENDICES

A. Game Descriptions...... 238 B. Questionnaire...... 276 C. Complete Survey Response Tables ...... 286

vii LIST OF CHARTS

1. Schedule of Observation...... 83

2. Domain Analysis ...... 85

3. Rule Summary ...... 195

4. Game Classification Sc h e m e ...... 239

viii LIST OF TABLES

Table 1. Survey Question Number 38 How Do You Learn Arcade Video Games? ...... 99

2. Survey Question Number 51 When Someone's Playing Your Favorite Video Game What Do You D o ? ...... 107

3. Survey Question Number 56 What Do You Do When You See A New Game? . . . .109

4. Survey Question Number 37 Preference for Playing Alone or With Another P e r s o n ...... 112

5. Survey Question Number 31 Reasons Arcade Video Games are Fun and Interesting ...... 119

6. Survey Question Number 2 Reasons for Favorite Video G a m e ...... 124

7. Survey Question Number 57 What's the Most Fun About Playing Arcade Video G a m e s ? ...... 126

8. Survey Question Number 44 Some Games Have Killing and Blowing Up in Them. How Do You Feel About Them? . . . .133

9. Survey Question Number 42 What Arcade Game Gets You the Maddest? ...... 141

10. Survey Question Number 43 Reasons Gme Gets You M a d ...... 142

11. Survey Question Number 45 How Do You Feel When You Leave The A r c a d e ? ...... 143

12. Survey Question Number 58 Favorite Television S h o w ...... 145

ix 13. Television Shows of a Violent Nature ...... 146

14. Survey Question Number 9 Do Girls Play as well as B o y s ? ...... 153

15. Survey Question Number 14 Do Girls Like Arcade Video Games as much as B o y s ? ...... 154

16. Survey Question Number 15 Reasons Girls Don't Like Video Games ...... 155

17. Survey Question Number 10 Video Games Girls Like B e s t ...... 161

18. Survey Question Number 11 Video Games Girls Like Least ...... 162

19. Survey Question Number 12 Video Games Boys Like B e s t ...... 164

20. Survey Question Number 13 Video Games Boys Like L e a s t ...... 165

21. Survey Question Number 6 Easiest Video Game ...... 166

22. Survey Question Number 5 Hardest Video Game ...... 167

23. Survey Question Number 3 Least Favorite Video G a m e ...... 168

24. Survey Question Number 1 Favorite Video Games ...... 169

25. Survey Question Number 7 Video Game Best At Playing ...... 170

26. Survey Question Number 8 Video Games Worst At Playing ...... 172

27. Survey Question Number 50 Type of Arcade Video Game Like B e s t ...... 175

28. Survey Question Number 47 Game Wouldn't Play Even If It Were Free ...... 176

x 29. Survey Question Number 17 Do Your Parents Come to the Arcade With Y o u ? ...... ,...... 185

30. Survey Question Number 21 Do Your Parents Mind If You Come to the A r c a d e ? ...... 186

31. Survey Question Number 22 Reasons Why Parents Don't Want Their Children to Come to the Ar c a d e ...... 187

32. Survey Question Number 18 Reasons for Coming to the Arcade ...... 204

33. Survey Question Number 19 Did You Come Here Just to Play or Did You Just Happen to Be at the M a l l ? ...... 205

34. Survey Question Number 20 Did You Come Alone or With F r i e n d s ? ...... 205

35. Survey Question Number 16 How Often Come to the A r c a d e ? ...... 206

36. Survey Question Number 23 Length of Stay in the A r c a d e ? ...... 206

37. Survey Question Number 25 Amount of Money Spent...... 207

38. Survey Question Number 25 Source of M o n e y ...... 208

39. Survey Question Number 29 Computers in S c h o o l ...... 209

40. Survey Question Number 30 Time Spent on Computers in S c h o o l ...... 209

41. Survey Question Number 52 Things That Happen When P l a y i n g ...... 213

42. Survey Question Number 53 Number of Brothers ...... 214

43. Survey Question Number 54 Number of Sisters ...... 214

xi 44. Survey Question Number 55 Position in Family ...... 215

45. Survey Question Number 32 A g e ...... 215

46. Survey Question Number 33 H o m e s ...... 216

xii SUMMARY

Over a six month period the researcher conducted an ethnographic study of a single arcade located in a Columbus,

Ohio heavily trafficked shopping mall. Through participant/ observation and ethnographic interview the project was designed to learn the meanings of the games and the environment from the child's viewpoint. The intent was to lend insight into the culture of the video arcade and surface information which might be of use to educators in creating an engaging learning environment. Children from ages seven to fourteen were the focus of study. The researcher played games with children, talked with them, with parents, arcade attendants, interviewed arcade corporate officials and worked with game designers. After field notes were analyzed, an eight page, fifty-eight question survey instrument was developed, field-tested, and administered to one-hundred children on site. The respondents were fifty-eight boys and forty-two girls. Of this respondent population seventy-four were white and twenty-six were black. Data were cross tabulated by various categories.

Among the major findings of the study were the following:

There were gender differences in game preferences and play behavior. Girls in the study shared game controls and played cooperatively. Boys in the study shared game knowledge but played independently to beat the computer. Male- oriented imagery disenchanted the girls. Structural similarities characterized games preferred by girls. Boys outnumbered girls four to one. xiii Children in the study made a clear distinction between play and reality. There was no evidence of stimulated aggression. Themes of violence were perceived differently from adult impressions.

Sports games created a different persona in the girls and boys. Boys responded at a high emotional level to this category of games. These games are male-oriented which diminished their appeal to girls.

Children preferred to play alone rather than with someone else, with the exception of sports games. This is due to the nature of two- player games as they are currently designed.

Children demonstrated a delicate balance of emotion, taut yet relaxed. Anxiety and excitement were tempored with rational thought processes. The majority reported feeling relaxed when they left the arcade.

Children in the study preferred arcade to home or microcomputer games because of the social ambience, the graphics, controls, and more realistically simulated worlds.

Children in the study learned games by watching others and through trial and error. They were patient in waiting, watching, and allowing for their own learning curves. They were upset by mistakes made when they already knew a game and by malfunctioning controls.

Children in the study preferred games with multiple levels, multiple goals, reasonable story lines, plausible worlds, and believable objectives.

Arcade video games are declining in popularity. This appears to be due to waning novelty, parental apprehensions, increase in number of home computers and particularly to repetition "in design.

Children in the study demonstrated sophisticated cognitive skills.

Children in the study were average in terms of time spent at the arcade, money spent on games, school grades, and school attendance.

xiv The results of the study suggest promising areas of research, especially along the lines of gender differences, violence and aggression, game preferences, age differences, and knowledge acquisition/problem solving. The games reflect educational theories such as motivation, discovery and action learning, immediate performance feedback, diverse thinking strategies, challenge, and multiple goals. The games may also contribute to educational theories through application of principles like inductive reasoning, hypothesis generating, if...then logic, permissive state- transition rules, "plastic asymmetry," "artificial reckoning," and unification of mind and body.

Although arcade video game revenue is down two billion dollars from its peak of five billion dollars it does represent a significant cultural force in the life of today's children. A better understanding of what it means to children can perhaps enhance the school environment.

xv CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Computer games have captured the interest and imagin­ ation of children. They generate enthusiasm and lively interaction. The form they take ranges from hand-held push buttons to arcade style epic representations with multiple controls. Because they are relatively inexpensive in their home versions, children have ready access to many different types (Skow, 1982). Their appeal, however, is more directly evidenced in the video arcades which are crowded with young people caught up in the excitement of play (Perry, Truxal, and Wallich, 1982). Although many parents are concerned about the effects of the arcade atmosphere on their children

(Reynolds, 1982), youngsters gravitate toward these darkened recesses as though drawn by the flashing lights, zapping charges, electrified space sounds, and the kinesic rhythms.

The video arcade is one of the dynamic forces of a child's life in today's society. Technology has introduced a new play room where children of all ages converge to have fun with very sophisticated toys. However, as Loftus and

Loftus (1983) point out, there has been very little research of this phenomenon. Indeed, children are seldom studied outside the school setting. Burton (1982) has observed that

1 most anthropological studies of education neglect children's lives outside of school. Yet as Bronfenbrenner (1981) reminds researchers, the educational context extends beyond the learning institution and should be viewed as an ecological organic system.

Observing children crowded in a video arcade, noting the "blooming, buzzing confusion" and sensory bombardment, one is intrigued by the magnetic pull. Adults cautiously, timorously, peer in from the periphery. Children dart in and out with joyful abandonment. One wonders what attracts young players and holds their interest for sustained periods of time.

Arcades have been criticized for their influence on children. The common perception is that the arcade games control children's lives and turn them into pale ghosts drawn into an ethereal world. The arcades have been criticized for contributing to children's irresponsibility and school performance problems (Soper and Miller, 1983).

The games have been denounced for teaching children to become ruthlessly competitive, for distorting reality, sanctioning killing, drilling violence, and for dehumanizing players. On the other hand, researchers like Turkle (1984) postulate that the games teach spatial and geometrical thinking.. Brooks (1983) in his observation of arcades concluded that they are not conclaves of negative influence. Trachtman (1981) argues that "The intelligent machines in game arcades are skillful teachers who never let you win, but always let you learn to do better." Loftus and Loftus

(1983) also maintain that arcade games are educational as well as fun.

Malone (1981) has analyzed video games to see what makes them fun. He has found that they are intrinsically motivating, based on challenge, fantasy, and curiosity.

These are characteristics which he believes can be utilized in learning situations. Chaffin, Maxwell, and Thompson

(1982) have applied arcade game features to instructional design with excellent results.

Views of arcade games are mixed. Some point to their educational value while others emphasize their hypnotic appeal. The former seem to be more impressionistic while the latter are more grounded in empirical study.

PROBLEM STATEMENT

The significance of arcade video games to children is important in understanding their conception of play, reality, and technology. This study was undertaken to develop an in-depth view of a video arcade from the insider's perspective.

Surveys of arcade players have been conducted. The

Brooks (1983) questionnaire was brief, summary in nature, and was not generated by field data. The McClure and Mears

(1984) questionnaire was administered to high school students. Personality tests linked to arcade play have been given by Gibb, Bartley, Lambirth, and Wilson (1983), to subjects ranging from twelve to thirty-four years of age, by

Dominick (1984) to tenth and eleventh graders, and by Selnow

(1984) to children attending a summer sports camp. Silvern,

Williamson, and Countermine (1983) have been studying aggressive play behavior in young children following video game play.

These studies either have not used children as subjects, or have been done in isolation from arcades, or have been based on television research. Turkle (1984) has more closely observed children's interpretation of arcade games through qualitative study as have Loftus and Loftus (1983).

In order to know what the games mean to children it is important not to study children but to learn from them.

This method of verstehen takes into account the tacit dimension. Understanding is a function of apprehending the sense that children make of their world. Ethnographic study can illuminate the video arcade controversy. This project was conceived to explore the ethos of the players and ontological referents from their point of view. It is hoped that data will be generated which is of value to educators. Among the questions the study was designed to ask were the following:

1. Do children prefer arcade to microcomputer games and if so, why?

2. How many children have home games and which ones do they have?

3. Which types of games do they prefer?

4. How do they learn the games?

5. Can the games be categorized?

6. Which combinations of features are the most appealing?

7. How often do they play?

8. Do the games represent fantasy or reality to the children?

9. What do the games represent to them?

10. How do they feel when they're playing?

11. What language do they use when they're in the arcade, with whom, and under what circumstances?

12. Do they prefer to play alone?

13. How do they feel about adults in the arcade?

14. Do parents accompany children?

15. Do parents seem interested in their children's play when they do accompany them?

16. How often do children play and for how long?

17. Where do they get the money to play?

18. Why do they like the arcade?

19. What types of game controls do they like and why?

20. Which designs are the favorites?

21. How is the arcade structured? 22. How are decisions make about the interior?

23. Do players coach each other?

24. Do they talk to themselves?

25. Do they like to play against themselves or each other?

26. What are the kinesics?

27. How are attendants chosen and what are their roles and perceptions?

28. What skills do the children learn?

29. What do the children learn or are they learning?

30. Do older children dominate?

31. Are some games preferred by girls and others by boys?

32. How do girls and boys relate and behave?

33. What does winning mean?

The questions are loosely connected and served not to bound nor to guide the study but to establish initial focus.

Field notes and observations suggested the daily research agenda which was modified by dialectal interaction.

The project was designed as a participant/observation study to generate data under naturalistic conditions and to provide a means for contextual understanding. As a medium for looking from within and for deriving meaning from the participant frame of reference, the method offers a holistic perspective of a phenomenon that has many dimensions. Wax

(1971) explains that "understanding is a phenomenon of shared meanings" (p. 10) and that "understanding is achieved during and by means of the experience of socialization," (p. 15). SIGNIFICANCE

Arcade video games fascinate children enough to generate billions of dollars in revenue. But the popularity of the games is declining. Game manufacturers are uncertain about what will have enduring appeal. Because they are profit driven and need quick returns they cannot afford high risk innovations. Yet variations on an old theme play out eventually.

Children become bored by repetition. What makes a game successful is not entirely predictable. Analyses of individual game components configured in varying combina­ tions provide some guidance. But overall impressions must be determined before any single observation is relevant.

The educational value of arcade games has been explored.

Naturalistic inquiry which provides alternating distal and proximal perspectives contributes to an understanding of the cultural phenomenon, its social forces, and its cognitive map. This intensive study of a single arcade highlights significant themes and surfaces data which can be mined for classroom application.

LIMITATIONS

The study was conducted at a single site and does not compare or contrast multiple arcades. Time and availability of other resources did not permit investigation of more than one field site. An ethnographic study is demanding in the attention which must be given within a single boundary.

Other than the corporate offices, game designers, and an arcade owner in another city, people outside the arcade were not included in the study. Older teens, ages fifteen and up, were not interviewed. The focus was younger children.

Limited reference has been made to race differences. The researcher did not identify the race of several of the children whose conversations were tape-recorded so that data are uneven in this respect.

A questionnaire based on the field note analyses was administered at the conclusion of the study. Due to the length of the instrument and a decision to have it filled out on site only one hundred children were surveyed. The results add complementary insights to the qualitative analysis but limit statistical inferences. CHAPTER II

Review of Related Literature

There is a substantial literature base on children and microcomputers, particularly in the context of the school curriculum. Much of it is directed to mathematics learning, problem solving, and disability therapy. However, there are very few references to arcade games and fewer still which report research studies in the arcade setting or those whose subjects are children. The popular literature spotlights the phenomenon of arcade games and contributes to speculation about the world of the arcade. However, the accounts are feature stories by reporters whose inquiry is based on the more sensational aspects of the topic. The literature review which follows is organized around references to child development and play, arcade video game issues, and discussions of educational dimensions.

LEARNING AND PLAY

Children love to play video games. The video arcade is like a magnet which draws them into another world. How is this world constituted and what does it mean to children?

Is it a separate reality or an overlapping reality? Do

9 10 ' children become serious and forget it's just play or are they having fun? Many parents are concerned about the transfer of the video game world to reality. Many educators are excited about the application of arcade game concepts to the learning world. There is fear and apprehension; there is enthusiasm and exultation. The learning theories of

Piaget and Vygotsky explain children's developmental processes and provide some insights into the symbolic interaction of the video arcade.

Piaget (1954) has noted that reality is to a child an activity of the most august imagination. Reality resides within the child at the egocentric stage. The external and internal worlds are fused in the child's mind. Even when

'h. they become more apparently distinct to the child they remain closely tied so that certain adherences persist.

These adherences are attributes of the child's way of thinking ascribed to how the world operates. Among the adherences Piaget has observed are 1)-dynamic participation

(his classic example is that children think the moon follows them); 2) animism (the child endows things with consciousness and life); and 3) force (the external push). The adherences are the foundation of relativistic realism, illustrated by the child's thinking, as an example, that clouds are alive, but also pushed by the wind. Reality is what children see but it is a product of their subjective interpretation. 11

Thus it is alive, yet artificial; the internal is situated in the external.

In arcade play children know something gives life to the machines. They know they can activate the games with a token and get glimpses of the world within. Whatever impression the game may make on a child, that impression is filtered through the child's schemata. The game is the sum of the child's, knowledge at any given point in time.

Piaget and Inhelder (1969) noted that children know more than they can draw. Likewise they also know more than their video game play would suggest. Piaget (1954) observed that children can perceive things projectively before they're able to operate on them. They can perceive forms before they can reconstruct them in mental images or representa­ tional thought. At the end of the sensorimotor period children evidence the ability to represent something by means of a signifier. Piaget and Inhelder (1969) call this the semiotic function. This ability segues into deferred invitation (recalling an object after disappearance of the model); play; graphic image (drawing); mental image

(internalized interaction); and verbal evocation.

In play children create their own sets of signifiers, altering them at will. In play the child is not adapting to reality but assimilating reality to the self without 12 stricture (Piaget, 1962). Play offers children a means of expression outside the boundaries of external rules, governance by adults, and regulation by the laws of a physical world they don't yet fully understand. Play transforms reality by assimilation to self needs.

What children get out of video game play, like other symbolic play, may be whatever they need. The game is not an imprimatur, stamping behavioral imprints on them, but a release mechanism. Piaget explains it this way:

Generally speaking, symbolic play helps in the resolution of conflicts and also in the compensation of unsatisfied needs, the inversion of roles (such as obedience and authority), the liberation and extension of self, etc. (Piaget and Inhelder, 1969; p. 60).

The mental images children bring to a game may affect their skill level. Piaget and Inhelder (1971) point out that mental images at the preoperatory and operatory levels are different. The reproductive image recalls sights previously perceived. The anticipatory image envisions movements or transformations, as well as their end states, even though they have not been previously observed. At the preoperatory level, before age six or seven, children's cognitive capabilities do not support transformational imaging. Children may be disadvantaged at this stage in playing video games, which typically call for mental rotation of objects. However, with continued play they may 13 be able to develop anticipatory imaging capabilities.

Papert (1980) exemplifies in Logo the principle that given the materials to exercise their cognitive faculties children will manifest more complex thinking.

Mental images, Piaget and Inhelder (1969) observed, develop in close correspondence to the phases Luquet identified in children's drawing. Those phases also seem to parallel in an intriguing way the steps taken by children as they begin to apprehend video games in the arcade. The intersection of these stages may be conceived as follows:

1. Fortuitous realism - scribbling which becomes something. Young children play with the game controls, the game is not activated, but the motion of fiddling with the gadgetry creates the illusion of playing. When the game is activated and they see things happen on the screen they discover they've brought them to life through their manipulation of the controls.

2. Failed realism - uncoordinated drawing. In the video game the young child makes random movements and hasn't made the connections necessary to orchestrate a strategy through manipulating the controls.

3. Intellectual realism - pictures have conceptual attributes of the model but not visual perspective. In the video game children begin to discover patterns in the program 14 and associations between the controls and playing strategies but still lack the ability to account for multiple focal points.

4. Visual realism - drawings are faithful to perspective. In the videogame children can put all the elements into proportion and arrange their playing behavior in accordance with an overall plan.

One of the requirements for reaching the operatory stage, Piaget and Inhelder (1969) postulate, is decentering.

This applies to the social as well as the physical universe.

The age range between seven-eight and eleven-twelve marks the period of concrete operations. Before age seven, when children are self-centered, they tend to oppose other people.

True cooperation does not exist, even on the level of play.

It is at the stage of concrete operations that new interpersonal relations of a cooperative nature are established, cognitively and socially. The child begins to take the view of the other.

Mead (1934) makes a distinction between games and play.

In the latter he believes the child must assume the attitude of all the others involved in the game. The organized personality arises out of the game. As children take the attitude of the other and allow it to guide their behavior to reach a common goal then they become organic members of 15 society. The child "becomes a something which can function in the organized whole and thus tends to determine himself in relationship within its group to which he belongs."

(p. 160). The child assumes various roles in play. In order to play video games successfully children must be able to project themselves into the screen and become the protagonist. Unless children can accomplish this transcendence of self they cannot execute moves with dexterity. Vygotsky (1978) agrees with Piaget that play satisfies a child's needs and that in play the child creates an imaginary situation. He theorizes that play is invented at the point when the child begins to experience unrealizable tendencies. The child circumscribes play with rules. "The development from games with an overt imaginary situation and overt rules to games with overt rules and a overt imaginary situation outlines the evolution of children's play."

(Vygotsky, p. 96). In play children can act on things; things are not deterministic. The child may perceive how the world operates yet behave quite contrarily to those observed laws. Thus children can act independently of what they see. In play thought is separate from objects and action is a consequence of ideas rather than things. Action is subordinated to. meaning. Vygotsky (1978) claimed that 16 because they can't freely substitute (his example is a postcard can't be used for a horse), children's activity is play and not symbolism. The child keeps the properties of things but changes their meaning.

The paradox of play observed by Vygotsky (1978) is that children behave freely in play but at the same time subordinate themselves to rules, denying themselves complete impulsiveness. Children do regard faithfully rules in play and as noted by Mead (1934) make up rules as they go along to serve their purposes, to help themselves out of difficulties.

Vygotsky's paradox can be observed in the arcade.

Children go there to play, to escape the adult world, to forsake rules and regulations. But most arcades are supervised by attendants who monitor children's behavior.

The games are rule-governed. Children must abide by them.

Nonetheless, the rules lend stability and make play operant.

They do not serve as constant reminders; they are more subliminal and less intrusive.

Children find a harmonious order in the arcade.

Describing play, Huizinga (1949) says that it creates order.

"Into an imperfect world and into the confusion of life it brings a temporary, a limited perfection." (p. 10). They can learn from their peers, aggregate game knowledge into a total system of play, and operate upon the world at various levels. Arcade games provide the situational impetus to evoke learning and development. Piaget (1964) characterizes development as a spontaneous process having its origin in biological and psychological functions. Development is the sum of knowledge structures while learning is a product of a single structure. An operation is an interiorized, reversible action which is a part of a total structure.

Structures, in the Piagetian paradigm, develop through four discrete stages: sensorimotor; pre-perational; concrete operational; and formal operational. Piaget (1964) identified four main factors which contribute to the development of structures: maturation; experience of the environment; social transmission; and equilibration. All of these factors interact in varying degrees and none is sufficient in itself to account for stage movement, although equilibration (self-regulation or displacement) is the most fundamental one in the acquisition of logical-mathematical knowledge. Arcade games incorporate all four factors in a unique medium.

Vygotsky (1978) similarly wrote that the child's interaction with environment, adults, and peers leads to internalized processes which become part of the child's developmental framework. He added a new insight to the process, a concept he identified as the "zone of proximal development." 18

The zone of proximal development is the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers, (p. 86).

Actual developmental level is that level of a child's mental functions already established through completed developmental cycles. The proximal zone of development defines those functions which have not yet matured but which are in the embryonic stage. Giving children tasks just beyond their actual developmental level stimulates the proximal zone to awakening. Arcade video games serve as this catalyst for most games extend just beyond the known and lead children to acquire new knowledge.

Figurative aspects of knowledge include perception, imitation and the mental image. Operative aspects of the cognitive function are sensorimotor action and interiorized action. When children can anticipate, project, and reverse operations they unify their knowledge state through self­ regulation. Arcade video games, which are a composite of sensori-motor, concrete, and logico/mathematico operations, offer a medium for children to actively construct knowledge.

VIDEO GAMES Video games have evolved from a technology which initially limited their sophistication to one which now is so refined that their design is constrained only by the limits of imagination. The games have been criticized for their content and hypnotic appeal. Opponents readily catalog their negative effects while proponents cite their benefits.

The following section summarizes the arguments, some of which are intuitively and impressionistically based and some of which are empirically based. From a common sense standpoint it is reasonable to conclude that habituation of play may indeed be harmful but that video games themselves have not been proven to be deleterious.

A good history of the game is provided by Bloom (1982).

Pinball is a spin-off of Bagatelle, a nineteenth century

French billiards type game. Sportland introduced coin­ operated games like pinball in 1927. The Traveling Cane

(Digger) was a long-time hit originated by Rabkin in 1928.

It wasn't until 1962 that MIT engineers produced Spacewar in a large mainframe. In 1967 ball and paddle games became the rage. The first commercial video game, Computer Space, arrived in 1970. It wasn't computer-based; integrated circuits made it move. Images were black and white; stars were simply dots of light. Pong, the video machine, came out in 1972, along with the Odyssey television box ball and paddle games, followed soon by Super Pong, Quadra Pong, and

Pong Doubles by Atari. Midway entered the competition with

Gunfight. The microprocessor revolutionized the industry, beginning with Cinematronic1s Space Wars, which featured 20 multiple controls, game levels, modifications, and a video monitor presenting sector generated graphics (lines) instead of images (dots). Videogames are now a multi-billion dollar business.

But video arcades create anxiety for many parents who fear that their children will become addicted to the games, will be exposed to drugs, alcohol, and crime, use their lunch money to play, steal, lose track of time, become hypnotized, and behave destructively in reaction to violent themes. (Reynolds, 1982-1983; Needham, 1982-1983). Baker

(1982) caricatures the video aficionado through Juvenalian humor and captures the images of degeneration parents fear so dreadly probable.

Video industry spokespeople argue that parents need to exercise greater responsibility, that children who cut school would anyway, that money and time spent on games are equal to going to a movie, and that most arcades are well monitored. Proponents claim that playing is therapeutic.

(Reynolds 1982-1983; Skow, 1982). Others point to the benefits of motor skill development, familiarizing children with a high technology environment, and giving them a sense of accomplishment and pride, particularly valuable if they have no other means of reinforcement. (Langway, Abramson,

Friendly, Mails, Zabarsky, and Prout, 1981). A college student study reported by Griffith, Voloschin, Gibb, and 21

Bailey (1983) showed that video game players have strikingly more superior eye-hand coordination than a matched sample of non-players. Greenfield (1984) points out that children spend about as much money on games as they would for a movie and that in addition, cost goes down as skill level goes up, buying more time for the quarter.

Still, the games continue to be criticized on the grounds that they induce compulsion, cause children to avoid reality and human contact, have a kill or be killed mentality, and center around instant gratification. (Langway, et. al.,

1981).

Millar and Navarick (1984) tested self control, impulsivity and choice through a schedule of positive reinforcement, using the medium of video games. The subjects were college students whose responses indicated a preference for immediate versus delayed reinforcement and a large reinforcer to a small one. Preference for an immediate small reinforcer to a delayed large reinforcer was greater than preference for an immediate, small reinforcer over an immediate, large reinforcer. Their study points out the strong motivating aspect of video games which somewhat restrains impulsivity.

Gibb, Bartley, Lambirth, and Wilson (1983) gave a personality test using measures from the Bipolar Psycho­ logical Inventory to seventy-nine males and females in video 22 arcades who were twelve to thirty-four years of age. The researchers found no differences between high- and low-, long- and short-term video players in terms of social withdrawal, hostility, self-esteem, and social deviancy.

All the respondents tested within established norms. Females with more playing experience scored higher in achievement motivation than those with less experience.

McClure and Mears (1984) administered a questionnaire to three hundred and thirty six high school language arts students, half male and half female. It included measures of intellectual efficiency and self-control from the

California Personality Inventory as well as response options to questions about video game playing and personal attitudes.

They found that young people who are more frequent players tend to be brighter, are attracted by the challenge of the game, prefer competitive activities, and are comfortable with computers. Characteristics of less frequent players were the reverse of these.

Brooks (1983) in his research found that children who played video games seemed to be just average young people.

He found no evidence of drug and truancy problems. Arcades are generally well lit and supervised. Donchin (1983) emphasizes the contribution to self-esteem that arcade games make, for individuals with no skill can develop a substantial level of expertise in a reasonably short time. 23

Arcades also seem to serve a socializing function.

"In places like the arcade teenagers can meet peers, relieve boredom, act on their emerging sexual identities, and institute cultural practices that build peers into a stable, if temporary, form of social organization." (Panelas, 1983, p. 62).

The greatest single group of video game users is adolescents. They are at a period of their lives when, emerging from childhood, they still have free play time, and they look for social solidarity within a large subculture.

The arcade is one place where they can "...build a social, cultural space free from the direct surveillance of the major institutions that dominate their lives." (Panelas, p. 60). Greenfield (1984) agrees that the arcade is a social gathering place but acknowledges that some arcades are not good agents for this purpose.

In Turkle's (1984) view, the protest against video games signals how people feel about computers in general.

The debate about video game "mindless addiction" doesn't hold up, she asserts, because far from being mindless, the games call for complex differentiated skills, assimilation of knowledge, and the application of strategy. Even learning the patterns requires mental acuity, for a split- second can throw the player off, necessitating recovery based on fast-thinking and coordination.

Naiman (1982) claims that the intoxication of the emotional challenges gives the player a high. Mastery and 24 promise of escape intrigue children. Each enters as an equal. Children can become their own comic book heroes.

(Needham, 1982-83). Video arcades transport children to a different world, one of magic, drama, and theater. The thrill of seeing the parts come together as mastery is achieved is sustaining. It gives children a chance to feel good about something, no matter what else is happening in their lives. (Kegan, 1983).

Berry (1982) speaks directly to young people about putting video games in perspective. First she concedes there are negative influences when behavior is carried to the extreme. These influences include abdication of responsibility, substitution of the machine for friends, dependency, dishonesty, stealing, spending too much money, violence, and destructiveness. She then assures them that by using common sense they can control rather than be controlled by the machine. She advises them to follow these precepts:

1. Set a specific amount of playing time and stay within it. Determine how much free time is available and responsibilities which must be carried out. She admonishes them that if they spend more than twenty-five percent of their free time on video games, they're spending an excessive amount of time. 25

2. Allot a limited amount of money. She warns children that if they are spending more than twenty-five percent of their money on video games they are hooked.

3. Keep things in perspective. The games should be fun. If they're frustrating or upseting, she advises, don't play them.

Why do children play video games? asks Beamer (1982).

They're ready for the technology; they're "vidkids" who have grown up with electronic marvels unheard of in previous generations. So they are prepared, their reflexes are

"electronically attuned" and their "habits electronically oriented." They play for fun, but they also play to show off; they are lonely; they seek refuge; they need a sense of accomplishment and success, especially if they have negative self-concepts and need a sense of control; the games glow with an aura of intelligence; and they present a challenge.

Weighing benefits and harm, he speculates that among the benefits are: computer literacy; eye-hand coordination; logic/patterns skills; problem solving and planning skills; aggression relief; memory development; and training potential.

Harmful effects, he conjectures, include a kill or be killed mentality; violence; immediate gratification; time consumption; obsession, and asocial aspects.

Videogames fascinate not because they appeal to the baser instincts but because they are challenging and entertaining. Kaplan and Kaplan (1981), intrigued by the seductive sexual graphics of pinball, conducted a study of video games to see if there were similar sexual overtones.

They were especially interested in this aspect because the majority of players are teen-age boys. They observed the body language of players, analyzed the graphics of the ten most popular games for sexual content, probed into the features of three popular games (Asteroids, Galaxian, Space

Invaders), and gave a questionnaire to four hundred and thirty college freshmen. Kinesically they could not attribute movement to sexual statement. In graphics no sexual imagery was evident. In the structure of games there was no sexual symbolism paralleling pinball. The survey question regarding sexual arousal yielded a positive response by only fourteen subjects. The researchers tried to interview game players but found the questions too awkward and discomfiting to continue. They concluded that perhaps the games are so intrinsically and inherently motivating that they don11 need to be marketed with sex.

The world of video games is one of whimsy but not caprice. The world of video games is rule governed and players must abide by the rules. But by assuming the role of the other, players take control. They immerse themselves through imagination and identification (Turkle, 1984).

Adults largely disregard the story themes of games and 27 concentrate on developing particular skills. Children identify more closely with the characters. But the role playing is not open-ended, for the rules circumscribe the player. Yet the players can do more than identify; they can act. Turkle (1984) points out the correspondence to the altered state. In the case of one adolescent she interviewed, feelings converge in this state, where the player is outside the self, carried away, losing self in something outside, but having power and control as well. She describes this state as being close to the edge. Total concentration is part of sustaining the state, the consequences of wandering, deadly, no net to break the fall. In fact, she asserts, it

"demands that players take responsibility for every act."

(p. 84). And it can go on and on, another screen, a bonus, another character. Mistakes can be corrected immediately through replay. "Computer games provide the ultimate chance to eliminate regret." (Loftus and Loftus, 1983, p. 33).

A recurring theme in discussion of video games is that they are rule-governed. They also follow the precepts advanced by Weizenbaum (1976) who states that the rules of any game must be complete and consistent. They are complete if, given any option for action within a game, they are sufficient for deciding if it is legal. They are consistent if no subset of rules will determine that the action is illegal. Part of the appeal of video games may be based on 28

Weizenbaum's observation that all games that are interesting to play have permissive state-transition rules, that is, may permit the player to make one of a large number of moves. The outcome, though determined, is not known to the player, who wishes to know it.

Arcade video games seem to represent a well-ordered, predictable, rational world which can contribute to the social and psychological development of the child. But they also have the power to delude; the meanings they have for children depend upon children's images of themselves and their Weltansicht.

Computers become human companions. The psychology of human emotion resonates to a sapient machine. Arcade video games are more life-like than many machines with which children come into contact. They seem to have a mind of their own and they seem to know in advance the player's strategy. This can be disconcerting. It can also be comforting. Metaphysical conceits often help bridge the known and the unknown.

THE METAPHYSICAL COMPUTER

The relationship between human and computer expressed in language was studied by Scheibe and Erwin (1979) who observed and recorded the spontaneous verbalization of forty undergraduates while they were playing games. The most 29

frequently used pronouns were "it" and "he". They were more often used with games of moderate difficulty rather than with easier ones. Verbalizations were classified into four categories: 1) direct remarks to the computer; 2) questions;

3) exclamations; and 4) commentary, with the last two being the most common. A great use of affect was displayed in the responses, suggesting that the computer is a powerful agent in the development of personality.

Turkle (1984) has found that computers summon up strong feelings. She has been drawn to the subjective side of the computer, which reveals a variety of relationships and styles of interaction. Computers shape personality and identity. In her work with children she found three stages in their relationships with computers: 1) metaphysical

(young children concerned with whether the machine is alive;

2) mastery (children seven or eight on); and 3) identity

(adolescence).

In her conversations with children, the subject of what constitutes being alive and the concept of infinity arose.

Children seemed disconcerted by the metaphysical dimensions of computers. The computer has properties which make it seem alive yet not alive. "The computer provokes children to find ways either to deny it the status of a living being or to grant it a special kind of life," (p. 44). She interviewed over two hundred children, ages four to fourteen, during a six year period in an effort to learn from them

their feelings about computers and electronic toys such as

Marlin, Simon, and Speak and Spell. She became especially intrigued by their psychological way of understanding them.

Talking was prominent among reasons they gave for anthro­ pomorphizing machines. Children also associate the sounds of computers with feelings. Turkle perceived that "the more contact children have with computational objects the more nuanced and elaborated the psychological language becomes,"

(p. 49). To them the computer is kind of alive and it can cheat. Their thinking in this respect was cast along three lines: 1) cheating was attributed to the anatomy of the machines; 2) it was behaviorally ascribed; 3) it was seen as being willful. Computers are made, children recognize, by someone who puts "stuff" in them, a notion Turkle explains, which recalls Piaget's (1982) discussion of the outside push. Even fourth graders at one school she visited who knew computers are not alive in the same way people are alive, talked about them as though they were living things.

The frustration, confusion, anger, and fear generated by the Merlin machine which had a built in flaw may be accounted for by Weizenbaum's (1976) explanation that machines are embodiments of law. Merlin is an electric toy that plays tic-tac-toe. Turkle's version was programmed to make an occasional mistake. When a computer delivers a 31 wrong result we tend at first to think we've made a mistake, not that the machine is malfunctioning. We expect its regularity and obedience to the law it embodies. If it breaks down, and we are perplexed because we don't know why, then we see ourselves as being servants to a capricious law.

The power of this psychological relationship is evidenced in the frustration children displayed in response to Merlin. The loss of control experienced when the computer/ human relationship is disrupted affects total well-being.

Fox and Oakes (1984) replicated with a videogame deception experiments which demonstrated that noncontingent subjects, made unaware of the noncontingency, perform more poorly on subject tasks than contingent counterparts. The researchers found that noncontingency transfers to subsequent behavior in the form of learned helplessness.

The depth of human response to machines astonished

Weizenbaum (1976) when he learned of reactions to ELIZA, a psychoanalytic type of program he designed. He used this format to get around contextual problems of language.

Programming the computer to ask stock questions which would intimate appropriate dialogue primed with vocabulary enabled him to arrange for reasonably intelligent communication. He found that many people insisted ELIZA was real and developed a strong bond with the computer. He speculated that since

ELIZA drew them into conversation with questions which 32 seemed to fit logically, that they opened up their selves to much an extent that it seemed as though, through self- realization, ELIZA truly understood them.

Videogames, through the mechanics of the controls and the program, and through the alternative worlds they represent, give new meaning to self and reality.

VIDEOGAMES, TELEVISION AND VIOLENCE

The relationship between videogame playing and aggressive behavior, drawing upon established links between the viewing of violent television programs and aggressive behavior, has been examined by Dominick (1984). Considering simulation theory (increased probability) and catharsis theory (purging) he finds that

Playing videogames involves the abstract simulation of aggressive acts, an activity that seems to relate to catharsis. It seems possible, therefore, that the cathartic effect might be more likely to occur after videogame playing than after watching television." (p. 138).

Greenfield (1984) speculates that playing video games with aggressive themes may b e 'cathartic in a two-person situation but may increase aggressive tendencies when played alone.

Video games fuse the computer and television.

Television features visual imagery but restricts the viewer to a spectator role. Video games are interactive and give 33 the player more control. Children Greenfield interviewed perferred the games to television for this reason.

Since video games have an interactive feature television does not, Silvern, Williamson, and Countermine (1983) have been interested in the effects of this added dimension.

This study was based on television research which had shown that the action, pace, and visual effects of a program will affect the arousal level of young children and increase the likelihood of aggressive behavior.

Fourteen five year olds from a university lab school program were paired in three sessions. In the first they played with toys. In the second they watched Road Runner before playing with toys. In the third they played Space

Invaders before turning to the toys. The researchers found that aggressive play following television and video play was significantly greater than in the first session which had no preface to it. No differences between the television and video sessions were noted. Boys were significantly more aggressive than girls.

In a related study Silvern and his colleagues (1985) pursued the parallel between television and video games.

The common element the two media share is a story, involving a key character, told through a fantasy which includes aspects of violence. The investigators were familiar with television research on aggression, catharsis, modeling, and 34 arousal theories. Their purpose was to test out the catharsis theory. In their study of twenty-eight children, ages six to nine, they found that playing a competitive video game (boxing) leads to less aggressive behavior. This is in contrast to their earlier study which suggested arousal, rather than catharsis. The experimental circumstances were different in each study, as were the controls established, such that the investigators are working toward a more tightly designed pro.tocol to test out the theories.

In video games aggression rarely involves humans but rather takes the form of blasting spaceships or stylized aliens, analogous to the abstract violence in some cartoons.

However, the amount of exposure to violence is differential in videogames, depending on the skill of player, but is constant for each television viewer. And though there may be a connection between attraction to aggressive television content and preferrence for video games with themes of violence, it is also true that the time devoted to the games diminishes time available for television viewing.

Given these shifting variables Dominick (1984) conducted a study to determine the relationship between

1) videogame playing and watching violent television programs; 2) videogame playing, watching violent television programs, and antisocial behavior; and 3) videogame playing 35 and self-esteem. A survey of tenth and eleventh graders at three high schools in Georgia yielded two hundred and fifty responses, forty-five percent of which were male. The results he reports are as follows:

1. The girls played less and spent less money when they did.

2. Going to the arcade seemed to be more a social activity for girls because more boys answered that they went alone.

3. The boys viewed violent television shows slightly more although boys and girls watched television about the same amount of time.

4. Boys and girls who watched more violent television shows were those who spent more time at the arcade.

5. There was no significance regarding school performance.

6. Questions regarding hypothetical aggression did not show a relationship to television viewing or violent television shows; they did in amount of time spent playing videogames.

7. Questions regarding manifest physical aggression related significantly to viewing violent television shows and to videogame playing, where the relationship for girls was stronger than for boys. 36

8. An aggressive delinquency measure surfaced a significant relationship to arcade videoplaying.

9. Measures of self esteem did not correlate with video game playing for girls but did for boys.

Weighing the data, Dominick concluded that

"video game playing is neither the menace that many of its critics have portrayed it to be nor necessarily without possible negative consequences." (p. 146). The extent to which players are caught up in the games and the extent to which the games seem real may have a bearing on behavioral outcomes. College males, in Green’s

(1975) study of arousal states in situations depicting violence, expressed more aggression following scenes described as real conflict events than those described as fictional. When subjects in the experiment believed that a confrontation they saw in a film was staged, they were less agitated, as measured by blood pressure, and gave less intense shocks to their confederates, than the subjects who were led to believe that the film was an actual recording.

Video games do involve children more than television does, but the question of catharsis versus simulation remains unanswered. The relationship between television and arcade video games was examined by Selnow (1984) who gave a questionnaire to two hundred and two children, ages ten to fourteen, attending a summer sports camp. There were twenty-seven statements about the possible gratifications of video game playing and the children were asked to respond on a five-point scale ranging from always to never true. The questions were based on Greenberg's cluster of reasons for why children watch television. The results confirmed a complementary relationship between television viewing and video game playing. Escape and solitude were frequently cited reasons for playing video games. Players viewed themselves as actual participants, most preferred to play by themselves, and children who played more considered games more companionable than people. One explanation offered by

Turkle (1984) is that computers "offer companionship without the mutuality and complexity of a human relationship,"

(P- 19). The predictions of influence for violent video games would be similar to those made of television and one would expect the mechanism for these effects to be similar as well. However, the nature of violence in video games may cast a different light on this expectation. The violence of video game plots does not involve aggression toward humans.

Often the fantasies are comical or altruistic. Further, the more active and ego involving aspects of video may in themselves modify or change the expected influence. In television, as stable patterns become established for program content, recurrent themes began to directly influence people 38 exposed to it. Social scientists have noticed especially the themes of violence. Children's cartoons are parti­ cularly culpable in this regard. Attention has been given to imitation; disinhibition; desensitization; and main- streaming. As computer technology becomes more available potential effects are increased and will require close examination. (Condry and Keith, 1983). Turkle (1984) points out that those who are concerned about video games often compare them to television but that game players rarely make much an analogy.

SEXISM IN VIDEO GAMES

Van Gelder (1983) points out that violence and sexism in video games are frequently bound up in each other.

Arcade games do have varying themes now, but "even the games that are touted as nonviolent frequently involve rescuing wimpy, passive damsels in distress," (p. 101). The thread of violence is syncretic in other respects, also. As an example, in the game Froqqer if the frog doesn't negotiate the traffic it is splattered. On the other hand, the object of the game is to steer him safely to the water where he jumps logs which occasionally have perched on them a female frog; jumping on her gains more points. Elizabeth Stage, an educational psychologist at Berkley, notes that "The arcade game mentality of bombing and killing is really not that attractive to girls" (Kolata, 1984 p. 25) What girls do like turns out to be surprising sometimes. Rosenberg and

Sutton-Smith (1960) developed a list of games by surveying children in grades one to eight and then asked fourth, fifth, and sixth graders to respond if they played any of the games on the list and whether they liked them. Their responses seemed to suggest that boys preferred a limited number of games and girls a wider variety, including many traditionally thought of as boys' games.

Naiman (1982) points out that video games are geared to male fantasies and that "the arcade game has the power to coopt girls into boys' conventional fantasies," (p. 94).

Boys outnumber girl players. Skow (1982) speculates that women are "...too sensitive to enjoy bloodthirsty games,"

(p. 54). Naiman considers that "maybe the enormous attraction of video games for boys is that they simulate rivalry in a safer sphere than hand-to-hand combat...the excitement of threat, and none of the consequences,"

(p. 94). She even suggests that arcade games may pacify the violent young. Condry and Keith (1983) also attribute sex differences to the environment of arcades and the appeal of the fantasy. Software is geared toward males, emphasizing shooting, sports and rewards which are gender related. The programs stress competition and violence whereas girls often prefer cooperation, fantasy, and music. Boys predominate in 40 arcades. This concerns Kolata (1984) who argues that computer games are the door to computers for children.

As Kiesler, Sprouel, and Eccles (1983) observe, the video arcade is the poolroom of yesteryear, conclave of malls. In many cases it is also the first introduction children have to computers. Most of the games are designed by males for males. The games are geared to male fantasies.

Themes of war and violence predominate. The choices available to girls are not optional for encouraging them.

Aggressive themes seem to disenchant girls. Therefore

Greenfield (1984), referring to Malone's (1981) work, suggests that balance be achieved through constructing fantasies more appealing to girls. Girls tend to avoid arcades because of the negative press and "...because of the dominance of martial games." (Langway, Abramson, Friendly, Maier,

Zabarsky, and Prout, 1981, p. 91). Needham (1982-83) reiterates that the macho nature of games disheartens girls.

In her 1981 study of twenty families in the San Francisco

Bay area who had just purchased home game sets, Mitchell

(1983) found that girls played less and when they did, they preferred playing with someone else. There is a common perception that girls like social activities better than things, and boys the reverse. Even Piaget (1982) maintained that "All workmen and especially mechanics excite the greatest interest in boys, and even in little girls, before their more feminine tastes have begun to predominate," (p. 119).

Maccoby and Jacklin (1974). In their analysis of past

studies did find that on measures of self-confidence girls rate themselves higher in the area of social competence while boys see themselves as strong, powerful, and dominant.

However, in achievement motivation girls score very high.

Maccoby and Jacklin write that "Boys need to be challenged by appeals to ego or competitive motivation to bring their achievement imagery up to the level of girls," (p. 351). On measures of self-esteem they found that girls and boys rate themselves similarly. They also note that girls and boys are both aggressive but express it in different ways.

It would seem that girls are neither repelled by the mechanics of the computer nor the challenge of the games.

It is that the design of the games targets a young male audience.

VIDEO GAME DESIGN

Games have to earn enough money to justify their existence. Conseguently, manufacturers build in enough challenge to keep the player inserting guarters. On the average they expect one minute of play from beginners, five minutes from the more experienced, and two and one half minutes as average play for a quarter. The game designers, then, have to blueprint the game in a way to assure that 42 ' players are beaten many times before they beat the game.

(Lowe, 1982). The theme of games must be alluring. Lowe (1982)

categorizes games into five types: 1) driving; 2) cannon- base like Space Invaders and Centipede; 3) rotating center cannon games such as Asteroids; 4) side-project rocket games

such as Defender; and 5) image games such as Pac Man. In his mind there is a "thrill gap" between a maze character like Pac Man, running from monsters and eating dots, and the

Defender spaceship pilot who can maneuver in any direction, shoot, bomb, pick up and put down men and generally exhibit a more powerful range of capacities.

But Pac Man, created by the Japanese and licensed by

Midway in 1980, has remained a pace setter of popularity, attracting for the first time the attention of many women.

Pac Man is considered cute, as is Centipede where wigglies and spiders parade through the screen in soft colors.

Dona Bailey, who conceptualized Centipede, attributes the success of Pac Man to its easy controls which she transferred to Centipede. (Bloom, 1982). Centipede is a game which allows the player to score big points quickly, giving the impression of accomplishment no matter how soon the game ends. In contrast is Defender which is considered a macho game, down to the players' cowboy stance, "...feet planted wide apart, knees bent slightly, arms outstretched at the hips as though firing two Colt .45s." (Lowe, p. 169). Its creator, Eugene Jarvis, developed his ideas beginning with plausibility. He wanted a world obeying the laws of physics, with a believable environment, and a reason for being in that world besides just killing something. So the surface of the planet evolved, along with a background of stars to add three dimensionability and movement. The spaceship was brought in, then little men walking around.

The men gave him an answer to what the spaceship would defend. Enemies (landers, pods, baiters, swarmers, bombers, mutants) would threaten the men, the spaceship would kill them and rescue the men. The men were conceived as friends, for Jarvis points out that "In most video worlds, the player doesn't have a friend. It's lonely." (Lowe, p. 230). The game has a smart bomb which destroys everything on the screen, hyperspace which catapults the player into unknown space, and the frightening aspect of the humanoids and aliens turning into doubly powerful mutants when the humanoids are abducted by the aliens. Jarvis calls it "...a game for punks, for guys into games, for life-and-death gamers. It's not for people who aren't as dedicated, who just want to have a good time." (Bloom, p. 60). This is 44 the stuff games should be made of, he contends. But there are diverse arcade games, many of which depart from the

Jarvis model. Bloom (1982) categorizes them into the following groups: 1. Space Invader-type - vertical movement, dodge and shoot, left/right fire buttons, aliens come down from above.

2. Defender-type - horizontal movement, extensive control, fuel gathering, shooting.

3. Space wars-type - extensive controls, movement off the screen and return.

4. First-Person-type - player is on the inside looking out with a scanner helping keep track of location.

5. Pac Wan-type - one-way joystick, cartoon characters, movement through a labyrinth.

6. Climbing-type - climbing from bottom to top while avoiding or destroying obstacles. 7. Adventure-type - elaborate and time-consuming.

Card (1983) is critical of the repetition in game designs which he describes as being merely variations on old themes, those being:

1. Target shoot

2. Tag (catch instead of shoot)

3. Coming at you (running and dodging) 4. Scramble (things get in the way of getting from here to there)

5. Maze (several routes to choose among so player must determine the best one).

In his view even the sports games are nothing more than a combination of these elements. He suggests that computer games, rather than copying arcade games, capitalize on these strengths of the computer:

1. time - allowance for think intervals instead of simply training reflexes.

2. permanence - save, change, and re-use formats.

3. ability to create worlds.

4. individuality - a game uniquely the players, distinguishing the player with more than a score.

He offers a program for a game he calls Railroader, with a guide to tailoring it to individual specifications. Video games are participatory but he avers that "the barrier between programmer and audience shouldn't be so vast."

(p. 84). In other words, it's the programmer's world into which the player is peeking. "What are the arcade wizards, except human beings who have learned to obey the demands of a computer program." (p. 30).

Let children, then, construct their own worlds, where "there are dangers; there are laws; there are strategies for survival; there are rewards for achievement. There is a beginning, an ending. You have more than one chance to make good." (p. 84)

The trend of uniformity is based on what sells best.

Therefore, popular games are copies. (Clark, 1982). Clark 46 speculates, too, that since many designers acquired their computer knowledge before they entered the game world, they consequently fit the game to the machine. She claims that they manipulate plot rather than roles or setting, so that balance is sacrificed.

Game designer Kitchen is more critical. He believes that the industry, in order to survive, must offer alter­ natives to the shoot'em up. His Space Shuttle game takes hours to learn, days to master, and is best played by cooperating, not competing with another player. (Dispatch,

1984).

Crawford (1982) provides one of the most fascinating accounts of game design,1 lending valuable insight into the ways the relationship between player and computer is assessed and balanced. He bases his treatise on these fundamental assumptions:

° Human thought processes are diffuse, associative and integrated.

0 Machine thought processes are direct, linear, and arithmetic.

° The computer is played in the intellectual territory of the human.

He then answers the question of how a game can be designed to enable the computer to compete with and challenge the human. This is done through the means of 1) vast resources;

2) artificial reckoning; 3) limited information; and 4) pace. 47

Vast resources give the computer immense resources as a power base. They can be large numbers of opponents which operate with elementary intelligence or a small number of opponents more powerful than the human's units. In this way the human player's advantage in intelligence is offset by the computer's material advantages.

Artifical reckoning is his substitute for artificial intelligence. It means that first the most absurd moves are obviated so that reasonable behavior is produced. Second, it means that unpredictability is used to fool humans because if they are able to second-guess the computer's behavior, the illusion of intelligence is forfeited.

Limited information provides a method to restrict the human's superior processing power. Clues to success are provided but complete insights are withheld so that details unfold as the game progresses. Pournelle (1984) echoes this in his discussion of if...then statements, which can help players learn the scientific method. They can be embedded in the game and discovered by the player.

Pace also restricts the human's superior processing skills. If the pace is fast enough, there is not enough time to apply them.

Crawford also covers the several possible combinations of relationships between opponents. One is symmetrical in which the human and computer possess the same properties, strengths, and weaknesses. Such games, he points out, are easier to program and learn. They are also limited by this simplicity. Any strategy is used by both sides simultan­ eously. Execution is prized more than planning in this scheme. Another is asymmetrical in that each player has a unique combination of advantages and disadvantages, thereby equalizing skill level and giving both sides the same likelihood of victory. Plastic asymmetry lets players select initial traits according to some set of restrictions which if it results in imbalance, makes the player responsible. Asymmetrical games allow for non-transitive or triangular relationships. This allows the player to attack and defend and mix strategies, unbound by a single role.

Binary relationships make direct conflict unavoidable. They are obvious and expected.

In addition to these techniques Crawford discusses the

"illusion of winnability." If a game is truly winnable it will lose its appeal. If it is to be challenging it must provide a continuing motivation to play. In every game players are expected to fail often. If they attribute their failure to a flaw in the game or its controls they will become frustrated and angry. Lyle Rains, Atari, explains it this way: "You want to develop a healthy level of frustration. You want the player to say, 'Gee, if I put another quarter in, I might do better1." (Langway et al., 49

1981, p. 92). The game will otherwise seem unfair and unwinnable. If, on the other hand, players perceive this

failure to be their own shortcoming they will decide the game requires superior skill and again reject it as unfair and unwinnable. However, if they perceive their failure to be the consequence of correctable mistakes they will believe the game to be winnable and continue play in an effort to master it. This elaborates on Martin Keane's observation

(Director of Technology at Bally) that ideally players feel it's their fault if they lose. (Skow, 1982).

A variety of perspectives on game design are offered by

Bloom (1982) who interviewed several designers to elicit their thoughts.

David Crane (formerly Atari, founder of Activision) - ideas come to him and he then sees if they're playable and graphically intensive enough

Alan Miller (formerly Atari, founder of Activision) - many themes are discarded because they require too much strategy or too much practice to get good at.

Morgan Henry (Atari and creater of Battle Zone) - Listens to and watches people play. Avoids one-activity games.

Eugene Jarvis (Williams Electronics and Creator of Defender) - The mass appeal of games disturbs him because it has created a new breed of player, less skilled, less dedicated, less macho. Television bores people; it's non- participatory. "Games let you take part, allow you to not just escape into another reality, but be the star." (p. 60). 50

David Nutting (an independent who sells to Bally) - State of the art graphics allow players to participate, "like becoming a character in a movie." He has anticipated a new wave of non-violent games and states "...we have to make it so that every time you play, the game will be different." (p. 52-63)

Dona Bailey (formerly Atari) - graphics are the focal point.

Edward Rotberg (formerly Atari) - ideas are everywhere. The technology and cost are determinants.

Gary Shannon (Gremlin) - "Video games transport people out of this world into a complete fantasy world. The games must rivet your attention - lapses won't do... The player has to remain active, must be required to do something all the time." (p. 72)

Tim Skelly (an independent, formerly Cinematronics) - "If there was one central feeling we went for, it was visceral impact. When you got destroyed, we wanted you to feel it." He postulates a "Zen theory of arcade games." The player's attention is caught with lights. "Lights help you focus directly on the endeavor at hand. You concentrate on trying to reach a goal, which in itself is a form of aggression. Basically, you shut down your conscious brain. You are in a light hypnotic state. ...you get to pick up things, to shoot, to score. You must not die - that's the anxiety element. Even if you get blown away...you still feel good because of all the sensory things that have been going on. Anxiety and aggression are the two keys to designing games." (p. 75).

There are nine criteria for good games, according to

Kohl (1983):

1. Intrinsic interest and complexity.

2. Simultaneous processing.

3. Simple and understandable instructions. 51

4. The level of play should be clear. Every beginner should have a way to enter every game so that they can succeed even if only in a very small way.

5. Exciting and poetic.

6. Not too easy a solution.

7. Randomness.

8. No age-grading.

9. Input and feedback.

By interviewing video game players and playing games to identify features of arcade games, Chapin (1983) found that the most important are:

1. Feedback - instant, auditory and visual. Through trial and error the player improves performance.

2. High Response Rate - requires players to devote total attention and leads to automatic responses.

3. Improvement - demonstrable progress.

4. Unlimited Ceilings - players can continue, seemingly forever, to improve their game scores.

There is a psychology of game design based on the principle of reinforcement. Partial reinforcement leads to behavior that occurs more rapidly and is more resistent to extinction. Game designers use variable-ratio or variable- internal schedules of reinforcement which are controlled by the computer. The reward must be scaled so that it's not so large it seems unreal. The shorter the delay in reinforce­ ment, the quicker the behavior will increase in frequency.

(Loftus and Loftus, 1983). 52

Game designers, as Beamer (1982) theorizes, develop their concepts from the following consideratons:

1. Wizardry - whistles and bells

2. Interest - their own fascination

3. Frustration level - setting up players so they think it's their fault if they lose and become determined to try again. They must not think the machine is smarter or better, that the program is unbeatable, the rules unfair, incomprehensible, or unpredictable.

4. Skill Ladder - different levels of competency within a game to accommodate a wide variety of players.

5. Random Reinforcement

6. Methodical Reinforcement

7. Titillation - visual, auditory, emotional

8. Tricks of the trade - same basic game but change the microchip.

9. Active Entertainment.

There are common denominators in game design which pivot on motivation. Among them are a fair challenge, antici­ pation of reward, appeal to the senses, lure of the unknown, credibility, and integrity of the program. Games have a dualistic nature which balances the relationship between player and machine. They are hard but easy, winnable but illusively so, fast paced yet not rushed, controlling but controlled, unlimited but finite, possible but impossible, and smarter than but not as smart as. The juxtaposition of 53 multiple concepts in arcade games gives them broad based appeal and unifies intellect with emotion.

EDUCATIONAL ATTRIBUTES OF VIDEO GAMES

Based on the characteristics of Pac Man, which engages children for sustained periods of time and is enduring as well, Bowman (1982) suggests that learning can be made enjoyable by balancing skill and challenge. Extending the

Pac Man model he recommends that the learning situation be structured so that:

- reward is immediate - everyone is rewarded - a one-to-one relationship is maintained - surprises and suspense versus routine and predictability are created - kids help each other.

Hakanssan, a designer of computer learning games who created Sesame Place's Computer Gallery and formed the

Children's Computer Workshop, believes that through games an engaging, entertaining, and interactive learning environment can be created where the learning concept is embedded and the stages of learning are controlled by the child, not the computer nor the teacher. (Rheingold, 1983).

Likewise, Piestrup, part of the team which created

Rocky's Boots, feels that the colorful, fast changing displays of computer games are somehow related to the learning process and that the game itself provides a 54 landscape of concepts for students to discover. Thus her object is to create a world where risk-taking is encouraged, feedback in gently provided, failure is impossible, success is rewarded with power, and mastery of knowledge leads to greater challenges. (Rheingold, 1983).

Long and Long (1984) in considering the aspects of video games which are transferrable to the learning setting identified the following:

1. Active involvement

2. Option of quitting when the task goes beyond the learner’s ability level

3. Short periods of intense activity

4. Flexible time schedules for learning

5. A controllable environment

6. The chance for mastery

7. Successive levels of difficulty which, . instead of frustrating or discouraging players, motivates them to improve skills, coordination, response time, and strategies.

8. Deductive reasoning to learn from mistakes

9. Continuous auditory and visual feedback

10. As more is learned, anticipation is enhanced and strategies are developed.

11. Thinking in diverse ways is prompted and concentration is improved.

Bowman (1982) observed in his analysis of Pac Man that

1. Skills and challenges are progressively balanced. 55

2. Goals are clear.

3. Feedback is immediate and unambiguous.

4. Relevant stimuli can be differentiated from irrelevant stimuli. These features of games aid the learner in problem solving.

Goals are discerned and means to reach them are analyzed in an iterative way. Cues and clues are sorted, sifted, and used for the contribution they make toward clarification.

Stowbridge and Kugel (1983) demonstrated that the strategies used in learning games represent problem solving approaches in general which are skills applicable to other types of tasks. They had students play various games, each of which was set up with some type of problem. The students then convened to collectively discuss their experiences and returned to the games to reapply their shared knowledge.

The game environment was especially selected for the experiment since it is rule guided, non-threatening, and reports error right away. One observation which can be extended to the practice of teaching and the art of learning is that in the game, any approach that works rewards the player and inspires confidence. The principles the investigators derived from this exercise which parallels problem solving in general are:

- Gather information and see if it is similar to other situations

- List opinions

- Try out each option in turn 56

In other words, the learner reasons.

Malone (1981) conducted three studies to ascertain the features of video games which children find appealing. He has been especially interested in applying those features to school-based learning. In the first study he surveyed elementary students to identify their game preferences. The list of games he provided them was generated by having computer teachers identify the most popular ones. The games were rated on a four-point scale; the order of the list was randomized so that one-half of the respondents saw one ordering while the other half of the subjects saw the reverse. There appeared to be no strong agreement about which games were the best liked. To get a measure of the characteristics defining the most popular games he used a rating based on Banet's motivational value. Through this means he was able to discern that games with goals were the most favored. Other features which linked to game popularity were scoring, audio effects, and randomness. A clear distinction and preference was made for graphics versus word games.

Using this information he investigated in a second study some of the specific characteristics which had been identified. He chose Breakout, one of the most popular games, to test some of the attributes. Breakout is a game which involves 1) scoring, 2) breaking out bricks, and 57

3) bouncing the the ball off the paddle. He constructed six different versions of the game, varying the three features.

The subjects were ten Stanford undergraduates, eight men and two women. He concluded that the goal of breaking out the bricks was the most salient factor of the game and that its entertainment value was much diminished by eliminating the ball bouncing from the paddle. In his analysis he theorized that: "A partially destroyed wall of bricks presents a visually compelling fantasy goal and, at the same time, is a graphic score-keeping device telling how close the player is to attaining that goal. It thus provides a goal, a visual effect, fantasy, and scoring all at the same time." (p. 348).

In his third study Malone used the videogame Darts as an instrument to further explore salient factors of appeal.

This game was developed to teach elementary students about fractions. It introduces three balloons at random. Players try to guess the position of the balloons by typing in' numbers which direct an arrow to them. A circus theme plays at the beginning of the game; if within four tries all three balloons are burst a short song is played. The following variations of the game were created by Malone:

1. No feedback to pl’ayer

2. Performance feedback

3. Scoring

4. Constructive feedback 58

5. Extrinsic fantasy (each time a player guessed correctly, an arrow popped a balloon in another part of the screen).

6. Music 7. Graphic representation

8. Intrinsic fantasy (arrows popped the balloons on the number line)

Interest level was gauged by 1) how long Darts was played compared to the game Hangman, 2) rating on a five-point scale, 3) and a directed question asking which game players preferred.

In this experiment Malone learned that girls preferred the version where the correctness of a guess is not known until the arrow approaches the target versus the one where the arrow is shot by a correct guess. He speculated that girls may be more impulsive or achievement-oriented. He conjectured, too, that the balloon and arrow fantasy just was not appealing to them. Based on his findings Malone suggests that instruc­ tional designers attend to concepts based on challenge, fantasy, and curiosity. The first concept, challenge, he explains, results from providing goals without the assurance of achievement so that there is a measure of success uncertainty. Good goals are those which are personally meaningful. Performance feedback must show the player the extent to which the goal is being achieved. Uncertain 59 outcome can be intimated through variable difficulty levels and multiple level goals. Multiple level goals can be incorporated through the following:

1. Vary the difficulty level of the same set of goals.

2. Let accomplishment of lower level goals lead the learner to higher level goals.

3. Embed information and selectively disclose it.

4. Introduce an element of randomness.

5. Allow the learner to accomplish something at any stage. The second concept, fantasy, lends interest and has intrinsic as well as extrinsic form. Metaphorical presenta­ tion of material to be learned gives the learner new ways of perceiving. Emotionally involving fantasies are compelling.

Since students should be able to relate to the fantasy which carries the image of the learning situation, Malone suggests that they be given choices so that they can select their favorites.

The third concept, curiosity, can be provoked by providing an appropriately moderated level of complexity, wherein some aspects are new and unexpected but the learner does know enough to have some expectations. Here Malone argues for adjustment of the environment to the learner. He discusses two types of curiosity. One is sensory, involving audio-visual stimuli, such as graphics, animation, and music. These are effects which can be used as 1) decoration; 60

2) fantasy enhancement; 3) reward; and 4) a representation system. The other is cognitive, aimed at making the learner want to understand. To do this just enough information is presented to make the learner's knowledge seem insufficient.

The fourth concept, information feedback, is based on the element of surprise (selective unveiling which makes sense at the time of disclosure.) It must also be con­ structive so that the learner can develop a knowledge base.

Identified by Driskell and Dwyer (1984) as being among the most captivating of video game features which sustain player interest are interactive graphics, scoring, and fast pacing. Challenge, competition and curiosity spin off from them. The authors, interested in assaying the potential learning properties of video game-based trainers observed that the following characteristics lend themselves nicely to this purpose: 1) the games involve active participation;

2) they are rule governed; 3) they have specified goals;

4) outcomes are uncertain; 5) there is immediate performance feedback; and 5) player skill and level of challenge are balanced. They found motivational aspects of games to be a promising learning aid since in learning situations where the subject matter itself may not be engaging at the intrinsic level, there is still an extrinsic excitement which may hold attention. • Their views on the motivational features of video games are that they incorporate: 61

1. Challenge - Not too hard or too easy and leading to a "valued goal". They see the state before reaching the goal as being one of "cognitive inbalance or tension," thus increasing motivation. They too sum up the mechanics of games which contribute to challenge by listing "(a) variable difficulty levels, (b) multiple-level goals, (c) cummulative scorekeeping, (d) informational feedback, and (3) unlimited ceiling in performance," (p. 13).

2. Fantasy - enhances excitement but since it is a product of unreality players do not have to worry about the consequences of their actions. It also "facilitates imagery processes."

3. Mastery - curiosity stimulates the player to continue playing and improving to figure out the game and reach new levels.

Game designs are based on principles of "(a) fast pacing and motivational complexity, (b) auditory and visual effects,

(c) informational feedback, and (d) novel environment and game structures," (p. 14).

Driskell and Dwyer considered these principles of video game design in the context of learning strategies and noted that they correspond to paired-associate learning in the following respects:

1. Contiguity - adherence between the stimulus and response items to be learned. 62

2. Informational Feedback - knowledge of results.

3. Practice - rehearsal

4. Content Adaptability - difficulty level adjusts to user performance 5. Focalization - concentration enhanced

6. Interactive Instruction

The application of arcade game features to the construction of engaging learning environments has been prototyped in the ARC-ED Curriculum whose authors have observed

"...it is not inconceivable that many...school learning tasks could be presented through the arcade format-or at least include features of arcade games as a means for motivating students to master educational content." (Chaffin, Maxwell, & Thomas, 1982, p. 175).

The dollars children invest in games attest to their popularity and motivational appeal. So between August, 1980 and December, 1981 Chaffin et. al., conceptualized and developed six arithmetic educational games based on video game formats. These were marketed under the trade name

Arcademic Skillbuilders. They combined concepts of academics and the arcade, building on the following motivational features of video games which they considered to be educationally relevant:

1. Feedback - both visual and auditory and immediate.

Consequence of player response is discerned right away and 63 the score is continuously updated. Correction and improve­ ment usually occur through deductive reasoning.

2. Improvement - change in performance resulting from familiarity and strategy. Poor initial performance is not viewed as failure but as a challenge to improve score.

3. High Response Rates - pacing is fast, attention is focused, and covert decisions are continuously made.

4. Unlimited Ceiling in Performance - difficulty levels increase with progress in ways which are encouraging and minimize frustration.

5. Other Features - graphics, sound, and color.

Built on these features,the ARC-ED Curriculum is keyed to fast pacing; immediate feedback; unlimited celiing; focus on improvement; "want makers not need makers"; mastery based on speed as well as accuracy; and utilization of feedback. But in order to take advantage of the motivational elements of video games for instructional purposes, the authors suggest that educational premises be re-thought. The standard curriculum emphasizes correct responses but perhaps needs to take into account amount of improvement as well. Accuracy is a test of mastery but so is frequency. Student needs, defined by teachers., professors, and textbook publishers, drive the curriculum, to the neglect of student wants. The curriculum should be presented in ways which make children want to learn. Pressure to succeed characterizes school 64 whereas the opportunity to get a fresh start, get another chance to improve, and take satisfaction in small accom­ plishments may be more instrumental in helping students learn. Players learn by self-instruction. As their perfor­ mance improves they are able to explore and discover more and exercise a greater degree of control. This motivates and entertains them, a combination which, if grounded in learning, will stimulate children to want to learn.

(Rheingold, 1983).

Video games teach quickly and imperceptibly. The player is manipulated and manipulates. The player has the illusion of control but obeys predetermined laws. Using these concepts in education can put the learner in control, and allow the learner to take charge, while being led and guided (Naiman, 1982).

Instruction of specialized skills such as spatial visualization can be faciliated by the special proprieties of video games. If success in mathematics is a function of spatial reasoning in contrast to verbal-analytic approaches to problem solving, then training to improve this ability may benefit learners, particularly women, if the evidence supports claims that they tend to be more verbal-analytic and that there is indeed a relationship to mathematics learning. Video games call for repeated interactions, offer auditory feedback, and simulate three-dimensionality, all of which are instrumental in training spatial skills. The timed nature of games also helps channel learners into spatial processing^ Coordination of horizontal and vertical axes is inherent in video games and they demand that visual, auditory, and haptic modalities be integrated. Rotation and movement of objects is also common to video games and would appear to carry over to spatial visualization. Thus the video game is a useful tool in this regard. (Lowery &

Knirk, 1982).

Factors underlying the potential of educating through video games have been addressed by Perkins (1983):

1. Motivation - enthralling, alluring

2. Activation - level of challenge meets the learner's degree of mastery

3. Information - immediate and can be individualized

4. Replication - good programs can be offered to-all students, one on one.

He cautions, however, that one must consider how sustaining the motivation will be, what must be sacrificed to add scoring and graphics, and whether children will be so caught up in the fantasy that they aren't really learning.

He wonders, too, if children will learn academic skills which they can't or won't use except through videogames. He urges educators to give thought to "contextual welding," the transfer of learning in a video game context into other contexts of application. 66

Insights into how players learn are provided by Loftus and Loftus (1983). Sensory bombardment transmits volumes of information to the player. Not all information is needed and total retention would be a hinderance to learning. Some information is critically filtered as the player attends to different sets of incoming information. Performance in video games depends on speed; adroitness in shifting attention from one set of information to another is important.

Some of these shifts are accomplished through eye movement, where peripheral visual is especially helpful. Much information is stored in short-term memory, which has a small capacity. Information in this sphere is lost quickly but can be longer retained through rehearsal. The infor­ mation stored in long-term memory must be accessed quickly in video game playing.

When the player approaches a new game, games played earlier may influence learning and even interfere, especially with similar games. Thus spaced practice rather than "massed" or continuous practice may be the most beneficial. Anticipation is essential-to know when things or what things may occur so that reactions can be planned.

Visual, verbal, and auditory signals must be coordinated.

But the ability to process information visually rather than verbally is the most important in video games, which emphasize visual skills. The ability to perform mental rotations also helps video game players. Motor performance skill and eye/hand coordination is needed for games. Performance gets better with practice.

When players first learn a game they show rapid improvement which then plateaus; the longer they play the slower subsequent improvement will be but it will continue to go up. Most video games are programmed to keep getting harder as the player gets better. When the motor skill has been developed to the point it is automatic it can be done with a minimum of conscious control. Players are usually able to do better when they're not thinking so much about the game.

Videogame players adjust their strategies as they learn. They figure out what is essential and try one or more different strategies for solving the problem. New strategies are discovered, goals are ascertained along with ways for reaching them. Many small bits of information are forged into fewer, bigger ones.

Papert (1980) stresses that children should learn without being taught, a Piagetian concept. In the classroom children seem either to have "got it" or "got it wrong."

With the computer they can fix what goes wrong rather than remaining stuck and being judged on the basis of a predeter­ mined response. The computer allows their mind to keep working instead of stopping it with brakes. While some association is made between computer learning and mechanical thinking, Papert points out that a step by step approach is 68 appropriate for learning certain subjects. So by recognizing what mechanical thinking is and is not, learners may be in a better position to choose a style of thinking to satisfy the requirements of any given task. He emphasizes the significance of "learning that" versus "learning how" and sees the computer as an instrument to promote collaboration between teacher and learner. They can share a problem and the experience of solving it; the teacher doesn't have to feign knowledge. What the learner can learn depends, then, not on the content of the knowledge but the learner's relationship to it. Diminishing the teacher's role as critic is a valuable function of games, notes Coleman (1967). Games can develop in players a sense of control over their destiny. Children, he is convinced, learn best by experiencing the consequences of their actions, not by being taught. In class students operate at different levels while the instruction does not.

Games can cover a wider range of skills and accommodate for more abilities. They provide a "buffered" learning situation where the child can explore and discover without penality. CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

Naturalistic Inquiry

An ethnographic study has as its basis a commitment to understanding a particular milieu from both an etic and an emic perspective. Implicit in its methodological framework is the value placed on participant/observation. The researcher must gain entre to a setting by acting out the roles of the people in that environment and must develop a persona in accordance with the rules which govern that world. From this immersion into the culture the researcher acquires a sensitivity to the forces operating on that world and how the people within it interpret them. This qualitative approach differs from the quantitative orientation in that it emphasizes the participant's point of view, unfiltered by a prescribed and circumscribed unit of analysis. Language, context, nuance, texture, circumstance, condition - all of these are terms which suggest that in qualitative research there is a fundamental recognition of the human as a complex entity which cannot be reduced to the sum of its parts.

Thus it is that the selection of a methodology reflects a philosophical bias as much as a research design decision,

69 70

though it must clearly reflect the nature of the question being asked. Schatzman and Strauss (1973) write that "For the naturalistically-oriented humanist, the choice of method is virtually a logical imperative," (p. 5). Lincoln and Guba

(1985) explain that:

...whatever may be the state of affairs regarding paradigm fit in the so-called hard and life sciences, the naturalistic paradigm provides a better degree of fit with substantive paradigms in the areas of social/behavioral research, (p. 66).

Hammersly and Atkinson (1983) devote attention to an engaging discussion of "what is ethnography" by contrasting positivism and naturalism. Lincoln and Guba (1985) more

fully articulate the discussion through a Kuhnian concept of paradigm as do Cook and Reichardt (1979). Bogdan and Biklen

(1982) provide a brief history of the evolution of qualitative research in anthropology and sociology. They regard phenomenology as its foundation. In the phenomeno­ logical framework the researcher makes no assumption about what people know but rather seeks to grasp the subjective aspects of their behavior.

Positivists have charged phenomenologists employ unscientific research procedures. £ist (1977) refutes some of their claims by pointing out that issues of reliability, validity, generalizability, and subjectivity are concerns of qualitative researchers. Guba (1981) replaces these conventional terms with concepts more appropriate to the 71 naturalistic context: credibility; transferability; dependability; and confirmability.

Lincoln and Guba (1985) make an eloquent, persuasive case for the legitimacy of naturalistic inquiry. One of its most compelling characteristics is that it is holistic in nature. Dobbert (1982) links this feature to the anthro­ pological tradition in which studies are field-based, conducted with a natural history approach, and use the self as the primary instrument of research. Among the fourteen characteristics of naturalistic inquiry identified by

Lincoln and Guba (1985) are the following which serve to guide the researcher to verstehen: 1) natural setting;

2) human instrument; 3) tacit knowledge; 4) qualitative methods; 5) purposive sampling; 6) inductive data analysis;

7) grounded theory; 8) emergent design; 9) negotiated outcomes; 10) idiographic interpretation; 11) case study reporting mode; 12) tentative application; 13) focus- determined boundaries; and 14) special criteria for trustworthiness.

The ideology and procedures of naturalistic inquiry were applied to the description of the arcade game culture to puzzle out its meanings to the participants from their viewpoint. 72

RESEARCH DESIGN

Shaffir, Stebbins, and Turovetz (1980) offer practical advice to the fieldworker based upon researchers’ accounts of their experiences and the writings of scholars in the field. The basic steps around which a field study are organized are 1) getting in; 2) learning the ropes;

3) maintaining relations; and 4) leaving the field.

Getting in requires authorization from gatekeepers to conduct the study. In order to elicit their permission it is often necessary to demonstrate the value of the study to them. There is a reciprocal relationship which enables both parties to benefit from the study. Identifying the authority figures is important as is approaching them diplomatically.

The researcher cannot promise to deliver more than is reasonable nor misrepresent the intent of the study. In discussing access Bogdan and Biklen (1982) identify key questions gatekeepers are likely to ask and advise the researcher to be prepared to respond to them. They are:

1) What are you actually going to do?; 2) Will you be disruptive?; 3) What are you going to do with your findings?; 4) Why us?; and 5) What will we get out of this?

Schatzman and Strauss (1973) state it as guaranteeing confidentiality, respect, and objectivity. In this study the setting was first "cased" to get a sense of the composition of players, traffic patterns, and general set-up. Schatzman and Strauss (1973) suggest "casing" to determine suitability, feasibility, and appropriate tactics. The site was chosen because it is located in a large, heavily trafficked shopping mall. During random visits the researcher noted a representative mix of children. The attendants were approached with an explanation of the study and the researcher's role. They referred the researcher to the manager. He pursued questions regarding negative aspects of the study, forewarning that a project unfavorable to the arcade would not be endorsed. He could not of his own authority give permission to conduct the proposed study and referred the researcher to corporate headquarters in Chicago, identifying the contact: A letter of explanation and request for permission was sent to the Vice President for Marketing.

Follow-up calls were made after two weeks. Within a month the corporation agreed to the study. The Vice President explored the negative side and made sure there was no intent to criticize arcades. After some discussion he seemed receptive and welcomed research which could contribute knowledge. The manager was apprised of the approval. One attendant had suggested the possible need for written, formal authorization but the researcher reported the discussion with Chicago back to the manager who was satisfied to proceed on that basis.

Once gaining entre the researcher has to learn the ropes. Much of this consists of simply being in the field for a sustained period of time. Initially the researcher is quite naive and ignorant. Yet this is not an unwelcome state for it helps screen out biases and preconceptions and allows researchers to become familiar through their roles in the setting. It is a somewhat distressing state as the researcher feels stupid and vulnerable, not knowing whom to trust, what to trust, or whether impressions are valid. But gradually there is increasing awareness and perspicacity.

In this study the attendants served as introductory guides to the arcade. By occasionally playing games, staying in close touch with the attendants, and spending hours standing around and watching, things came into focus and the arcade seemed less foreign and alien. Changing roles added depth to understanding. In a child's world adults can never become children. Children will always see them as adults.

So the researcher, although playing games, talking at the child's level, and dressing casually, remained an adult.

But the researcher did become a player and this was probably a more important relationship to the children since it was one they could relate to on the same level, not hierar­ chically, and not artificially.

The attendants were cordial and helpful, which facilitated the development of a relationship with them.

Parents seldom came into the arcade but when they did, they were easily and readily approachable. It was very difficult, however, to establish rapport with the children. They were non-communicative, spoke in monosyllables, and were hard to reach. Learning the ropes meant ascertaining when during the course of play they might be engaged in conversation:

When they first came in? At the beginning of a game? End of a game? At the dollar bill changer? At the token machine? When they were leaving one game headed for another?

When they inserted a token but before activating the game?

Between screens? During two play when one of the two wasn't playing? Through trial and error and over the course of time this was worked out. Then another set of problems emerged. When children were asked why they liked a game they'd respond "I don't know" or shrug their shoulders and murmur "Cause I like it." Drawing out their thoughts took persistence and the application of a variety of questioning techniques.

In order to maintain relations the researcher, upon entering the field, exchanged social amenities with the attendants. Then the topic was turned to events in the arcade. Sometimes the personal exchanges added another dimension to the data. As an example, when one attendant returned from a Women's Studies Conference she talked a lot about sexism in the games. Rapport with the attendants was maintained in other ways, also. The researcher was a good listener and often times the attendants appreciated talking 76 to another adult. The researcher also offered to relieve them by getting refreshments since the attendants could not leave their stations. When the attendants were repairing machines the researcher approached them helpfully, careful not to distract or interfere. And, in leaving at the end of a field visit the researcher always made farewells to the attendants.

With children a variety of techniques were employed to , I maintain relations with them. The researcher would go up to a game and if a child was playing, would ask if she or he would like to play a game. If they nodded, the researcher put tokens in for both of them. Or the researcher would say to a child "If I put tokens in would you show me how to play this game?" Another approach was "I'm a student at Ohio

State doing a project on what kids think of video games. If

I give you a couple of tokens would you mind answering some questions about your favorite games and stuff like that."

When good players were found the researcher would use them as informants. In exchange for tokens they would explain the games as they played them.

Relations were also maintained with the corporate offices. A personal visit was arranged in Chicago which the researcher followed up with thank-you letters. When the questionnaire was contemplated permission was sought to administer it. Periodic contact with the Chicago Corporate 77

Office was maintained. The draft survey instrument was presented to them for their review.

Leaving the field was not a matter of abrupt disconnection. After several months the researcher paced down site visits and dedicated more time to analysis and- writing. Following this period the researcher returned to the site for additional observation and interpretation, confirmation, and validation of findings, with attendants and a key informant. Even though now out of the field the researcher returns occasionally to the arcade. However, the attendants have all left, including the manager.

PARTICIPANT/OBSERVATION

Spradley (1980) discusses the merits of various forms of researcher participation in a setting. Once the role is determined he recommends that the researcher begin with general observations and questions which are descriptive in nature. This period phases into focused and then selective observations and questions although no one period is ever phased out completely. Descriptive observations he types as grand tour and mini-tour. Grand tour observations take in dimensions of 1) space; 2) action; 3) activity; 4) object;

5) act; 6) event; 7) time; 8) goal; and 9) feeling. Mini­ tours are snapshots within a setting. Rather than a sweeping panaramic view they frame some particular aspect for 78 exploration. Questions coupled with observation at the grand or mini-tour levels surface relationships among the minidimensions. The arcade was visited at varying times on varying days to try to discern patterns in types of players, types of play, behaviors, and any other distinguishable features of the environment. A temporal pattern soon emerged. Children came in primarily on Friday evenings and Saturday afternoons, especially just before and after the matinee. During school days no children came in except for an occasional infant or toddler brought by a mother just passing through as a diversion. Even during the summer there were few children in attendance during the week day. Children present when it was less dense were less approachable than when it was crowded. They were less willing to talk and would leave the arcade if special notice was taken of them.

It was difficult to approach children. First, they are taught not to trust strangers. Second, they are in the arcade to have fun, not to be hassled with questions. Early in the study the researcher would watch children a while and then try to ask them questions while they were leaving one machine to go to another or while they were waiting for the next wave of the program. Questions other than those which related to specific aspects of the game being played were not well received. Children would not say anything or shrug and say "I don't know", and even walk away if they weren't playing. Questions seemed to make them uneasy and trapped.

Their eyes darted around and they were poised to scurry away. The researcher tried different tactics like queing up for a game and then asking a child waiting if she or he would like to play, putting in tokens for two-play while asking. Children who looked like they had perhaps run out of tokens or had no money, judging from their circuit through the arcade and the extent to which they played games were approached. The researcher would explain that she was a student at Ohio State doing a study of "what kids think about video games" and offer them a couple of tokens for answering questions. Initially the researcher was discouraged by children's lack of enthusiasm and uneasy about soliciting information. Sometimes parents would come in just as the researcher was turning away from a child and they'd hasten over in apparent anxiety. A few times when children were talking with the researcher the parent would come to take them away and would insist they leave immediately. If the child asked to finish answering the question the parent would become quite forceful.

The first observation was begun by making a map of the location of the games so that it could be used to help recall situations. The markings were labored over until children started staring, after which the cartographic task was less studied. This early awareness of how the researcher's presence might be intrusive resulted in note- taking being delayed until departure from the arcade. After a few attempts at total recall which failed miserably the researcher took breaks every hour or so to jot down notes.

Even this was unsatisfactory so yet another method was applied. A game located in a corner was down so the surface of the inner part of the cabinet was used to scribble notes. Sometimes a piece of 8^ x 11" or 8% x 14" paper was folded in fourths and used for speed writing as the researcher circulated through the arcade. As the researcher became more adjusted to the instanteous note-taking it also became clear that, children hardly took notice. Eventually notes were openly recorded as children were talking. This did not seem to affect them. Every once in a while one would ask

"Are you writin' all this stuff I'm sayin1 down?" and the researcher would reply that it was necessary to refer to their thoughts later on to aid in recollection. One boy asked if the researcher was "doing secretary writing," another wanted to know if the researcher was a reporter, and one asked to see what had been written. The completeness of what was being translated to writing was uneven. Spradley

(1980) points out that notes taken during field observations represent an abbreviated version of what actually occured, captured in fragments of phrases, single words, and 81 unconnected sentences. Note-taking still seemed problematic so a tape recorder was used. Neither the attendants nor police officers were recorded for fear that they would be too self-conscious or would be reluctant to express their real feelings. The recorder was on while standing at a machine to try to pick up player monologue or dialogue.

There were many noise distractions which garbled the audio reading, however. Arcades are very noisy. Each game has unique sounds, there were fifty games being played at any one time, and coupled with people sounds the noise frequency is high. Especially contributing to the cacophony are firing games and those with things blowing up. The Hyper

Sports and Track and Field games are pronounced in the sound chatter they create. Players bang the buttons rapidly while yelling loudly. Not only is there a roar of background noise, the game where the microphone is the closest clamors above the din. Also, a powerful microphone is needed to capture conversation. Short of putting it up to the speaker's mouth there's no way to capture all talk. Children were recorded when they discussed the games with the researcher. There was no attempt to conceal it. No children objected or seemed anxious about being recorded. It was helpful to replay talk with the children so that the tenor could be modified if it seemed unnatural, cold, was couched in big words, didn't sound conversational, or seemed to neglect points which should have been pursued when children 82 mentioned them. Thus it made the researcher a better

communicator.

The attendants were good informants although they were not completely attuned to the children's arcade world view.

At first learning about the games and trying to figure out

if there were new ones, relocated ones, and withdrawn ones was time consuming. The attendants always helped reconfigure the map.

Parents were generally cordial when the purpose of the study was explained and their opinions sought, although they

seemed often almost embarrassed to express their ideas.

Most were excited about the study and were interested in the

findings.

A couple of months into the study the researcher made an appointment to see the Vice President of Marketing at

Aladdin's Castle in Chicago. Aladdin's is a large national arcade chain owned by Bally-Midway. He dedicated the entire day and was most helpful and interested. When asked about administering a written survey he was quite amenable. The executive vice president was introduced and shared his experiences and views. The offices of Aladdin's are located in the same complex as Bally's. A receptionist sits behind a glass-enclosed area and electronically unlocks an entrance to the offices to certified visitors who wear guest badges. 83

In addition to visiting Aladdin's the researcher also conducted a telephone interview with Rhiannon, a software designer for programs with girls as their target audience.

When they learned of the nature of the study they enthusias­ tically responded and as information was exchanged the interview developed in an illuminating way for both parties.

They were particularly intrigued with the cooperative nature of girls' play.

Thus ethnographic interviews also added meaning to the video game culture. Meaning can be inferred from the language of participants. The role of the participant/ observer must be balanced in order to see beyond the particular yet develop a native perspective. The juxtaposition of the role provides a wide angle lens with focusing capability. Involvement of the researcher lends indigenous insights.

By using triangulated sources of data the researcher reconstructed the world view of the arcade through inductive analysis; As connections were made and taxonomies generated, a case study description evolved.

CHART 1

Schedule of Observation

April 13 Friday 10:00 am-12:30 pm 2^ Hours

April 17 Tuesday 11 : 00- 1:00 2 Hours

April 19 Thursday 12:00-1:30 1^ Hours 84

Chart 1 (continued)

April 21 Saturday 12:00-3:00 3 Hours

April 25 Wednesday 7:00-9:00 pm 2 Hours

April 27 Friday 1:00-3:00 3 Hours

May 4 'Friday 7:00-9:00 2 Hours

May 5 Saturday 2:30-5:00 2^ Hours

May 7 Monday 11:00-12:00 1 Hour

May 15 Tuesday 2:30-5:00 Hours

May 19 Saturday 3:00-5:00 2 Hours

May 20 Sunday 2:00-4:30 2^ Hours

May 23 Wednesday 12:00-2:00 2 Hours

May 30 Wednesday 12:30-4:30 4 Hours

June 1 Friday 7:00-9:00 2 Hours June 4 Monday 7:00-8:30 . 1% Hours

June 10 Sunday 2:30-4:30 2 Hours

June 12 Tuesday 7:30-9:00 1^ Hours

June 14 Thursday 12:00-2:00 2 Hours

June 16 Saturday 2:00-4:30 2^ Hours

June 18 Monday 7:00-9:00 2 Hours

June 19 Tuesday 7:00-8:30 1^ Hours

June 22 Friday 8:00-9:30 1^ Hours

June 27 Wednesday *1:00-3:00 2 Hours July 2 Monday 7:00-8:30 1% Hours

July 5 Thursday 7:30-8:50 1^ Hours

July 11 Wednesday 11:00-4:00 6^ Hours 7:30-9:00 85

Chart 1 (continued)

July 17 Tuesday 12 :00- 1:00 1 Hour

July 28 Saturday 1:00-5:00 6 Hours 7:30-9:30

August 11 Saturday 12:45-6:00 5 Hours

August 18 Saturday 12:30-4:00 3^ Hours

Total number of days 31 Total number of hours 76

DATA ANALYSIS

In qualitative research analysis is on-going. Field notes are continuously reviewed for leads to focused observation and questions. Since not everything in a setting can be covered at once or totally in depth, the researcher focuses inquiry through 1) personal interest; 2) suggestions by informants; 3) theoretical interest; 4) strategic ethnography; and 5) organizing domains. Domain analysis builds categories of cultural meaning and is organized around the language of the setting. Domains are comprised of a cover term, included terms, and semantic relationship.

(Spradley, 1980).

Examples of identifying domains in the video arcade study are dead games and hassling, as illustrated in the following table. 86

CHART 2

Domain Analysis

Included Terms Semantic Relationship Cover Term

Broken Games Are a kind of Dead Game

Malfunctioning Games

Games with Chronic Mechanical Problems

Seldom-Played Games

Putting in penny Are ways to Hassle instead of token

Triggering reset without token

Claiming not to know two token game is not a one token game and asking for token back

Focused observation is based on structural or "What?" types of questions which are often repeated during the course of the study. Contrast questions also help verify researcher impressions and understandings.

Field notes included reflective and marginal notes, bracketing to distinguish researcher thoughts and language from participants' statements, and a diary of personal feelings and insights. The latter helps account for research bias. Notes were dated and printed on numbered lines for ease of retrieval and contextual reference. Informants

(children and attendants primarily) were used to validate, amplify, and clarify findings from the notes. As an example, in trying to understand laser disk games the researcher aked if certain games were of that category. Or if children had pronounced a game boring, in addition to asking why, the researcher confirmed understanding by asking if particular games were boring. To help in the search for relationships, Spradley

(1980) advises conducting a taxonomic analysis by 1) selecting a domain; 2) looking for similarities based on semantic relationships; 3) looking for all included terms;

4) searching for more inclusive domains; 5) constructing a preliminary taxonomy; 6) making focused observations to validate the analysis; and, finally 7) completing the taxonomy. Lincoln and Guba (1985) suggest identifying concepts in the field notes, labeling them and transferring them to cards, clustering, sorting, re-categorizing, expanding categorizes, and collapsing categories. Both techniques were used in this study. Miles and Huberman

(1984) provide detailed guidance on developing matrices of concepts but Lincoln, Guba and Spradley are more practical advisors. 88

As an example, the class of boring games was established and defined as those games which are repetitive, have no levels, give no bonuses, require little decision-making, have no goals within goals, and are easy to learn. Children were the primary source of categories. They were also observers. They were asked to comment on various events and behaviors.

Once the field notes were analyzed a questionnaire was drafted. It consisted of questions designed to confirm insights, to amplify areas of seeming significance, to compare and contrast the qualitative/quantitative aspects, and to add another dimension of trustworthiness to the study. The questions were couched in language from the notes, pitched to the children's level of understanding. The draft instrument was reviewed with the Polimetrics Laboratory on of the O.S.U. campus, a questionnaire authority, after which the questions were regrouped so that they followed a logical sequence and balanced hard ones with easy ones. It was also reviewed with three members of the dissertation committee, the fourth being out of the country at the time.

Another trip to Chicago was scheduled, to meet with the Vice

President of Aladdin's Castle. He read the draft, made suggestions, and asked perceptive questions about the rationale for some of the items. Following that meeting the researcher went to the Game Room in Chicago which was reported 89 to be a frequently used site for new game evaluations.

There the owner also critiqued the draft and shared her observations and experiences. A consultation was then arranged with Williams Electronics, the biggest pinball manufacturer and the one which employs the designers of

Defender, the all-time great arcade video game, and Mystic

Marathon. Designer Steve Ritchie gave feedback on the questionnaire and talked about his philosophy. Back in

Columbus the arcade manager and two attendants read the questionnaire and gave further input. The researcher also went over it with two excellent players, age twelve, with whom a close bond had been established. Finally, the questionnaire was field-tested with five children, randomly selected at the arcade, who represented each age in the age range presented. Their responses were analyzed with the

Polimetrics Lab to complete the final version. With their approval the survey was administered to one-hundred children.

Since the questionnaire was eight pages in length and since it was more realistic to survey at the arcade site in the actual environment rather than at school, a sample of one- hundred seemed manageable. It was hoped that their answers would be closer to their real feelings if they were connected to the place of their origin.

Logistically, surveying on site was problemmatic.

There was considerable discussion of where the children 90 would be able to sequester themselves to answer. The arcade offers no such room. The manager and attendants were queried for possibilities. They suggested contacting the mall manager. The mall manager was emphatic; the mall does not permit questionnaires on the premises. The uncertainty remained until the day the first of the questionnaires was administered, a Saturday afternoon. However, in one corner in the back of the arcade are three pinball machines. On that day they were all three inoperable so they were used as the base of operation. The mall has no jurisdiction within the arcade confines. Small children, often asked their age, were tagged. The purpose was explained and they were offered tokens for answering the questions. They were given the questionnaire to flip through before deciding. Two boys refused, including one whose friend said yes. At any given time there were five to seven children at the pinball machines. A large OSU badge with boldly printed name was worn by the researcher to lend credibility and reassurance.

One parent refused to let his two boys participate after he thumbed through the questionnaire and another said they wouldn't have time.

In its final form the instrument consisted of fifty-four questions, several open-ended, so it took children a while to fill it out. They received constant attention. Support and encouragement were offered and questions were clarified as needed. The plan was to give each child two tokens

(equivalent to fifty cents) but three were offered when it became clear that it was a painstaking process. In many cases four tokens were given, particularly to the younger children, to reward them for their trouble, to make them feel it had been worthwhile, to keep them from feeling they had been taken advantage of, and to compensate for the length as well as having taken them away from play. One boy had answered questions on the first page when his mother came in and took him away. He wanted to finish it but she wouldn't let him. He received two tokens anyway. A couple of children took their questionnaire outside to a bench to complete them. If they were together they were cautioned not to discuss their answers with each other. When questionnaires were returned they were scanned and coded black or white for race. They were also asked to write their names in an effort to prevent them from filling out more than one. As it turned out the researcher knew who had or had not filled out one. It took two days to complete administration. Many children from the first day were there on the second so they weren't asked again to participate.

Two boys asked if they could fill out another one and get more tokens. Adults with children were asked for permission.

All but two responded positively. 92

MAP

Office

S 3 C/5 fu rr H P5 U ) i - i Bill Token 4>, Changer Machine % •< Frogger Rally X Phoenix Joust Hyper Sports Jungle Hunt Mystic Marathon Baby Pac Man Crossbow Millipede Bomb Jack Firefox Popeye Bump & Jump Xevious Blaster Moon Patrol Astron Belt Sinistar Circus Charlie Q-bert Karate Champ Zaxxon Krull Root Beer Tapper

jCS o^ Bulletin Token Machine Board Bill Changer

Approximately 60' x 30' CHAPTER IV

RESULTS

The results- of the study are based upon an analysis of field notes, interviews, and tabulation of the survey data.

Since the questionnaire was administered to only one hundred children there is an insufficient base to break down respondent categories into more than general sex and race comparisons. Chi square and t- tests of correlation were weak, only a hundredth of a point within statistical significance in many cases and none in others. The data do serve to point out, however, that children agree among themselves and differ as well in significant ways on various aspects of arcade play. The survey data reinforce field site data and also illustrate points of departure which allow the researcher insights into children's interpretations of survey type questions. The headings which form the outline of this section were derived from analyzing the field notes. As various concepts emerged in sorting through the data they were merged and evolved naturally into the following components. The survey questions were based upon a preliminary analysis of the field notes although without regard to thematic grouping. However, they support the conceptual groupings in a complementary way. Overall the

93 94 results indicate that children love to learn through discovery, like old standards but need to be constantly challenged by new games, prefer complexity in game design, are motivated by challenge to self, distinguish play from reality, are intrigued by sophisticated graphics, and have a wide range of individual game preferences.

References to games identified in this chapter can be found in Appendix A where they are described in alphabetical order. In the appendix they are also categorized according to a classification scheme developed by a twelve-year old boy.

HOW CHILDREN LEARN THE GAMES

The way children learn games is an important key to understanding how they acquire knowledge. With respect to video games they do not expect nor want outright explana­ tions. There are a few instructions printed on game cabinets but children largely ignore them. They want to learn by figuring out for themselves the unknown. In order to do this they need guides. These guides are other players whose skill can be observed. Good players open up a game to other players, giving them a revue of patterns. Observers take note of the objectives and "if this ... then" sequences which they then try to apply themselves. Observation coupled with experimentation enable players to master a game eventually. They're willing to devote a lot of time to learning but once they've mastered a game they're bored by it and ready to learn another. Some children are quick to pick up patterns and come to be known as the best players.

Some are content to conquer simpler games, some like the mix of simple and complex ones, and some become bored quickly if the games seem too easy to learn. Put simply, children learn at different levels although their primary means of learning may be similar. Arcade video games provide children an opportunity to learn at their own pace and motivates them to try.

Children learn the games primarily by watching other people play and by just trying themselves. They catch on to objectives and then work out the game concept. The entry point varies among children. Children see different things in a game. Each thing is a piece of the puzzle and with any given piece established they can build on it. Some children are faster than others. The variety of games gives players a field in which to express their individual talent. If children are not good at one game they can try another and the odds are that they'll find at least one they are good at playing. Once they establish themselves with that game they can transfer some of the problem solving strategies they've developed or simply rely upon self-confidence as an aid to further progress. There are demonstrations of features of the game which scroll across the screen as a kind of preview. 96

An example of this is Mystic Marathon which scrolls a poem containing hints on how to play:

"Once every year it is decreed That those who have the will For glory, fame, and wealth indeed Shall meet in games of skill.

A marathon will be their test On mystic isles of lore And whomsoever proves the best More clever, faster than the rest Will top the greatest score.

To be the greatest you must use Strong magic if you dare For on the isles the foes will choose The magic paths to make you lose Unless you beat them there.

But dangers lurk on land and seas To guard the treasures bright So while you gather points with ease Avoid the trolls, the rocks, the trees Or you will feel their might.

Above all don't forget the race Place third or better, friend If you let magic slow your pace Or treasures pull you from the chase Your marathon will end."

There are also printed instructions on the game cabinet.

Each of these sources of information highlights key aspects of the game and provides clues on how to play. However, the primary means of learning are watching and trial and error.

This was clear from field observation and discussions with children. The survey also bore this out.

Three fourths of all the children surveyed responded that they learn in this manner. Watching alone accounts for two-thirds of the responses with the exception of girls who in greater percentage reported learning by trial and error. 97

One possible explanation for this difference is that girls don't spend as much time in arcades as boys. On the average, girls stay an hour or less while boys stay a couple of hours. When they do come in to the arcade they do not seem to feel comfortable standing around and watching. They more often come in with other girls or their boyfriends. They are also more likely to drop in while shopping at the mall just to play a game or two. They are not a part of the network of players who learn from each other. They don't seem to feel the need to prepare themselves for play as much as the boys and tend to play more intuitively.

Table 1 Survey Question Number 38

HOW DO YOU LEARN ARCADE VIDEO GAMES? .

Boy Girl Black White

Watching People 36 18 17 37 (62.1%) (42.9%) (65.4%) (50%)

Just by trying 8 14 3 19 (13.8%) (33.3%) (11.5%) (25.7%)

75.9% 76.2% 76.9% 75.7%

Other 14 10 6 18 (24.1%) (23.8%) (23.1%) (24.3%)

N 58 42 26 74

The process of learning is manifest in the arcade.

Through their utterings, quizzical looks, and b

Root Beer Tapper handles the controls awkwardly, glasses 98 break continually and the game is over quickly. He reflects a moment, puts another token in, and tries again. This time his execution is a little less hesitant and fewer glasses break. He quickly inserts another token. He moves the Root

Beer man from table to table and gathers the glasses, managing to keep the customers served for a few moments until the sequence fails. He blinks, stares, and says "Oh,

I get it." He has discovered that a customer with back turned should not be served. There are signals which cue players' behaviors and they figure out how to plan their own action.

"You just gotta watch the other fighter and see if he puts his guard up or down."

"All you have to do is look at his eyes. When the eyes turn yellow, Kid Quick has the quickest eyes."

"On Broad Jumper, see, I keep it down low and then press hold, let up and hold again." The players come to some sort of moment of recognition which are "aha! experiences" for them. They see something which enables them to penetrate the mystery. They find a way for themselves which they parlay into an overall game plan.

"I move from the edges in."

"My trick is when you come to a certain speed,jump."

"You have to look for things that happen, like the open spaces of the Black Knight [Dragon's Lair]. The Black Knight, 99 that's what I have to watch out for. I have to watch him

for a long time before I can do it. I used to go right but you have to go back and I learned that."

"Well, at first I couldn't understand it [Sinistar]. I didn't know how to get Sinisbombs. So I just died, died, died, but now I do."

"I jump, look up there for a few seconds [radar] and then come down and as I'm looking up there I'm pushing the joystick and firing." One boy, age twelve, played with acumen. As he put it

"I'm real quick to catch on to the patterns. I see what the object is and I see an overall pattern." When the latest new game, Pac Land, was introduced he immediately set a high score record which he has increasingly surpassed. He agreed to write a description of the game. The researcher, who often watched him play, asked for further explanations.

About a week or so later he amplified his description.

Notes wound around the margin and back of the page as he elaborated. When he was finished his younger sister joined him and he excitedly explained to her "Look Nicky, see that.

See all that scribbling there. That's all the stuff I've learned since I first wrote that up." His original was probably more illuminating than most but even so he was able to add considerable new knowledge based on his discoveries.

Some of the discoveries are serendiptious. In Pac Land the player has to push a fire hydrant to get a helmet which 100 energizes. This player explained how he learned to get an energizer.

"Well, you know Marge, right? Well, she accident­ ally went the wrong way, stumbled into the fire hydrant and got the helmet. Who would think to try to push the hydrant. So then I started pushing other things like the tree stumps. I'm the one who discovered invisibility and warp."

He's excellent at several games and holds the high scores, of which he is proud. Articulate and bright, he likes to show off, is flippant, and wise-cracking. Among the games he plays best is Hyper Sports and he enjoys dueling with other players. Even so he seems to care not so much about challenging others and showcasing his talent as he does pushing himself to new heights and squeezing every point possible from a game. He is more interested in whether other players can attain his apogee than he is in beating them. In seeking self-improvement he ponders all the possibilities of a game and wonders if it's humanly feasible to accomplish more than he has, taking into account all the skills one could bring to bear on'the problem. Having concluded in some instances that it's not likely, that he's just about achieved perfection, he continues to try. His persistence arises in part from his recognition of the frailty of human beings. You might not do as well this time as last, and if not, you have to find other ways to offset mistakes made here and there. In part it is a function of exploring the limit. With the machine there's always a small, lurking suspicion that it holds something in reserve. 101

Here is a player eager to test his own reserves and surface those hidden within the computer.

When they make mistakes players are sometimes bewildered and either immediately try again, wait and watch another player, or return to a game they know before attempting the new game again. Children in the arcade have several options for coping with their failures. There's no pressure and inexorable force keeping them on task when they feel unprepared to continue. If they need to withdraw briefly and regroup, they can. If they feel unintimidated they can try again. Usually they try at least a couple of times before retreating. Retreat typically is not prolonged.

They can take time out to play a game they know and affirm their confidence and ability, thereby recollecting their self-esteem. Then when they try a new game their faith in themselves is renewed. Sense of failure is protected in the arcade. There's always some game you can play sufficiently well to accummulate at least a few points. You can also see that other people may not be able to play the game any better than you. You can always try again, wiping the score board clean and freeing yourself from the burden of past performance. And you can watch people who do know the game and pick up information to apply yourself.

Boys share information with each other. They offer advice, coach, and at particularly difficult moments in a game explain-how to surpass the obstacle. It is as though 102 they are a fraternity with the goal of breaking the machine.

Man against machine. Each conquers it on his own terms with a little help from his friends. These victories represent the mastery of man over machine. Occasionally, when they are paired at a machine, one boy will take over for the other to steer him through a sticking point and then return the controls. This may occur when the player has advanced so far that a small defeat is a setback to a distant beginning. It may also occur when the player says "I always mess up on this part," preparing himself for the worst. An ally might talk him through the hard part or act on his behalf. Unsolicited help is provided, also, by knowledgeable strangers, who while watching players, will illuminate them with explanations like "You didn't use your shield," "That one drops down on the third wave," or "Flap down now and you'll land on the egg." There is a team mentality among the boys which programs them to help each other in this way.

Girls help each other, too, but in a different way.

They share the controls more than the secrets of the game.

One pushes the fire button while the other moves the joy stick. In a cooperative way they work together to win.

Success is not so much a matter of individual skill as combined skills. Boys have to win for themselves, with a boost if needed from their peers. Winning is the challenge to themselves and ultimately the triumph of man over machine.

Girls reduce the components of the machine to parts and 103 distribute them on assignment basis in order to make them work effectively in a harmonious way. The boys integrate the function of the controls within themselves until they can operate in smooth unity. The girls disassemble them and let the parts work in a mechanical order. If they fail there is no individual blame. If they succeed it is because they played their roles or parts perfectly. Boys seem to be more personally involved; there is a self-investment. Girls do not stake as much as boys. Both boys and girls are patient in learning. Critics eschew the instant gratification aspect of video games. But children will spend hours playing and watching in order to learn more, to improve themselves. They keep on trying even though the reward may be quite small until they progress.

Younger children give up and resign themselves to defeat when playing games that they find especially difficult.

Older children are willing to try games several times before giving up altogether. Younger ones are comforted by easier, less complex games although some small children are quite skillful at some of the more sophisticated games.

Children play on an intellectual basis. They understand about computers and look for the vulnerable spots. They look for the patterns, anticipate, and reason inductively.

The children of this generation know about technology and do not display the computer anxiety of adults. They are willing 104 to experiment and aren't afraid to venture forth, whereas adults remain trepid and cautious.

Illustrating the sophisticated cognitive processing skills children summon up when playing is the following conversation with an eleven year old boy:

Researcher: "How do you know where you are?"

Boy: "It's just a matter of memorizing the screens.

Once you go through a certain number of

screens you can tell when the round ends by

certain figures in the background. See, this

is level 3, round 11."

Researcher: "They look the same as round 1."

Boy: "They're a different configuration."

Researcher: "Is the level how hard it is?"

Boy: "The level doesn't determine it; the board

does."

Researcher: "What's the level determine?"

Boy: "It more or less tells you where you are. It

doesn't tell the game; it tells you."

Researcher: "How do you know what to do when you play the

game."

Boy: "I determine what the object is. Once you

determine that, you know what to do."

Researcher: "What is a round?" 105

Boy: "There are five rounds to a level but they

don't tell you what level you're in. This is

level 1, round 1."

Researcher: "Does this one have boards and levels?" Boy: "Yeah, sort of. The boards and levels on

this one merge. When it changes color it’s

going to a different level."

Researcher: "Like Q-bert?"

Boy: "No, not in that manner. See, it changes

color. Most of the time you can tell you're

in a different screen when the characters

change. It doesn't really have levels.

Let's see if I can get that far."

Boy: "I hate the whole Pac Man series. They're

boring. I like things where the screens

change. I like multi level things. I always

want to see new levels whenever I play a

game, like Mystic Marathon I like to continue

just to see what's next and it's the same

with Astron Belt. It took me a long time to

get to the end of it. I haven't played it

since then."

"I like to see the screens in Bomb Jack.

It's multi-screened and as it goes on the

screens change. It's really neat to see what

type of screens there are." 106

Researcher: "Even though they change they're much the

same, aren't they?"

Boy: "Yeah, but there's a little twist thrown in

each time."

Children have respect for the game programming. They also have faith in the integrity of the machines. If they suspect a flaw they are quick to report it. Problems with the controls upset them and they fret about needed mechanical repairs. They look to the attendants to help with a faulty reset or token slot. But the content of the game, the program, they feel is reliable. This is evidenced by a conversation with a boy aged twelve:

Researcher: "Do you think that games have little tricks

built into them that keep you from being

perfectly good?"

Boy: "Garbage in. Garbage out. Same with

computers as with games. All's it is is a

game."

Researcher: "I mean do you think they try to fix it so

you can't be perfect?"

Boy: "You can't fix a game. I mean you can't fix

something like a computer. I mean you can

but it really has to be a pretty corrupt

machine. It has to be programmed so that

when a person gets this certain score you

blow them up on purpose or something like 107

that. It has to be a pretty corrupt machine

to do that."

Adult concerns about impulsivity and instant gratification engendered by video games may be tempered by recognizing that children demonstrate great patience not only in learning but in seeking access to the games. This was first clear in watching children and was reinforced in their responses to the survey. Two thirds of the players surveyed, as evidenced in Table 2, stand and wait until their favorite game is available. They don't throw a tantrum, bully their way in, or whine. Waiting reflects their commitment to a goal, to play a particular game, their perserverance, and their interest in learning from others.

Watching others play their favorite game while they wait gives them a measure of their own skill and gives them other insights into the game. Their willingness to wait may also signify that they tend to stick with their favorites and are a little anxious about turning to other games.

Table 2 Survey Question Number 51

WHEN SOMEONE'S PLAYING YOUR FAVORITE GAME WHAT DO YOU DO?

Boy Girl Black White

Stand and Wait 39 27 20 46 (68.4%) (64.3%) (76.9%) (63%)

Other 18 15 6 27 (31.6%) (35.7%) (12.3%) (37%)

N = 57 42 26 73 New games are constantly being introduced into the market. During the six month period the researcher was on site new games appeared every week. Girls tended to ignore them while boys clustered around any player willing to try a new game out right away. Boys also were more experimental, and tried new games more often. When token specials, allowing them discounts, were in effect boys made the rounds of all the games. Based upon their observed behavior one of the survey questions addressed player response to new games.

From Table 3 it seems that girls are a little more likely to gather information before making a decision to play, a little less likely to experiment, and a little more likely to be persuaded by others. Boys, while fairly evenly divided on their approach lean slightly more towards exploration.

Blacks, too, are similarly divided, with all populations except boys more oriented to getting a reading from others first. Girls lean more heavily in this direction than the others, perhaps because they are more parsimonious, more influenced by fashion, and less interested in the game qua computer or machine, to be mastered. 109

Table 3 Survey Question Number 56

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU SEE A NEW GAME?

Boy Girl Black White

Try it right away 29 17 12 34 (51.8%) (40.5%) (48%) (46.6%)

Wait to hear from 27 25 13 39 friends about it (48.2%) (59.5%) (52%) (53.4%)

N = 56 42 25 73

ONE PLAYER VERSUS TWO PLAYER

Most arcade games have two-player features. However, the players still play individually. It is separate play and they take turns, each with their own screen which comes up on the monitor. When the first player's turn is over the controls are turned over to the second player whose screen comes up at the point she or he last left it.

Children prefer to play alone rather than with others.

This does not suggest so much that they prefer the company of machines to humans but rather that the nature of two-play as it is currently designed provides no opportunity for interaction. So it is as though they are alone anyway.

Furthermore, there are disadvantages to two-play as children point out:

"I prefer to play by myself cause then it doesn't take so long."

"When you have a partner by you, they're tellin' you to do this or that and it makes you mess up all the time. I 110 usually play games by myself. You can have better concen­ tration. "

"You don't have to be bossed around."

"It gets me so nervous if someone else is ahead and I'm trying to get ahead of them and then I can't keep my mind on what I'm doing."

"I don't have to take turns."

"You don't get so disturbed. You can concentrate and use your intelligence and skill."

"It's boring if someone is better."

"If the other person is too good you have to wait too long."

"Waiting for someone is boring when you could just keep playing yourself."

"I might lose and I don't want to get embarrassed."

So children are more interested in self-challenge than challenging others, particularly if there is apparent disparity between skill levels. They don't want distractors and they don't want to put themselves on public display if they're not very good. They judge their own performance as opposed to having it evaluated by others. There are times when two play is acceptable to them such as when they want to just learn from another better player, or if they are both pretty good at a game. But when they play together in this way, the one not playing leaves and returns when the other's turn is up, watches other people, and generally Ill ignores the second player. There doesn't seem to be real mutual interest.

Sports games, notably Track and Field, and Hyper Sports, are designed for two players with some variations. The player's character competes with others who are programmed.

The player can compete with a partner, but again separately as though there were two different games being played.

However, two play is very popular on these sports games. It is as though athletic competition summons up the people challenge. These games attract large crowds, primarily boys, who yell, clench their fists, give the high five, strike victory poses and otherwise behave as though they were in the arena. The sports games simulate the playing fields of life where physical skill is a measure of overall competency.

Although during the observation period and in discussion most children consistently said they preferred to play alone, the survey did not seem to bear this out. As is seen in Table 4 boys were fairly evenly divided in their preference for playing alone or with another person. Girls seemed to be more inclined to opt for playing with another person rather than alone. However, the boys' responses may be attributed to their enthusiasm for the sports games which seem to attract two player combinations much more than any other type of game. Girls, because they tend to share the controls, probably responded on the basis of their collabor­ ative team work, not playing against another player but with 112

another player. Black children, however, showed a stronger preference to play alone rather than with someone else.

This may be because they look to the games for escape from

external pressures and seek solitary refuge, a reason

offered for why they like arcade video games.

Table 4 Survey Question Number 37

PREFERENCE FOR PLAYING ALONE OR WITH ANOTHER PERSON

Boy Girl Black White

Both the same 3 1 1 3 (5.2%) (2.4%) (3.8%) (4.1%)

Alone 25 16 15 26 (43.1%) (38.1%) (57.7%) (35.1%)

With Another Person 30 25 10 45 (51.7%) (59.5%) (38.5%) (60.8%)

N = 58 42 26 74

WHY CHILDREN LIKE THE GAMES

Children love the challenge of playing video games.

They are motivated to improve their scores which are the performance indicator. They see the measure of their progress but are not reminded of it. When the game is re-set they start anew, using information gained through previous play. The score serves as a stimulus. Game designers set the points so that they're high enough to be rewarding but not so high that they're unbelievable. The players must connect the increments with what they have accomplished. They expect a reward commensurate with their performance. The points reinforce them and signal their skill. If they earn at least a few points they don't feel like failures. They appreciate these small accomplishments.

Thus they are encouraged to extend themselves a little further. Games are designed to give bonuses, extra points without penalty, and other lagniappes for achievement. All these factors combine to give treats to the player which enhance reinforcement and the player's image. Various features are discovered through continued play and surfacing them engages the player in a personally meaningful way.

There is a personal guest and a personal goal— to see what one can do, this time, next time, and next time, and to find out things about the game. Children are the adventurers, entering a strange world, negotiating their way through it.

Younger children, ages seven through nine, and older ones, ten and up, all say they like the challenge of games which they define as self-challenge. Among the recurrent reasons they give for why they like the games are:

"There's lots of challenge and if you're behind you can easily catch up."

"I like improving my game and seeing new patterns."

"I like games that make you think and have a goal."

"I like the games because they give you different chances. Like they give you a chance and then if you complete it you still get to keep your guy and you get a whole new set of guys." 114

"They're challenging."

"You can beat your, own score."

"If you don't do well you can try again. You practice and get better." Children like variety and when they master a game look for new challenges. They also return periodically to a game they've mastered to see if they still have the winning touch. Younger children like the simple games like Pac Man,

Moon Patrol, Bump and Jump, and Journey. They're pretty predictable and don't require complexity in execution or strategy. If a game looks too complicated to them they are hesitant to try. If it has some theme they especially like they are more willing to try. Older children disdain the more pedestrian games but even so will return to them as touchstones. If the patterns are repetitive they become bored quickly. "The same old thing over and over again is boring." Some like games they can get good at quickly.

They play for fun but as they get better at a game they target scores. "If you're good, go for the high score; if not, don't worry about it."

Children are relaxed by play but they are alert and attentive as well. Does the excitement of play elevate their blood pressure? Does the eager, fervent striving toward improved play or beating the game create stress? At the Game Room in Chicago, newspaper and television reporters conducted a media experiment and brought in a couple of doctors to monitor the children while they played. Contrary to the expected outcome the blood pressures were lower than normal. Children are infused with various emotions— the excitement of play, the company of peers, the closeness of strangers, the sounds and lights from each machine colliding throughout the arcade - but they must achieve a transcen­ dental state which allows them to filter these sensory impressions and concentrate only on the game itself. It is through this detachment that they relax and summon up their energies for the task at hand. They are held spell-bound by the games but their hypnotic trance is a conscious act of self-awareness. Adults fret about the control games have over children, worrying about their being mesmerized.

Through reinforcement the games are alluring. But the magic they offer requires a symbiotic relationship between game and human, such that the players must give what they get out of the game. It is not one-sided, dominant bondage. Game designers deliberateley equalize the relationship.

Naturally, the games are money-makers and are set up to

"hook" players.

The hooks are the story lines, the graphics, the assimilation of light and sound, the objectives of the game, and the intrigue of play. The player's eye is caught by the graphics long enough to watch the preview. The images appeal to the imagination and to whimsy. A theme and a purpose intimate themselves. Objectives are hinted at. 116

Visual impressions are inviting. Glimpses of the world

within the game strike a chord of curiosity which resonates

the player to action. The fragments of a mini-world wisp by

the player who pursues it wanting to see more of its

landscape. The player becomes the magician, tapping secret

doors to make things happen, or the detective, solving the mystery of the game, or the adventurer, exploring the unknown.

The player takes charge and coaxes out the elements of the

game. There is at least the illusion of control. Children

can temporarily take control over their lives by applying

themselves to learning and winning.

Everyone stands a chance of succeeding at something in the arcade world. Players carry no burdens of their history.

They are not themselves bound by worldly circumstances; they

are simply themselves and by various turns may be good and bad at playing. Every game gives them a new beginning. If

they're quite good they can showcase their talents. If not, they can find something satisfying in what they've done. If they scored one point they've been successful. If they

scored in the highest ranks they can exalt for a day. If

someone else scored the highest number of points they can

console themselves that it might be them tomorrow. When the electricity goes down at night, the slate is wiped clean and

all have had another chance to put their initials in for high score. These observations were derived inductively from playing and chatting with children. In order to get another reading of why children like games one of the survey questions asked this of them in open ended form: "Why do you think arcade video games are fun and interesting?" When trying to elicit this information on site the researcher found that children characteristically declared games to be fun and interesting.

When pressed to be more specific they often were at a loss to explain. It was only over time that the researcher began to piece together what they couldn't formulate outright. In the hopes of supplementing and testing the researcher's observations the survey question was posed. Children offered a variety of reasons in their responses. They may have been more pensive in a paper and pencil test than they were willing to be while they were in the midst of play.

In the survey ninety percent of the boys, eighty-three percent of the girls, and fifty percent of the black children offered reasons why they think video games are fun and interesting. As mentioned the two descriptors were used in the question to elicit a greater depth of emotion; otherwise children might have tended to confine their remarks to "fun and interesting." Boys, about a fourth, are fascinated by the imagery and technical design features of the games, citing graphics and detail as their attraction.

They appreciate the refinement of the art work, the simulations, and the correctness of the world being modeled. They are more attuned to the physical dimension. Girls, on the other hand, by the same percentage, identify challenge as the primary source of appeal for them. Their responses are more psychologically oriented. The greatest percentage of black children, seventeen percent, mentioned action, excitement, and fast pace as their reasons for enjoying video games. For them the emotional state and physical dimension are the most significant. Thus boys point to the technology, girls to the psychology, and black children to the action and emotion as their key measures of enjoyment.

Girls and boys responses were approximately inverse for challenge and graphics. Black children did not mention graphics but were similar in percentage response to boys for their appreciation of the challenge games represent. Two boys, both black, added that they liked games because they're hard, and two mentioned escape from problems as a reason for enjoying games. The responses were all wide ranging. Well over half of the thirty-one reasons were clustered around nine, including life-like, competition of man versus machine, fun, and variety. 119

Table 5 Survey Question. Number 31

REASONS ARCADE VIDEO GAMES ARE FUN AND INTERESTING

Boy Girl Black White

Graphics/Details 13 3 1 15 (24.1%) (8.3%) (4.2%) (22.7%)

Challenging 5 9 2 12 (9.3%) (25.0%) (8.3%) (18.2%)

Action/Excitement/ 4 3 4 3 Fast-Paced (7.4%) (8.3%) (16.7%) (4.5%)

Life like/really real 4 3 3 4 (7.4%) (8.3%) (12.5%) (6.1%)

Competition of 3 2 1 4 man vs machine (5.6%) (5.6%) (4.2%) (6.1%)

Fun 3 1 - 4 (5.6%) (2.8%) (6.1%)

Variety of Games 1 2 1 2 (1.9%) (5.6%) (4.2%) (3.0%)

They1re Hard 2 - 2 -

- (3.7%) (8.3%)

Takes you away 2 - 2 - from your problems/ (3.7%) (8.3%) from the real world

37 23 16 44 68.6% 63.9% 66.7% 60.6%

Other 15 12 5 22 31.3% 26.1% .33.3% 39.4%

N = 52 35 21 66

The difficulty index of games is variable. It depends upon the player's preferences. What is pedestrian to one is challenging to another. The broad appeal of video games is that they offer multiple scenarios for players to choose.

Each player can find some game that feels comfortable. 120

"Phoenix is too slow. All the older games are. Moon

Patrol is too easy. Shoot. Shoot. Jump. Jump. Over and

over the same thing."

"Phoenix is stupid and boring."

"I like Bomb Jack. It's hard. The bombs are every­

where and these things, I don't know what they are, flying

saucers or martians, they're trying to get ya."

"Interstellar is easy because I know how to play it. I

got fourth place the first time I played."

"Jungle Hunt is baby stuff."

"I love Jungle Hunt. It's hard. You don't know when

the vines are coming out and when to jump."

"I like fast-paced games like Cyrus."

"Some games have too many things going on, like

shooting targets and getting shot at."

"In Popeye it's too easy to get caught."

"I like harder games, lots of action, fun, excitement

and the challenge to your reflexes."

"I don't like really complicated games. I don't understand them, ones that have all these boards and you have to figure out how to do each one."

Some games have complexity and nuance which go unnoticed by players. They identify certain operant factors but may be unaware of other game elements. Often they can still play a reasonably good game without complete knowledge.

Perhaps because there is positive feedback they don't realize 121 that there's more to be discovered. Perhaps they vaguely suspect there's more but are complacent with their level of achievement, unwilling to risk probing the unknown. A player firing away at Blaster said he didn't know what the thrust button was. Nonetheless, even though he limited his resources he was a good player. His game wasn't noticably handicapped by his not taking advantage of the thrust button.

There is apparently sufficient action to sustain interest.

Children will sometimes observe better players whose actions are instructive in use of the controls and whose play opens doors to the secrets of the games. Then when they try to apply this knowledge themselves their games may be affected by the learning curve, causing them to revert to the more reliable, safe, easy approaches they have developed for themselves. This does not characterize the majority of play, though. Rather, players want to exploit the full range of capabilities of the game. It is just because they have only partial insights that they are motivated to expand them and fill in the gaps. There is occasional bewilderment and sometimes confusion. The player seeks to sort out the signals and lift the veil obscuring access to the keys of discovery. The veil is opaque, and instead of darkening the way suggests outlines and forms of knowledge behind it. So it is that players see the promise of knowledge to be gained with a little effort on their parts. They exercise their 122 own faculties to reach these goals. They are not confronted with knowledge a priori.

Girls often like the same games younger children do.

These are games which are less difficult and which require less skill. These are the types of games players can learn quickly. They are fairly repetitive and the graphics are very smooth, and very colorful, not explosive but gentle.

The names of the games they like are less harsh, like Moon

Patrol versus Blaster.

Free games, or free play, alternated among games, giving children a chance to try games they ordinarily avoid.

If their money is limited they can test out their skills without wasting resources. With this practice option

(usually limited to five minutes if there are people waiting) players can learn about new games and when free play is over, add it to their repertoires of games. They can explore new horizons without having to conserve their money. This gives them a chance to experiment, sample, and stretch themselves. Often when free play is over a game will have attracted a new following.

Game designer Mark Ritchie of Williams Electronics points out that it's necessary to make players feel that if they lose it is their fault and not that of the machine.

Otherwise they will become skeptical about the possibility of winning, even to the point that they won't play. Children are-also very quick to spot flaws in a game. Challenging 123 the self gives them an opportunity to test themselves and conquer their foibles. Through the game they can act out many roles, impose their own meanings, overcome adversity and strengthen themselves. They can feel good about their accomplishment^T^omethin^^Tf they feel insignificant otherwise they can, in the arcade, see different images of themselves and bolster their self-esteem. The mastery of doing the right thing at the right moment can be exciting and fulfilling. Learning about the game is fun. Finding hidden features, getting better as a result, and the consequent discovery of even more things is satisfying and contributes to a positive self-image. There is divine magic in discovering new features. Audiovisual rewards signal immediately when the player has done something good or right. ( Seeing and hearing confirms the reward and broadcasts it.

In addition to on-site inquiry and the open-ended survey question two other survey questions contributed further insights why children like the games. When asked why they like their favorite video games children were pretty consistent in their reasons. Mostly playing is just plain fun, and it also moves at a lively pace. There are no dull, empty pauses but a driving tempo which keeps the kids on their toes, making them think fast. The games require thought but are not entirely cerebral. They join mind and body in a common goal; they involve the entire being, pushing 124

it to the limits. Children find an enjoyable channel for

their energy in video games. Their reasons cover twenty-two

different appealing characteristics of games but they center

around the two identified in Table 6.

Asked the same question in another form, one which gave them multiple choices identified through earlier interactions between children and researcher, they listed challenge first.

Getting equal weight, for boys and black children, was high score, which was not quite as close a runner up to the girls'

first choice. Boys are more intent on mastering the game and getting high score. Of the nine possible selections

Table 6 Survey Question Number 2

REASONS FOR FAVORITE VIDEO GAME

Boy Girl Black White

Fun/Like it 15 15 9 21 (25.9%) (36.6%) (34.6%) (28.8%)

Non-stop action/ 10 6 4 12 exciting/fast-paced (17.2%) (14.6%) (15.4%) (16.4%)'

43.1% 51.2% 50.0% 45.2%

Other 33 20 13 40 (56.9%) (48.8%) (50.0%) (54.8%)

N = 58 41 26 73 they had available half the children chose high score and challenge. The other half were spread around twenty-four different combinations of the nine options, as displayed in

Table 7. 125

This question on reasons for liking games included in the response options killing and blowing up. However, only a fraction (27%)of the children chose this one. This is important because adults are concerned about the violence which they fear permeates the games. 126

Table 7 Survey Question Number 57

WHAT'S THE MOST FUN ABOUT PLAYING VIDEO ARCADE GAMES?

Boy Girl Black White

Getting the high 13 8 7 14 score (22.4%) (19.0%) (26.9%) (18.9%)

Challenge 14 14 7 21 (24.1%) (33.3%) (26.9%) (28.4%)

Beating someone else 3 2 3 2 (5.2%) (4.8%) (11.5%) (2.7%)

Improving my score 2 - 1 1 (3.4%) (3.8%) (1.4%)

Learning new things 1 1 - 2 about the game (1-7%) (2.4%) (2.7%)

Beating the machine 1 1 1 1 (1.7%) (2.4%) (3.8) (1.4%)

Pretending to be in 1 - 1 - the game (1.7%) (3.8%)

Killing and blowing 2 - - 2 up things (3.4%) (2.7%)

Getting to new levels 1 3 •1 3 (1.7%) (7.1%) (3.8%) (4.1%)

Getting the high score 3 1 1 3 and challenge (5.2%) (2.4%) (3.8%) (4.1%)

Getting the high score 3 1 1 3 and beating someone (5.2%) (2.4%) (3.8%) (4.1%) else

Challenge & Killing/ - 1 - 1 Blowing up things (2.4%) (1.4%)

Combinations of Above 14 10 3 21 (24.1%) (23.5%) (11.5%) (28.4%)

58 42 26 74 127

VIOLENCE One of the most frequent criticisms leveled at arcade video games is that they have violent themes and imagery, are founded on a "shoot-em up" mentality, and seem to sanction killing. Many opponents of arcade games fear that children will become dehumanized and insensitive. In their view the games are dangerous because they subliminally teach children that violence is acceptable. They worry that children cannot distinguish between the game and reality.

Although the games do represent a momentary alternative reality, it is not a sustaining one. Once the game is over the spell is broken and the player perceives the fantasy undisguised - an electronic mass. Thus it is that children, when questioned about violence, dismiss it as a ridiculous notion for they know that they have been playing a game and that life is different.

"My mom and dad think they're a bad influence cause you have to kill things and stuff but I don't think it means you think about anything like that."

"The shooting isn't real, it's just a game. Some people might say its warlike but we're prepared for WW III so these games mean nothing."

"Some games are violent, like the swords in Dragon's

Lair and Punch-Out. But they're just games."

"These are just games; they're not real." 128

In the game Spy Hunter the player knocks cars off the road, shoots them, causes them to crash and otherwise menaces the highway. When asked if they would like to try this in their parents car or out on 1-71, children are incredulous.

"That would be incredibly stupid."

"You can't do that stuff in real life."

"That would be ridiculous."

"Maybe if you were off your rocker."

"This is a game; that's not."

Children of all ages make this distinction. There doesn't seem to be a residual effect which transfers outside the game. When asked if playing Punch-Out, a boxing game, made them think they could be tough and take care of bullies or if it made them want to take a swing at someone, they were astonished.

"Heck, no. You don't learn no stuff like that."

"No. In the game you're just in the ring with those guys."

"You mean like go out and kick my dog or something? I take my grudges out in the game. I don't want a game to build them up."

Children can keep a perspective on play which adults have been afraid they cannot. The games are real-like but are still just games where fantasies can be acted out without consequence. They can lose a character, a ship, or die themselves, and they can destroy other things within the- 129 game, but there’s no finality to it. If children thought that, they would be paralyzed.

"If I thought it was for real I wouldn't be able to do anything. I'd be too scared." There is an interesting psychological dimension here which might be further probed. Suppose pressing the button made things blow up far away and you didn't have to see it.

If you're not directly affected will you be less restrained.

Bomber pilots have been devastated when brought face to face with the consequence of their actions, where previously they could blithely eject destructive missiles without pain of conscience. How detached do children become from the images of destruction in games? So far removed that they begin to be inured to what they're doing?

Yet to impose this presumed moral dilemma on children's play is to ascribe perhaps too tortured a significance to what they do. They do seem to have a sense of ethnics as reflected in some of their comments:

"I don't like Blaster cause you have to kill your own men before you can save them."

"If you have to shoot something it should be in self- defense . "

"I like the goal of saving something, you know, like the world or something like that."

"If a ship comes at me I've got to protect myself." 130

Some children approach the games in an already agitated state. Their play may manifest this state. Sometimes their agitation is purged. But the language of the following boy, age eleven, who was playing Eliminator, suggests that the game reveals the character of those who probably react aggressively to their environment at the general level.

"Shit, get that fucker. Stick it up his ass. Don't wait, get the fucker. Shit, man."

Children's language does mirror the death images of the games.

At Spy Hunter, a little boy responds when asked why he's going so slow, "I don't want to die right away." •

At Krull, one boy tells another, "You can't kill him."

He gets zapped and hits the control. The second admonishes him, "Don't do that or he'll get you."

At Spy Hunter when he gets a smoke screen a little boy says "I got lucky all right" and then shortly thereafter

"Aw, jeez, oh, no, I killed myself."

A little boy at Spy Hunter exlaims "He whipped you; I whipped him, too." He bumps cars off the road saying "Take that; get out of my way; get out of my face, Michael Knight.

I'm a crusader." At Exerion a little boy laments, "I wish those things killed each other when they bumped together instead of getting me. I got trapped." He asks about the shield 131 thing. Dave, walking, by, responds that it's a thing that can kill you. "Dragon's Lair is hard. You die immediately in Dragon's

Lair. "

"I like killing Sinistar. Gettin' back at him for killing me. It's hard to kill him though. He sneaks right up beind you."

Two boys play Eliminator which is set for two play, one token. One hits his partner's ship accidently. The other says "Thanks a lot. Watch what you're doin'."

"Oh, Lord, I'm getting out of here."

"Guess who we have to deal with now, Gary. We might have to blow this thing up to get away from this dude. Oh, no, don't die on me, Gary."

Still, it is a figurative death. Violent imagery is inherent in the games, agrees Mark Ritchie of Williams

Electronics, but children like them just because they're a fantasy. "Don't buy your kids toy guns and they'll make them out of sticks." If a player goes out and kills someone, he maintains, that person was "whacko" anyway. Besides, he argues, churches dwell on death and tortured images but no one criticizes their influence. Furthermore, it's the character in the game, for the most part, who is the agent of violence, thereby removing the player from direct involvement. If the players identify with the characters it 132 is through self-defense or noble causes that they are caught up in violence. This does not serve to sanction it but bound it. In addition, the reality never holds up, while the fantasy does, so that children understand the distinc­ tion. "You have to be a child when you design a game."

Gail Vails who operates the Chicago Game Room has never had problems with players over the years. She regards themes criticized for their violence from a different perspective. "Shooting is a skill. So is bowling, where you strike down pins. Players look at it on a computerized basis. It's not on the same level as violence. In any shooting game you have to defeat something. But it's not man against man. You're not defeating an opponent on the screen, but the computer."

Supporting the findings that concern about violence may be exaggerated is the response to an open-ended question in the survey which allowed children to express in their own terms how they feel about violent aspects of the games.

Half of them responded fairly neutrally, declaring that these games are all right or don't really matter. Few of their answers were couched in emotional language or revealed a frenetic state of mind. The entire set of their responses is reproduced in Table 8 to demonstrate that children are level-headed about the subject. 133

Table 8 Survey Question Number 44

SOME GAMES HAVING KILLING AND BLOWING UP IN THEM. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THEM?

Boy Girl Black White

Not very good/don't 4 1 1 4 like them (6.9%) (2.5%) (4%) (5.5%)

OK/fine/all right/ 23 9 10 22 like them (39.7%) (22.5%) (40%) (30.1%)

Kind of funny 1 2 - 3 (1.7%) (5.0%) (4.1%)

I sometimes play 1 - 1 - them (1.7%) (4%)

Sometimes fun, 1 - 1 - sometimes not (1.7%) (4%)

No fun - 2 - 2 (5 .0%) ' (2.7%)

Exciting/hyped up/ 6 2 4 4 love them (10.3%) (5.0%) (16%) (5.5%)

Doesn't matter to 7 7 1 13 me/don't care (12.1%) (17.5%) (4%) (17.8%)

They are neat/cool 4 4 1 7 (6.9%) (10.0%) (4%) (9.6%)

I don't play them - 3 2 1 (7.5%) (8%) (1.4%)

Dumb 1 1 - 2 (1.7%) (2.5%) (2.7%)

Not real 2 1 - 3 (3.4%) (2.5%) (4.1%)

Shouldn't have them 2 2 2 2 (3.4%) (2.5%) (8%) (2.7%)

Causes violence in - 1 - 1 younger kids (2.5%) (6.8%) 134

Table 8 (continued)

Boy Girl Black White

It's just a game 4 1 - 5 (6.9%) (2.5%) (6.8%)

Very upset/mad 2 2 2 2 (3.4%) (5%) (8%) (2.7%)

Depends on the game - 1 - 1 (2.5%) (1.4%)

Weird - 1 - 1 (2.5%) (1.4%)

58 40 25 73

The games which trigger the most volatile emotion are the sports games. These are the two player games in which humans compete with each other. The graphic figures in the games are the ones which of all the games most nearly approximate human form. In addition, when the characters fail to qualify for a sports event they fall on their knees and start pounding the ground. The players are not beating the machine but each other. This competitive drive unleashes a maelstrom of emotion. Good players at any game take their playing seriously. They are intense and purposeful yet relaxed and casual. There's a counterbalance of emotion.

It's fun yet a desired outcome is sought. The sports players are serious, deadly serious, and seem to act out the fantasy role as though it were real. These games, it appears, above all the others, take on meanings which go beyond play. One young boy perceived this when he responded to the question 135

"How would you describe what's going on over there at Hyper

Sports?"

"Well, their subconscious thinks they're playing a game. Their conscious mind thinks that they really are playing Hyper Sports, that they're doing all this garbage and that way when they mess up they get mad and kick the game or break it. Right now I know about four people that are over there playing the game and they play it seriously. Not like me. I'm cool."

Dragon's Lair is the game singled out by children as being the one which incites anger in other players as well as themselves. This is a laser disk game cued by a light.

The control, a knob, must be tapped at just the right time or Dirk, the Knight, gets killed. Dirk undertakes a series of adventures to save the fair lady and slay the dragon.

His quest takes him through a perilous journey. As each danger presents itself the player must not only react quickly but restrain.the reaction so that the control, which blinks the action, is used at the precise moment needed. A fraction of a second miscue and Dirk is dead. It takes a long time of study to learn when to hit the control. ■ The graphics are outstanding and the challenges are unusual in their demands of the player, which makes the game popular. But it is so easy' to mistime and it is so hard to learn that players are readily frustrated.

"There's just something about them [laser disk games] I don't like at all. Some of them, like Dragon1s Lair...they're too pre-programmed. You make one wrong move and you're dead, when that wouldn't really happen in another game." 136

It's an expensive game, costing two tokens. It's not one played casually. Punch-Out and Track and Field are the other two games most often identified by children as generating anger. Both

are sports games, which is the only class of games simulating people confrontations. In this regard the game is more a person than a machine, a person with super power, aided by the machine. Players feel challenged by this entity. It's not a game they're trying to master but a taunt to their ability to go head to head in the simulated sports arena.

The sports games are the only ones in which there is a one to one relationship, adverserial in nature, between the player and an embodiment of the machine. Losing is more humiliating with this type of game because the player has

lost a match. The computer challengers are programmed to perform at certain levels. They will always perform at that

level, unlike the human who may make an occasional mistake.

This is annoying in itself. In Punch-Out the boxer can anticipate the player's moves.

"You've really got to keep your heads up and its kinda rigged, cause you see a pattern. There's a pattern to how they fight and no matter, well, the machine's almost smart, because once you see the pattern it'll keep it the same in some ways but it always knows what you're going to do. Like when you push up that means you're going for the head and shoulders and when you pull down you're going for the stomach. And it depends on whether his hands are up here or down here. But you see his hands up here and you pull down and he does it too so it's kinda hard." (boy age nine) 137

Here the game is no longer an interesting program to learn more about and improve skill in but rather something approaching intelligence, humanness, and intent, directed squarely against the player, not foils to overcome but wilfull action against the player. The complex of emotions, coupled with the difficulty of the.timed control system, combine to create outbursts of feeling. Once the game is over the player's emotional intensity is dissipated. The boxer recedes back into the machine. If players feel strongly they can re-match and try again, or they can rationalize. The boxer enjoys advantages they can't. They also realize it's beatable, though. The high scores as well as watching others reassures them.

The primary reason children become angry when they play is that they get zapped in some way. Another predominant reason is that the controls malfunction. From discussions with children it would appear that getting zapped triggers anger mostly when players feel they've done something stupid and should have known better.

When children are first learning a game they are not disturbed by their lack of excellence. They do not expect to be good at the beginning and set realistic expectations for themselves. They anticipate small improvements such as a few more points, another minute or seconds more of playing time the next round. Saltatory advancement is not expected. 138

A sense of failure or inadequacy does not characterize their mood when they don't play well. They know they're just learning and that they won't be good at first. Therefore they don't become angry and agitated at this stage. They are encouraged by slight indicators of improvement and knowing they can try again.

They do become angry, though, when they know how to play a game and then make mistakes.

"If you do something incredibly stupid and you know what to do right you just want to hit it and punch it out."

"When you get good at it, the more skilled you are at a game, the more times you mess up, the madder you get."

"If I know how to play and I mess up then I get mad."

"If I'm real good and make a dumb mistake then I get angry."

The rage they feel is directed toward themselves, not others and it is self-criticism. Children do not like to regress. Having struggled to learn a game they want to maintain their level of achievement. Making a mistake out of ignorance is acceptable to them, but one made in spite of knowledge frustrates them. What good is their hard earned knowledge if it betrays them. It makes them uncertain and uneasy. It threatens their stability and there is an instant negative reaction. It is just as quickly displaced by a feeling of challenge. Put another token in and prove you know how to do it. Prove it to yourself. 139

"I just play again and then I win."

"I coipe back and try again."

"I feel stinky and then I say I'm coming back on it."

Children also become angry if the controls are not responding properly to the touch. A malfunction of the controls agitates them for they have no control over the mechanics of the machine and trying to execute a maneuver when the controls fail creates tension.

"In Dragon's Lair you have to tip it over. You hear it tap but sometimes it doesn't register and it just makes you angry."

"When I move it a certain way and it doesn't go that way sometimes I kick it."

Children will not be tricked by the machine. They follow the rules as must the machine. It cannot seem to be unfair, for then reason, logic, and deduction applied to winning have no meaning and emotion governs the relationship between the machine and the player. Furthermore, it's no longer any fun; the fun has been spoiled by mistrust.

Another way of trying to ascertain the emotional effects of games on children was to ask them in the survey which games make them angry and then to determine if there are any common characteristics of those games. Table 9 abstracts their responses. Thirty-two different games were listed by the children, only half as many as they listed among their favorites. Most of the answers centered around 140 three or four games in particular, Dragon's Lair, Track and

Field, and Punch-Out. Dragon's Lair is complex, hard, and requires absolute precision. It can be frustrating. In

Track and Field the buttons have to be hit at just the right times to get full advantage of angle and speed. Punch-Out doesn't guite show the impact the player has on an opponent until a knock-out is scored.

But children's responses ranged, pointing out that everyone has some little quirk. However, it should be noted too that a fair percentage of children couldn't think of any single game that touches off anger. And nearly a fourth of the girls listed "none." Girls mention Pac Man and Q-bert.

They groan when Pac-Man is eaten by a monster and Q-bert is trapped or falls off the edge. They don't like it when these precious characters are destroyed.

•Following up on this question in the survey is another one which seeks more specific information on why games make children angry. Of thirty-six reasons two accounted for a significant percentage of responses. 141

Table 9 Survey Question Number 42

WHAT ARCADE GAME GETS YOU THE MADDEST?

Boy Girl

Dragon's Lair 8 None 8 (14.3%) (23.5%)

Track & Field 7 Track & Field 3 (12.5%) (8.8%)

Punch-Out 7 Pac Man 3 (12.5%) (8.8%)

None 6 Q-Bert 3 (10.7%) (8.8%)

Other 28 Other 17 (50.0%) (50.0%) N = 56 34

Black White

Dragon's Lair 3 None 12 (12.5%) (18.2%)

Pac Man 3 Track & Field 9 (12.5%) (13.6%)

Q-Bert 3 Dragon's Lair 5 (12.5%) (7.6%)

None 2 Punch-Out 5 (8.3%) (7.6%)

Other 13 Pac Man 5 (44.2%) (7.6%)

Tron 5 (7.6%)

Other 25 (37.8%)

24 66 142

Table 10 Survey Question Number 43

REASONS GAME GETS YOU MAD

Boy Girl Black White

Getting killed/beat up/ 18 8 7 19 eaten up/losing a (35.3%) (25.0%) (29.2%) (32.2%) man/hit

Controls 10 5 2 13 (19.7%) (12.5%) (8.4%) (22.1%)

Other 19 15 27 (4530%) (42.5%) (62.4%) (45.9%)

N = 51 32 24 59

It is always dismaying to get caught, especially if it could have been avoided. Imperfect controls are frustrating because they fix the game to the player's obvious disad­ vantage .

Still another reflection of the degree of emotional distress games might cause in children is a survey question which asked them to think about their state of mind when leaving the arcade.

As seen in Table 11, two thirds of all players reported they are relaxed and happy when they leave the arcade. Only twelve percent considered themselves to be in an angry state when they left. About a third of the girls answered that they are hyped up or excited. It may be that a player has to get into a game or feel comfortable with games in general before being able to loosen up and concentrate on the game itself rather than any external factors. Two-thirds of the 143 boys said they were soothed by the games, that they were

relaxed and happy, as did over half of the Black children.

Only a fraction of the players claimed to feel mean after playing. There's a strong indicator in the responses that

the games have a beneficial effect on the children's frame of mind and rather than agitating them, calm them. The results provide evidence for the therapeutic value of games.

Table 11 Survey Question Number 45

HOW DO YOU FEEL WHEN YOU LEAVE THE ARCADE?

Boy Girl Black White

Relaxed 24 11 10 25 (41.4%) (26.2%) (38.5%) (33.8%)

Mad 7 - 3 4 (12.1%) (11.5%) (5.4%)

Mean 1 1 1 1 (7.1%) (2.4%) (3.8%) (1.4%)

Happy 11 9 5 15 (19.0%) (21.4%) (19.2%) (20.3%)

Excited/Hyped Up 7 14 5 16 (12.1%) (33.3%) (19.2%) (21.6%)

Relaxed and Happy 2 1 - 3 (3.4%) (2.4%) (4.1%)

Happy/Excited/ 1 - - 1 Hyped Up (1.7%) (1.4%)

Other 5 6 2 9 (8.6%) (14.3%) (7.7%) (12.2%)

N= 58 42 26 74 Even though it seems that games may have positive effects on children's emotional states there is considerable concern that coupled with increasingly violent television shows they form a counteracting force in the child. One frequent association made with arcade games and television is that they both incline toward violent content. Some opponents of the games maintain that there is a correlation between the two. They argue that the children who spend the most time playing the games are those who prefer violent television shows and that the one strongly influences the other, thereby pulling children in two powerfully negative ways. In recognition of this assumption the researcher asked children in the survey to name their favorite tele­ vision show. Their answers, Table 12, show that television viewing did not seem to correlate strongly to preferences for violent content. The majority of girls did not list any favorite television shows at all in this category.

Approximately one-fifth of the boys favored the A-Team and

Miami Vice, although forty percent, the primary cluster of their interest, centered around non-violent shows. Around twenty-eight percent of the more violent shows identified by the children (Table 13) were favored by the boys, compared to twenty-three percent for Black children, and only fourteen percent for girls. In this small sample there is no majority inclination toward violent television shows.

Thus it would seem that the link between arcade games and 145

television viewing patterns is not one which can be readily

tied to violence.

Table 12 Survey Question Number 58

FAVORITE TELEVISION SHOW

Girl Boy

Cosby Show 13 Cosby Show 11 (32.5%) (20.0%)

Three1s Company 5 A-Team 7 (12.5%) (12.7%)

Don't have one 3 Different Strokes 6 (7.5%) (10.9%)

It's Your move 6 (10.9%)

Other 19 Other 25 (47.5%) (45.5%) N = 40 N = 55

Black White

Cosby Show 8 Cosby Show 16 (30.8%) (23.2%)

A-Team 5 It's Your Move 7 (19.2%) (10.1%)

Three1s Company 7 (10.1%)

Other 13 Different Strokes 5 (50.0%) (7.2%)

Miami Vice 5 (7.2%)

N = 26 Other 29 (42.2%) 69 146

Table 13

TELEVISION SHOWS OF A VIOLENT NATURE LISTED BY CHILDREN

Boy Girl Black White

A-Team 12.7% 2.5% 19.2% 10.1%

Miami Vice 9.1% 2.5% 3.8% 7.2%

Street Hawk 2.5% 1-8% 2.9%

Dukes of Hazzard 1.8% 1.4%

Knight Rider 1.8% 2.5% 2.9%

Riptide — 2.5% 1.4%

Bugs Bunny 2.5% 1.4%

27.9% 24.3% 23.0% 27.3%

If violence is embedded in the

Saturday afternoon. The attendant explained that the mall required the arcade to hire someone in addition to the mall security force. The only apparent justification for the request was based on an incident of rowdiness at Christmas and the mall felt it was time for the arcade to enforce discipline, adding that several stores in the area of the arcade complained about loitering and making the customers 147 uncomfortable. The researcher did not observe "hanging around" or unruliness. This first police officer did not return. One attendant said he wouldn't come into the arcade anyway; he hated it. The police officer who replaced him confirmed this. He didn't like the noise and the general atmosphere. The second police officer did not like the arcade but liked the off-duty pay. His particular dislike was the physical condition of the children.

"Look at them. They look like little whales. All glassy-eyed, standing all day in front of a mindless machine. They should be out getting exercise."

Children stared at him when they entered the arcade.

Their eyes followed him when he circulated through the arcade. His presence seemed to generate electrifying tension ready to spark at any moment. He was particularly studied by the Black children who, when he passed by, would jab each other and say "Get this." There was a silent challenge, he daring them to misbehave and they daring him to hassle them. The mood of the arcade changed when he was there. It could be felt and sensed.

He didn't stay long. A couple of weeks later there was a third officer present. His demeanor was different. The first had been a big, hulking, serious, stern-looking man.

One attendant called him a fascist. The second had been a trim, tense looking man. The third was of medium build and smiled readily. He didn't know why the second left, nor was 148 he given any instructions on what to expect or what to do.

None of the three thought a police officer was necessary.

This third officer, Gary, assumed a more fatherly role.

"Young lady, you take that outside and eat it."

"Well, Tommy, how'd you do today?"

He is amused by the children. There are those who look at him in awe and those who try to stare him down. He doesn't like to be idolized and prefers the latter kind of child whom he sees as a challenge. He likes to get a chance to turn them around. He thinks children are funny the way they try to express their individuality. They wear the same clothes as their peers but they'll do one little thing differently, like turn a hat sideways. He enjoys them but he doesn't like "lippy" children and elaborated:

"What do you see here mainly? You see Blacks, don't you? There you have it. They don't have any home life; their parents don't look after them. They give them some money, put them on a bus and send them up to Northland and say spend the day. So they have no supervision and they give a lot of lip and they rough up and they act up and if you try to manage them they get hostile with you. I mean I used to work in the Linden area so if I had to stop someone I didn't say 'Would you show me your license, sir?' Oh, I first started to say that but then they'd say 'What for, motherfucker?' So you don't ask that way. But north of here, you stop someone and you say 'I'd like to see your license' and they say 'Yes sir.' So it's a whole different attitude you have'".

He feels that arcades should be eliminated. They're too noisy and the children "run their mouths." 149

"These kids form groups and then they have the challenge of the game and the challenge of their peers. You say something to them and they have to prove they're tough to their peers. The girls too. The boys are looking on and it feeds them. These kids, they live with their moms; they're on welfare. They don't have any super­ vision. All they have to do is to come to the mall and then they get themselves into trouble."

He thinks the games foster hostility although when pressed regarding evidence of this he admitted that his view is unfounded in terms of his experience. He has never encountered any problems and he sees no need for a police officer. After a couple of weeks he's told to spend only five minutes of every hour inside the arcade. Arcade headquarters are concerned that his presence inhibits play.

They are also responding to mall complaints. The store across from the arcade has insisted that the children have been hanging around, making trouble. The store is next door to Wendy's. The police officer storms across the mall to the store owner.

"What do you mean my kids are giving you trouble? That just isn't true."

He feels paternalistic and is incensed at the recurrent accusations. Shortly thereafter there is an incident in the main corridor of the mall. Two boys start shoving each other. The security guards break it up and claim the boys just came from the arcade. The police officer has joined them and refutes their claim. He returns angrily, muttering

"Always blaming my kids." 150

Violence is attributed to the influence of the arcade.

Police officers symbolize restraint of violence. Adults and passers-by see the police officers and assume that the arcade is a hostile arena. Children see the police officers and behave according to the roles in which they've been cast. Fiction begins to create reality. Left alone, children behave, if not with decorum, certainly not like delinquents.

GENDER DIFFERENCES

Many people speculate that girls do not like to play arcade video games as well as boys because they deplore violence. At any given time during the course of this study there were thirty percent or less girls playing in the arcade. The difference in their interest levels may be accounted for by some of the following observations.

Designer Mark Ritchie believes that girls do not like to play the games as much as boys because tradition instructs them not to be competitive, especially against boys.

Children, though, both boys and girls, believe this is because girls simply have other interests. They're not as obsessed with beating the machine. One little girl with whom the Researcher had talked several times offered this explanation:

"Girls usually hang around each other and do weird things. Maybe boys can11 find things to do so they just play video games. I think they think 151

they're fascinating like 'Oh, neat, look, this guy can shoot the bomb or something or I can pick up the bomb' but girls say 'Oh, that's neat' and go off and do something else."

Boys seem to try to beat the game, to master it, whereas girls just want to be entertained. Girls are somewhat more self-conscious and it interferes with their play. Scoring the highest points is more important to boys. They thrill at putting their initials in for high scores and the list is like a neon trophy proclaiming their championship. Girls sometimes walk away even when the game flashes that they have placed in the rankings and they don't even bother with their initials. They may even seem somewhat surprised and almost embarrassed, unless it's clear that it's one of their favorite games, one they especially like to play. It might be interesting to allow players to enter their first name to better determine if the high scores for a particular game are boys or girls.

The images of the games are actually disenchanting to girls. The characters are not androgynous but clearly masculine. Girls can't identify with them. They are also heroes saving damsels in distress, rewarded upon completion of their labors with a kiss from a lovely lady. Sometimes this final reward is not revealed until the end of the game when girls can become acutely disappointed in their triumph.

The fantasies are targeted to the boys with few exceptions like Kangaroo, which especially appeals to girls because 152

"It's like boxing but the kangaroo's trying to save all its babies."

Even the language of the games is gender referenced.

Children always use "man" and "guy" in their play talk. "He got me; lost my man; got another man; there goes my man."

The adversaries and the protagonists of the games are identified in masculine terms. Children sometimes use the personal pronoun when an event in the game occurs, such as

"I died" or "I got him." More frequently it's third person as in "my man died."

Aladdin's thought that the sports games would surely appeal to girls but they have not, for three reasons. One is as a little girl remarks:

"I like sports and going out to play sports but I'd rather just go outside and play them than to stand around and play at them in a game."

Another is that the games are dominated by boys. They rally around the sports games, ebullient, encouraging each other. They do isometrics, knee bends, wrist shakes, and other preparatory actions as though they were physically involved, training and psyching themselves. Girls can't get near and if they should chance upon a game momentarily freed up, the silence contrasts so sharply to the previous cheering that it is unsettling. And then the girls feel like they're specimens on display. 153

The third is that the competitors are little male figures, echoing the societal circumstance where girls are not considered seriously in the sports arena. Some girls can pretend and get past their barrier. But it requires a special effort which detracts from the focus on the game.

Ritchie believes it wouldn't work at all in the reverse. It is taboo for a boy to be a girl among his peers so the images continue to be male characters.

In dialogue with the researcher children usually declared that they think girls play as well as boys.

However, the survey results for this question show differences of opinion among boys and girls.

Table 14 Survey Question Number 9

DO GIRLS PLAY AS WELL AS BOYS?

Boy Girl Black White

Yes 28 40 11 57 (47.5%) (95.2%) (40.7%) (77%)

No-" 31 2 16 17 : (52.5%) (4.8%) (59.3%) (23%)

N ^ 59 42 27 74

A clear majority of girls say yes while boys are rather divided in their response. Black children were somewhat divided too, although they were a little more inclined to the negative. Perhaps boys think that the games girls play are easy and that they generally do not perform well on the harder games. They also reported as seen in Table 15 that girls don't like arcade video games as much as boys and may have associated the two questions as logical extensions of each other.

Table 15 Survey Question Number 14

DO GIRLS LIKE ARCADE VIDEO GAMES AS MUCH AS BOYS?

Boy Girl Black White

Yes 23 31 12 42 (30%) (73.8%) (44.4%) (56.8%)

No 36 11 15 32 (61%) (26.2%) (55.6%) (43.2%)

N = 59 42 27 74

Although the distribution of responses to the question of girls liking the games was similar to the question regarding whether they played a well as boys, there is a noticeable curve toward the negative. The reasons given for the latter were unclear during on-site discussions.

Children were baffled by the question; they just couldn't seem to account for it yet they strongly felt girls don't like the games as well as boys. Occasionally they suggested girls don't like violence or don't like the themes of most of the games. The survey question gave them a variety of choices based on the scattered possibilities they identified during casual conversation. The predominant reason they chose as seen in Table 16 was that girls just like to do other things better. It's not that they're unequal to the 155

Table 16 Survey Question Number 15

REASONS GIRLS DON'T LIKE VIDEO GAMES

Boy Girl Black White

Afraid to play games 1 1 (2.6%) (2.9%)

Aren't Competitive 3 2 1 (7.7%) (11.1%) (2.9%)

Don't Like Challenges 5 2 4 3 (12.8%) (15.4%) (22.2%) (8.8%)

Don't Like Violence 4 2 2 (10.3%) (11.1%) (8.8%)

Like to do Other 20 10 10 20 Things More (51.3%) (76.9%) (55.6%) (58.8%)

Afraid to play, 1 1 don't like violence (2.6%) (2.9%)

Aren't Competitive, 1 1 like doing other (2.6%) (2.9%) things more

Don't like challenges, 1 1 1 1 like doing other (1.6%) (7.7%) (5.5%) (2.9%) things more

Don't like.violence, 3 3 like doing other (7.7%) (8.8%) things more

N = 39 13 19 33 challenge or aren't competitive or even. that they don’t like violence (most children don’t think of the games in terms violence anyway). The games are not designed to interest girls enough to detract them from other pursuits.

Elizabeth Stott of Rhiannon, which creates computer games for girls, suggests that most games reflect a male mentality which is zealous, single-minded pursuit of a goal.

In this mind set there is one way, the right way. The goal is reached by a gunshot dash from the start line. She bases her games instead on a female-oriented approach which she describes as a process more like weaving a tapestry than sprinting. Her games provide an array of goals which can be reached in a variety of ways. They frequently are built around survival themes which reflect girls1 concern for and involvement in sustaining life. Different set locations within the game have different levels of importance and there are priorities, which limits the openness. Stott sees in this a parallel to the housewife prototype, the one who worries about and must solve many different problems. That they're played on a computer makes them appealing to boys, she speculates, even though the characters are girls. She also thinks that boys enjoy them because the themes are different.

Rhiannon undertakes to make the games realistic, Stott explains. They object to macho fantasies and fantasy glitter.

They base the storylines on what is feasible, if not probable, and draw upon historical material. Being truthful with the child is more honest, she says, and gives the child an anchor. The stories center around the lives of real girls and are earth connected. The story lines converge with the personality of the real child. Photos of real children serve as the artwork. As is exemplified in Jenny of the 157

Prairie the girls take on important tasks and are never wimpy. However, the heroine is not foolhardy. As an example, when Jenny meets the mountain lion she doesn't stand a chance of defending herself. She has a hatchet but children can't use a hatchet effectively, so in this scene the creators have Jenny withdraw quickly.

According to Stott, children have been overheard to say of the games, "I like them because they take a long time and you can go different places." Each scene is drawn slowly and can be followed with the eye, which seems to suit the temperament of girls who appreciate the evolving scenario.

They're not impatient and in a rush for it to be done with, as are boys. In standard games things jump out at the player, like starships, and make girls feel assaulted, Stott observes. Her games are not staccatic. The graphics are relaxing. Players lean forward and smile at the video, in contrast to the archness of body language witnessed in typical arcade games.

Girls and boys have distinctly different game prefer­ ences. The types of games girls prefer feature cartoon type characters or objects. These games are less complex. Girls like them not because they're simple but because they” offer an alternative to male fantasies. However, they don't like very intricate games which seem endless in terms of the rounds and levels, particularly when there's no apparent nexus to the spiraling boards. Boys, though, do not like 158 the more gentle games and prefer continuous, escalating action.

GAME PREFERENCES

Girls can play the games as well as boys do but do not find the fantasies of the games nearly so enticing. The themes of the games serve to enculturate boys. They ingore the female psyche and are not as inviting to girls. Boys dominate the games because the manufacturer's especially target them.

All children surveyed (reference Tables 17-26) agreed that boys like Punch-Out and Track and Field best and

Pac Man/Ms. Pac Man least. The reverse holds for girls.

All children identified Pac Man as the one they're best at playing. The list of "best at playing" included Punch-Out and Tron for boys and black children and Centipede along with M s . Pac Man for girls. The easiest games most frequently listed by all children were Pac Man and Ms. Pac

Man. Boys and black children identified hardest games as

Dragon's Lair and Punch Out while girls cited Tron and

Star Trek. All children listed Pac Man as their least favorite. Girls reported that Pac Man is among their favorite as well as their least favorite games. This apparent contradiction may be explained by the fact that

Pac Man is an old standard, fun to play, but it has also become somewhat boring. Not many other games have come 159 along which gives girls other options similar to the attractions of Pac Man. Girls disdain Punch-Out, Star Trek, and Tron, games they think are hard and which they think boys prefer. Pinball games fell among the least favorite games in boys and black children's responses. Black children also gave a low rating to Punch-Out.

Girls and black children like Pac Man whereas boys like

Punch-Out, Spy Hunter, Track and Field, Pac Land, and Dragon1s

Lair. Girls may have ambivalent feelings about Pac Man, acknowledging that it's one of the few they really enjoy but being rather tired of it, after all. The pattern of preferences for boys and girls confirms that girls like driving games and simpler, quieter, cuter games like

Ms. Pac Man, Pac Man, Centipede, Frogqer, Pole Position, and

Turbo. Boys, on the other hand, like sports games and intricate games. The only driving game they like especially well is Spy Hunter where the driver does more than speed through a course. In this game they get weapons, use them strategically, knock other cars off the road, blow them up, choose routes, and many other things as well. The black children had favorites similar to the white kids. The games children are best at playing are among their favorites and, in the case of boys, includes Pac Man, their least favorite, as well as the ones they think are hardest. Girls do not include hardest games among they're best at playing. Boys include these same games among those they're worst at 160 playing while girls cite the harder games, their least favorites, and the ones they say boys like best. There's overlap in the boy's responses and little in those of the girls whose categories remain fairly distinct from each other.

For arcade video games girls like best, two boys said easy ones and two girls said many. But boys identified twenty-one different games in this category while girls only listed eleven. Boys consistently listed far more games than girls in all categories of questions, probably because they are familiar with a wider range. Girls do not try as many games as the boys. Among their answers to the question of which games girls like least, one boy singled out hard ones and another, violent ones. For the ones boys like least four boys cited dumb, easy, and cuter ones. One girl added boring ones. 161

Table 17 Survey Question Number 10

VIDEO GAMES GIRLS LIKE BEST

Boy Girl

Ms. PacMan 20 Ms. Pac Man 15 (35.1%) (39.5%)

Pac Man 8 Pac Man 9 (14.4%) (23.7%)

49.5% 63.2% 2 of 21 games 2 of 11 games

Other 29 Other 14 (50.5%) (36.8%) N = 57 N = 38

Black White

Ms. Pac Man 12 Ms. Pac Man 23 (46.21%) (33.3%)

Pac Man 5 Pac Man 12 (19.2%) (17.4%)

65.4% 50.7% 2 of 9 games 2 of 24 games

Other 9 Other 34 (34.6%) (49.3%) N = 26 N = 69 162

Table 18 Survey Question Number 11

VIDEO GAMES GIRLS LIKE LEAST

Boy Girl

Punch-Out 12 Punch-Out 5 (21.4%) (13.9%)

Track & Field 6 Pac Man 4 (10.7%) (11.1%)

Boy Girl

Dragon's Lair 4 Star Trek 4 (7.1%) (11.1%)

Star Wars 3 Tron 3 (5.4%) (8.3%)

Tron 3 (5.4%)

50.0% 44.2% 5 of 26 games 4 of 20 games

Other 28 Other 20 (50.0%) (55.8%) N := 56 N = 36

Black White

Punch-Out 6 Punch-Out 11 (23.1%) (16.7%)

Track & Field 2 Dragon's Lair 5 (7.7%) (7.6%)

Star Teck 2 Track & Field 5 (7.7%) (7.6%)

Turbo 2 Pac Man 5 (7.7%) (7.6%)

Cloak & Dagger 2 Tron 5 (7.7%) (7.6%) 163

Table 8 (continued)

Black White

5379% 4771% 5 of 17 games 5 of 26 games

Other 12 Other 35 (46.1%) (52.9%) N = 26 N = 66 164

Table 19 Survey Question Number 12

VIDEO GAMES BOYS LIKE BEST

Boy Girl

Punch-Out 16 Punch-Out 9 (28.6%) (22.5%)

Track & Field 7 Track & Field 4 (12.5%) (10.0%)

Dragon's Lair 3 Star Trek 3 (5.4%) (7.5%)

Karate Champ 3 Tron 3 (5.4%) (7.5%)

Violent Games 3 (5.4%)

57.3% 47.5% 4 of 25 games 4 of 22 games

Other 24 Other 21 (42.7%) (52.5%) N = 56 N = 40

Black White

Punch-Out 5 Punch-Out 20 (19.2%) (28.6%)

Track & Field 5 Track & Field 6 (19.2%) (8.6%)

Dragon's Lair 4 (5.7%)

38.4% 42.9% 2 of 18 games 2 of 31 games

Other 16 Other 40 (61.6%) (57.1%) N = 26 N = 70 165

Table 20 Survey Question Number 13

VIDEO GAMES BOYS LIKE LEAST

Boy Girl

Pac Man 13 Ms. Pac Man 15 (23.2%) (39.5%)

Ms. Pac Man 8 Pac Man 13 (14.3%) (23.7%)

Superboke 4 (7.1%)

44.6% 63.2% 3 of 25 games 2 of 12 games Other 31 Other 10 (55.4%) (36.8%) N = 56 N = 38

Black White

Pac Man 15 Ms. Pac Man 18 (19.2%) (26.5%)

Ms. Pac Man 5 Pac Man 17 (19.2%) (25.0%)

38.2% 51.5% 2 of 13 games 3 of 24 games Other 16 Other (61.8%) (4835%) N = 26 N = 68 166

Table 21 Survey Question Number 6

EASIEST VIDEO GAME

Boy Girl

Pac Man 15 Pac Man 17 (25.4%) (40.5%)

Ms. Pac Man 6 Ms. Pac Man 4 (10.2%) (9.5%)

Punch-Out 4 Frogger 3 (6.8%) (7.1%)

Moon Patrol 4 Track & Field 3 (6.8%) (7.1%)

Turbo 4 (6.8%)

56.0% 64.2% 5 of 23 games listed 4 of 16 games listed Other 26 Other 15 (44.0%) (35.8%) N == 59 N = 42

Black White

Pac Man 10 Pac Man 22 (37.0%) (29.7%)

Ms. Pac Man 5 Ms. Pac Man 5 . (18.5%) (6.8%)

Track & Field 4 (5.4%)

Punch-Out 4 (5.4%)

Q-bert 4 (5.4%)

55.5% 52.7% 2 of 13 games listed 5 of 29 games listed Other 12 Other 35 (44.5%) (47.3%) N = 27 N = 74 167

Table 22 Survey Question Number 5

HARDEST VIDEO GAME

Boy Girl

Dragon's Lair 12 Tron 8 (20.7%) (19.5%)

Punch-Out 11 Star Trek 6 (19.0%) (14.6%)

Track & Field 7 Track & Field 3 (12.1%) (7.3%)

Pac Man 3 (7.3%)

Turbo 3 (7.3%)

51.8% 56.0% 3 of 26 games 5 of 19 games Other 28 Other 18 (48.2%) (44.0%) N = 58 N = 41

Black White

Punch-Out 6 Dragon's Lair 9 (23.1%) (12.3%)

Star Trek 4 Track & Field 9 (15.4%) (12.3%)

Dragon's Lair 4 Punch-Out 7 (15.4%) (9.6%)

Tron 7 (9.6%)

Star Trek 5 (6.8%)

53.9% 50.6% 3 of 12 games 5 of 32 games Other 12 Other 36 (46.1%) (49.4%) N = 26 N = 73 168

Table 23 Survey Question Number 3

LEAST FAVORITE VIDEO GAME

Boy Girl

Pac Man 19 Pac Man 8 (32.2%) (20.0%)

Star Trek 8 Punch-Out 5 (13.6%) (12.5%)

Pinball 7 Star Trek 5 (11.9%) (12.5%)

Tron 5 (12.5%)

57.7% 57.5% 3 of 18 games 4 of 17 games Other 25 Other 17 (42.3%) (42.5%) N = 59 N = 40

Black White

Pac Man 7 Pac Man 20 (25.9%) (27.8%)

Punch-Out 3 Star Trek 10 (11.1%) (13.9%)

Star Trek 3 Pinball 6 (11.1%) (8.3%)

Pinball 3 (11.1%)

59.2% 50.0% 4 of 15 games 3 of 24 games Other 11 Other 36 (40.8%) (50.0%) N = 27 N = 72 169

Table 24 Survey Question Number 1

FAVORITE VIDEO GAME

Boy Girl

Punch-Out 8 Pac Man 6 (13.6%) (14.3%)

Spy Hunter 6 Centipede 6 . (10.2%) (14.3%)

Track & Field 5 Turbo 4 (8.5%) (9.5%)

Pac Land 4 Pole Position 3 (6.8%) (7.1%)

Dragon's Lair 4 Ms Pac Man 3 (6.8%) (7.1%)

Pac Man 3 Frogger 3 (5.1%) (7.1%)

Tron 3 (5.1%)

45.9% 59.5% 10 of 30 games 6 of 29 games Other 26 Other 17 (54.1%) (40.5%) N == 59 N = 42

Black White

Pac Man 5 Spy Hunter 7 (18.5%) (9.5%)

Track & Field 3 Punch-Out 6 (11.1%) (8.1%)

Punch-Out 2 Centipede 6 (7.4%) (8.1%)

Ms Pac Man 2 Turbo 4 (7.4%) (5.4%) 170

Table 24 (continued)

Boy Girl

Tron 2 Pac Man 4 (7.4%) (5.4%)

Pac Land 3 (4.1%)

Track & Field 3 (4.1%)

Pole Position 3 (4.1%)

Frogger 3 (4.1%)

41.8% 52.9% 5 of 17 games 10 of 35 games Other 13 Other 35 (58.2%) (47.1%) N = 27 ' N == 74

Table 25 Survey Question Number 7

VIDEO GAME BEST AT PLAYING

Boy Girl

Pac Man 5 Pac Man 7 (8.6%) (16.7%)

Punch-Out 5 Centipede 6 (8.6%) (7.1%)

Tron 4 Ms Pac Man 3 (6.9%) (7.1%)

Dragon's Lair 3 Donkey Kong 3 (5.2%) (7.1%)

Spy Hunter 3 Turbo 3 (5.2%) (7.1%) 171

Table 25 (continued)

.Boy Girl

Track & Field 3 Q-bert 3 (5.2%) (7.1%)

Moon Patrol 3 (5.2%)

Galaga 3 3 (5.2%)

Joust 3 (5.2%)

55.6% 52.2% 9 of 27 games 6 of 24 games Other 26 Other 17 (44.4%) (47.8%) N = 58 N .= 42

Black White

Pac Man 4 Pac Man 8 (14.8%) (11.0%)

Tron 3 Centipede 4 (11.1%) (5.5%)

Ms. Pac Man 2 Punch-Out 4 (7.4%) (5.5%)

Star Wars 2 Turbo 4 (7.4%) (5.5%)

Hockey 2 Galaga 3 4 (7.4%) (5.5%)

Track & Field 3 (4.1%)

Spy Hunter 3 (4.1%)

Ms Pac Man 3 (4.1%) 172

Table 25 (continued)

Black White

Q-bert 3 (4.1%)

Pole Position 3 (4.1%)

48.1% 53.5% 5 of 19 games 10 of 38 games Other 14 Other 34 (51.9%) (46.5%) N = 27 N = 73

Table 26 Survey Question Number 8

VIDEO GAME WORST AT PLAYING

Boy Girl Track & Field 8 Star Trek 6 (14.5%) (15%)

Dragon's Lair 7 Tron 4 (12.7%) (10%)

Punch-Out 6 • Star Wars 4 (10.9%) (10%)

Superbike 4 Pac Man 4 (7.3%) (10%)

Star Wars 4 Tron 4 (7.3%) (10%)

52.7% 55% 5 of 23 games 5 of 16 games Other 26 Other 18 (47.3%) (45%) N = 55 N = 40 173

Table 26 (continued)

Black White

Punch-Out 5 Dragon's Lair 9 (18.5%) (13.2%)

Star Trek 3 Track & Field 9 (11.1%) (13.2%)

Tron 2 Star Wars 7 (7.4%) (10.3%)

Pole Position 2 Pac Man 5 (7.4%) (7.4%)

Track & Field 2 Star Trek 5 (7.4%) (7.4%)

Space Ace 2 Tron 5 (7.4%) (7.4%)

59.2% 58.9% 6 of 17 games 6 of 23 games Other 11 Other 28 (40.8%) (41.1%) N = 27 N = 68

In watching children play the researcher concluded that children like games which are embued with color and which have easy to follow instructions. Older children primarily watch each other play to learn while younger ones just as readily stumble through by trial and error, though children as young as age seven can play just as well as the teens.

Younger children like fast action. Graphics are important to children of all ages. Manufacturers give careful attention to how a game is presented in the cabinet - its shape, physical dimensions and visual impact. Sports games are more popular with the older children. Younger ones 174

especially like driving, perhaps because they are looking

forward to the day when they can drive, they can only do it

in a game, and it's easy to understand.

Boys become absorbed by sports games, girls like Pac

Man and plain shooting, and little children like whatever

they're successful at playing. Dragon's Lair is favored by

older boys. It's knight protagonist puts off the girls.

It's a sophisticated, reactive, patterning game which little

ones like to watch but are not good at playing. It has a

light which signals when to touch the control. Older

children are attuned to look for it and react quickly;

children can't and easily get frustrated. Some maze games

allow time to plot moves, and think ahead. Older children

find them boring because they're not adrenalin pumping.

The researcher asked several children during the course

of the study how they could categorize games. After the

categories were defined they were reviewed with the most

knowledgeable players who altered them slightly. There is unavoidable overlap in the categories. Pac Man, as an

example, can be considered a cartoon, maze, adventure game.

These categories were presented in the questionnaire as

types of games and children were asked to choose their

favorite type. Girls chose driving and adventure games while boys chose sports and adventure games. The categories

they chose seem to parallel their individual favorite games. 175

Table 27 Survey Question Number 50

TYPE OF ARCADE VIDEO GAME LIKE BEST

Boy Girl Black White

Space 5 4 2 7 (8.9%) (9.8%) (7.7%) (9.9%)

Sports 10 1 4 7 (17.9%) (2.4%) (15.4%) (9.9%)

Adventure 10 8 5 13 (17.9%) (19.5%) (19.2%) (18.3%) .

Shooting 6 4 3 7 (10.7%) (9.8%) (11.5%) (9.9%)

Driving 5 9 3 11 (8.9%) (22%) (11.5%) (15.5%)

Maze 1 4 3 2 (1.8%) (9.8%) (11.5%) (2.8%)

Cartoon 4 2 1 5 (7.1%) (4.9%) (3.8%) (7%)

More than one category 15 9 5 19 (26.8%) (21.8%) (19.4%) (26.7%) N = 56 41 26 71 73.2% 78.2% 80.6% 73.3%

As much as children like the games there are still a few they claim they wouldn't play even ;if they were free.

Two-thirds of all the children surveyed said there wasn't a game they wouldn't play even if it were free. Free play games set up by the manager are very popular. However, a third of the children did respond that they would avoid such games. Perhaps they think only unpopular ones would be given away. Maybe they feel they have to earn their games 176

and that they don't think as much about their strategies

when the games are free. It could be that they just think

there would be overcrowding. At any rate, some children had

their reservations. The one-third respondents as illustrated

in Table 28. Games they listed as games they'wouldn11 play

Pac Man which boys consider an easy girls' game, Punch-Out

which girls consider a hard boys' game along with Star Trek, which both think is hard, and Tempest, which girls think is

too difficult. There were too few responses from black

children, seven O f twenty-six, to draw any conclusions. For

some boys and girls it appears that games they can't comprehend they won 't play even. if they 're free and the ones

Table 28 Survey Question Number 47

- GAME WOULDN’T PLAY EVEN IP IT WERE FREE

Boy Girl Black White

Pac Man 9 1 2 8 (52.9%) (8.3%) (28.6%) (36.4%)

Punch-Out 0 3 1 2 (25.0%) (14.3%) (9.1%)

Star Trek 2 2 1 3 (11.8%) (16.7%) (14.3%) (13.6%)

Tempest 0 2 0 2 (16.7%) (9.1%)

64.7% 66.7% 57.2% 68.2% Other 6 4 3 7 (35.3%) (33.3%) (42.8%) (31.8%) N = 17 12 7 22 177 they don't play regularly are ones which wouldn't win them over under any circumstances. A very small set of games was listed by children. They apparently couldn't think of many which would fit this category of ones they wouldn't play even if they didn't cost anything.

ARCADE GAMES AND HOME GAMES

Children prefer arcade games to home computer games.

For the most part they prefer the graphics of the arcade versions which they describe as being better, clearer, sharper, better animated, more colorful, more realistic, more interesting, more entertaining, and more creative.

Most children in this study have some sort of home game, such as Atari or Coleco. They decidedly declare that arcade games are more real. They simulate fictional and real worlds in a more believable way. Children can more readily transport themselves to another world and become a part of it. Since the arcade versions are housed by cabinets and the player stands at eye level with the machine there is a greater degree of projection and the enveloping spatial configuration seems to enfold the player into the game.

Total body movement involves the player more in the game.

Players bend their knees, shift back and forth and side to side, jump, push, elbow, and use their hands and fingers on the controls in feats of human engineering designed to apply 178

the greatest possible range of movement. These physical

gyrations allow them more active roles as participants in

the game. They like the sit-down games because they create

the illusion of stepping into another world and shutting off

the rest of the arcade. Children also prefer the greater

control they can exercise in arcade games. They have more

options for activating the forces of the game, like several buttons and joy sticks as opposed to a single joy stick.

The arcade controls are more responsive to the touch. In

the home games a slight, accidental application of pressure

on the control causes a reaction. In the arcade the player takes deliberate and calculated action to command directions.

The arcade versions offer more sophisticated exchanges between player and computer which gives the player a sense of power and resources to draw upon. Home versions, because of

limited memory, are more linear and less complex. They seem more predetermined, giving players the feeling that they themselves are being played.

A few children allowed that playing at home was cheaper but most reasoned that games cost less than a cartridge.

They very much delight in the variety of games which can be found in the arcade and pretty much agree that arcade games are faster paced and more exciting. The lights, colors, and sounds of arcade games fascinate them, adding to the surreal nature of arcade games and enhancing the fantasy atmosphere. 179

The space-like aura marks off the arcade as a different world. Children also like the milieu of people and take pleasure in figuring out whose initials are up and in watching good players. Sometimes they make friends at the arcade. They can circulate among strangers and not feel threatened. There is a rhythm in the arcade which has a special beat, sounding out a stimulating cadence. It is a magical world to which they can escape. It rarely includes their parents.

PARENTS

Parents seldom accompany their children to the arcade.

When they come together to the mall parents give their children money, typically five dollars, and direct them to play until they return. This exchange takes place at the arcade entrance. Often they tell the children to meet them at a designated time. Occasionally they come in to look for their children. When they are tracking down their children they seem oblivious to the rhythm of the arcade. If they find their children in the middle of play they hasten them to completion, waiting impatiently. "C'mon now. Isn't it over yet? We've got to go." They usually don't watch their children play with demonstrated or even feigned interest.

They seem to want to get out as quickly as possible, their, discomfort obvious. The games do not distract them, do not 180 pique their curiosity. It is as if they feel like foreigners in an alien world.

There are times when parents bring their children, especially the younger ones, toddlers to about age seven.

At the earlier ages the children run around from game to game, reaching for the controls, their eyes alert to the choreographed screens. Some parents hold their children up to the controls and guide their hands. Frequently they seem to forget the child in arms and take over the game completely.

There are also parents who give their children tokens and let them play whatever they want while they themselves wander around the arcade. Some cannot resist those siren games and become so involved in playing that they forget their children. Toddlers wander off to the driving machines and play with the steering wheel, their absence discovered when the parent glances down and finds the child gone from under foot. Some parents neglect their children altogether. On one occasion a young woman brought her six year old and left him unattended while she socialized with friends. They stayed six hours and the child never left the arcade, not to go to the bathroom nor to eat. At other times parents will send younger children in the care of their older siblings. Older children almost never closely supervise their charges. Once they get caught up in the games they forget that they1 re supposed to babysit and the youngsters run about freely, 181 occasionally having to locate the babysitters themselves.

One teen-age boy kept slapping a baby's hands when he reached for any of the game controls and treated the toddler with open irritation. When an attendant caught the child wandering through the office she returned him to the teen who slapped his hands and yelled at him, never missing a beat of the game. Older children can't seem to keep their minds on the games as well as on their younger siblings.

Parents who expect them to be surrogate parents do not understand that the arcade is not the environment to instill adult responsibilities.

Rarely do parents stand and watch their children play, expressing encouragement, awe, or interest. Those few times that children importune them to watch or try to drag them to a game, the parents are reluctant and have to be fervently coerced. More common is the parent whose attention is caught by a skillful player at a game like Punch Out or

Pac Land.

There is a Hockey Game, non-video, with sticks to move the players. Small children love to push, pull and rotate the sticks. They're too young to realize which ones move the players in certain ways. When parents try to teach them or play with them they become frustrated because the children don't do anything but randomly play with the sticks. In one instance, a small boy walked away, abandoning interest completely and wandered over to Star Wars. He was taken from the arcade. 182

The parents who do come in, whether they stay with

their children or not, believe that for the most part the

games are beneficial. They cite eye-hand coordination and

development of motor skills as positive effects. In addition

they suggest that the games are good for children's ego's

since they can progress and see new levels. The games help

them learn new things and get better; they are challenged

and in this regard the games are preferable to having them watch television. As one mother expressed it:

"As long as the games aren't everything in a child's life, they're okay. They build self- confidence. They can see themselves improve and get better at a game even if they never win. The games are no more violent than cartoons and television in general. I watch the A Team with Jeremy. There's shooting and fighting, but no blood. That's not real. But these games depict reality. You can die."

Many parents who brought their children agreed that the video arcade is like the pinball palace of the previous generation. Their own parents worried about their playing pinball. One man recalled that his mother worried and

fretted they would be his ruin. "But you know, I've never spent a day in jail." They concur, too, that Bugs Bunny cartoons are more violent in nature than video games.

There were a few parents who brought their children only because they finally gave in to their pleas. However, they hastened to add, they broke down very seldom. They're bothered by the teen crowd, bad language, and the sensory overload of sight and sound. Those more resistent parents 183 didn't give their children money but rather made them use their allowance or money earned. A few expressed satis­ faction that in this way their children quickly learned the value of a dollar. With limited resources it may be that these children avoid harder, more complex games, try new games rarely, and stick to ones which will give them more play for the quarter, thereby inhibiting their exploratory and discovery processes.

When parents do participate they tend to interfere, becoming directive and taking over. The following conver­ sations illustrate their intrusiveness:

"Use your fireballs now. Good boy. Good. Good. Now watch out. No, No, Yes, Yes. Go straight through there.

Now go tell daddy how you did. No running. Stop. Stop.

No running."

"No, you can't play Firefox. You're too little for the controls."

"Play the ones you're good at."

"Why did you stop? You were just getting good. [Little girl wants to try another game] Keep at this. You're just getting the hang of it."

The arcade* amuses children. Some parents treat their children to a couple of hours play instead of sending them to the matinee. They spend an equivalent amount of money.

One father said it's a monthly outing for him and his two girls. Even though many of the children have home games 184 parents know that they can't buy enough games to satisfy them. There's always a new one to try in the arcade. And it's good for the children to have an escape, some parents remark. It's a fantasy for them and they should have their fantasies. That's why they like comic books, one parent observed, they know rabbits can't talk but they love it.

Parents seem to have mixed feelings about allowing their children to play video games. On the one hand they distance themselves from the arcade world and on the other allow their children to enter it. Their ambiguity may arise from their own unease in the arcade setting which is tempered by the recognition that children find it very appealing.

For the most part parents cannot find sufficient evidence of harm to restrict their children from playing. One mother said her son did very well in school and wanted to be a doctor when he grew up. So while she doesn't particularly sanction the games (she's concerned about the shooting and older teens) she feels it would be unreasonable not to allow him to play occasionally, though she and her husband always accompany him. They were always at his elbow which couldn't have been much fun for him since theirs was not an interested presence but a protective one, biding time until their chore was done. However, parents are concerned enough to limit their children's play. They allow a specified sum of money to spend or a bounded time period in which to play. School 185 work must not suffer nor should the games become the children's only preoccupation.

The findings of the survey bear out parental absence as seen in Table 29. Three-fourths of the children reported that their parents usually do not accompany them-to the arcade. More than half the children, though, reported that their parents don't object to their going to the arcade with about another third indicating that sometimes their parents do protest, with parents of black children being the most concerned, as presented in Table 30.

Table 29 Survey Question Number 17

DO YOUR PARENTS COME TO THE ARCADE WITH YOU?

Boy Girl Black White

Usually Not 40 31 18 53 (71.4%) (73.8%) (72.0%) (72.6%)

Sometimes 12 7 5 14 (21.4%) (16.7%) (20.0%) (19.2%)

Pretty Much 4 4 2 6 (7.1%) (9.5%) (8.0%) (8.2%)

N = 56 42 25 73 186

Table 30 Survey Question Number 21

DO YOUR PARENTS MIND IF YOU COME TO THE ARCADE?

Boy Girl Black White

Yes 4 2 2 4 (6.9%) (4.8%) (7.7%) (5.4%)

No 37 29 14 52 (63.8%) (69.0%) (53.8%) (70.3%)

Sometimes 17 11 10 18 (29.3%) (26.2%) (38.5%) (24.3%)

N = 58 42 26 74

The following table (Table 31) highlights parental areas of concern as children perceive them. Children were given four choices and an open option to identify any reason not already specified. They mixed their reponses in thirteen combinations. Well over half, however, fell into two categories: too much time spent there and possibility of trouble. Along with school work these concerns accounted for three-fourths of the source of anxiety to parents as children understood it. 187

Table 31 Survey Question Number 22

REASONS WHY PARENTS DON'T WANT THEIR CHILDREN TO COME TO THE ARCADE

Boy Girl Black White

They think kids 17 13 6 24 spend too much (29.3%) (31.7%) (23.1%) (32.9%) time there

They're afraid 20 13 10 23 they'll get into (3A.5%) (31.7%) (38.5%) (31.5%) trouble

They think they 7 5 5 7 should do more (12.1%) (12.2%) (19.2%) (9.6%) school work

75.9% 75.6% 75.8% 74.0% 14 10 5 19 Other (24.1%) (24.4%) (24.2%) (26.0%) N = 58 41 26 73

ATTENDANTS

Parents generally consider the arcade a type of baby­ sitter. Attendants also see this function as their role and regard it seriously. In the arcade which was the study site the attendants are guided by the manager, Mike, a gentle but firm man in his early thirties. He has three young children who visit periodically with their mother. At other times, on his day off, the whole family comes in. Extending the relationship he has with his own children Mike tries to give children in the arcade guidance and is careful not to deprecate them. "You need to help them reach understanding," he says. When they falsely claim to have lost a dollar in the bill changer he assumes not that they're malicious but 188 that they're trying to creatively stretch a quarter into a dollar. In these cases he tries to give them an opportunity to think about the dishonest nature of such behavior. When two little nine year old boys came up to him and said they'd lost a dollar in the changer he walked over with them and asked:

Mike: "Which way did you put the dollar in. This side

or this side?"

1st boy: "This way."

2nd boy: "That way."

Mike: "Now which was was it because that'll help me

understand what went wrong."

1st boy: "Uh, don't remember."

Mike: "Try to think. I can open up the changer and it

will tell me but I want to know from you how you

did it."

They started stammering, said they made a mistake, and left. Mike said that was his way of letting them extricate themselves without psychological damage. When his' sensi­ tivity was mentioned he responded that he treats people as people.

"When I work with a machine, that's a machine. When I work with people, they're people and not machines."

Occasionally a child will claim to have lost a token in a machine and he'll let them slide by. If they are repeaters 1

189

or subsequently contend that they've lost two tokens in a

two-token machine Mike looks at them sternly and questioningly

before he opens the token door. One little boy bought a

token special (discounted tokens) which Mike said would last

him all day. He stayed all day, too. Mike called him a

"nickel roller," explaining that this is a person who's

always trying to get by with activating a game with a nickel.

"You're not going to try to put in any nickels, are you?"

he asked the boy, his way of reinforcing positive behavior.

Mike's philosophy is to treat people as he would like

to be treated. He figures that players are the ones who pay

his salary and he doesn't want them to go away with negative

feelings. When a pregnant woman with a child in her arms

was sitting in Star Wars, letting the baby play with the

controls, Mike walked over and put in a token. The lights,

colors, and sounds delighted the baby and the mother beamed

up at Mike. He feels that is one small way he can let

people know the arcade cares about them.

He certainly understands children and tries to relate

to them at their level of reasoning. When the corporate

office scheduled a token special that gave two hours play at

half price Mike convinced them to add an option - eighty

tokens or two hours play. Thus the tokens could be used any

time. But more importantly, time is not meaningful to a

child. Tokens are more immediate. A bunch of tokens in

their hands is real whereas the time concept is abstract. There were two attendants during the greater part of

the field study, Carmen and Dave, both of whom were students

at the University. Carmen came to the mall store from the

campus location to get in more hours of work. She eventually was promoted to assistant manager. Both respected Mike highly and reflected his philosophy. When a child seemed to be distraught they settled her or him down, circulating

through the arcade, ruffling hair, giving a pat on the

shoulder, demonstrating interest, yet remaining unintrusive.

Carmen acknowledged that when she first came the regulars tested her, claiming lost tokens, broken machines, problems with the bill changer, faulty re-sets, and banging the re-set buttons to try to activate them. Sometimes they

fooled her but she quickly learned their techniques. If a player tried to put in a penney instead of a token she'd ask to see their token. If they had one she'd assume an honest mistake had been made. If they didn't have one she assumed they were trying to get a free game and would warn them that further infractions would result in their expulsion from the arcade for the rest of the day. The punishment followed any violations. Only one expulsion was observed during the study.

Carmen railed against the sexist nature of the games.

She was greatly concerned about unsupervised children but accepted the arcade's role as a babysitting service. 191

Following discussions with the researcher about one child in particular, though, she called his school to see what his attendance record was like. They reported that he was listed as a missing child. She notified the Saturday police officer. The next time his mother came in she was arrested for kidnapping her sister's child.

Dave, while gentle with the children, was more interested in maintaining order. The absence of girls did not surprise him for he thinks that girls don't like violence and competition. He found children to be generally well- behaved and the arcade to be a fun place for them where they could learn coordination skills. He and Carmen developed special communication with the children. Some of the players would come up without saying anything and they'd both know what they wanted. Dave and Carmen affectionately called the players "rug rats." The first time Dave was asked for a

"case quarter" he didn't comprehend but quickly discerned it was a whole quarter rather than a combination of coins to make up a quarter. This term originated with the Black children with whom Dave felt a little uneasy. He always felt that they needed more discipline but he was hesitant to appear as though he was hassling them. It seemed to him that they loitered more, horsed around, intimidated other players, dominated certain games, and took excessive advantage of free play games. Yet he was acutely sensitive to stereotyping and always reflected on his observations when he made them. Curiously, all three attendants suggested that the researcher go to Eastland if Black children were to be well represented in the study. Yet the Northland arcade was chosen because it seemed as if a good mix of children played there. This is a perplexing paradox. There are

Black children but they seem to be invisible. When more black players started coming on Saturdays and Sundays Dave began agonizing over their behavior. Prior to that there weren't enough blacks to create a presence in the mind of the attendants. They were simply other children. In greater numbers they impressed themselves on the conscious mind as

Black and not child, so the attendants began to relate to them as a class of people.

RULES OF PLAY

Attendants are rule-enforcers. There are rules which the players observe. These rules govern their behavior and seem to help establish order in the crowded, noisy environ­ ment. Each game has distinct sounds which identify it.

Children mill around the more popular games awaiting their turn. The free games attract many children and good players draw a crowd. Players are absorbed in their games and seem oblivious to people looking over their shoulders. Spectators do not coach or otherwise distract players. Nor do they make observations among themselves. They watch quietly. 193

Smaller children manage to wiggle their way to a good viewing position. Those who are interested in playing next put a token up on the machine. Sometimes the tokens are lined up, signifying a great demand. When this happens the player self-limits the number of games in recognition of the number of other people waiting for a turn. No words are spoken.

The action makes the statement. Younger children are not exploited by the older children; the rules apply to all. At other times, to signify they want the game next, players may put their token in the slot, although this is not the preferred way. Sometimes the ones playing will line up their tokens to indicate they intend to play a few games.

If a player is quite good others don't mind how long they play. They acknowledge superior mastery and learn by watching them.

When children violate rules by banging on machines the attendants tell them they are engaging in unacceptable behavior. Rowdiness is not tolerated and is a rare occur­ rence. When the younger children start running the attendant slows them down by grabbing them.

One little boy of seven who came frequently with his father, played Bomb Jack, a new game. Another boy of twelve, who was very good at Bomb Jack, and was playing Hyper Sports, kept coming over and offered comments like "You don't move him left; you should have kept him there; you flapped him too much; the way to get points on this screen is..." He 194

was beginning to annoy the little boy who remarked aloud

"Boy, sometimes I just don't like it when people talk." His

father asked if he was being disturbed. "No, it's ok." The

father continued, "Just tell me and I'll talk to him." The

little boy just responded "No, dad, leave him alone; he

doesn't understand."

This does not happen characteristically as one of the

"regulars", a twelve year old boy noted:

Researcher: "Do other players talk very much when someone

else is playing?"

Boy: "No. "

Researcher: "Does it bother you when they do?"

Boy: "Only if they keep saying 'Are you almost

through? Are you almost through?'" I had a

little boy who did that this morning and it

kept messing me up. Not that my luck was

much better when he left."

There are sensitive places on the machines which will reset the games by being tapped. Occasionally children try to tap a free game. Sometimes they try to activate the game with pennies instead of quarters and occasionally this ploy works. The attendants develop an eye for these schemes, though, and can usually spot them. When they do they go up to the players and ask to see their tokens. If they have tokens the attendants assume a natural mistake— token mixed 195 up with penny. However, if the children have no tokens the attendants suspect a scam and may exile the children, though they generally will give them a second chance.

When players kick or hit the machines they are frequently frustrated by the game, not angry with themselves.

This often happens if a player believes the controls to be miscalibrated, to be sticking, to be short-circuiting, to be unresponsive to the touch, to be slow, to be delayed and other signs of mechanical failure.

The following is a chart which summarizes the rules of the game and the rules of play.

Chart 3 Rule Summary

VIOLATIONS RULES OF THE GAME SOURCE OF INFORMATION OF RULES

Read instructions Game Cabinets None (optional) Play is limited

Exchange money for Attendants Machine won't work tokens Peers Coin slot Observation

Push Start Button Game Cabinet Game won't activate

Use controls Game Cabinet Failure to maintain Peers a sequence Observation Time expires and no Trial & Error points gained Discovery Program runs by itself and with no interaction is quickly over 196

Chart 3 (continued)

VIOLATIONS RULES OF THE GAME SOURCE OF INFORMATION OF RULES

Propositional logic Discovery Random playing Observation No sustained playing Peers May not reach new levels

Bonuses Cabinet Points don't Discovery accumulate as * Observation quickly Peers May not reach new levels

Consequences Discovery Game over Observation Lose character, Peers plane, etc. May not reach new levels

Scoring Discovery No points Observation Peers

Entering Initials Video Monitor None or Upon Initiating Cabinet Blanks appear

Entering Initials Video Monitor None Upon Ranking

Transformational Play action Cannot predict and Operations anticipate May' not reach new levels

Mastery of skills Practice Ranking, points, (Coordination of reaching new levels, skills) reaching final goal, seeing entire program

No Beverages or Entrance Sign Stopped by attendant Food

No Running Attendants Stopped by attendant

No Beating on Attendants Stopped by attendant machine Possible expulsion 197

Chart 3 (continued)

VIOLATIONS RULES OF THE GAME SOURCE OF INFORMATION OF RULES

No uninvited Players Glares coaching peers

No pennies Moral awareness Warning Possible expulsion

Put token on cabinet Observation Other players get to queue up for ahead game Player doesn't relinquish game

Put token in slot Observation Player hands over a to signify "dibbs" Aggressiveness token and asserts "I'm going to be playing more games" Player turns over game Glares

Player lines up tokens Observation Other players wait to signal number until all tokens of games intending gone to play Other players line up tokens in the row

Do not artificially Moral Awareness May work activate the May get caught and game to get a exited from the free play arcade

Report mechanical Common sense Attendant repairs difficulties Observation immediately

Use bill changer Bill changer Cabinets only accept for single dollars Attendants tokens

Get whole quarters Token machine only Machines reject from change accepts quarters or dollar bills

No fighting Social awareness Expulsion Arrest 198

The rules are both explicit and tacit. Social transmission,

reinforcement, and inner awareness shape behavior.

THE CORPORATE ARCADE Although rules govern behavior they are'not martially

applied. Understanding that the games alone will no longer

sell themselves without an intermediary the Aladdin's Castle

has campaigned to create a warm, friendly environment. It

seeks to assure parents that arcades are safe places to

entrust their children. It also seeks to involve parents more. And it is striving to reach every level of players.

Aladdin's Castle is a subsidiary of Bally-Midway, the

amusement company. Bally's manufactures and distributes

games. Aladdin's buys Bally games, but not exclusively. In the early eighties when video games were widely available due to new technology they were a rage. Any game, even ones not particularly good, would generate revenue. However, as the novelty waned so did enthusiasm and interest. At its peak the industry was a five and one-half billion dollar business which has dwindled to three billion and gone from ten thousand arcades to about six thousand presently. In order to attract players the games have to be well-designed

and based on a combination of elements which have broad

appeal. Identifying winning games has been somewhat para­ doxical for the industry, which must minimize risk and 199 invest in promising returns but which, because of the decline in business, can't afford the marketing research to fully support its decisions. Thus the real innovations came not from the large manufacturers but the entrepreneurs. There is an annual coin-operated vendor show where new products are introduced. Aladdin's also uses player panels at area stores in Chicago. The managers of the arcades pick their twelve or so best players and have them rate new games.

This gives some measure of predictability.

They have learned that there is a loyal clientele for some of the older games which they call "Evergreens." Most games are "dead" in six months. The standards are moved around to respond to the demand. It appears that the games which appeal' to girls, like Pac Man, Centipede, and Millipede, have longer life spans.

Most players are teen-age boys. The industry is very much interested in creating a market for girls. They had hoped to reach them through sports games like Track and

Field but when it was first introduced girls rated it very low. They attribute less interest on the part of girls to cultural conditioning, reasoning that girls are not as competitive.

Drawing business away from arcades are the record and movie industries because they target the same population, as have the heavily promoted home video games. Games with splashy effects do not have holding power, either. One 200 vision of the future Aladdin's has is the emergence of strategic games based on the principles of chess and checkers.

They allow people to think and reward them for it. Ferrah's

Quest is a game in prototype which allows the player to solve problems in several ways. There are five kingdoms and objects to collect which help in solving problems along the way to getting to the kingdoms, Getting to a kingdom the quickest does not earn the most points but rather getting to the most kingdoms with the most objects. Innovation is critical to the success of games and many are just old copies. The solitary nature of games may also be a weakness.

If a player in New York could challenge the best player in

Los Angeles, excitement might be re-kindled. Aladdin's thinks the human interaction and competition dimensions should receive more attention.

Some games are bought by arcades because the manufacturer has a good reputation. Others are purchased because they have a popular theme, like driving. But generally any game will come down to the average for all games at the end of one year. Aladdin's monitors games via computer on a monthly basis to track revenue. If there are deviations above the line they considering buying more games; if below, the either rotate them or sell them. Most games have no more than a two year cycle. The game mix in stores is an important factor in producing revenue. One very popular game may affect how the less popular ones do. The variety available 201 to the customer must be taken into account. Many kits are bought now because they offer more game options at lower cost. Several different games might be housed in the same cabinet with just a substitute of selected circuitry. The difficulty levels of games can be adjusted with the dipsticks. Manufacturers suggest settings but changes are made as a result of player panel feedback. They are also made by arcade managers who report back problems. Hyper

Sports was reset five times before a good common denominator was found. A balance between hard and easy must be found.

It is more readily manipulated with the availability of as many as nine different dipsticks. Some games were originally set for six minutes of play but it quickly became evident that most players couldn't play that long and the games were losing money.

Lighting makes a difference in the atmosphere. Arcades want enough light for safety and comfort but not so much that the graphics are shadowed. Older arcades were built with ten candle feet of lighting power. New stores have indirect lighting and double strips of flourescent lighting, closer to thirty-five candle feet. Also sleeves can be put over the lights to reduce glare.

Aladdin's is trying to appeal to parents and establish a family image. There are numerous promotions to help charitable and community causes and to involve parents. As 202

an example, a token special might include a company contri­ bution to Easter Seals if it's Easter Seals Week. Or

children might get a token special if they're accompanied by

a parent. There are birthday parties and other gimmicks to

demonstrate the humanness of the arcade. When parents come

in attendants make it a point to try to chat briefly with

them or if they're carrying a baby to help them look after

their toddlers. All the top officials at Aladdin's have been recruited from the retail industry in an effort to be more consumer-oriented. Aladdin's is trying to open up the market and to assuage anxieties.

They have a sense of social responsibility. Beer

Tapper was not introduced to the arcade but Root Beer Tapper was. When asked if they would install a game with a perverted theme Aladdin's insisted it would be against their policy. They definitely will not buy games with gambling themes. Theirs may not be so much a corporate conscience as

a marketing consciousness. Several years ago a driving game was released which had as its goal striking pedestrians.

Parents demanded that it be withdrawn. They are now trying carefully to build a positive image.

DEMOGRAPHICS

Questions about why children go to the arcade, length of stay, who they come with, how much money they spend, the source of their money, school grades- and attendance, average 203 age of players, physical stress, and links to computers in the school have intrigued researchers. The survey instrument included these dimensions to offer information in this area.

Because attention has not been devoted to a more complete explication of these general topics and because they were not primary epistemological constellations during the field- based period, they have been reserved for the global category of demographics. They primarily describe polimetric characteristics of the subjects, children in the response set do not appear to be electrolyzed "vidkids" who have been live wired to the radical fringes. They seem to be a stable group of youngsters, contrary to arcade folklore.

In the survey children were asked why they come to the arcade and were given six choices representing a summary of children's remarks during the course of time the researcher was a participant observer. A seventh open option was added to account for any other significant reasons. The children permutated the choices into thirteen other combinations.

However, about half their choices as illustrated in Table 32, for all populations, points to fun as accounting for their interest in the arcade. They make a deliberate decision to seek a pleasureful pastime which is a source of fun. In a much smaller number of cases they were at the arcade through default; nothing else called their attention. Other reasons were fractionally distributed over the twenty-seven categories. 204

Table 32 Survey Question Number 18

REASONS FOR COMING TO THE ARCADE

Boy Girl Black White

To have fun 44.8% 50.0% 61.5% 41.9%

Nothing better to do 10.3% 16.7% 11.5% 13.5%

55.1% 66.7% 73.0% 55.4%

Girls,, considerably more than boys, as shown in Table

33 apparently just drop into the arcade while at the mall, although about half the boys come by indirect route.

Compared to the white children, black children were more purposeful, for half came to the arcade expressly to play.

The striking majority of girls, as evidenced in Table 34, were accompanied by friends and certainly the greater proportion of boys were as well. While black children primarily came with friends, a greater number than any other population came by themselves. 205

Table 33 Survey Question Number 19

DID YOU COME HERE JUST TO PLAY OR DID YOU JUST HAPPEN TO BE AT THE MALL?

Boy Girl Black White

Both 4 1 1 4 (7.0%) (2.4%) (3.8%) (5.5%)

Just to Play 25 9 13 21 (43.9%) (21.4%) (50.0%) (28.8%)

Happened to be at 28 32 12 48 the mall (49.1%) (76.2%) (46.2%) (65.8%)

N 57 42 26 73

Table 34 Survey Question Number 20

DID YOU COME ALONE OR WITH FRIENDS?

Boy Girl Black White

By Self 11 2 6 7 (19.3%) (4.8%) (23.1%) (9.6%)

With Friends 46 40 20 66 (80.7%) (95.2%) (76.9%) (90.4%)

N 57 42 26 73

As seen in Tables 35 and 36 children on the average don't seem to spend an extraordinary amount of time at the arcade. Well over half go once a week or less and spend just about an hour or so when they do. Girls go a little less often. More than a quarter of the black children go more often than twice a week and boys approximate a quarter in this regard. A very small percentage more black children 206

report staying longer and in this sample girls declared they

stayed about one percent longer than boys.

Table 35 Survey Question Number 16

HOW OFTEN COME TO ARCADE?

Boy Girl Black White

Less than once 18 18 5 31 a week (31.0%) (42.9%) (18.5%) (42.5%)

Once a week 18 15 10 23 (31.0%) (35.7%) (37.0%) (31.5%)

Twice a week 9 5 4 10 (15.5%) (11.9%) (14.8%) (13.7%)

More often than 13 4 8 9 twice a week (22.4%) (9.5%) (29.6%) (12.3%)

N = 58 42 27 73

Table 36 Survey Question Number 23

LENGTH OF STAY IN THE ARCADE

Boy Girl Black White

Less than one hour 1 3 1 3 (1.8%) (7.1%) (3.8%) (4.1%)

One hour 35 31 13 53 (61.4%) (73.8%) (50.0%) (72.6%)

Two hours 13 5 6 12 (22.8%) (11.9%) (23.1%) (16.4%)

Three hours 6 1 4 3 (10.5%) (2.4%) (15.4%) (4.1%)

Longer 2 2 2 2 (3.5%) (4.8%) (7.7%) (2.7%)

N = 57 42 26 73 207

Table 37 points out that girls are little more frugal than boys, half of whom spend two to four dollars when they play. Girls and black children are similar in this regard, although economics may also be a factor. However, more black children of those few who reported spending more than

$5, fell into this category than any other population. This follows staying longer. About one third of the children as seen in Table 38 are provided playing money by their parents and another third use their own money, with girls more inclined toward their own resources, which may account in small measure for their parsimony. Black children, by far over half, use their own money. Perhaps increased parental concern limits their -contribution.

Table 37 Survey Question Number 25

AMOUNT OF MONEY SPENT

Boy Girl Black White

Less than $1.00 4 11 4 11 (6.9%) (26.2%) (15.4%) (14.9%)

About $1.00 9 10 5 14 (15.5%) (23.8%) (19.2%) (18.9%)

About $2-$4 31 17 11 37 (53.4%) (40.5%) (42.3%) (50.0%)

About $5 7 3 1 9 (22.4%) (9.5%) (29.6%) (12.3%)

More than $5 7 1 5 3 (12.1%) (2.4%) (19.2%) (4.1%)

58 42 26 74 208

Table 38 Survey Question Number 25

SOURCE OF MONEY

Boy Girl Black White

Mom/Dad 10 8 2 16 (38.4%) (33.4%) (18.2%) (41.0%)

Allowance 8 9 6 11 (29.8%) (37.5%) (54.6%) (28.2%)

Table 39 shows that most of the children in the study have computers in their schools. Half, according to Table

40, get to spend at least one hour per week on them while another half spends more time. The black children reported greater numbers than the white children for more time allocated to the computer. Children are surrounded by a technology environment. Ninety percent of the boys have some sort of home system, a computerized game or a personal computer. This figure applies to the black population as well. However, a quarter of the girls reported that they don't have any kind of home system, which supports the criticism that they are neglected in the computer world.

About a third of all the children have Atari. A quarter of the boys have more than one system, as do a fifth of the girls and seventeen percent of the black children. Ten percent of the boys have an Apple or IBM, two percent of the girls, and seven percent of the black children. In this small sample there is a disparity in girls' access. 209

Table 39 Survey Question Number 29

COMPUTERS IN SCHOOL

Boy Girl Black White

Yes 52 40 24 68 (91.0%) (95.0%) (92.0%) (93.0%)

No 5 2 2 5 (8.8%) (4.8%) (7.7%) (6.8%)

57 42 26 73

Table 40 Survey Question Number 30

TIME SPENT ON COMPUTERS IN SCHOOL

Boy Girl Black White

None 3 3 (7.3%) (4.3%)

One Hour/Wk 29 25 9 45 (53.7%) (61.0%) (36.0%) (64.0%)

Two Hours/Wk 10 5 4 11 (18.5%) (12.2%) (16.0%) (15.7%)

3-4 Hours/Wk 5 2 3 4 (9.3%) (4.9%) (12.0%) (5.7%)

More than 4 hours 10 6 9 7 /Wk (18.5%) (14.6%) (36.0%) (10.0%)

54 41 25 70

Computers may be available in the schools but children view them as serious learning tools and would like to see arcade games installed. Two-thirds of the boys and the black children surveyed responded that arcade video games should be allowed in school. Perhaps this suggests the need

to relieve the tedium of school work or a desire to take breaks from the more serious application of scholarly pursuits. The question did not lead the children to think

of the games as a medium of learning but rather to have them

available for recess, lunch, before and after school. The

question was structured in this way to try to determine if children make a clear distinction between school obligations

and their need to play. However, girls were divided in their response. Half of the boys who thought video games

shouldn't be allowed cited the need to concentrate on school work. Over a third of the girls affirmed this concern.

One-fifth of the boys speculated that children would fight over the games and one-fourth of the girls seemed to think this might be a problem. In the arcade there's a wide variety of games. Children may have considered that the schools would have far fewer games, leading to disputes.

Perhaps they transfer their experience with limited access to computers in the schools. And maybe it shows they keep their worlds separate. School is one thing and play is another. It could be that children prefer to keep them distinct, looking to games as a refreshing change from everything else.

The arcade video game players in the respondent population maintain good grades. Two thirds of the boys get 211

A's and B's, as do over half the girls and forty-two percent of the black children. Several reasons might be postulated for the variance. Serious, studious girls do not play as much as boys do and those girls who go to the arcade are just "goofing off." Video game playing may account for improved school performance. But the only meaningful inference from the data is that generally it appears that school grades do not suffer as a consequence of children playing video games, contrary to many suppositions.

The school attendance pattern is skewed in close correspondence to grades. Two thirds of the boys have missed less than five days of school, a little over half the girls, and fifty-seven percent of the black children. While many assume that girls are faithful attenders and that black children have absence problems the data suggest a different picture. Only a small fraction of children reported ever skipping school to play in the arcade, the percentage curiously greater for girls and null for black children. It may be that girls stay home from school occasionally, go shopping, and drop in the arcade. The attendants at the research site do not allow young children in on school days.

One very common concern about children playing video games in that prolonged play may cause physical disjunction such as muscle strain. However, in the survey sample taken, two thirds of all players responding do not appear to suffer physical discomfort while playing. When the data are analyzed by length of stay in the arcade no noticeable patterns emerge. As evidenced in Table 40 the greatest source of physical stress for boys is getting tired, probably because they play more; however, all respondents found playing somewhat tiring. For girls it is finger fatigue which seems to be a minor but common problem over all. Often players must tap the buttons rapidly for a sustained period of time which causes stiffness, cramping, and muscle quivering.

Better, dedicated players typically get blisters on their fingers. In this sample no girls claimed to have had a problem in this regard. Sore wrists represent a minor problem for all. While the body is stressed at various motor points and there are unconscious gyrations of movement while playing, compounded with intensity, attendant physical harm is minor. It may be exaggerated by continuous play but those are the few players who are consumed by play. No such subjects were found in this study.

The broad range of children responding is represented in the following tables which were compiled from the survey responses. Analysis of respondents within these parameters did not yield significant indicators. Perhaps a larger sample size would permit extrapolations based on statistical inferences. However, within the respondent set no particular markers were established. 213

Table 41 Survey Question Number 52

THINGS THAT HAPPEN WHEN PLAYING

Boy Girl Black White

Get tired 8 3 2 9 (13.8%) (7.1%) (7.7%) (12.2%)

Backache - 2 1 1 (4.8%) (3.8%) (1.4%)

Headache - 2 . - 2 (4.8%) (2.7%)

Blisters 4 - 2 2 (6.9%) (7.7%) (2.7%)

Sore muscles 3 1 1 3 (5.2%) (2.4%) (3.8%) (4.1%)

Sore Elbows - 1 1 - (2.4%) (3.8%)

Sore Wrists 3 3 2 4 (5.2%) (7.1%) (7.7%) (5.4%)

Fingers hurt 6 6 3 9 (10.3%) (14.3%) ( U . 5 % ) (12.2%

Nothing 20 16 6- 30 (34.5%) (28.1%) (23.1%) (40.5%)

Blisters & fingers 2 - 1 1 hurt (3.4%) (3.8%) (1.4%)

Sore wrists & 1 2 1 2 fingers hurt (1.7%) (4.8%) (3.8%) (2.7%)

Combinations of 11 6 6 11 above (19.0%) (14.2%) (23.3%) (14.7%)

N = 58 42 26 74 214

Table 42 Survey Question Number 53

NUMBER OF BROTHERS

Boy Girl Black White

0 17 14 8 23 (29.3%) (33.3%) (30.8%) (31.1%)

1 32 14 10 36 (55.2%) (33.3%) (38.5%) (48.6%)

2 4 5 3 6 (6.9%) (11.9%) (11.5%) (8.1%)

3 3 4 3 4 (5.2%) (9.5%) (11.5%) (5.4%)

4 1 2 1 2 (1.7%) (4.8%) (3.8%) (2.7%)

5 1 3 1 3 (1.7%) (7.1%) (3.8%) (4.1%)

58 42 26 74

Table 43 Survey Question Number 54

NUMBER OF SISTERS

Boy Girl Black White

0 23 15 9 29 (39.7%) (35.7%) (34.6%) (39.2%)

1 24 13 11 26 (41.4%) (31%) (42.3%) (35.1%)

2 9 5 4 10 (15.5%) (11.9%) (15.4%) (13.5%)

3 1 7 4 10 (1.7%) (16.7%) (7.7%) (8.1%)

4 1 7 2 6 (1.7%) (4.8%) (4.1%)

58 42 26 74 215

Table 44 Survey Question Number 55

POSITION IN FAMILY

Boy Girl Black White

Only Child 6 4 4 6 (10.3%) (9.5%) (15.4%) (8.1%)

Oldest 15 10 5 20 (25.9%) (23.8%) (19.2%) (27%)

Middle 13 13 6 20 (22.4%) (31%) (23.1%) (27%)

Youngest 24 15 11 28 (41.4%) (35.7%) (42.3%) (37.8%)

58 42 26 74

Table 45 Survey Question Number 32

AGE

Boy Girl Black White

6-7 1 1 - 2 (1.7%) (2.4%) (2.7%)

8-9 6 - - 6 (10.3%) (8.1%)

10-11 18 7 11 14 (31%) (16.7%) (42.3%) (18.9%)

12-13 22 20 9 33 (37.1%) (47.6%) (34.1%) (44.6%)

14 11 14 6 19 (19%) (33.3%) (23.1%) (25.7%)

58 42 26 74 216

Table 46 Survey Question Number 33

HOMES

Boy Girl Black White

Northland 17 19 11 25 (29.3%) (45.2%) (42.3%) (33.8%)

Bexley 2 1 3 (3.4%) (2.4%) (11.5%)

Gahanna 8 2 1 9 (13.8%) (4.8%) (3.8%) (12.2%)

Dublin 6 -- 6 (10.3%) (4.8%) (3.8%) (12.2%)

Upper Arlington 1 1 - 2 (1.7%) (2.4%) (2.7%)

Westerville 7 4 - 11 (12.1%) (9.5%) (14.9%)

Eastland 3 1 4 (5.2%) (2.4%) (15.4%)

Linden 2 6 1 7 (3.4%) (14.3%) (3.8%) (5.4%)

Clintonville 1 2 - 3 (1.7%) (4.8%) (4.1%)

Worthington 4 1 1 4 (6.9%) (2.4%) (3.8%) (5.4%)

Other (12.1%) (11.9%) (19.2%) (9.5%)

58 42 26 74 CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION

Video games incorporate psychological characteristics of cognitive appeal which illuminate the learning process.

They engage players in problem solving behavior. They build reasoning skills. They offer challenges and attainable goals. They have broad appeal yet allow individuals to distinguish themselves. Arcade versions of the games are technologically advanced. The laws of science are embedded in the games, are apparent in their design, and are subliminally transmitted; through them the world is represented in holographic images. The physical construc­ tion of the games engages the total player-mind and body.

The controls respond to gross motor movement as well as finesse of touch. Players must contribute something to get something out of the game. There is a reciprocal relation­ ship. ' Children can play at their worst and still accomplish something. They can play at their best and perhaps be best among the other players. But everyone gets a renewed oppor­ tunity every time a token is inserted. The arcade is a socializing agent where children learn from their peers, establish their own identities, and abide by governing rules. The joy of learning is captured in arcade video games. 217 218

Educators can profit from a consideration of the video

arcade and how its positive features can be applied to the

classroom setting. This is not to suggest that curriculum be adorned in video games. It is rather to suggest that

certain principles of game design can be used to develop a

creative learning environment. Many precepts of educational theory have shaped video game design. Some of them include the following:

Arcade Video Games Educational Principles

Variety of games Varied curricular content and activities

Learning from peers Peer tutoring

Mix of easy and complex Giving children a chance to extend games themselves and their boundaries of knowledge but give them a safe return to what they comfortably know when they need to fall back

Fantasy Curriculum is couched in concepts of interest to the child; pretend; simulate; create

Multiple levels Children's accomplishments build one on the other one concept leads to another, slightly more difficult concept.

Goals and sub-goals Children are given an overall aim which can be reached through several minor goals, each of which is related.

Everyone achives something Children are given several small means of achievement.

Hints on how to play Objectives are explained and illustrations provided when making assignments or giving tests.

Graphics Provide visuals

Physical activity Action learning 219

Game Clues Discovery learning

Skill development Practice and re-runs

Game previews Cognitive rehearsal; advance organizers

Structured progression Logical sequencing

Timed nature Brisk pacing (within the mix of easy and hard)

Variable difficulty Providing range of materials and a scale indices of concepts

Arcade video games can also inform educational theories.

Among the ways features of game design can be incorporated into the learning setting are the following:

Arcade Video Games Educational Principles

Observing strategies of Observe learning process of peers others

Renewal Don't carry over grades from period to period or exercise to exercise and give each child a fresh start every day. Wipe the slates clean.

Initials for highest Give each child a code and post the codes rankings of those scoring high in selected areas which have been targeted for assigned point values. Erase it each day.

Information sharing Let children talk aloud about the ways they've solved problems, thought about ideas, or their assignments so that others can pick up useful suggestions. Coach children when they're formulating questions and answers; let them coach each other aloud.

Rules of the game Introduce children to the rationality of concepts.

Hypothetico-deductivo Let children generate hypotheses/questions logic and exlore using analytical reasoning 220

Individual Approaches Let children realize there are different ways of learning and knowing

Investment Give children a stake in their learning; quid pro quo

Mixture of age groups Allow time during the school day for children of all ages to work together on a common goal

Imaging Give children tools to develop mental imaging capabilities

Lights and sounds Exercise the senses

Trial and error Allow risk taking

Bonuses Allow appropriate short-cuts and reward them.

Asymmetrical relationship Learners and teacher have shifting roles.

Arcade games are expanding upon design principles by incorporating alternative participation modes for players.

These new mechanisms will allow even greater player control and respond to individual styles and-levels of achievement.

John Flakne, Vice President of Marketing for Aladdin's

Castle, predicts a new wave of games which will promote more human interaction and allow players a new set of entry points to the game. Since teen-ages are gregarious he suspects that two player games which are point-counterpoint types of designs (unlike the current two player games which are independent of each other) will be well-received, especially as teen age boys represent the largest part of the market. The participation level in such games is high.

Standing across from each other, establishing eye contact gets people more involved. He observes that there's something 221

timeless about beating humans. If a player beats a machine,

what's left? he asks. There's no more challenge after

mastery is achieved. But because people are different and

people grow, each game played in human confrontation is

different. A game recently introduced at the winter coin-op

show was Demolition Derby, which has four steering wheels

and is much like bumper cars. Up to four people at a time

can play. All age groups, men and women, love this new

game. Newer games like this will also allow a second or

third person to join players in progress.

Sometimes a player gets stuck in a game. Some children

just can't get to the next level. Often it's just one thing

that's blocking them. Future games will allow players to

put in a token, select that next level, and start from

there. Difficulty levels are usually set at the middle.

Games are being designed now which will allow players to

select their own difficulty level.

These are promising developments which are taking games

in new directions. Other work in progress includes combining

word processing, spread sheet, and game action features of

computers to tie in several modes of interaction in new

configurations. Networking so that a player in arcade A can

challenge one in arcade C, or city A versus city B, is also being explored. Personalizing of games is being examined

along four lines. One is programming the machine to talk to players, using their names, and giving them feedback as they 222 play. Another is offering more than one route to reach a goal which requires mapping out a path. A third is allowing the player to choose what comes next. And a fourth is to project the image of the player onto the characters in the video. Some of the experimental ideas may not be as profitable since, because of the time extensions involved in play, there is no quick turnover to generate continuous token feed. Others have implications for the psychology of the game. Effects of such games may be quite different from the effects of games as they are currently constituted.

Game designers may be able to build also on some of the findings of this study which suggest that additional research may be warranted. The major points of significance are as follows:

1. In this study it appears that a balance of emotion is achieved in play. Players are excited by the games and must concentrate to win while attaining a state of relaxation and tension relief. Players make internal adjustments to bombastic emotion in order to think clearly. They alternate between logic and instinct. The mixture of anxiety and tranquility poses a delicate ying and yang. Children are eager to learn, win, and have fun. Events of the game, such as getting caught, trapped, or zapped, with their accompanying auditory effects and visual flashes, quicken the pulse and cause rushes of emotion, intensified by the timed nature of the games. Yet players cannot allow-their 223 emotional arousal to interfere with their mental functions and motor reflexes. Therefore, players learn to control their emotions and command their total resources synergistically.

2. Girls in this study worked cooperatively to win games by sharing the game controls. They were not as interested as boys in solitary victory. Boys in this study shared their knowledge of the games but executed the maneuvers by themselves. Boys seemed to be driven to beat the computer. Girls did not seem to be so obsessed with finality nor with the intricacies of the game components.

In part this may have been because the fantasies of the games are male oriented. Girls seemed to like the continuity of games like Pac Man and Centipede, which also are less harsh, fractured, and assaultive. Girls and boys both agree that girls can play the games as well as boys but do not like them as much.

3. Children in this study had a sweeping range of game preferences but ultimately were inclined toward those with good graphics, good simulations, purpose and sense, goals, and multiple levels.

4. . Children in this study were drawn to driving and sports games. Girls were not as attracted to the sports games because of the male figures in the graphics and because of the dominance of the games by boys. The sports types of games seemed to enable children to pretend at a much more 224

personal level. Driving is practice. Sports let them live

out their Walter Mitty dreams. Sports are the pivotal point

of praise, adoration, and money. 5. There was no evidence in this study that violence

and aggressiveness were surfaced by the games. Children

made a clear distinction between play and reality.

6. The children in the study site, who came from a variety of backgrounds, were not extreme in amount of time

they played, money spent, days of school missed, or school

grades earned.

7. Nearly all the children in the study reported

having access to computers at home and at school. They are

technologically attuned. However, the children did not believe that arcade games could help them with their

computers. This may say something about the nature of their work with computers.

8. The arcade served a babysitting function. Parents

did not themselves feel comfortable in the arcade.

9. The games require children to anticipate, predict, plan, compensate, and identify patterns.

10. Children are ingenious. They think of countless ways to use the controls (tapping, pounding, palms, fingers, pencils, light touches, accented touches, punctuated touches,

spinning, rolling, etc.); to get free games; to pool their

resources; to gain knowledge; to stretch their quarter; and

to test the limits of the game. 225

Several possibilities for further research were

suggested by some of the findings such as the following:

1. Gender differences. It might be profitable to

track girls' interactions with computers at home, and in the

arcade to determine patterns. In the present study the

games girls preferred had similar structural characteristics.

This may be coincidental (the games have in common more

storybook type imagery) or it may be cognitively significant.

Cooperative play, which characterized girls' behavior in

this study, needs to be deciphered in the context of its

circumstances within and outside the arcade setting. Games

features which appeal to girls need to be specifically

identified.

2. Sports games in this study seemed to be the ones which generated the most volatile emotions. Effects of

sports games, particularly on aggressive tendencies, need to be examined.

3. Players must reach various levels of a game before they know its complete script. It might be instructive to have a novice, intermediate, and advanced player each write

a description of the same game and compare their accounts to

identify factors involved in knowledge acquisition. It might also be informative to compare girls and boys descriptions in terms of the language they use and the type of intelligence they express. 226

4. In the arcade there are especially skilled players,

usually the ones who spend the most time. Aspects which

distinguish them from regular players need to be explored.

Additional'research can interpret the phenomenon of

arcade video games and their impact on children. Comparisons

of arcades and "thick descriptions" need to be developed.

Little is known about race, age, and sex differences.

Arcades may look alike but each has a unique ambience.

What factors make them distinct? What composition gives

them their own identity? Interest in arcade games is

declining somewhat. Is it because they're no longer novel

or that they've become repetitious and boring? what, if

anything has displaced them? How do they compare and

contrast with pinball? Some games are more popular in some

areas than others. What accounts for variable game preferences? Who are the designers of the games, what are

their philosophies and aims? How do the games reflect

cultural biases? What exactly do the games teach children?

Limited studies have been done comparing television viewing

and video games played. Continued research may clarify some

of the disparate conclusions and inform the questions of violence and aggression. Additional investigations to

isolate salient motivational features of games are warranted.

The social milieu of arcades has not been explored to examine

stranger and friend, customs, rules, relationships, and

other cultural aspects. Single machines at outlets such as a grocery store represent an entirely different attraction to children than those in the arcades. Research inquiry could offer explanations. It would also be quite interesting to interpret girls1 attitudes and behaviors in the context of Gilligan's. (1985) reconceptualization of psychological theory.

Video arcades are a window to the psychological, social, and cognitive operations of children. They offer rich opportunities for research into the child's construction of meaning and knowledge. Arcade video games serve as a provocative metaphor for education. BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Game Descriptions

Written in collaboration with a boy, age twelve. Chart 4

CLASSIFICATION SCHEME DEVELOPED BY ONE BOY AGE TWELVE

LASER DISK SPORTS SPACE ADVENTURE FOR FUN RACING Dragon's Lair Strength & Skill Future Spy Discs of Tron Mystic Marathon Turbo Space Ace Karate Champ Galaga 3 Joust Chrystal Castle Pole Position Track & Field Star Trek Krull PacLand Super Bike PGA Golf Exerion Cross Bow Cloak & Dagger Bump & Jump 10 yd. Dash Fire Fox Spy Hunter Bomb Jack Punch Out Space Invaders Mad Crasher Hyper Sports Star Trek Ms Pac Man Time Pilot Root Beer Tapper Sinistar Frogger Tron Q-Bert Tempest Dig Dug Donkey Kong Circus Charlie 9 3 2 GAME DESCRIPTIONS

Baby Pac-Man

In Baby Pac-Man you go through the maze eating dots, but ghosts want to stop you cold; so to get energizers you have to play the pinball at the bottom of the screen. You do this by either spelling Pac-Man by lighting the letters at the bottom of the screen or hitting the pinball at the top and moving it through a tube.

The fruit is the same as Pac-Man's.

You get an extra man by hitting the middle blocker 5 times in a row.

Free game after 5th board.

The pinball adds to your score. You can use it once per board and every time you die.

Bomb Jack

In Bomb Jack you go along and get as many bombs as possible without dying. This sounds easy, but it's not!

There are five different creatures out for Jack's bomb.

They are Bird - he goes in a square design and is in every board; Circle - which goes up and down the screen diagonally

Black circle - which goes side to side while slowly going up; Martian - goes diagonally while paying no attention to

Jack; and Flying Saucers which head straight for Jack at any direction. They appear randomly. 241

There are plenty of things that help Bomb Jack like the

E coin that gives Jack an extra life. The' B coin multiplies everything double. The S coin gives you a free game. And those are worth the trouble to get.

Once you jump in Bomb Jack you can't jump again till you land on a ledge. But you can hover.

The game is over when all Jacks are dead. There are five boards for each level. The boards are backgrounds of a

Sphinx, Roman times, Old England, modern America, and

Los Angeles. The levels get harder, and everything moves faster, with greater accuracy.

Bump & Jump

You are a little red car trying to either miss or hit all the cars you possibly can in thirty-three different races.

The controls are a joystick and a jump button. Extra life every 30,000 points. No free games.

The race begins, and you are trying not to hit the cars into the wall. But if you do hit one, then hit as many as possible. If you don't hit any through a race you will receive a bonus of 50,000 points. The cars are trying to hit you and want to get hit so you don't get the big bonus.

After all 33 races, or till your cars are gone, the game is over. You use the jump button when water is in the way or a dump truck dumps dirt in front of you. 242

Centipede

In Centipede, you are a guy shooting down insects to

keep them from invading your territory and killing you. You

do this by shooting them with your cannon. • There are four different enemies you face. The first

one is the Centipede, who comes from the top of the screen

to the bottom. Centipedes won't stop till all the little pieces are shot. If they are shot, they turn into mushrooms.

The second enemy is the Spider, who is variably shot for

300, 600, or 900 points. The third is the Flea, that

leaves mushrooms in its path wherever it goes. And number

four is the Scorpion, who is extra bonus points.

You get an extra man every 15,000 points.

Cloak & Dagger

In Cloak & Dagger your object is to blow up Dr. Boom's

laboratories and then kill Dr. Boom. This task is made hard by the robots called Guards. These robots try to kill

Jack Flack, (your character), by shooting at him. But you

can shoot back.

The different mazes have one thing in common. All of

them have a bomb in the center with two conveyer belts

circling it. In a few of the beginning mazes there are

caves. All of the caves are a shade of brown you can shoot through. Every fourth board there is a board with mines all over that explode on contact, but if in the three levels 243 behind you, you get boxes with the letter S you will have arrows mapping out the way.

In Cloak & Dagger, there are many useful and helpful things, though most are on the conveyer belts. The things on the conveyer belts are: red bombs - which are deadly on contact, so only shoot these; green bombs - are defused red ones (run over these to give you points); X boxes - these give you an extra life; and S boxes - which give you one third of a map for the mine field.

If you reach level thirty-three you have the chance to get four X boxes and one hundred thousand extra points.

After that you work your way back up. But there are two extra enemies: they are the Super guard - which take five hits to destroy him; and the Laura bird - which takes three hits to destroy.

The controls are two joysticks, (one for firing and one for moving), and an igniter that blows up the lab.

If you want to leave the Lab then go across the room to the rectangle against the wall.

Cross Bow

In Cross Bow you are an archer protecting friends on their way to destroy the Lord of Darkness from the land.

The controls are a laser light cross-bow. It takes two tokens to play. No free games or extra friends after original friends are picked. 244

At first you have your choice of either a desert or a

town. If you pick the town you have to protect your friends

from evil fiends that are trying to kill your friends, like

ghosts, monsters, and witches.

If you pick the desert, then birds, scorpions, and

killer ants attack your friends. But keep trying to make it

to the Room of Death! There you try to shoot the head and

spear of a statue that sits in the middle.

Game is over when all friends die. There are other

scenes like a jungle and volcano.

Crystal Castle

In Crystal Castle you are a character named Bently

Bear.

Your object is to pick up all the gems before the

Nasties do. If you get the last gem on the board you get

one thousand points plus the board you are on times one

hundred.

There are six different kinds of Nasties on the screen.

They are: Trees - which move quickly and when jumped shrink, but grow back readily; Crawlers - who are medium fast and

can be killed when gem is on neck; Rocks - move very fast

and don't eat any gems, and cannot be killed; Bees - are

the most dangerous. If you wait too long on a screen the bees will land on your head. They move pretty fast to

regular speed; Ghost - the ghosts only appear on the hidden 245 spiral maze. They aren't fast, but move in an irregular pattern and cannot be killed; Skeleton - on second board, first level, dangerous to touch, slow; Bertillda - Bertillda can be killed by the magic hat Bently Bear picks up. She moves medium speed and is usually found on the last board.

Most rounds have either elevators, tunnels, or both.

The tunnel leads from one wall, through the other. And the elevator will take you up to a ledge where there are more gems.

The controls are easy and basic; a track-ball used to control Bentley Bear and a button used for jumping.

During the game you get an extra man every seventy- thousand points. Most people don't make it.

On certain levels there are "warps" that will take you to higher levels. They are on board one in the left top corner; on level three, board one, on the hidden ramp corner

(you must have your hat on for this one.); and on crossroads on level five.

When you reach Bertillda's castle on level eight there are ghosts and larger doors, plus more trees, so be very careful.

Dig Dug

In Dig Dug, you are a gardener trying to get rid of pests.

Your controls are a joystick and a "pump" button. 246

The game starts out with you in the middle of the screen and there are two nasties on the screen. To kill the nasties do either one of these: you pump him full of air and he pops, or drop a rock on his head. After you drop two rocks, a fruit appears; this is worth points, so get it.

Game is over after 3 men are expired.

Extra man at 20,000 points.

Discs of Tron

In Discs of Tron you are Tron fighting the evil Sark, henchman of the MCP. On the screen there is either one, two, or three platforms for Tron to stand on. In his artillery he has four discs he can throw in any direction.

The controls of Tron consist .of a joystick with a small button up on the top and a knob you can push or pull and spin. The joystick is used for moving Tron from platform to platform. The small button is a deflector which bounces the other disc of your enemy away. You get seven at the beginning of the game and after you kill Sark all seven are returned. The knob pushed up or down is used for higher levels when the MCP moves the middle platform up or down so your disc goes up or down. Also it moves your throwing arm and when you pull the trigger your disc goes in that direction. 247

In the game Sark throws his red disc at you and you deflect, dodge, and shoot back. As you kill more Sarks, they get harder and harder.

You get an extra man every 15,000 points.

Donkey Kong

In Donkey Kong, you are Mario the carpenter and Donkey

Kong has your girlfriend up on the top floor of an unfinished construction project. The floor is undone and there are broken ladders everywhere. When you get to the top of it,

Donkey Kong carries her away.

The enemies that are out to kill you are Barrels - that

Donkey Kong rolls after you; Fire Barrels - that are barrels on fire; Fox Fires - are the mysterious fires that chase

Mario on the 2nd board.

For extra points get the Umbrella - worth 300 on 1st board, The Phone - worth 500 on 2nd board, and Suitcase - worth 800 on 3rd - and up boards.

Extra man at 10,000 points.

On the ramp stage, there are 6 floors that are tilting upwards or downwards and will stay that way. On the plug stage, you have five levels of boards and on each end is one peg. Jump all pegs to pass level: Next one is elevators.

On this screen it looks like ramps except it is not tilted and on both sides of the screen, a piece goes up and down like an elevator. And the last one is conveyer belts. In 248 the middle of the screen is a conveyer belt that will pull you off the screen if you let it.

Dragon's Lair

In Dragon's Lair, you are Dirk the Daring trying to • rescue Daphine the Princess from the evil hands of the

Dragon. But to get to the Dragon's Lair you must brave the castle's evil creatures and fiends.

You have three or five lives at the beginning of the game. You follow the patterns, trying to make the right moves so you won't lose a life.

You start out either in a room where the wall is closing or ropes are on fire. *

After you hurdle all the other rooms you are in the

Dragon's Lair. Here you catch plates so you won't wake up the Dragon, and narrowly avoid being fried to a crisp by its flames.

After you find the magic sword and kill the Dragon, unlock the Princess' cell and win the game.

The controls are a joystick and a sword button.

The screens are varied in Dragon's Lair. One of the most deadly screens is Lava Trolls. Here you can't use your sword to kill these creatures; it just bounces off! So you jump over Lava gushers and avoid fire. One that I dislike going to is the Electric Knight. Here you jump around squares that glow with electricity till you reach the Knight. 249

When you hit him with your sword you find out he is nothing but empty armor. And the last one I hate is the moving floor. This rises up and down and then starts disappearing.

You then jump for a room. If it's the wrong room you are trapped forever.

Exerion

In Exerion you are a starship shooting Aliens down from space while saving your planet from them.

Your controls are a joystick and a firing button.

You get an extra man at 50,000 points. No free games.

The game starts out as the ships enter the top of the board. At the top of the board they come down in a line and look like butterflies. After you kill them satellites come and take their place; they are very hard to kill. After them come little birds who drop bombs and after you kill them, big birds take their place. And finally after them is a bonus round and new different aliens.

Fire Fox

Fire Fox is a laser disc video game that gives you a choice of five different long trips. You can go for 3,000 miles, 6,000 miles, 9,000 miles, 12,000 miles, or unlimited j ourney.

In Fire Fox you just stole the plane the Fire Fox that can fly at M.A.C.H. 5 easily. You shoot down radar rays and 250 enemy ships till your next refueling. You get a big welcome if you make your journey (except for unlimited). The screen says "Congratulations."

The controls are a joystick and a fire button.

No extra men or free games available.

Frogger

In Frogger, your object is to cross the road and go to the top of the screen to home.

The control is just one joystick that moves Frogger in one of four directions.

The game starts out with you at the bottom of the screen across the road. Then you try to make it across the road, dodging cars and trucks. Then, when you're past the road, jump on a log and then another, until you are right across from a hole at the top of the screen. Jump in that slot.

Then you'll be at the bottom of the screen starting back up.

Extra bonus point for getting the fly when it's at your home, and jumping on the other frog on the second log. Both are worth 200 points.

Extra man at 10,000.

Some of the logs change color and disappear, dumping

Frogger into the water to his death so you have to carefully choose logs for stepping stones. If you let them carry you to the far sides of the screens you'll die. If you don't 251 jump squarely into the slot you'll die. As the game progresses the traffic gets much faster.

Future Spy

In Future Spy you are a spy in enemy territory. Your object is to blow up and destroy as many enemy bases and ships as possible. Your ship is equipped with torpedoes, bombs and bullets.

Your controls are a joystick and a button on the side of the game. The joystick moves the plane and the fire button on the joystick shoots the bullets. The other button is the torpedo/bomb button.

The bullets kill planes and helicopters while torpedos and bombs kill everything else. Extra man at 50,000 points.

Galaga 3

In Galaga 3 your object is to just stay alive till the next challenging stage, which is a very hard task.

At the beginning you have three ships. If you shoot the gapilis with the bottom of a space ship over her then you will get a tractor beam. All ships you capture with it will become part of your own fire power. Once your main ship is destroyed all the other ships die also.

On the challenging stage you have to shoot 7 ships continuously; you try to keep them on the screen till the last possible moment. 252

On other waves, the principle is the same. Shoot as many ships as you can, though there will be variations, like going backwards and sideways.

You get an extra man at fifty-thousand points.

. Hyper-Sports

In Hyper-Sports you are a contestant in seven events.

The first event is 100 meter swimming. The second is skeet shooting. The third is long horse, the fourth, archery, the fifth, triple jump, the sixth, weight lifting, and the seventh one is the pole vault.

In swimming you keep hitting the go buttons and hit up when the man says breathe.

In skeet shooting hit the go button when the disc is in the b o x .

In the long horse hit go button to start running, then hit up when on the horse. Hit up to get off horse and then hit the go button to spin. Land on feet for higher score.

In archery hit up botton and hold to a 52% angle for maximum score.

In the triple jump hit go button for speed, then hit up at line for a 39° angle. Hit again for a 41° angle, and the third time for a 45° angle.

In weight lifting hit up to determine what height you want, and hit go to pull it up. 253

In the final event, pole vault, hit the go button once to start and the up button when over the pit. Hit up at top of bar to get over it.

The controls are just like those on Track & Field.

Joust

In Joust, your object is to hit your opponent higher with your joust than he will hit you. If you do this correctly you will turn him into an egg and if you catch the egg before it touches a ledge you will get the points for the egg (ranging from 250 to 1000) plus 250 bonus points.

But it's not an easy game. There are three different kinds of warriors who attack you. They are colored in this way in order of appearance - red, gray, and blue. The blue one is the most dangerous. He flies the fastest and usually stays at the top. When it does come down, he swoops to land on your head. He is difficult to destroy. In this game you get an extra man every 20,000 points. As the game progresses the ledges around which you maneuver start to disappear.

The foundation ledge starts to crumble into the fiery lake where a troll tries to pull you in.

Karate-Champ

Karate-Champ is a game of wit and skill. The object of the game is to beat your opponent by getting’ two points of score twice. When and if you achieve this, you will then 254 see the woman you have won. After your defeat you compete in one of three challenging stages. The first one that you compete in is Evade. In Evade you can either duck and jump obstacles or you can hit them for points.

In the second challenging stage you have to knock down bricks.

And in the third one you have to try to hit the bull.

After you are defeated by a contender your game is over.

Krull

In Krull your object is to save Llysa from the Beast who has her captive and wants to marry her. There are four levels, (not including the Beast's lair), that you must go through and complete before you reach the Beast's lair.

The first board you have to pick up pieces of the

Glave, the only weapon which can kill the beast. It may sound easy but the five pieces are spread out and boulders are rolling down the mountain. After you assemble the pieces of the Glave you are taken to the next level.

In this level you have to pick up an army and kill the

Slayers with the Glave. You pick up your army by running over them and they disappear off the screen. After all of your army has been picked up the Slayers stop being made and you can kill them. After you kill all Slayers you are taken to the next level. 255

On level three you have to pick up your army and take them to the Hexagon. While you are doing this Slayers try to stop you and try to stop the Hexagon. After all men have been picked up and dropped off at the Hexagon you are taken to the next level.

Level four is the easiest if you are quick. There is a large Hexagon in which your army is stored. And you try to shoot the Hexagon wall when it turns black. After knocking out five walls you progress to the next level.

At the Beast's lair you have to try and rescue Llysa up at the top of the screen. But the Beast tries to stop you by throwing balls of ice at you. You destroy these with your Glave. After you defeat the Beast the game starts over again.

Mad Crasher

In Mad Crasher you are a red car and all others are out to push you off the road. But, if you don't die, you will land on fascinating new lands like a jungle or city.

Your controls are a joystick and two buttons, a fire and a jump one.

In the game you are racing along trying to jump holes in the road and ornery cars that try to push you off the thin intersection. Some cars are rammers— cars that try suicide runs to destroy you. Some are bombers— cars that 256 drop bombs behind them to blow you up. The rest are just other cars in the rush.

You get an extra man at 20,000 and at 60,000. No free games earned.

Moon Patrol

In Moon Patrol you are on a scout mission on the moon looking for any threats that may destroy your base. If you find anything, destroy it!

Your controls are a joystick, a fire button, and a jump button. The fire button is used to destroy things in the air or on land. And the jump button is used to jump over holes, land mines, or things you didn't shoot.

You start out at point 'A1 and go on till you reach point 1Z '.

The game starts out with you on point 'A'. You move the joystick to the right to go faster and to the left to go slower. The best thing to do is to go the fastest and if you miss your target, slow down and shoot it. The first things you encounter are holes in the ground or rocks. Then space ships thow bombs at you, and rocks are rolled down the slope. The game is over when all 3 tank ships are lost.

Extra men at 20,000 and 50,000 points. 257

Ms. Pac-Man

In Ms. Pac-Man you are Ms. Pac-Man and you are going through the mazes eating as many Pac Dots as possible. But if you eat an energizer you can also eat the ghost-monsters.

Also there is fruit you can eat on the way. They are the cherry - worth 100 points; strawberry - worth 300 points; peach - worth 1000 points; pear - worth 2,000 points; and the banana - worth 5,000 points. The 4 ghost monsters are:

Inky - the blue slow one, Pinky - the pink medium ghost,

Blinky - the red, mean fast one, and Sue the orange confused one.

There is one extra man, at 10,000 points.

The control you use is one joystick to move in four directions.

Mystic Marathon

In Mystic Marathon you are a gnome running a race for glory against other gnomes who cheat. While you are running they will sneak up behind you and trip you. When you fall it wastes time, and you don't have much time. If you don't come in first, second, or third in the race, your game is over.

But there are helpful items in there to aid you against the gnomes. A bird that drops you across an island. A butterfly drops you across an island. Balloons carry you to another island. A hand throws you to another island. A 258 sea horse takes you across the water. A boat takes you across the water. And a leaf takes you across the water.

Just touch these things and they'll take you.

But to make up for the list of good things, there is a list of bad things. The bad things are a storm cloud that shoots lightning which stuns you, a troll that jumps on your head, a red mushroom that trips you, rolling stones that trip you, tornadoes that spin you backwards, and trees that throw apples at you.

There are diamonds you can pick up for extra points and a cave which, if you enter, advances you to another part of the island.

The controls are one joystick and jump button.

Pac-Land

In Pac-land you have one major goal, to get to the door outside of Pac-land and return home. But in that quest you have three lesser goals which are to survive to the next rest break. Each of the three rest stops is a prelude to the next scene. The game has only one objective, to stop you! They do it by means of ghosts, ghost bombs, ghost cars, ghost planes, ghost saucers, ghosts on pogo sticks, ghosts in windows, ghosts in buses, fire hydrants, wide lakes for you to drown in, running out of time, and water shooting up from the floor. Those are most of the hazards 259 in this game. But besides the hazards it's still pretty- easy and fun.

You start out leaving your house to return a little lost fairy home. She's under Pac man's hat and appears at every rest break while the bonus points are counted up. As you go thru Pac-land you notice the ghosts have over-run the city. You jump over cars and avoid airplanes dropping ghost bombs until you reach a break area. If you run in the wrong direction an arrow appears to redirect you. Then you are in the desert jumping over cactuses and ghosts in flying saucers. Then, up ahead, is the woods where ghosts on pogo sticks wait to ambush you. If you make it out alive, you're at the rest break. The next one is the hardest on trip one.

At first there is nothing dangerous, then you see the stairs.

You go up the stairs to a ledge and see rolling logs. If you pass the first set of rolling logs, more are up ahead.

But first wait for planes to pass over your head. After you pass the logs and go down the stairs, you are back in the desert. And after jumping a lake of water, you are there!

The fairy queen gives you a pair of magic shoes for your return home. They can make you fly by hitting the jump button.

There are a lot of dangerous things in Pac-land but they are often helpful things too. The most helpful is the helmet; the helmet protects you and gives you points for the ghost bombs. You get the helmet by pushing the fire hydrant

backwards. On the first board it's the fourth fire hydrant.

The rest of the time you have to guess and push every one

you come to. There are also the energizers which let you

kill the ghosts. The energizers are glowing balls and when

you jump them the ghosts turn blue and you can eat them.

The ghosts are Sue, who follows you everywhere and is always

behind you when you turn around, and Blinky, Pinky, Inky,

and Clyde, who appear randomly— they just come and go.

Clyde is more aggressive because he turns in both directions.

The first ghost you eat gives you 200 points, the next is

400, then 800, 1600, and 3200 up to the sixth ghost which is

7650. Any after that is 7650, too. If you kill the ghost

in a certain time, you get a Pac-man with an L in his mouth

and all your bonus is added to your score and new bonus is

replaced. If you try to get your helmet on the way back

ballons come out and you get extra points for them. And the

last is a "Pac-man with an S" and this gives you an extra man.

On the second round, trip three, you can earn

invisibility and invulnerability by pushing the stump

backwards. On the second round, trip one, you can get

warped to trip three by pushing a stump. In the upper

levels the ghosts come out more frequently and are more

aggressive. They try to fly into you and kill you. Two 261 buses are hurled at you. You have to hop one without running into the other. When Pac Man is eaten he falls down dead with pluses in his eyes and his mouth open.

Pac-Man

In Pac-Man you are Pac-Man and you are to go and eat all the dots on the screen. But beware, for four ghosts pursue Pac-Man and will kill him if they catch him. But there are also energizers that turn the ghosts blue so you can kill them for points. The point system is 200, 400,

800, 1600 for all 4 ghosts.

There are also bonuses for you to eat. Cherries are worth 100 points; Strawberries are worth 300 points; Peaches are worth 500 points; Apples are worth 1,000 points; Galaxian

Ship is worth 2,000 points; Potato is worth 4,000 points; and a Key is worth 5,000 points. From there on there are only Keys.

You get one extra man at 10,000 points.

There's only one screen. As the game gets harder the ghosts get faster, the energizers last shorter and eventually they won't turn the ghosts blue, just turn them in a different direction.

There's one tunnel to exit for a fast escape and return the other side. Try to get the energizers when the ghosts are almost on you. 262

PGA Golf

In PGA Golf you are a master golf star and you are competing in a golf tournament.

You continue playing for as long as you take only 4 or less shots to make par. You continue playing for 18 holes if you qualify.

The control is a track ball.

When you go to make a shot, roll the track ball back far and release it so it will cover more distance.

No extra lives or extra games.

Pole-Position

In Pole-Position you are a race car driver participating in the Fugi grand prix.

Your controls are a steering wheel, a shifter you can use to shift from high to low, and a gas pedal for forward acceleration.

When you begin you are competing for the first eight positions in the race. You have 80 seconds of time in which to qualify. If you crash into another car or into the sides time is taken from the counter over head. After you go through one lap, they see if you qualify. After you qualify you object is to go around the track as many times as possible.

When the time runs out your game is over.

There are unlimited lives in the time period. No free games. 263

Punch Out

You are trying to work your way up to the champion by fighting the contestants as you can. Your first contestant is Glass Joe whom you defeat with body blows. Number 2 is

Piston Hurricane whom you defeat the same way. Number 3 is

Bald Bull. You wait till he swings before you do. Always hit him in the face and watch out when he backs up for his knock-out punch. Number 4 is Kid Quick. When he throws a right, hit him with yours three times and dodge, then throw three more rights. Next is Number 5, Pizza Pasta. You defeat him by throwing left and rights in any order after he swings. And then you reach the Champ, Mr. Sandman, who hits with very strong force. You defeat him the same way as

Bald Bull.

After you lose a fight you can re-match that person once.

Q'bert

In Q'bert you are hopping along changing the square to a different color while Coily, Ugg and Wrongway are out to kill you.

There are a lot of helpful things in Q'bert, but there are also a lot of dangerous things, like Coily the Snake— who hops around the screen trying to crush Q'bert in his coils

(he can be killed by being tricked out the sides); Wrongway— a dangerous guy, he jumps like Q'bert except he is upside 264 down; Red Balls— jump from the top of the screen downwards, easy to avoid but deadly; and the last deadly one is Ugg— Ugg acts just like Wrongway.

Now there are also ones categorized as neutral. These do damage but give you points also. They are Slick & ______-■ these guys change the color of the blocks, but are worth 300 points.

The only good thing is the green ball, which freezes time and makes all creatures harmless for a short time.

Extra man at 8,000 and every 14,000 afterward.

Root Beer Tapper

You are the bartender in Root Beer Tapper. Your object is to serve all your customers root beer and don't spill any or break glasses or you'll be fired.

You serve four counters and eight customers at the beginning of the game. Serve a Root Beer down an aisle when no one is there and lose a life. Miss a bottle some one returns and lose a man.

After you serve all customers through the door, new customers come in at a faster rate.

You get an extra man at 20,000 points.

The three different screens are: Bar Room, where all four are lined up in an old west looking screen. Number 2 is outside. Here people went to see a game and now they are 265 thirsty. And Number 3 is College. Here you fill and refill as many glasses as you can. This looks like a run down shack.

Sinistar

In Sinistar, you are a pilot aboard a space ship and your object is to mine sinibombs from rocks and to destroy

Sinistar with them.

The game starts out with you surrounded by warriors and workers. You can almost forget about the workers; they can't hurt you, but the warriors can! The warriors are heavily armored tanks that try to kill you any way they can.

After a little bit you need to begin to worry about the workers for they are mining crystals to make Sinistar! So fire off about 3 and shoot all workers. If Sinistar is made, shoot off half your sinibombs and wait. When you see him, shoot off some more. If you defeat him, do the same thing on next board.

The controls are a joystick, a free button, and a sinibomb button.

Extra man at 12,000 and 96,000 points.

Space Ace

You are Space Ace and the defender of Earth. The

Infanto Ray (which turns adults into children), is going to be shot at Earth! So it's up to you to stop it. 266

Your girl friend, Kimberly, has been kidnapped and you must find her. She has been taken by the same fiend who has the Infanto Ray.

You get Kimberly back and fight the fiend. He tries to shoot you but you dodge and he hits his own men. You then pick up a mirror and reflect it back at him. He turns to a baby and you and Kimberly adopt him.

The controls are one joystick and a fire button.

Space Invaders

In Space Invader you are defending Earth against a swarm of aliens descending on our planet. Their only hope of survival is you.

The game starts out with 8 rows of aliens shooting down at your ship. But you have three blockers that stop the lasers, although chunks of them get blown away. Now you attack. You shoot row after row until one is left, but he moves so fast it’s very hard to shoot him. As soon as he hits the bottom of the screen the game is over.

Once in a while a UFO will cross the top of the screen.

If you shoot him you will receive some mystery bonus points.

Spy Hunter

You are a Spy escaping with secret documents. The enemy is out to destroy you so you don't show those papers to anyone! 267

They try to do this by six enemies and two of them are on water. They are the Bulletproof Badie, Switch Blade,

Shotgun, The Mad Bomber, The Torpedo Ship, and Mine Layer.

The last are in the water.

They will try to get you at all cost.

You have defenses that you can get from your weapon's van every once in a while. They are missies to destroy the

Mad Bomber; Smoke Screen - to hide you from your enemy;

Oil Slick to slide some of the enemies off the road; and you always have Machine Guns - that kill everyone but The Mad

Bomber and the Bulletproof Badie.

You get extra men every 20,000 points.

Star Trek

In Star Trek you are the pilot of the U.S.S. Enterprise in simulated battle.

You have a knob for circling the Enterprise; a thrust button for moving the Enterprise; a fire button for shooting other ships; a warp button for rapid movement; and a photon button for large blast.

In the game you go about shooting Klingons as they attack your space port. After board eight a NOMAD comes out. He is the highest point value-30,000 points.

The Klingons are your worst enemies. They appear as colors on the game. They are red - they only attack your 268 star base; purple - they attack the Enterprise; and white - they try and collide with the Enterprise for heavy status loss.

Your status loss is your shield energy, photon energy, and warp energy. The game is over when you've lost them all.

Strength & Skill

In Strength & Skill there are six events in which to participate. If you do not qualify for one event the game is over:

This is not like Track & Field because instead of having a jump/throw button, there is a joystick. That joystick is very useful for upcoming events.

The first event is log-sawing in which while hitting the two buttons rapidly you move the joystick back and forth. While you do that an arrow will appear. When it does, move the joy stick in the direction the arrow is pointing and wait. A bird will fall down and make the piece of log fall on it for big points. The second event is pile-driving. In pile-driving you hit the buttons rapidly and use the joy stick to position yourself under the pile directly, because every hit you do moves you back. If you hit the ground with your hammer a ground hog will appear.

Hit him for three thousand bonus points. The third event is 269 slope running. All you do is hit the buttons as fast as you can until you are at the top of the slope. If you run fast enough you will get the bird for one-thousand points. Ring throwing is the hardest event of them all. What you have to do is to throw rings onto a branch, and how you do it is by moving the joystick back and forth and then hitting the buttons for elevation. You don't want to hit them too much or you will overshoot the target. The next event is disc spinning. What you do in disc spinning is move your joystick to the plate and then hit the buttons to make the plate spin. And the last event before you start over is skateboarding. What you do in this event is to hit the buttons and then slow down so you won't go off into the water. Then you go back to the beginning.

Super Bike

In Super Bike you are riding a motorcycle trying to shoot skulls, catch balloons, and jump over holes and trees.

The controls are a joystick, a jump button and a fire button.

If you catch six balloons, then you receive a super bonus. The skulls are deadly, so don't touch them, but you can jump over them or shoot them for extra bonus points.

You are on the large race-track picture in the lower right corner of the screen. You try to finish the race or as much 270 as you can with three men. You get an extra at 20,000. On the track are trees and holes; jump both. If you don't, you lose a man.

No free game awarded.

Super Pac-Man

Your object in Super Pac-Man is to unlock bonuses and energizers and eat them.

The game starts out with you in the middle of the screen. You see eleven keys and all your fruit is locked up. Each key you get unlocks some gates. In the two gates in the middle are flashing green energizers. Eat them and you become Super Pac-Man. Push Super Speed button and you zoom through the screen. You are invulnerable to the ghosts' attack. The different bonuses are: Apple— worth 30 points;

Banana— worth 20 points; Doughnut— worth 30 points;

Hamburger— worth 40 points; Egg— worth 50 points; Corn— worth

60 points; Sneaker— worth 70 points; Cake— worth 80 points;

Cotton— worth 90 points; Lime— worth 100 points; Coffee— worth 110 points; Mushroom— worth 120 points; Bell— worth

130 points; Clover— worth 140 points; Galaxian Ship— worth

150 points; and a Present— worth 160 points. Then it repeats with Apple being 160 points.

You get an extra man at 30,000 and 100,000 points. 271

10 Yd Dash

10 Yd Dash is a football game and the object is to score as many touchdowns as you can in the allotted time provided. The controls are a joystick and two buttons, one side pass, and one forward pass button.

No extra men, no extra games.

It begins when you are on the scrimage line. The ball is hiked when you press forward pass. Then you try to make ten yards so you will earn extra time. If you are tackled when there is no time left, your game is over.

Tempest

In Tempest you are trying to destroy the evil weapons before they reach the top of the screen. And even if they reach the top of the screen, all you have to do is not move and keep firing.

The game starts out with you having the choice to either pick a higher level or stay at the beginning one. On the harder levels you get bonus points for picking it but you might die sooner than if you picked the lower level.

But if you picked the lower level, you'll get your extra man later and you could die. The best thing to do is to pick the lower levels first, then when you get better you should choose a higher level. 272

There are a bunch of aliens trying to kill you. They

are tanks— which have two or more flippers in it; Flippers—

red things that flip from bottom of the screen to the top;

and Spinners— which go from the bottom to the top and leave

a bar in the center of the screen. This is a problem when

you go to the next level. And the last one is the Quack—

this goes to the top of the screen and is deadly to the

touch.

Extra man every 20,000 points.

Track & Field

In Track & Field you are hitting the buttons and

participating in one of seven events. The three buttons are

on the panel in this design: o°o. The colored ones are run

buttons and the white one is the jump/throw button.

The first event is the hundred meter dash. When the

gun goes off hit the run buttons rapidly until you reach the

end. The lower the time the higher your score.

The second event is the long jump. You hit the run buttons until you reach the line, then hit the jump button

and hold it to a 45° angle. Qualify at 7 meters.

The third event is the javelin throw. In it you have

to hit the run buttons to the line and push the throw button

to a 48° angle. Qualify at 72.50 meters. A bird appears if you get a speed of over 1100 and have an 80° angle. 273

The fourth event is 110 meter hurdles. In this event you hit the run buttons and when you reach a hurdle hit the jump button. Lowest time gets highest score.

The fifth event is the hammer throw. For this event you hit the run button once to start it out then hit the throw button and hold it for a 45° angle after you hear 9

'swooshes'. Qualify at 77.00 meters.

The sixth and last event is the high jump. In this event you hit the run button, then hit the jump button when you reach the bar. Qualify at 5M35. After you miss qualifying three times, game is over.

Tron

In Tron, you are Tron, and the evil MCP (Master Control

Program) is trying to take over the computer. Only you can stop him!

Tron consists of four different subgames. They are first, Tanks— you battle 1, 3, 5, 6 tanks respectively in different levels, one the first time, three the second time, etc. The second one is Lightcycles— here you drive a lightcycle trying to corner your opponent into either running into the walls, or his own light trace. Then there are

Spiders— here you shoot through a mass of approaching spiders to gain extrance to the Io Tower. And the last one is the

MCP— shoot the blocks that come at you and enter the MCP cone. 274

You get an extra man at 15,000.

This game differs from the game Discs of Tron in many respects. The biggest is that in Discs you are fighting another person and in Tron you are contesting to do something. Only in two games do you shoot other things.

And in Discs the graphics are a lot better than Tron.

Turbo

In Turbo your object is to pass as many cars as possible in the race in which you are driving.

The controlls are the steering wheel - which moves you left or right, the gear shift - which puts you from first gear to second and increases speed, and the gas'pedal which propels you forward.

When you begin the game you have to have the car in first gear only. After you get going you can switch gears.

The race begins when the lights flash from red to green.

Then you will have to start. At first you are in a straight section of road with cars being passed quickly, but then a hill comes up in the distance, on the hill it takes reflexes to maneuver throughout the treacherous passway.

After the hill there is a curve in the road on which cars slide into your car. And after the curve is the tunnel.

You can’t see cars in the tunnel until they're almost upon you. 275

After all your time runs out your cars are counted up.

If you pass more than thirty you are in the next race.

All the cars in the game act the same. The only difference is their colors. Red, blue, purple, yellow, and orange are the colors of the cars. An ambulance bears down on you at various points and tries to run you off the road.

After the second race your game is over. If you are hit twice on the second race your game is over.

You can't get extra men or free games. If you hit a car your car automatically returns to the middle of the road. APPENDIX B

Questionnaire 277 What’s your name?

1. What's your favorite arcade video game?

2. Please tell me one or two reasons why it's your favorite.

3. What's your least favorite arcade video game?

4. Please tell me one or two reasons why you don't like it

5. What 2 arcade video games do you think are the hardest?

1.

2.

6. What 2 arcade video games do you think are the easiest?

1.

2.

7. What arcade video game are you best at playing?

8. What arcade video game are you worst at playing?

9. Do you think girls play arcade video games as good as boys?

1. Yes 2. No

10. Which arcade video game do you think girls like best? 278

11. Which arcade video game do you think girls like least?

12. Which arcade video game do you think boys like best?

13. Which arcade video game do you think boys like least?

14. Do you think girls like arcade video games as well as boys like them?

1. Yes 2. No

15. If you said no, why do you think girls don't like arcade video games as well?

1. They are afraid to play games

2. They aren't competitive

3. They don't like challenges

4. They don't like violence.

5. They like to. do other things more.

6. Another reason I think, and this is it

16. How often do you come to the arcade?

1. Less than once a week

2. Once a week

3. Twice a week

4. More often than twice a week

17. Do your parents come to the arcade with you?

1. Usually not 2. Sometimes 3.. Pretty much 280

18. Why do you generally come to the arcade?

1. Nothing better to do

2. To meet friends

3. To make friends

4. Parents went shopping

5. To have fun

6 . To get dates

7. I have another reason and this is it -

Did you come here just to play in the arcade or did you just happen to be at the mall?

1. Just to play

2. Just happened to be at the mall

20. Did you come

1. By yourself

2. With friends

21. Do your parents mind if you go to the arcade?

1. Yes 2. No 3. Sometimes

22. Why do you think some parents don't want their children to come to the arcade?

1. They're afraid they'll get into trouble

2. They think they should do more school work

3. They think the games are violent

4. They think kids spend too much time there

5. None of these things but I think maybe for this reason 281

23. How long do you stay when you come to the arcade?

1. 1 hour 3. 3 hours 2. 2 hours 4. longer

25. How much money do you spend each time you come to the arcade?

1. Less than $1.00 4. About $5.00 2. About $1.00 5. More than $5.00 3. About $2.00-$4.00

26. What kind of home computer games do you have?

1. Atari 4. Apple 7. Other 2. Coleco 5. Commo 8. We don’t have a computer at our house 3. Intellevision 6. IBM

27. Which do you like best?

1. Home games 2. Arcade games

28. Why do you like them best?

1. Graphics

2. Controls

3. More real

4. You stand up or sit in them

5. People around you

6. Another reason and this is it

29. Do you have computers in your school?

1. Yes

2 . No 282

30. How much time do you get to spend on them?

1. About 1 hour during the week

2. About 2 hours each week

3. About 3-4 hours each week

4. More than 4 hours

31. Name one or two things that make arcade video games fun and interesting to you.

32. How old are you?

1. 6-7 3. 10- ■11 5. Other 2. 8-9 4. 12-•13

33. Where do you live?

1. Near Northland 6. Westerville 11. Worthington

2. Bexley 7. Near Eastland 12. Grandview

3. Gahanna 8. Near Westland 13.

4. Dublin 9. Linden

5. Upper Arlington 10. Clintonville

34. Not everyone gets A ’s in school. What kind of grades do you usually get?

1. A's 3. 5. F's 2. B 1 s 4.

35. How many days of school have you missed this year?

1. 1 3. 5 5. None 2. 2-4 4. More than 5 283

36. . Some kids skip school sometimes to play in the arcade. Have you ever skipped school to play in the arcade?

1. Yes 2. No

37. Do you prefer to play arcade video games by yourself or with another person?

1. By myself 2. With someone else

38. How do you learn arcade video games?

1. By asking someone how 4. My friends teach me

2. By watching people 5. My parents teach me

3. Just by trying 6. ______

39. Have you ever been asked to leave the arcade because of misbehavior?

1. Never 3. Twice

2. Once 4. Several times

40. Have you ever been asked by an attendant to stop beating on a machine?

1. Yes 2. No

41. Do the arcade video games ever get you mad?

1. Yes 2. No

42. What arcade video game gets you the maddest?

43. What is it about that game that gets you mad? 284

44. Some games have killing and blowing up in them. How do you feel about them?

45. How do you feel when you leave the arcade?

1. Relaxed 3. Mean 5. Excited/Hyped-up 2. Mad 4. Happy 6. ______

46. Do you think arcade type video games should be allowed in the schools like for playing at recess, before school, at lunch, or after school

1. Yes

2. No

- If you said no, can you give a reason why you don't think so

47. If all the games could be played for free is there one you still wouldn't play?

1. Yes, It's ______2. No

48. Is there an arcade video game that you think makes people lose their temper?

1. Yes, It's ______^______2. No

49. What's the thing about it that makes people lose their temper, do you think?

50. What type of arcade video game do you like best?

1. Space 4. Shooting 7. Cartoon

2. Sports 5. Driving

3. Adventure 6. Maze 285

51. When someone's playing your favorite game, what do you do?

1. Stand and wait

2. Play another game

3. Just walk around the arcade

4. Leave the arcade

52. When you play arcade games do any of these things happen

1. Get tired

2. Backache

3. Headache

4. Blisters or calluses on your finger

5. Sore muscles

6 . Sore elbows

7. Sore wrists

8. Fingers hurt

9. None of these things happen to me

How many brothers do you have?

54. How many sisters to you have?

55. Are you the oldest, youngest, middle, or which one?

56. When you see a new game do you

1. Try it right away

2. Wait to hear from your friends about it 57. What's the most fun about playing arcade video games?

1. Getting the high score

2. Challenge

3. Beating someone else

4. Improving my score

5. Learning new things about the game

6. Beating the machine

7. Pretending to be in the game

8. Killing and blowing up things

9. Getting to new levels

10. Some other reason

58. What's your favorite TV show?

59. Are you a boy or a girl? 287

Survey Question Number 2 REASON FOR FAVORITE ARCADE VIDEO GAME

Boy Girl Black White

Best at it 5 3 2 6 (8.6%) (7.3%) (7.7%) (8.2%)

Challenging/Work 3 4 7 Hard to Win (5.2%) (9.8%) (9.6%)

Good Detail/Graphics 5 1 4 (8.6%) (3.8%) (5.5%)

It's Neat 1 _ 1 (1.7%) (1.4%)

Different Things 1 1 Come at You (1-7%) (1-4%)

Choice of Fire 1 1 (1.7%) (1.4%)

Fun/Like It 15 15 9 21 (25.9%) (36.6%) (34.6%) (28.8%)

Hard 2 1 3 (3.4%) (2.4%) (4.1%) 288

REASON FOR FAVORITE ARCADE VIDEO GAME (continued)

Boy Girl Black White

Like to Blow Up 1 1 Ships (1.7%) (3.8%)

Feel Like You're mm 3 3 Really Driving (7.3%) (4.1%)

Like Olympics 1 1 (1.7%) (1.4%)

Oh Track Team/ 1 1 —, Run A Lot (1-7%) (3.8%)

Like Football 1 1 mm (1.7%) (3.8%)

Easy 5 5 3 1 (8.6%) (12.2%) (11.5%) (9.6%)

Non-Stop Action/ 10 6 4 12 Exciting/Fast (17.2%) (14.6%) (15.4%) (16.4%) Paced

Like to See Him 1 1 Eat Ghosts (2.4%) (1.4%) 289

REASON FOR FAVORITE ARCADE VIDEO GAME (continued)

Boy Girl Black White

Like the Little Man 1 mm 1 (2.4%) (1-4%)

Like Sports 3 1 2 2 (5.2%) (2.4%) (7.7%) (2.7%)

Realistic 2 2 (3.4%) (2.7%)

The Pace 1 1 (2.4%) (3.8%)

Play It Most Often 1 1 (1.7%) (1.4%)

Play It Most Often 1 mm 1 (1.7%) (1.4%)

Used to Box 1 1 _ (1.7%) (1.8%)

58 41 26 73 290

Survey Question Number 18 WHY DO YOU GENERALLY COME TO THE ARCADE?

Boy Girl Black White

Nothing Better 6 7 3 10 to dp (10.3%) (16.2%) (11.5%) (13.5%)

To Meet Friends 2 2 2 2 (3.4%) (4.8%) (7.7%) (2.7%)

To Make Friends - 2 1 1 (4.8%) (3.8%) (1.4%)

Parents Went Shopping 5 1 1 5 (8.6%) (2.4%) (3.8%) (6.8%)

To Have Fun 26 21 16 31 (44.8%) (50.0%) (61.5%) (41.9%)

To Get Better - 3 - 3 (4.8%) (4.1%)

- 3 - 3 (4.8%) (4.1%)

- 3 - 3 (4.8%) (4.1%) 291

WHY DO YOU GENERALLY COME TO THE ARCADE (continued)

Boy Girl Black White

Have Fun/ 1 -- 1 (1.7%) (1.4%)

Have Fun/Get Dates 2 1 - 3 (3.4%) (2.4%) (4.1%)

Nothing Better To Do/ 1 - - 1 Meet Friends (1.7%) (1.4%)

Nothing Better To Do/ 1 - 1 - Have Fun (1.7%) (3.8%)

Nothing Better To Do/ 1 1 Have Fun/Make (1.7%) (1.4%) Friends

Nothing Better To Do/ 3 3 Have Fun/Parents (5.2%) (4.0%) Went Shopping

Nothing Better To Do/ 1 - 1 - Meet Friends/Parents (1.7%) (3.8%) Went Shopping/Have Fun 292

WHY DO YOU GENERALLY COME TO THE ARCADE (continued)

Boy Girl Black White

Meet Friends/Parents 1 1 1 Went Shopping/Have (1.7%) (3.8%) (1.4%) Fun

Meet Friends/Make 1 1 2 Friends/Have Fun/ (1.7%) (2.4%) (2.7%) Get Dates

Make Friends/Have Fun 1 -- 1 (1.7%) (1.4%)

Parents Went Shopping/ 3 1 - 4 Have Fun (5.2%) (2.4%) (5.4%)

Parents Went Shopping/ 1 -- 1 Get Dates (1.7%) (1.4%)

Parents Went Shopping/ 1 1 Have Fun/Get Dates (1.7%) (1.4%)

58 42 26 74 293

Survey Question Number 22 WHY DO YOU THINK PARENTS DON'T WANT THEIR CHILDREN TO COME TO THE ARCADE?

Boy Girl Black White

They're afraid they'll 20 13 10 23 get into trouble (34.5%) (31.7%) (38.5%) (31.5%)

They think they 7 5 5 7 should do more (12.1%) (12.2%) (19.2%) (9.6%) school work

They think the 1 1 1 1 games are violent (1.7%) (2.4%) (3.8%) (1.4%)

They think kids 17 13 6 24 spend too much (29.3%) (31.7%) (23.1%) (32.9%) time there

Other 6 6 3 9 (10.3%) (14.6%) (11.5%) (12.3%

Trouble and - 1 - 1 school work (2.4%) (1.4%)

Trouble and 1 1 2 too much time (1.7%) (2.4%) (2.7%)

Trouble/School work/ - 1 - 1 too much time (2.4%) (1.4%) 294

WHY DO YOU THINK PARENTS DON'T WANT THEIR CHILDREN TO COME TO THE ARCADE? (continued)

Boy Girl Black White

Trouble/School work/ 1 1 violent games/too (1.7%) (1.4%) much time

Trouble/Violent games/ 1 - - 1 too much time (1.7%) (1.4%)

Trouble/School work/ 1 - - 1 too much time (1.7%) (1.4%)

Trouble/ 1 - - 1 (1.7%) (1.4%)

Violent games/ 2 - - 1 trouble/ (3.4%) (1.4%)

58 41 26 73

Survey Question 24 WHERE DO YOU GET MONEY TO PLAY?

Boy Girl Black White

Mom 4 6 2 8 (15.4%) (25.0%) (18.2%) (20.5%) 295

WHERE DO YOU GET MONEY TO PLAY? (continued)

Boy Girl Black White

Dad 1 1 2 (3.8%) (4.2%) (5.1%)

Other family 2 mm 2 members (7.7%) (5.1%)

Lunch money - - -

Allowance 4 4 3 5 (15.4%) (16.7%) (27.3%) (12.8%)

Money Earned 2 3 2 3 (7.7%) (12.5%) (18.2%) (7.7%)

Sometimes I might 1 2 1 2 take a little (3.8%) (8.3%) (9.1%) (5.1%) money here & there

Other 1 1 2 (3.8%) (4.2%) (5.1%)

Mom & Dad 5 1 6 (19.2%) (4.2%) (5.1%) 296

WHERE DO YOU GET MONEY TO PLAY? (continued)

Boy Girl Black White

Mom & money earned 5 1 6 (19.2%) (4.2%) (15.4%)

Mom/Dad/Money Earned - 1 1 (4.2%) (2.6%)

Mom/Dad/Take 2 - 1 Some Occasionally (7.7%) (2.6%)

Mom/Dad/Allowance/ 1 - 1 Money Earned (3.8%) (2.6%)

Mom/D ad/Al1owance/ 1 1 Lunch Money/Money (4.2%) (2.6%) Earned

Mom/Other Family - 1 1 Member (4.2%) (2.6%)

Allowance/Money 2 2 1 3 Earned (7.7%) (8.3%) (7.7%)

Money Earned/Take 1 1 - some occassionally (3.8%)

26 24 11 39 297

Survey Question Number 26 HOME COMPUTER GAMES

Boy Girl Black White

Atari 18 15 9 24 (31%) (35.7%) (34.6%) (32.4%)

Coleco 3 1 4. (5.2%) (2.4%) (15.4%)

Intellivision 3 1 1 3 (5.2%) (2.4%) (3.8%) (5.4%)

Apple 4 1 1 4 (6.9%) (2.4%) (3.8%) (5.4%)

Commodore 2 1 1 2 (3.4%) (2.4%) (3.8%) (2.7%)

IBM 2 1 1 (3.4%) (3.8%) (1.4%) •

Other 6 4 1 9 (10.3%) (9.5%) (3.8%) (12.2%)

None 5 11 3 13 (8.6%) (26.2%) (11.5%) (17.6%)

Atari & Intellivision 2 1 3 (3.4%) (2.4%) (4.1%) 298

HOME COMPUTER GAMES (continued)

Boy Girl Black White

Atari & Apple 5 1 4 (8.6%) (3.8%) (5.4%)

Atari & Commodore 2 1 1 2 (3.4%) (2.4%) (3.8%) (2.7%)

Atari & IBM _ 1 1 (2.4%) (1.4%)

Atari, Coleco 1 1 (1-7%) (1.4%)

Atari/Intellivision/ 1 1 IBM (1.7%) (3.8%)

Atari/Coleco/ 1 1 « ■ Intellivision/ (1.7%) (3.8%) Commodore

Atari/Coleco/ 2 2 Intellivision/__ (4.8%) (2.7%)

Atari/ 1 2 3 (1.7%) (4.8%) (4.i%: 299

HOME COMPUTER GAMES (continued)

Boy Girl Black White

Intellivision/Apple 1 -- 1 (1.7%) (1.4%)

Apple/IBM 1 - 1 - (1.7%) (3.8%)

Survey Question Number 31 REASONS ARCADE VIDEO GAMES ARE FUN & INTERESTING

Boy Girl Black White

Competition of Man 3 2 1 4 V s . Machine (5.6%) (5.6%) (4.2%) (6.1%)

A Lot of People 1 1 ^t 2 (1.9%) (2.8%) (3.0%)

Action/Excitement/ 4 3 4 3 Fast Paced (2.4%) (8.3%) (16.7%) (4.5%)

Things Happen 1 mm 1 (1.9%) (1.5%)

Life-Like/Really Real 4 3 3 4 (7.4%) (8.3%) (12.5%) (6.1%) 300

REASONS ARCADE VIDEO GAMES ARE FUN & INTERESTING (continued)

Boy Girl Black White

Challenging 5 9 2 12 (9.3%) (25.0%) (8 . %3 ) (18.2%)

Fun 3 1 4 (5.6%) (2.8%) (6.1%)

Funny 1 1 (1.9%) (1.5%)

Playing them/getting 2 1 1 2 into the game (3.7%) (2.8%) (4.2%) (3%)

Variety of 1 2 1 2 games (1.9%) (5.6%) (4.2%) ( 3%)

They take up time/ 1 1 2 something to do/ (1.9%) (2.8%) (3%)

Get out/boring 2 1 1 2 at home (3.7%) (2.8%) (4.2%) (3%)

Graphics/details 13 3 1 15 (24.1%) (8.3%) (4.2%) (22.7%)

Fire at stuff 1 1 (1.9%) (1-5%)

Eat ghosts

Atmosphere/ 1 1 environment (2.8%) (1.5%) 301

REASONS ARCADE VIDEO GAMES ARE FUN & INTERESTING (continued)

Boy Girl Black White

New games 1 1 (2.8%) d-5%)

Steering wheel/ 1 1 controls/buttons/ (2.8%) d - 5 % knobs

Parents won't yell 1 1 at you (2.8%) (1.5%)

Noise 1 1 (2.8%) d-5%)

Don11 have to 1 1 program" them (2.8%) (4.2%)

They're hard 2 2 (3.7%) (8.3%)

Unusual 1 1 (1.9%) (1.5%)

Cartoons 1 1 (1.9%) (4.2%)

Colors 1 1 (2.8%) (1.5%) 302

REASONS ARCADE VIDEO GAMES ARE FUN & INTERESTING (continued)

Boy Girl Black White

Skills 1 1 (1.9%) (4.2%)

Outer space 1 1 (2.8%) (1.5%)

Bigger

Get to put your 2 2 name in with a (3.7%) (3%) high score

Takes you away 2 2 from your problems/ (3.7%) (8.3%) from the real world

Like to make 1 1 things move (1.9%) (1.5%)

52 35 21 66 303

Survey Question Number 34 GRADES IN SCHOOL

Boy Girl Black White

A' S 12 5 4 13 (20.7%) (11.9%) (15.4%) (17.6%)

B's 15 6 4 17 (25.9%) (14 .3%) (15 .4%) (23%)

C's 7 10 8 9 (12.1%) (23.8%) (30.8%) (12.2%)

D's 1 2 3 (1.7%) (4.8%) (4.1%)

A's & B's 11 11 3 19 (19%) (26.2%) (11.5%) (25.7%)

A's & C's - (2.4%) - (1.4%)

A's, B's, C's 7 2 5 4 (12.1%) (4.8%) (19.2%) (5.4%)

A's, B's, C's, D's 1 _ 1 (1.7%) (1.4%)

B's, C's 4 3 2 5 (6.9%) (7.1%) 7.7%) (6.8%) 304

GRADES IN SCHOOL (continued)

Boy Girl Black White

B'S, C'S, D'S 2 2 (4.8%) (2.7%)

Survey Question Number 35 SCHOOL DAYS MISSED

Boy Girl Black White

1 5 4 3 6 (8.8%) (9.8%) (11.5%) (8.4%)

2 - 4 20 13 6 27 (35.1%) (31.7%) (23.1%) (37.5%)

5 6 6 4 8 (10.5%) (14.6%) (15.4%) (11.1%) more than 5 11 18 7 22 (19.3%) (43.9%) (26.9%) (30.6%)

0 15 —t 6 9 (26.3%) (23.1%) (12.5%)

57 41 26 72 305

Survey Question Number 36 SKIPPED SCHOOL TO PLAY IN ARCADE

Boy Girl Black White

yes 3 6 - 9 (5.3%) (14.3%) (12.2%)

no 54 36 25 65 (94.7%) (85.7%) (100%) (87.8%)

57 42 25 74

Survey Question 39 HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ASKED TO LEAVE THE ARCADE BECAUSE OF MISBEHAVIOR?

Boy Girl Black White

Never 51 40 69 (87.9%) (95.2%) (8426%) (93.2%)

Once 4 - 2 2 (6.9%) (7.7%) (2.7%)

Twice - 2 - 2 (4.8%) (2.7%)

Several Times 3 - 2 1 (5.2%) (7.7%) (1.4%)

58 42 26 74 306

Survey Question Number 40 HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ASKED BY AN ATTENDANT TO STOP BEATING ON A MACHINE?

Boy Girl Black White

Yes 17 5 7 15 (29.3%) (11.9%) (26.9%) (20.3%)

No 41 37 19 59 (70.7%) (88.1%) (73.1%) (79.7%)

58 42 26 74

Survey Question Number 41 DO THE ARCADE VIDEO GAMES EVER GET YOU MAD?

Boy Girl Black White

Yes 44 28 15 57 (75.9%) (66.7%) (57.7%) (77.0%)

No 14 14 11 17 (24.1%) (33.3%) (42.3%)- (23.0%)

58 42 26 74 307

Survey Question Number 43 ARCADE VIDEO GAMES THAT GET KIDS THE MADDEST

Boy Girl Black White

Pack Land 1 •1 1 1 (1.8%) (2.9%) (4.2%) (1.5%)

Dragon's Lair 8 •aa 3 5 (14.3%) (12.5%) 7.5%)

Hyper Sport 1 1 2.9%) (1.5%)

Track and Field 7 3 1 9 (12.5%) (8.8%) (4.2%) (13.6%)

Centipede 1 mm 1 (2.9%) (1.5%)

Punch Out 7 2 5 (12.5%) (8.3%) (7.5%)

Pac Man 5 3 3 5 (8.9%) (8.8%) (12.5%) (7.6%)

Spy Hunter 1 1 2.9%) (4.2%)

Ms. Pac Man _ 2 1 1 (5.9%) (4.2%) (1.5%) 308

ARCADE VIDEO GAMES THAT GET KIDS THE MADDEST (continued)

Boy Girl Black White

Star Wars 1 1 (1.8%) (1.5%)

Turbo 2 2 2 2 (3.6%) (5.9%) (8.3%) (3%)

Cloak and Dagger 2 1 1 (3.6%) (4.2%) (1.5%)

Pole Position 1 1 (1-8%) (4.2%)

Q bert 4 3 3 4 (7.1%) (8.8%) (12.5%) (6.1%)

Star Trek 2 2 (3.6%) (3%)

Pinball 1 _ 1 (1.8%) (1.5%)

Tron 2 3 5 (3.6%) (8.8%) (7.6%)

Tempest 1 1 (2.9%) (1.5%) 309

ARCADE VIDEO GAMES THAT GET KIDS THE MADDEST (continued)

Boy Girl Black White

Dig Dug 1 1 (1.8%) (1.5%)

Kangaroo _ 1 1 2.9%) (1.5%)

Cyrus 1 1 (1.8%) (1.5%)

Frogger 2 1 1 (5.9%) (4.2%) d*. 5%)

Millipede 1 l (2.9%) (1.5%)

Phoenix 1 1 (1.8%) (4.2%)

Dungeons & Dragons 1 1 (1.8%) (1.5%)

Malfunctioned ones 1 1 (1.8%) (1.5%)

None 6 8 2 12 (10.7%) (23.5%) (8.3%) (18.2%)

Hard ones 2 1 1 (3.6%) (4.2%) (1.5%) 310

ARCADE VIDEO GAMES THAT GET KIDS THE MADDEST (continued)

Boy Girl Black White

Many or all of them 1 - 1 (2.9%) (1.5%)

56 34 24 66

Survey Question Number 46 SHOULD ARCADE TYPE VIDEO GAMES BE ALLOWED IN THE SCHOOLS LIKE FOR PLAYING AT RECESS, BEFORE SCHOOL, LUNCH, OR AFTER SCHOOL?

Boy Girl Black White

Yes 39 22 18 43 (68.4%) (52.4%) (69.2%) (58.9%)

No 18 20 8 30 (31.6%) (47.6%) (30.8%) (41.1%)

57 42 26 73

IF YOU SAID NO, CAN YOU GIVE A REASON WHY YOU DON'T THINK SO?

Boy Girl Black White

Need to concentrate 8 6 2 . 12 on school work/no (53.8%) (37.5%) (40%) (46.2%) one would work 311

SHOULD ARCADE TYPE VIDEO GAMES BE ALLOWED IN THE SCHOOLS LIKE FOR PLAYING AT RECESS, BEFORE SCHOOL, AT LUNCH, OR AFTER SCHOOOL? (continued)

Boy Girl Black White

Everyone would be 3 4 1 6 fighting over them (20%) (25%) (20%) (23.1%)

Kids would cut 3 1 2 classes to play (18.8%) (20%) (7.7%)

Kids have better 1 1 things to do (6.3%) (3.8%)

Schools already have 1 1 too many problems (6.7%) (3.8%) in teaching

Kids would spend 1 1 2 too much money (6.7%) (6.3%) (7.7%)

Might get hyped 1 1 up for class (6.7%) (3.8%)

They would get 1 _ 1 boring (6.3%) (3.8%)

People will try to 1 1 take the money out (6.7%) (20%)

15 16 5 26 312

Survey Question Number 47 IS THERE AN ARCADE VIDEO GAME YOU WOULDN'T PLAY EVEN IF IT WERE FREE?

Boy Girl Black White

Yes 20 14 8 26 (35.1%) (33.3%) (30.8%) (35.6%)

No 37 28 18 47 (64.9%) (66.7%) (69.7%) (64.4)

57 42 26 73

Survey Question Number 48

IS THERE AN ARCADE VIDEO GAME THAT YOU THINK MAKES PEOPLE LOSE THEIR TEMPER?

Boy Girl Black White

Yes 31 17 14 34 (56.4%) (40.5%) (56%) (47.2%)

No 24 25 11 38 (43.6%) (59.5%) (44%) (52.8%)

55 42 25 72

Superbike 1 -- 1 (4.2%) (4.2%) 313

IS THERE AN ARCADE VIDEO GAME THAT YOU THINK MAKES PEOPLE LOSE THEIR TEMPER? (continued)

Boy Girl Black White

Dragon's Lair 5 3 2 (20.8%) (21.4%.) (8.3%)

Karate Champ 3 1 2 (12.5%) (7.1%) (8.3%)

Hyper Sports 1 1 (7.1%) (7.1%)

Punch Out 5 3 2 6 (20.8%) (21.4%) (14.3%) (25%)

Pac Man 1 1 (4.2%) (4.2%)

Donkey Kong 1 1 (7.1%) (7.1%)

Exerion 1 1 (7.1%) (4.2%)

Turbo 1 1 (4.2%) (7.1%) 314

IS THERE AN ARCADE VIDEO GAME THAT YOU THINK MAKES PEOPLE LOSE THEIR TEMPER? (continued)

Boy Girl Black White

Q-bert 1 1 (7.1%) (7.1%)

Hockey 1 1 (4.2%) (4.2%)

Football/touch down 1 1 MB (7.2%) (7.1%)

Tron 2 . 2 (14.3%) (8.3%)

Popeye 2 2 (14.3%) (8.3%)

Tempest 1 1 (4.2%) (7.1%)

Sinistar 1 1 (7.1%) (4.2%) •

Joust 1 1 (4.2%) (7.1%)

Mr. Do! 1 1 (7.1%) (7.1%) 315

IS THERE AN ARCADE VIDEO GAME THAT YOU THINK MAKES PEOPLE LOSE THEIR TEMPER? (continued)

Boy Girl Black White

Parsec - 1 - 1 (7.1%) (4.2%)

Hard ones 1 - 1 - (4.2%) (7.1%)

Many or all of them 2 -- 2 (8.3%) (8.3%)

24 14 14 24

Survey Question Number 58

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE TV SHOW?

Boy Girl Black White

Other World 2 1 1 2 (3.6%) (2.5%) (3.8%) (2.9%)

Cosby Show 11 13 8 16 (20.0%) (32.5%) (30.8%) (23.2%)

It’s Your Move 6 1 7 (10.9%) (2.5%) (10.1%) 316

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE TV SHOW? (continued)

Boy Girl Black White

Miami Vice 5 1 1 5 (9.1%) (2.5%) (3.8%) (7.2%)

Three1s Company 3 5 1 7 (5.5%) (12.5%) (3.8%) (10.1%)

Different Strokes 6 1 5 (10.9%) (3.8%) (7.2)

Street Hawk 1 1 2 (1.8%) (2.5%) (2.9)

A-Team 7 1 5 3 (12.7%) (2.5%) (19.2%) (4.3)

V 3 1 2 2 (5.5%) (2.5%) (7.7%) (2.9)

Silver Spoons 1 2 3 (1.8%) (5.0%) (4.3)

Three's a Crowd 1 1 (1.8%) (1.4)

General Hospital 1 1 (2.5%) (1.4)

Voltron 2 1 1 (3.6%) (3.8%) (1.4)

Cheers 1 1 (2.5%) (1.4) 317

WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE TV SHOW (continued)

Boy Girl Black White

Bugs Bunny _ 1 1 (2.5%) (1.4)

_ Riptide 1 a m 1 (2.5%) (1.4)

Knight Rider 1 1 2 (1.8%) (2.5%) (2.9)

Double Trouble 1 1 (1.8%) (3.8%)

Webster _ 1 1 (2.5%) (1.4)

Guiding Light _ 1 1 (2.5%) (1.4)

Who's the Boss? 1 _ 1 (2.5%) (1.4)

Dallas 2 _ 2 (5.0%) (2.9)

Dukes of Hazzard 1 1 (1.8%) (1.4)

Dynasty 1 1 1 1 (1.8%) (2.5%) (3.8%) (1.4)