Benefits and Effects of Play on Society

1. Benefits and Effects of Play on Society Foundations of Game Programming

2. At the end of this lecture, students should: • Recognize the importance of play in our culture • Be able to explain the benefits of role playing • Be able to explain the benefits of online community games and computer games

3. How is our society affected by play? • Inspires • Creates Excitement • Promotes Both Mental and Physical Health

4. Homeless World Cup

5. Homeless World Cup • Over 25000 homeless people have access to the training and trials. • 92% Have a new motivation on life • 89% Have improved their social relations • 35% Have entered into regular employment • 44% Have improved their housing situation • 39% Are going on to pursue education http://sportinsociety.blogspot.com/2008/08/power-of-sports-on-society.html

6. What are the Benefits of Roleplaying?

7. What are the Benefits of Roleplaying? • We learn from mimicking or duplicating others. Role play is an extension of this. • Role playing encourages the use of critical thinking because it involves analyzing and problem solving, therefore role play is a cognitive learning method. • Role-playing teaches many lessons; some of the most important lessons it teaches are lessons that are needed in society, competition, cooperation and empathy.

8. What are the Benefits of Roleplaying? • Participation in role-play allows players to make decisions, and through the feedback he or she receives, sees the results of actions, and can therefore learn how to adjust the words and actions to produce more likeable results. • Role-play allows for the interaction between peers. It allows introverted players to speak out. It helps to break down ”cliques”. • Role-play allows for the exchange of knowledge between players.

9. How Do Computer Games Affect Us? • What is the standard thought about playing video games?

10. How Do Computer Games Affect Us? Facts about Computer Game Players • 97% of boys under the age of 18 play video games and 94% of girls under the age of 18. • Average player will play 10,000 hours of gaming by age 21 • 5 million gamers in the US alone play an average of 40 hours a week. Equal to a fulltime job • http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jane-mcgonigal/video-games_b_823208.html

11. How Do Computer Games Affect Us? • Spending 1 hour a day playing computer games may increase a players mental capability. • Promotes curiosity, optimism, pride, and a willingness to work with others to achieve a goal. • Computer games are giving the players a sense of accomplishment that reality is not giving.

12. How Do Computer Games Affect Us Examples of Positive Computer Game Outcomes • Students who play30 minutes on the “pro-social” game Super Mario Sunshine are more likely to help friends and neighbors. • Players who participate in Rock Band or Guitar Hero are more likely to learn how to play real musical instruments. • 90 Seconds of playing World of Warcraft can help college students boost their confidence for tests. • http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jane-mcgonigal/video-games_b_823208.html

13. References • http://www.arckinteractive.com/blog/tag/homeless-world-cup/ • http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/may/31/luisa-dillner-video-games-overweight-children • http://www.planetminecraft.com/blog/planet-minecraft-roleplaying--the-dos-and-donts/