Today's technological innovations bring various forms of entertainment such as video games. Video games are played using electronic images and videos produced by a computer program on a screen, whether television, mobile, or other display screens. It is a popular activity in which most people immerse themselves in entertainment. With the video gaming industry estimated to be $159.3 billion in 2020, it is no surprise that most people around the world get lost in it.
Types of Video Games
Games are not just a popular activity but also a popular topic that is talked about. Video games can keep us entertained for hours, from release dates of new games to streamers playing and reacting to them. Not only are they popular, but there are also many genres one can choose from.
What are the main types of video games?
#1 FPS (First-Person Shooters)
One of the most popular games on the market, first-person shooters create a gaming experience in the first-person perspective, usually having weapons your character is holding and fighting against your opponents on a map. FPS is an excellent game for those who seek an adrenaline rush. These games are mostly action-based, with famous franchises as Call of Duty and Battlefield being played the most in the FPS experience.
#2 RTS (Real-Time Strategy)
This game type requires players to build bases, spawn and train units, and destroy the opponent. Real-Time Strategy games' main goal is to defend and conquer from one base to another using battle tactics and strategies with the resources they currently have.
#3 RPG ( Role-Playing Games)
One of the most immersive game types is role-playing games. They stem from imagination and come from a popular board game called Dungeons and Dragons. This fantasy role-playing game requires players to go on quests set by the Dungeons Master, with their actions free and only limited to the player's way of thinking.
The creativity strategy from Dungeons and Dragons is similarly transferred in the virtual world, making them popular, especially when there are no restrictions in the world of RPG except for the player's imagination.
#4 MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games)
Somehow like RPG, these types of games put the player into an online world, with possible interactions with many players in different parts of the world who are playing the game at the same time.
#5 MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena)
These games focus on competitive gaming between players and teams, creating matches and competitions that can last from 30 minutes and more, varying on the players' skills. MOBA is a known contributor in e-sports, a known professional gaming competition.
The Benefits of Playing Video Games
As technology creates advances and developers make fresh content, a new game is mostly available to try every day. Luckily, there are many benefits that encourage gamers to keep on playing. These are the following:
#1 Video Games can help exercise the brain
Studies show that engaging in video games can directly impact regions of the brain responsible for memory, information organizations, motor skills, and spatial orientation.
#2 An Aid to real-life problem-solving
Video games can create insights on improving problem solving and strategy. Video games can create insights on improving in solving problems and survival strategies. Games such as Minecraft teach gamers how to survive with the available resources in their world and to explore the environment, integrating blocks into houses and tree trunks into beds and doors. According to IdTech.com, video games teach resource management and planning on a basic level, learning and developing these types of strategies that can be applied in real life.
#3 Improves quick thinking
Action or battle games primes the brain to make quick decisions. Players must think quickly about their next actions on the battlefield as their opponents attack them. These fast-paced games develop how fast they can make decisions and how fast they can analyze the situation. According to Daphne Bavalier, a cognitive scientist, "Action game players make more correct decisions per unit time. If you are a surgeon or are in the middle of a battlefield, that can make all the difference.”
#4 Improves memory
Most video games require concentration and proper strategy. In creating civilizations in games like Minecraft, it is vital to remember where specific resources are and where you need to go next. A 2015 study provides evidence for the benefits of playing video games in a person's memory when they examined a group of gamers and non-gamers in a memory task. Results have stated that those who play video games perform better at memory tasks than those who did not play. In addition to this study, it showed that non-gamers who played complex video games each day for 30 minutes improves their memory over time.
#5 Develops social skills
As video gaming creates a platform for gamers to communicate while playing, it helps develop their social skills. More than 70% of people who engage in video games play with a friend, and with the video game community being a massive platform, gamers can play with other people around the world at any time. These interactions through gaming encourage cooperation and communication skills that can be applied in real-life interactions.
How to Make Video Games Good For You
There are many benefits to playing video games, but one must understand that playing for too long can have adverse impacts on your health. You may spend more time playing than doing your tasks for the day, or spending too much time on your computer that you may tend to sleep late, or not at all. Often, you can feel your eye strain, caused by too much exposure from the screen you have been looking on for hours. To avoid these problems, here are some tips on how to make video games right for you:
#1 Avoid Games That Can Make You Upset
Often, challenging games can make people frustrated and even mad to the point that they would destroy their gaming controls. Not only are these devices affected by your rage, your hands, feet and body can also get hurt if you do these actions. In avoiding negative actions, it is best to stop playing games that can emotionally stimulate your anger.
#2 Limit the Time You Play
Spending too much time playing video games does not always have positive effects. Being immersed in the game or playing for too long may make you lose track of time. This can cause you to forget doing your responsibilities at the right time. Often spending too much time on the screen makes you focus more on the game rather than doing essential activities such as bathing, eating and sleeping. Managing your time by creating a schedule on when to do work and when to play games is essential to make time for doing important tasks and have time for recreational activities.
#3 Play Brain-Improvement Games
It is great to play games to improve your thinking skills. Playing video games with puzzles or strategy can enhance analytical skills.
#4 Play With Friends
Video games are more exciting to play with friends than with yourself only. Not only does the game become fun when played with more people, but it also strengthens your relationship with one another.
#5 Practice Good Posture
Sitting for too long while immersed in the game can make you forget to sit properly. This can cause problems with your posture acquire backaches. The key can be investing in ergonomic chairs for your gameplays to avoid unnecessary back pains and stiff necks.
Conclusion
Gaming is one of the many forms of entertainment. Often people tend to get so immersed in playing that the virtual world would seem like the only place they want to live in, as anything seems possible.
Video games are good for you, but playing too much of these can be harmful. It is important to practice moderation in everything you do, including video games. By creating a limit on when you play, engaging in games that can help improve your thinking skills, avoiding games that can make you stressed, playing with friends and practicing good posture can ensure a safe, comfortable and fun immersion in playing video games, these will not only be just a form of entertainment for you, but an aid to create stronger bonds, and in using what you've learned virtually in the real world.
