Healthy Online Gaming and Browser Gaming

Gaming among college-aged men may provide a healthy source of socialization, relaxation, and coping. In college aged men there was no significant correlation between BMI, academic performance, social functioning and frequency of online game play. Women and men differ hardly in performance with online gaming. Women probably use gender neutral characters and names, they probably game as much online as men.

Online game players score higher in openness, conscientiousness and extraversion compared to non players. They are eager to learn and master new challenges, they are motivated by competition and they enjoy social activities which can all be provided by online game playing.

I like computer games, it keeps my mind of things, help me relax. It is suggested that in order to keep the brain fit as we age it is important to keep it stimulated. Use it or lose it applies to the mind as well as the muscles. It is also suggested recently that it may be possible to train people to be more intelligent, increasing the brainpower they had at birth.
Therefore these fun interactive anti-aging online memory games. To make your brain sweat. There is some advertising but Firefox captured just one pop-up. My favorite: Secret Files.

Since recent Browser Games —mostly persistent game worlds that can be used without client software and monetary cost with a Web browser—have come to town. Quake live is one of Dr Shock’s recent favorites. Use to play this a decade ago online, for those days beautifull graphics and gaming experience, also fun (frag it). Others are making browser games as well: Unity and Instant Action.

First Person Shooters are fairly new as browser games, more common are strategy games. They require players to build up economic structures in order to develop and maintain military capacities for conflict with the armies of other players. Similarly to massively multiplayer online games (MMOs), large communities of players can interact in such browser games; for instance, they can form alliances or participate in mass war campaigns.

Why are these strategy games as browser games appealing, why are they so popular?
Researchers recently published the result of their study on Travian, a German strategy browser game.

Results suggest that multiplayer browser games are enjoyed primarily because of the social relationships involved in game play and the specific time and flexibility characteristics (“easy-in, easy-out”). Competition, in contrast, seems to be less important for browser gamers than for users of other game types.

In order of importance the motivation to play this browser game were: socialization, competition, low cost and flexibility of use, and coping as escapism and receiving social support from gamer friends. The heaviest players assign more importance both to the socializing and competition. They didn’t differ compared to the less heavy gamers on low cost and coping as motivational factors. Browser games do not differ from other massively multiplayer online games in motivational appeal.

This study also tried to connect their results to game addiction, well you’ll probably know what Dr Shock thinks about game addiction and internet addiction.

How was this study done?

In fall 2007, the registered players of a major German browser strategy game, Travian (www.travian.de), were invited
to participate in an online survey. Travian is set in a historical time when the Romans invaded the North. Players start with one village and mostly group in tribes with players in close proximity to their village

Wonder what would be the results when studying First Peron Shooters as Browser Games, I would volunteer as a participant. What do you think?

Christoph Klimmt, Hannah Schmid, Julia Orthmann (2009). Exploring the Enjoyment of Playing Browser Games CyberPsychology & Behavior, 2147483647-4 DOI: 10.1089/cpb.2008.0128