Friday, March 20, 2020

How Do Video Games Effect Children Professor Ramos Blog

How Do Video Games Effect Children Nick White Mr. Ramos English 101 August 5 2019   How do Video Games Effect Children Video games arent going anywhere in 2016 more than 150 million people in the united states alone play at least 3 hours a week. And in 2016 24.5 billion copies of games were sold and that number has been increasing every year. I always see on the news people talking about how video games are hurting kids but they never talk about all the good they can do as well. Games are just like food or alcohol they really arent harmful in moderation, its when you become addicted when it really starts becoming a problem. It is true that games can become addictive and promote violence but they also help with puzzle solving and hand eye coordination. A Lot of people only talk about the bad but video games have so many positives In 2017 Medical News Today published an article that analyzed 116 scientific studies and this is what they found (Nichols). The studies showed that playing video games did many things to the brain. They show that the games helped with the subjects attention but primarily sustained and selective attention. They also noticed that the regions of the brain that deal with attention take less activation to turn on and stay focused. The final thing they noticed was that after long term gaming the right hippocampus had actually become enlarged which helps with visuospatial recognition. When 116 studies all come up with the same results then those are some pretty undeniable results. This shows that from a young if kids played video games they would actually pay better attention but it would also be easier for them to pay attention because it would require less work. This is very important because at around age 6 kids literally only have an attention span of 5 minutes so giving them something fun and inviting like a game would help develop their brains a lot and help down the line. I can still remember the first game I ever played, it was Halo 2. Yet I dont remember anything else from that time period except the times me and my brother would play together so clearly videogames do something in our brains to make us remember. Video games arent all good though. Video Games have been proven to raise stress levels for the person playing them. That is why parents who have kids that game a lot note that they tend to act irritable. The games are triggering the fight or flight response in the brain so the slightest thing can set them off (Dunckley). The stimulation, the dopamine that is released when they are doing good, the increased heart rate as they get closer to winning or losing all fed directly into the reactionary system so when they finally beat that level they let out a big BOOYAW or when they lose again they scream and throw the controller. This amount of stress is not safe for kids as itll cause them to have â€Å"trouble managing emotions, suppressing impulses, following directions, dealing with frustration, and executing tasks†(Dunckley). I will be the first to testify that videogames to get me worked up and sometimes too worked up, the me in real life and me when I die in Fortnite are comp letely different people but the game has a way of bringing out the dark angry side in me and plenty of other people. The side effects of games is all just multiplied if the kid stays up late playing the game and then all the sudden turns it off and tries to sleep. This will cause them to toss and turn because their brain is still so active that it cant sleep and hinder the amount of REM(deep sleep) the child will get which will make the problems worse. Doctor Dunckley recommends that kids can play games but in very limited quantities and no screens 1 hour before bed time. In his article Rick Missimer talks about the positive and negative sides of videogames and the main good that videogames have is that they are invaluable to teach kids â€Å"some essential skills like strategic thinking, innovative thinking and co-operation†(missimer).When faced with a new problem or a new level in a game you have to use your whole brain to come up with a plan to get past this. Maybe you fail but even in failing you will learn something plus failure just pushes you to try harder and try new ideas. Most games now are either cooperative or online and this allows the gamer to work on their teamwork and communication. One game I play a lot is rainbow six siege and the only way to play is 5 people versus 5 people so you have to work with and communicate with your team who could be completely random people from around the globe that you have to work with to win. You could ignore them or be rude and lose or you talk to them and work as a team to get the job done sure maybe you still lose but maybe you made a new friend or learned something new. Being able to communicate and work with people is an extremely vital skill to have in the real world so being able to practice it and play a game sounds like a pretty good deal to me. So far games seem pretty good right? Well we havent gotten to the biggest downside of video games yet, addiction. Patrick Markey and Christopher Ferguson published a book in 2017 that says â€Å"video gaming raises dopamine levels in the brain to about the same degree that eating a slice of pepperoni pizza or dish of ice cream does† they then continue on and say â€Å"it raises dopamine to roughly double it’s normal resting level, whereas drugs like heroin, cocaine, or amphetamines raise dopamine by roughly ten times that much†(Gray). This goes to show that games arent nearly as addictive as we think they are. People still can become addicted and have negative effects but the addiction comes from somewhere else other than purely dopamine and reward based. In Doctor Grays article he says â€Å"Research shows that the great majority of video gamers, including those who are heavily immersed in games and spend large amounts of time at them, are at least as healthy psychologically, socially, and physically as are non-gamers†(gray). So why do people make such a big deal about being addicted to games when people who play a game that much dont even get affected. Most scientists agree that people arent addicted to the game itself theyre addicted to the escape it gives them from the real world which is a big problem. The more and more you become detached from reality the more and more dangerous you become because you start to believe things that arent true which i think is where people get the idea that video games make people dangerous because they look at the most extreme cases and that gives them the wrong idea. People can play violent video games and not be violent themselves but once they start imagining themselves in that world is when they start bringing that violence into the real world. That doesnt sound like an addiction that sounds like they have a mental problem that causes them to feel detached from real life and hide in their v ideo games. I have played violent games all my life and have played the absolute bloodiest games out there like Doom or even Call of duty. In Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 there is a mission where your character is given a large machine gun in a crowded airport. The 4 other men next to you also with large machine guns start shooting into the crowd and you are never told to shoot but you will because you recognize this is a game and all they are hurting is pixels not because you are some terrorist and this is training you for the mass shooting you are about to go commit at a walmart. People need to stop blaming violence on games and blame the actual causes or we will never fix whats wrong. Video games absolutely have their pros and cons but i have been playing video games since I can remember and feel fine. I know for a fact the games have helped my hand eye coordination because I can hit any button on the controller without looking. But sometimes it does feel like im addicted and many times videogames have stopped me from completing my work on time like this paper. But I still think videogames have more positives that outweigh the bad so we should keep them around. Work Cited Dunckley, Victoria. â€Å"This Is Your Child’s Brain on Video Games.† Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 25 Sept. 2016, psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mental-wealth/201609/is-your-childs-brain-video-games. Gray, Peter. â€Å"Sense and Nonsense About Video Game Addiction.† Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 11 Mar. 2018, psychologytoday.com/us/blog/freedom-learn/201803/sense-and-nonsense-about-video-game-addiction. Missimer, Rick. â€Å"The Impact of Video Games on Children.† HealthGuidance, healthguidance.org/entry/11051/1/The-Impact-of-Video-Games-on-Children.html. Nichols, Hannah. â€Å"How Video Games Affect the Brain.† Medical News Today, MediLexicon International, 10 July 2017, medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318345.php.

Wednesday, March 4, 2020

Imagination Jockey †An Interview with Indie Author Ben Galley

Imagination Jockey - An Interview with Indie Author Ben Galley Imagination Jockey - An Interview with Indie Author Ben Galley He’s not just the co-founder of the world’s first ebook store exclusively for indie authors and small presses - Ben Galley is also the author of the ‘Emaneska’ dark fantasy series, the first part of which was recently adapted into a graphic novel featuring art from Michael Shipley.We spoke to Ben about his indie author alter-ego, and what it’s like juggling the creative side of being an author with the business of self-publishing.How did you get started as a writer?I’ve always had a passion for writing. I strayed away from writing through college and secondary school, but stumbled back into it, strangely enough, through being a musician. When music didn’t take off for me and I was becoming disillusioned with the endless bar jobs I was working in, I poured all the knowledge I had picked up about how to be a self-sufficient musician into publishing. I rediscovered my love for writing, and it went hand-in-hand with what I’d learned about being an independent artist. It was perfect timing!Did you start off thinking of going the traditionally published route? How did that background knowledge about being an independent musician shape how you were thinking about writing and publishing?I studied music at the Contemporary Academy of Music in Guildford. They’re a very eyes-wide-open institution, and they taught me to be very independent and how to run businesses in a digital world. Those skills, amazingly, translated very well into the book world, which at the time was just entering its digital revolution.After finishing the manuscript for The Written, I began to research publishing options, and I discovered the emerging concept of self-publishing. I suddenly realised I could do it myself, and bend my ACM skills into this new industry. Not only that, but by going indie and DIY I could shave 18 months off my release schedule, keep 70% of my royalties, and get to control my career. I haven’t looked back since!What’s the most important thing to creating a successful indie book?It’s about being professional and aiming for the highest quality you can. I recognised early on that these were key, if not the keys to success – your books need to look as good as, if not better than, a traditionally published book. So, if you want a good shot at making a living and standing out from the crowd, use professionals: cover designers, editors, formatters, they are very important, and will help make sure your book is as professional as can be.Have you been enabled to try new experiments because you’ve been an indie?Absolutely, and a great example of that is my Emaneska graphic novel, which will be released this December. I regularly have conversations with traditional-author friends where they’re saying â€Å"I wish I could do this, I wish I could do that.† Sadly, these authors are tied to contracts and the publisher’s whim. If an idea is not in the publisher’s financial game plan, or if it’s not a commercial trend, is generally not willing to take a punt. This means that these authors are limited in what they can do. Indies aren’t shackled by that.The Written graphic novel is something I probably would not have been able to do with a traditional publisher. I’m talking very generally, but as an indie I can make a decision and get started all in the same hour, no questions asked and no permission needed. That’s why I was able to set up a Kickstarter project, raise over  £5,500, hire an artist, and just get it done. It’s been a lot of work, but it’s testament to how free and agile indies are.How do you work creatively? Do you have any tips on how to disrupt writer’s block?I worry this is going to sound a bit pompous, but I don’t believe in writer’s block. I think it’s psychosomatic. Writer’s block normally happens when you don’t not know what you’re writing (i.e. you haven’t got a plan), why you’re writing, or you’re simply in the wrong frame of mind or environment. Writer’s block usually comes about for one or more of these reasons. I believe in setting time aside, having a dedicated space, and being clear about my goals and what I have to do. To date, that has kept the block at bay, and I can usually write every day without fail. Again practise helps you realise what works for you. Sometimes I need a little music to put me in a mood, that can really help. If I’ve done everything right it flows, and it normally doesn’t stop flowing until I can’t see because my eyes are so tired. If the block ever strikes, step back, re-analyse and refocus.How about when you’re generating ideas?Some of my best ideas come while I’m absorbing other media. I’m constantly inspired by movies, TV, music, and of course, books. Initial concepts have always come ve ry sporadically but naturally to me, literally springing out of thin air. Once I have a concept, I then sit down to formulate a book or story around that idea. Then it’s about locking the door, closing the window, and focussing. I use music a lot for that, something without lyrics, something very musical - I close my eyes and let the ideas and characters run away with themselves. I see where they end up, and if I like it I’ll write it down, pause the music, make some notes, and then go back. What I never do is dismiss an idea, no matter how trivial. I note everything down. You never know when you’ll need it.That sounds very pleasantly intuitive.Exactly. You’re not forcing yourself. You’re not sitting there going â€Å"I want this to happen, how can I make this happen?† Sometimes the ideas that come organically are the ideas that are best for the book and for the readers.What’s your editing process like?First of all I go through the ma nuscript once or twice myself. I work back through the book, reaffirming the structure and big concepts first, then I go through it again to focus on rewriting and correcting mistakes, and improving it overall. If I need to, I’ll go through it a third time before sending it through to my professional editor, Kevin. The right editor can do a huge amount for you and your book – an editor who can identify with your style, your genre, or you – or ideally all three! There’re a lot of editors out there, so it’s a matter of shopping around and finding the right one for you.Finally, what sort of stuff do you like to read?Lots and lots of fantasy. I just love it, and that’s why I write it. I’m reading ‘Queen of Tearling’ at the moment. I read a lot of mythology as well, a lot of Nordic mythology, Icelandic poetry, Greek and Roman classics, and recently near-Eastern mythology. That comes hand-in-hand with research, and I’m genuinely interested in it.Thanks for your time Ben!