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What Are Video Games/Why Do We Play Video Games?
What Are Video Games/Why Do We Play Video Games?
The first thing that needs to be addressed when talking about video games is what actually are video games. According to most sources, video games are essentially just electronic board games or card games, but in most cases, video games are virtual games that allow you to do things that you normally wouldn't be able to do in the real world. For instance, jumping around as a plumber trying to save a princess captured by an evil King Koopa in Super Mario Bros. or diving into a 100 player battle royale in Fortnite, things that you can't find in the non-virtual world. Since when have you seen block-like characters making a house in less than 5 minutes or people regularly sailing on the open seas in galleons? These experiences are what sets apart the virtual world from the real world. Want to create a base and lead troops to battle against other people's bases? There's a game for that! Want to fulfill your dream of becoming a goose who terrorizes the neighbors? There's a game for that too! The thing with video games is that they fill that small hole in your heart where you just want to feel important and be something you aren't, they give you something that you don't always get in the real world; the sensation of importance.
The first thing that needs to be addressed when talking about video games is what actually are video games. According to most sources, video games are essentially just electronic board games or card games, but in most cases, video games are virtual games that allow you to do things that you normally wouldn't be able to do in the real world. For instance, jumping around as a plumber trying to save a princess captured by an evil King Koopa in Super Mario Bros. or diving into a 100 player battle royale in Fortnite, things that you can't find in the non-virtual world. Since when have you seen block-like characters making a house in less than 5 minutes or people regularly sailing on the open seas in galleons? These experiences are what sets apart the virtual world from the real world. Want to create a base and lead troops to battle against other people's bases? There's a game for that! Want to fulfill your dream of becoming a goose who terrorizes the neighbors? There's a game for that too! The thing with video games is that they fill that small hole in your heart where you just want to feel important and be something you aren't, they give you something that you don't always get in the real world; the sensation of importance.
Now that we know what video games are, it's important to know why we play these video games. The reason behind us playing these games is that our needs are taken care of by these games. Video games are intended to help satisfy 3 core needs in our lives: Competence, Autonomy, Relatedness.
Now that we know what video games are, it's important to know why we play these video games. The reason behind us playing these games is that our needs are taken care of by these games. Video games are intended to help satisfy 3 core needs in our lives: Competence, Autonomy, Relatedness.
A portion of one of the many levels in the Steam platformer "Celeste"
Starting off with competence, it is the feeling of mastery. It's that sense you get when you feel that you are learning and progressing. It's that feeling of completing a task you worked really hard for or getting your first A on a test in school. Completionists and achievement hunters feel this the most, as they are going out of their way to fully complete a game, including side quests and additional challenges provided by the makers of the games or other players themselves. Once the game is done or the achievement has been unlocked and obtained, you feel like your hard work paid off and you mastered the game or challenge. Some board games occasionally give you this feeling, like Monopoly once you have made everyone else bankrupt and are the last player left. This is why Fortnite is such an appealing game to players, there is no other feeling in the game like being the last player standing out of 100 others on the island, and obtaining that sweet sweet victory message on your screen. Fortnite Victory Example
Starting off with competence, it is the feeling of mastery. It's that sense you get when you feel that you are learning and progressing. It's that feeling of completing a task you worked really hard for or getting your first A on a test in school. Completionists and achievement hunters feel this the most, as they are going out of their way to fully complete a game, including side quests and additional challenges provided by the makers of the games or other players themselves. Once the game is done or the achievement has been unlocked and obtained, you feel like your hard work paid off and you mastered the game or challenge. Some board games occasionally give you this feeling, like Monopoly once you have made everyone else bankrupt and are the last player left. This is why Fortnite is such an appealing game to players, there is no other feeling in the game like being the last player standing out of 100 others on the island, and obtaining that sweet sweet victory message on your screen. Fortnite Victory Example
Moving on to Autonomy, it is the sense of having control over you and the world around you. These are similar to those choose-your-own-adventure books that seem to be really rare these times around where you get to choose what the characters will do inside of the book, which is the reason people are drawn to RPGs (role playing games) and the Choose-Your-Adventure games. The people that like them also typically like having unrestricted actions and choices and the ability to set the events of the story through different actions that control how the game plays out. These are games like Fallout, Undertale, and The Legend of Zelda franchise. RPG's and Choose-Your-Adventure games, which revolve mainly around any game where you control a fictional character exploring and moving around in a fictional world.
Moving on to Autonomy, it is the sense of having control over you and the world around you. These are similar to those choose-your-own-adventure books that seem to be really rare these times around where you get to choose what the characters will do inside of the book, which is the reason people are drawn to RPGs (role playing games) and the Choose-Your-Adventure games. The people that like them also typically like having unrestricted actions and choices and the ability to set the events of the story through different actions that control how the game plays out. These are games like Fallout, Undertale, and The Legend of Zelda franchise. RPG's and Choose-Your-Adventure games, which revolve mainly around any game where you control a fictional character exploring and moving around in a fictional world.
"Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" game art
"Destiny 2" game art
Then there is relatedness, the final piece in the puzzle. Relatedness is the need to feel like we matter to others and that we are making a contribution to society. It is like when you are working on a group project and are the only one in the group with a specific skill set that sets you apart from the others. It is most commonly felt within the playing of multiplayer games, when you are playing with other people. When you are playing with other people, you feel like a part of what is happening, and that you have a role within the game that is important to the team. For instance, Rainbow Six Siege has multiple different character types which all have a unique attribute that makes them important. Many multiplayer games have this, which is why it is the category that most players are drawn to. The reason we are attracted by these games is because they fit our individual needs.
Then there is relatedness, the final piece in the puzzle. Relatedness is the need to feel like we matter to others and that we are making a contribution to society. It is like when you are working on a group project and are the only one in the group with a specific skill set that sets you apart from the others. It is most commonly felt within the playing of multiplayer games, when you are playing with other people. When you are playing with other people, you feel like a part of what is happening, and that you have a role within the game that is important to the team. For instance, Rainbow Six Siege has multiple different character types which all have a unique attribute that makes them important. Many multiplayer games have this, which is why it is the category that most players are drawn to. The reason we are attracted by these games is because they fit our individual needs.
These core needs form a "triforce", so to speak, in which every single player games to fulfill different combinations of. However, what those combinations of the needs are don't vary from player to player, but instead from culture to culture. Take Japan as an example, Japan's history goes back to the days of the samurai. Samurai were trained with the idea that every move made could mean either life or death, which was a key piece in the training style of Bushido, and that precision is of utmost importance. But when Bushido's necessity was extinguished, the mindset stayed. This is why Japan has so many rhythm and precision games, and all those games are just the modern day versions of that mindset.
These core needs form a "triforce", so to speak, in which every single player games to fulfill different combinations of. However, what those combinations of the needs are don't vary from player to player, but instead from culture to culture. Take Japan as an example, Japan's history goes back to the days of the samurai. Samurai were trained with the idea that every move made could mean either life or death, which was a key piece in the training style of Bushido, and that precision is of utmost importance. But when Bushido's necessity was extinguished, the mindset stayed. This is why Japan has so many rhythm and precision games, and all those games are just the modern day versions of that mindset.
Health Improvements
Health Improvements
The biggest and most prominent argument against video games by my parents, from personal experience, is that video games are bad for your health, that they'll rot your brain. While that is true for super hardcore gaming sessions, it's not the case for moderate gaming. According to professor of behavioral addiction Mark Griffiths, "there is no evidence that moderate gaming has any negative effects at all, and most of the research shows that it has very positive effects." Mark goes on to say "I have published loads of research on the positives of gaming, but its always the negatives that get attention. The negative effects only occur in a tiny minority of individuals" The thing with games is that they are continuously shot down and hated by those who don't play them, the ones who say they know about them but don't fully understand video games because they haven't experienced them. Within this fight between these two sides, the video games themselves are the source of the bias; the people who have played them and know what it is like to play them are for video games, while the people who don't play them are against video games. This bias creates a ever growing complication; as the bias and gap between the two sides grow, the harder it is to find even ground. However, there are some stability points that still need to be addressed, and those are the health benefits of video games.
The biggest and most prominent argument against video games by my parents, from personal experience, is that video games are bad for your health, that they'll rot your brain. While that is true for super hardcore gaming sessions, it's not the case for moderate gaming. According to professor of behavioral addiction Mark Griffiths, "there is no evidence that moderate gaming has any negative effects at all, and most of the research shows that it has very positive effects." Mark goes on to say "I have published loads of research on the positives of gaming, but its always the negatives that get attention. The negative effects only occur in a tiny minority of individuals" The thing with games is that they are continuously shot down and hated by those who don't play them, the ones who say they know about them but don't fully understand video games because they haven't experienced them. Within this fight between these two sides, the video games themselves are the source of the bias; the people who have played them and know what it is like to play them are for video games, while the people who don't play them are against video games. This bias creates a ever growing complication; as the bias and gap between the two sides grow, the harder it is to find even ground. However, there are some stability points that still need to be addressed, and those are the health benefits of video games.
First off, video games can be used as a temporary substitute for pain killers. If you have played games, when you were playing them while injured, did you notice that you didn't hurt during the duration of the session? Or if you are a parent of a kid who plays games, did you notice that if your kids hurt and began playing video games, their pain seemed to magically go away? If so, this is perfectly normal. According to Mark Griffins, "Video games are so cognitively engrossing that you literally forget about anything else." Studies of kids who played video games after a surgery or another pain-inducing activity have presented that these kids needed significantly less painkillers. I especially have felt this, I will have a headache or a pain in one of my limbs and once I begin to play, *poof* pain is almost entirely gone! I used to get a lot of backlash from my parents from this, because before I was too hurt to do something I didn't want to do, but the second I began doing something that I like, it was all gone, and once I got off the pain came right back again. For me, this also happens when I am reading a book, I cut out all background actions and noise and focus almost entirely on my book, sometimes zoning out so much that the class is gone and I'm still in the room.
First off, video games can be used as a temporary substitute for pain killers. If you have played games, when you were playing them while injured, did you notice that you didn't hurt during the duration of the session? Or if you are a parent of a kid who plays games, did you notice that if your kids hurt and began playing video games, their pain seemed to magically go away? If so, this is perfectly normal. According to Mark Griffins, "Video games are so cognitively engrossing that you literally forget about anything else." Studies of kids who played video games after a surgery or another pain-inducing activity have presented that these kids needed significantly less painkillers. I especially have felt this, I will have a headache or a pain in one of my limbs and once I begin to play, *poof* pain is almost entirely gone! I used to get a lot of backlash from my parents from this, because before I was too hurt to do something I didn't want to do, but the second I began doing something that I like, it was all gone, and once I got off the pain came right back again. For me, this also happens when I am reading a book, I cut out all background actions and noise and focus almost entirely on my book, sometimes zoning out so much that the class is gone and I'm still in the room.
Lounging in the living room in "Sims 4"
In video games, especially in "god games", players can learn that specific actions have certain consequences. For instance, the popular game Sims, where you create a life around your select character and town. In this game, the players actions/choices have effects the townsfolk or specific people. If you forget to feed characters, they starve. If you go around lighting things on fire, the people and places will most likely burn to the ground. However, if you take good care of your Sims, some benefits can come out of it. Ultimately some of the consequences in this game are sometimes extreme, but it is a good way to learn about consequences of your own actions inside the virtual world. Mark Griffins argues that "even in games that are particularly violent, there are still strategies that involve problem-solving skills and cognitive skills; even games that have morally questionable content can still have good effects."
In video games, especially in "god games", players can learn that specific actions have certain consequences. For instance, the popular game Sims, where you create a life around your select character and town. In this game, the players actions/choices have effects the townsfolk or specific people. If you forget to feed characters, they starve. If you go around lighting things on fire, the people and places will most likely burn to the ground. However, if you take good care of your Sims, some benefits can come out of it. Ultimately some of the consequences in this game are sometimes extreme, but it is a good way to learn about consequences of your own actions inside the virtual world. Mark Griffins argues that "even in games that are particularly violent, there are still strategies that involve problem-solving skills and cognitive skills; even games that have morally questionable content can still have good effects."
Video games have more benefits than painkillers and consequence learning, some people have discovered that it also can help the aged. Down in Iowa, a University of Iowa conducted a study consisting of 681 healthy 50+ year-old people resulted in the observation of a delayed gradual decaying of the brain's cognitive functions due to gaming. These subjects played, for 10 hours straight, a game specially designed to improve the speed and quality of mental processing abilities, and as a result, was able to detain the natural decline of a few cognitive skills by multiple years! According to Chris Burke, "I've done a billion hours of gaming in my life, so by this measurement my brain must now be around three years old." While this doesn't seem to affect you're physical ageing, it does slow down your mental ageing to the point where your brain is not with ageing pace with your body is, which causes you to feel younger than you really are.
Video games have more benefits than painkillers and consequence learning, some people have discovered that it also can help the aged. Down in Iowa, a University of Iowa conducted a study consisting of 681 healthy 50+ year-old people resulted in the observation of a delayed gradual decaying of the brain's cognitive functions due to gaming. These subjects played, for 10 hours straight, a game specially designed to improve the speed and quality of mental processing abilities, and as a result, was able to detain the natural decline of a few cognitive skills by multiple years! According to Chris Burke, "I've done a billion hours of gaming in my life, so by this measurement my brain must now be around three years old." While this doesn't seem to affect you're physical ageing, it does slow down your mental ageing to the point where your brain is not with ageing pace with your body is, which causes you to feel younger than you really are.
"Professor Layton and the Azrian Legacy" game art
"Fortnite: Save The World" game art
While sometimes gaming at a young age can sometimes lead to some bad health decisions, according to me and my experiences (it might also just be my ADHD), they do, however, improve you're decision-making in the real world in some aspects. According to some studies, for example one done by the University of Rochester, NY, they "teach people to become better at taking sensory data in and translating it into correct decisions". That study managed to gather a group of young adults who had no previous gaming experience and, for a total of fifty hours, had them play an action game, in which emerging with those results.
While sometimes gaming at a young age can sometimes lead to some bad health decisions, according to me and my experiences (it might also just be my ADHD), they do, however, improve you're decision-making in the real world in some aspects. According to some studies, for example one done by the University of Rochester, NY, they "teach people to become better at taking sensory data in and translating it into correct decisions". That study managed to gather a group of young adults who had no previous gaming experience and, for a total of fifty hours, had them play an action game, in which emerging with those results.
Games that are Good for You and Why
Games that are Good for You and Why
While video games in general are being frowned upon, the games themselves have various benefits towards the players and their minds. Some games even extract traits or abilities inside you that you never knew you had, while others build up some of your traits to make them stronger. Video games do more than just provide a temporary source of entertainment or provide a distraction during tough times, they provide mental benefits that strengthen senses and mentalities all at the same time.
While video games in general are being frowned upon, the games themselves have various benefits towards the players and their minds. Some games even extract traits or abilities inside you that you never knew you had, while others build up some of your traits to make them stronger. Video games do more than just provide a temporary source of entertainment or provide a distraction during tough times, they provide mental benefits that strengthen senses and mentalities all at the same time.
Our first example is Minecraft, the squared survival game that blew up in popularity back in 2009. Minecraft is a great representation of games that are good for you, mainly due to its sandbox functionality. As most people know, Minecraft is a game where you have the ability to walk or fly around a infinite world and create whatever your heart desires in either creative or survival mode. Creative mode gives you whatever objects or items you want to use and lets them never run out, and with its flying feature, movement is fast and easy. Survival mode places you in a random place in the world with a health bar telling you how many hits you can take and a hunger bar telling you how hungry your character is. In survival mode, you spawn with nothing except a map in your inventory, so you must survive in the world using what you can find, and at night, monsters like zombies, skeletons, creepers, spiders, endermen, and all sorts of mobs come out in their blocky states that make them more interesting than threatening. Minecraft is a great place to present your creative side and even the socialist side as well, due to Minecraft's multiplayer (friends) online or split-screen abilities and its friendly atmosphere of gameplay. Minecraft is unlike those multiplayer battle games where all you do is fight one another, it allows you to fight your friends without blood or gory sound effects and violent atmospheres, or play with them and try to survive together. This game really helps to build upon your creativity and your social skills through its friendly gameplay and open world. With the additions of modifications and online servers, it allows the player to play a multitude of fan-made custom games like prop hide-and-seek, online battling, competitive creations and so much more for players to experience.
Our first example is Minecraft, the squared survival game that blew up in popularity back in 2009. Minecraft is a great representation of games that are good for you, mainly due to its sandbox functionality. As most people know, Minecraft is a game where you have the ability to walk or fly around a infinite world and create whatever your heart desires in either creative or survival mode. Creative mode gives you whatever objects or items you want to use and lets them never run out, and with its flying feature, movement is fast and easy. Survival mode places you in a random place in the world with a health bar telling you how many hits you can take and a hunger bar telling you how hungry your character is. In survival mode, you spawn with nothing except a map in your inventory, so you must survive in the world using what you can find, and at night, monsters like zombies, skeletons, creepers, spiders, endermen, and all sorts of mobs come out in their blocky states that make them more interesting than threatening. Minecraft is a great place to present your creative side and even the socialist side as well, due to Minecraft's multiplayer (friends) online or split-screen abilities and its friendly atmosphere of gameplay. Minecraft is unlike those multiplayer battle games where all you do is fight one another, it allows you to fight your friends without blood or gory sound effects and violent atmospheres, or play with them and try to survive together. This game really helps to build upon your creativity and your social skills through its friendly gameplay and open world. With the additions of modifications and online servers, it allows the player to play a multitude of fan-made custom games like prop hide-and-seek, online battling, competitive creations and so much more for players to experience.
Now onto games like Fortnite, and Overwatch, online games that have a competitive atmosphere around them. These games require and also build upon hand-eye coordination, sharp reaction times, along with team building and communication. Both of these games love to keep you on your toes, ready to act at any time to surprises, opponents, and openings. These games are where the reaction time is heavily incorporated, with their competitive, battling gameplay and the lack of knowledge of your opponents locations. With these games, you never know if your opponent is just around the corner. This is why the hand-eye coordination is also needed, because you will always need to act upon your reactions, requiring you to need to have your hands work well with what you see. Think of this as a soccer ball flying straight for your face and you need your hands to come up to catch it before it hits you, you need your hands to react to what your eyes see quickly. Within these games, the cooperation between you and your teammates is a big factor as well, because working together with who you are partnered with will improve your chances of doing well, as well as how much fun you are having. A bad connection with your partners often results in worse scores and more frustration, but with this teamwork brings a better experience as well as the development and improvement of strategy and team-building skills.
Now onto games like Fortnite, and Overwatch, online games that have a competitive atmosphere around them. These games require and also build upon hand-eye coordination, sharp reaction times, along with team building and communication. Both of these games love to keep you on your toes, ready to act at any time to surprises, opponents, and openings. These games are where the reaction time is heavily incorporated, with their competitive, battling gameplay and the lack of knowledge of your opponents locations. With these games, you never know if your opponent is just around the corner. This is why the hand-eye coordination is also needed, because you will always need to act upon your reactions, requiring you to need to have your hands work well with what you see. Think of this as a soccer ball flying straight for your face and you need your hands to come up to catch it before it hits you, you need your hands to react to what your eyes see quickly. Within these games, the cooperation between you and your teammates is a big factor as well, because working together with who you are partnered with will improve your chances of doing well, as well as how much fun you are having. A bad connection with your partners often results in worse scores and more frustration, but with this teamwork brings a better experience as well as the development and improvement of strategy and team-building skills.
Last but certainly not least comes games similar to Just Dance and Dance Dance Revolution, games that require you to dance or move your feet to match what is shown on the screen. These games get you off your butt and onto the dance floor to show your moves in the comfort of your living room, especially Just Dance which make you match your movement and positioning with the characters on screen. The best thing about these games is probably the option to play with up to 4-6 other people within the same room and dance to your favorite songs. Just Dance especially is a great family bonding game, being able to dance and show your moves with your family while they do the same. These games almost never lead to frustration because of the friendly competition of scores based on how well you matched the moves and the lack of online play. These types of games are probably the best thing to play when you have a family reunion and everyone is coming over because of the increase in bodily movement and decrease in moving only your fingers across a screen, controller, or keyboard to play.
Last but certainly not least comes games similar to Just Dance and Dance Dance Revolution, games that require you to dance or move your feet to match what is shown on the screen. These games get you off your butt and onto the dance floor to show your moves in the comfort of your living room, especially Just Dance which make you match your movement and positioning with the characters on screen. The best thing about these games is probably the option to play with up to 4-6 other people within the same room and dance to your favorite songs. Just Dance especially is a great family bonding game, being able to dance and show your moves with your family while they do the same. These games almost never lead to frustration because of the friendly competition of scores based on how well you matched the moves and the lack of online play. These types of games are probably the best thing to play when you have a family reunion and everyone is coming over because of the increase in bodily movement and decrease in moving only your fingers across a screen, controller, or keyboard to play.
Myths About Video Games
Myths About Video Games
Myths are a large part of video games, ranging from in-game unlockables to hidden areas the developers didn't tell you about. However, there are some myths that do not exist within the games themselves, but the community outside their reach. These types of myths are created by those who do not play as often or do not have the experience of playing, making them myths about health problems and why they are just outright bad.
Myths are a large part of video games, ranging from in-game unlockables to hidden areas the developers didn't tell you about. However, there are some myths that do not exist within the games themselves, but the community outside their reach. These types of myths are created by those who do not play as often or do not have the experience of playing, making them myths about health problems and why they are just outright bad.
The first of these myths is that "screen time makes your eyes worse". While this would seem true from staring at a bright screen for a time, when you really look at it, it doesn't seem that way at all. Most of the time, screen time does nothing bad to your eyesight other than eyesore, in fact, it even sometimes improves it. Studies have shown that people who play action video games a lot actually have improved eyesight, or more they can see detail better than people who don't. In action video games, your goal is mainly to point and shoot at enemies, either players or CPU's. When you have to always keep a lookout for those enemies, you start to pay closer attention to detail to be able to pick out the other people. I have experienced this with Fortnite as I have played. When I first got into the game, I played with friends, mostly those who have experience in the game, and I was always confused with how they were able to spot an enemy from very far off, as when I looked I saw nothing. But as I began to play more and more my eyes became more and more focused on the farther out surroundings, always scanning for players, and I gained the ability to see players easier and easier. When the improved eyesight was tested on a eye examination sheet, players typically had better scores if they played compared to people who don't play a lot of action games.
The first of these myths is that "screen time makes your eyes worse". While this would seem true from staring at a bright screen for a time, when you really look at it, it doesn't seem that way at all. Most of the time, screen time does nothing bad to your eyesight other than eyesore, in fact, it even sometimes improves it. Studies have shown that people who play action video games a lot actually have improved eyesight, or more they can see detail better than people who don't. In action video games, your goal is mainly to point and shoot at enemies, either players or CPU's. When you have to always keep a lookout for those enemies, you start to pay closer attention to detail to be able to pick out the other people. I have experienced this with Fortnite as I have played. When I first got into the game, I played with friends, mostly those who have experience in the game, and I was always confused with how they were able to spot an enemy from very far off, as when I looked I saw nothing. But as I began to play more and more my eyes became more and more focused on the farther out surroundings, always scanning for players, and I gained the ability to see players easier and easier. When the improved eyesight was tested on a eye examination sheet, players typically had better scores if they played compared to people who don't play a lot of action games.
Another myth that is common is that "video games lead to attention problems and greater distractability". This is quite common because it seems as if the game is a distraction and that players have a hard time paying attention. However this is not the case. There is a perfect game for this, and it involves words and their ink color. What you are supposed to do is call out the words color, however, this is difficult because the words do not match up with their color, making it harder to focus on the colors instead of the words, especially when the words say different colors than the word's color, creating a conflict between the things you see. Within this test, your level of attention is determined by how fast you can solve that conflict, meaning that normally younger people are able to do it a little faster than some older people. But when you test someone who plays a lot of action games, they are able to settle the conflict much faster than the average person.
Another myth that is common is that "video games lead to attention problems and greater distractability". This is quite common because it seems as if the game is a distraction and that players have a hard time paying attention. However this is not the case. There is a perfect game for this, and it involves words and their ink color. What you are supposed to do is call out the words color, however, this is difficult because the words do not match up with their color, making it harder to focus on the colors instead of the words, especially when the words say different colors than the word's color, creating a conflict between the things you see. Within this test, your level of attention is determined by how fast you can solve that conflict, meaning that normally younger people are able to do it a little faster than some older people. But when you test someone who plays a lot of action games, they are able to settle the conflict much faster than the average person.
Microsoft's Work Towards Empowering Gaming Inclusivity
Microsoft's Work Towards Empowering Gaming Inclusivity
In this world, many people have physical and/or mental problems that complicate their performances of actions. For gaming, the main problem people with physical difficulties is the ability to use the controllers or keyboards needed to play. That's why Microsoft decided to create a controller that enables people with specific disabilities to be able to play with less difficulty. It is called the Adaptive Controller.
In this world, many people have physical and/or mental problems that complicate their performances of actions. For gaming, the main problem people with physical difficulties is the ability to use the controllers or keyboards needed to play. That's why Microsoft decided to create a controller that enables people with specific disabilities to be able to play with less difficulty. It is called the Adaptive Controller.
The adaptive controller was stated as a "landmark innovation for gaming inclusivity" in the article "How Games Can Be A Force For Good" by Xbox's Official Magazine. It is a controller made specifically for those with limited mobility, such as missing limbs, birth defects, brain dysfunctions, and other disabilities so that they can play the games they love. The main piece of the adaptive controller looks similar to a "boombox" or an older radio, but a thin stature. The controller has all of the standard Xbox controller inputs, like the home, start, and back buttons, along with the D-pad, connect button, and two very large A and B buttons placed on the front of the controller. Along the sides of the controller are the usb ports. These include ports for a joystick, along with ports for different substitutes for functions like the D-Pad, joystick presses, bumpers, triggers, A, B, X, and Y buttons, along with the menu and view buttons. These ports are for the separate add-ons that change the gaming experience, ranging from big buttons to wii nunchucks to a variety of different methods of interacting with the functions
The adaptive controller was stated as a "landmark innovation for gaming inclusivity" in the article "How Games Can Be A Force For Good" by Xbox's Official Magazine. It is a controller made specifically for those with limited mobility, such as missing limbs, birth defects, brain dysfunctions, and other disabilities so that they can play the games they love. The main piece of the adaptive controller looks similar to a "boombox" or an older radio, but a thin stature. The controller has all of the standard Xbox controller inputs, like the home, start, and back buttons, along with the D-pad, connect button, and two very large A and B buttons placed on the front of the controller. Along the sides of the controller are the usb ports. These include ports for a joystick, along with ports for different substitutes for functions like the D-Pad, joystick presses, bumpers, triggers, A, B, X, and Y buttons, along with the menu and view buttons. These ports are for the separate add-ons that change the gaming experience, ranging from big buttons to wii nunchucks to a variety of different methods of interacting with the functions
With this advancement in gaming technology, now people of all types are able to play video games. It is surprising how many problems can be solved revolving around inability to play games just by changing what the game is played on. The adaptive controller plays the same as a normal controller, however it does take up more space, but it does provide more functions, easier accessibility, and an enjoyable experience.
With this advancement in gaming technology, now people of all types are able to play video games. It is surprising how many problems can be solved revolving around inability to play games just by changing what the game is played on. The adaptive controller plays the same as a normal controller, however it does take up more space, but it does provide more functions, easier accessibility, and an enjoyable experience.
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