Oct
15
2008

Online Adventure Games

Author: cheva Posted under: Computer and Technology, Gaming, Internet and Business Online |

In the fast paced life of today, there is hardly any time to experience real adventure. People seem to race behind destinations that keep outdistancing them and there remains no time to appreciate the real quest of life. Ironically, life has become a risky adventure for many. To be able to get a feel of the true spirit of adventure, a large number of people choose the virtual world of the Internet! Many people, young and old, are seen turning to online adventure games to satiate their thirst for adventure. The craze for online adventure games is largely observed among the youngsters. Perhaps they find the virtual world a bit safer and more secure than the world they live in. Probably they lack the courage to face and overcome risks in real life and they prefer to experience the pleasure of risk-taking through online adventure games. This may or may not be true. But one thing is for sure; online adventure games are a rage among the young crowd.

Video games, in which the players require to investigate situations, explore possibilities, solve problems and interact with characters in the game are called adventure games. Obviously, the ones played over the Internet are known as online adventure games. The growth of computer networks and Internet has given an impetus to the development of online games. During the early years of the evolution of Internet, a major chunk of website content used to be plain text. With the advancements in Internet technology, websites began to support streaming of audio and video, thus offering more user interactivity. Game developers, taking complete advantage of the new web capabilities, began developing interactive online games. Online games make up one of the leading industries of today.
While some websites offer free online games, others offer downloadable ones. Websites that offer online games, also feature game reviews and invite the players to write about their gaming experiences. This is often intended to attract more number of users for business promotion. Many websites maintain lists of featured or top-rated games in order to help the players in choosing online games. Based on the individual popularity ratings, the websites create featured games’ lists. Based on the user interest, websites work towards the creation of newer games of the genre that is most popular among their visitors. Many online gaming websites also offer links to social networking websites and allow the users to bookmark the links to the games.

Online adventure games generally focus on an adventurous story and combine the narrative with elements of mystery, horror and thrill. Many of the adventure game themes are based on adventurous stories in literature and films. Some of them are inspired from famous novels or movies revolving around science fiction. Online games offer an interactive interface where players get the opportunity to interact with the characters in the game. The 3-dimensional effects used in the online games hold the interest of the gamers. It is for these reasons that the adventures of the virtual world continue to appeal the masses.

Online adventure games add thrill and excitement to the lives of people addicted to computer games. So, what’s your next online adventure going to be about?

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Aug
15
2008

Stressed Out? Why Not Try Some Simple Video Gaming?

Author: cheva Posted under: Gaming, Lifestyle and Entertainment |

A Research study by PopCap Games, the biggest study of casual gamers ever, suggests that 88% of all every day gamers “play to relieve stress”, and 41% said that it is their biggest reason for playing video games to begin with. In fact, exploration of games has pointed that playing a simple video game for 30 minutes is a tremendous way to relieve tension. An informal game is a game that is easy to play but hard to master. It could be as easy as Solitaire or Freecell. These games are simple to understand and only include a few simple rules.

Playing for 15 to 30 minutes a day will help assist your psyche in not thinking about certain things, this will result in a “break from reality” which will then lead to less stress. And this can be done with any video game not just one or the other. It is a positive benefit to take a break from reality and dumb down for a short period of time. Personally for me, I work at home, and I often find myself leaving the desk for just a wee bit to take a break and play a game, especially on those really stressful days. Heck you can even play games if you don’t have a console, simply visit a few Arcadia sites available online. You can play these games right from your computer, it’s completely free and you can play whenever you want, which in some of your cases might be a problem, so try to control yourself! This isn’t a form of procrastination so don’t use it for that! This is a form of stress relief, use it wisely.

People have all sorts of games that de-stress them, for me it’s all about the Need For Speed games, crashing my Ferrari into a bus station going 200 miles per hour is de-stressing! For you it might be scrabble or a shooting game, who knows! The point is to block out any work, worries, stress, tension, arguments, fights, etc, from your mind, and just be free. Some would say this is a form of Yoga, and I guess if you want to categorize them as being the same thing you can.

Also, if a study by a major gaming company just won’t do it for you and you are sort of suspicious considering they are the ones that paid for the study? Another study was done as well in October of 2007 and in 2004 and it showed that on average there is a 17% reduction in cortisol production. Of course cortisol is an important hormone in the body, secreted by the adrenal glands and involved in a few essential functions in the body, however, sometimes cortisol is also noted as the “stress hormone” because it’s also secreted in higher levels during the body’s “fight or flight” response to stress, and is accountable for several stress-related alterations in the body. So if video games can lessen this hormone that in turn means you have less of a chance of stressing out or more of a chance of de-stressing with video games!

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