Literature Review in Gaming Website #1

Computer games are today an important part of most children’s leisure lives and increasingly
an important part of our culture as a whole. We often, as adults, watch in amazement as
children dedicate hours to acting as football coaches, designers of empires, controllers of
robots, wizards and emperors. In the past, computer games have been dismissed as a
distraction from more ‘worthy’ activities, such as homework or playing outside. Today,
however, researchers, teachers and designers of learning resources are beginning to ask how
this powerful new medium might be used to support children’s learning. Rather than shutting
the door of the school against the computer game, there is now increasing interest in asking
whether computer games might be offering a powerful new resource to support learning in the
information age. This review is intended as a timely introduction to current thinking about the
role of computer games in supporting children’s learning inside and out of school. It highlights
the key areas of research in the field, in particular the increasing interest in pleasurable
learning, learning through doing and learning through collaboration, that games seem to offer.
At the same time, the review takes a measured tone in acknowledging some of the obstacles
and challenges to using games within our current education system and within our current
models of learning. It goes on to propose some ways in which designers, researchers and
educational policy makers might draw on the growing body of research in the field to create
learning resources and environments that go beyond a sugar-coating of ‘fun’ to the full
engagement that computer games seem to offer so many children today.

Computer games are a growing part of our culture; the global market is worth billions of
dollars, related activities range from published magazines to spontaneous internet
communities, and the impact of games play on young people has attracted significant interest
from the popular media. Three quarters of children play regularly – is this harmful or beneficial,
are they learning as they play, and if so what? This review considers the findings of research
into the relationship between games and players, and the theoretical and actual implications
for learning. The research evidence is complex, and thinly spread. The study of computer
games, or game players, cannot be mapped onto one research discipline. Relevant areas of
study include, but are not limited to computer science, education, psychology, youth and media
and cultural studies. As a result, aspects of investigation into games and game players can
‘straddle’ several different academic disciplines. As games have become more complex in terms
of graphics, complexity, interaction and narrative, so a variety of genres have come to dominate
the market. There is, however, no standard categorization of such games; different
stakeholders in the games industry eg game outlets, developers, academics, web review sites,
use a taxonomy appropriate to their own audience. Nonetheless the differences between
genres, and even between games within one genre, differentiate the way they are played, and
their potential to support learning. Thus attempts to generalize the effect of games or gaming
may be unhelpful. Perhaps as a result of the diversity and complexity of games themselves, and
the range of perspectives taken by researchers, there are few hard and fast findings in the
literature. In order to better understand games and game play, and how they contribute to
learning, it may be necessary to distinguish more clearly the nature of gaming and the nature of
learning and the learner.

Research into the use of mainstream games in education is relatively novel, but growing rapidly.
Research is mainly concerned with the development of related competences and literacies
during game play, or the role of games in the formation of learning communities either while
gaming or related to game play. Use of mainstream games in schools remains rare, and is
unlikely to be integrated into the curriculum. Reasons for this include: • it is difficult for
teachers to identify quickly how a particular game is relevant to some component of the
statutory curriculum, as well as the accuracy and appropriateness of the content within the
game • the difficulty in persuading other school stakeholders as to the potential/actual
educational benefits of computer games • the lack of time available to teachers to familiarize
themselves with the game, and methods of producing the best results from its use • the
amount of irrelevant content or functionality in a game which could not be removed or ignored,
thus wasting valuable lesson time. Nonetheless, teachers and parents recognized that games
play can support valuable skill development, such as: • strategic thinking • planning •
communication • application of numbers • negotiating skills • group decision-making • data-
handling. Significantly the experience of game play seems to be affecting learners’ expectations
of learning activities. Preferred tasks are fast, active and exploratory, with information supplied
in multiple forms in parallel. Traditional school-based learning may not meet these demands.

Reference:
Literature Review in Games and Learning (archives-ouvertes.fr)
Literature Review in Gaming Website #2

A video game is usually defined as an electronic game that is played by a controller and
provides user interactions by generating visual feedback. According to Edward Castronova
(2008) in his book of Synthetic Worlds: The Business and Culture of Online Games, he described
online game as Massively-Multiplayer-Online Games (MMOG). An MMOG is a game capable of
supporting hundreds or thousands of players and is mostly played using the Internet.
Nowadays, online games have become extremely popular among the young generation thus
leading to the rise of online game addiction issues especially among the students.
In the research conducted by Ahn and Randall (2008), they were able to discover that
Massively-Multiplayer-Online Games or MMOG affects both the social and academic lifestyles
of students. Based on their surveyed data, students who are addicted in online games
registered more F grades as compared to non-addicted students. This statistics corresponds
with the amount of playing time of addicted students on the MMOGs. Their surveyed data also
shows that approximately 50% of MMOG addicted students were also reported as actively
engaged in a physical altercation. Addicted students are mostly involved in arguments with
their teachers and as well as their friends.
According to  the research conducted by Zhang (2007) and Zhuo (2007) on online game
addiction, the physical symptoms of Internet and online game addiction were were cervical
spondylosis, neurasthenia and insomnia. Cervical spondylosis is a spinal injury caused by having
the same sitting position for hours while playing games. On the other hand, Neurasthenia is a
psychological disorder marked especially by easy fatigability and often by lack of motivation,
feelings of inadequacy, and psychosomatic symptoms. It results from when players engage in
hours and hours of game playing with no virtually sleep intervals in between. This causes sleep
sensitivity and disorders which induce addicted players to wake up several times during the
night and as such this leads them suffering from insomnia which can cause mental anxiety and
eventually result in nervous breakdowns and general tiredness.
In cebu, online game addiction is also becoming an issue. In one of the episode of I-Wtiness,
Kara David was able to interview youngsters namely Doc, Mark and Ice who resort to illegal
activities just to fund their addiction to online gaming. Doc, Mark and Ice are part of a young
generation spending a lot of their time on computer games. Some of them undergo illegal
activities to fund their vices and they can go on gaming for 24-hours without any sleep. 22-year-
old Doc is a scavenger and vagrant, but once he gets his money out of collecting garbage, he
goes to his favorite Internet shop to play. Mark, 20, is an out of school youth. He lost his
investment money and stole from his mother to pay for his Internet rentals. Fourteen-year-old
Ice says he gets his money from homosexuals in exchange for sexual favors.
In one of the article of PhilStar which is “Battle on Vs Kids’ online games addiction”, Samuel
Pagdilao (Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) director Chief
Superintendent) stressed the need for measures to protect children from being hooked on
online computer games. He said many children spend hours in a computer shop playing online
games.
According to Bachhuber and Saulnier (2012), playing online games is an effective way of
enhancing a student’s reading comprehension. Through formative testing, they found out that
online games can help a student improve his/her grammar, vocabulary and comprehension
because they can have an interactive way to learn English or any other language.

Reference:
Review of Related Literature – Online Game Addiction (wordpress.com)
Literature Review in Gaming Website #3

Internet usage has increased tremendously and rapidly in the past decade (“Internet Use Over
Time,” 2014). Websites have become the most important public communication portal for
most, if not all, businesses and organizations. As of 2014, 87% of American adults aged 18 or
older are Internet users (“Internet User Demographics,” 2013). Because business-to-consumer
interactions mainly occur online, website design is critical in engaging users (Flavián, Guinalíu, &
Gurrea, 2006; Lee & Kozar, 2012; Petre, Minocha, & Roberts, 2006). Poorly designed websites
may frustrate users and result in a high “bounce rate”, or people visiting the entrance page
without exploring other pages within the site (Google.com, 2015). On the other hand, a well-
designed website with high usability has been found to positively influence visitor retention
(revisit rates) and purchasing behavior (Avouris, Tselios, Fidas, & Papachristos, 2003; Flavián et
al., 2006; Lee & Kozar, 2012).
Little research, however, has been conducted to define the specific elements that constitute
effective website design. One of the key design measures is usability (International
Standardization Organization, 1998). The International Standardized Organization (ISO) defines
usability as the extent to which users can achieve desired tasks (e.g., access desired information
or place a purchase) with effectiveness (completeness and accuracy of the task), efficiency
(time spent on the task), and satisfaction (user experience) within a system. However, there is
currently no consensus on how to properly operationalize and assess website usability (Lee &
Kozar, 2012). For example, Nielson associates usability with learnability, efficiency,
memorability, errors, and satisfaction (Nielsen, 2012). Yet, Palmer (2002) postulates that
usability is determined by download time, navigation, content, interactivity, and
responsiveness. Similar to usability, many other key design elements, such as scannability,
readability, and visual aesthetics, have not yet been clearly defined (Bevan, 1997; Brady &
Phillips, 2003; Kim, Lee, Han, & Lee, 2002), and there are no clear guidelines that individuals can
follow when designing websites to increase engagement.
This review sought to address that question by identifying and consolidating the key website
design elements that influence user engagement according to prior research studies. This
review aimed to determine the website design elements that are most commonly shown or
suggested to increase user engagement. Based on these findings, we listed and defined a short
list of website design elements that best facilitate and predict user engagement. The work is
thus an exploratory research providing definitions for these elements of website design and a
starting point for future research to reference.

The literature review uncovered 20 distinct design elements commonly discussed in research
that affect user engagement. They were (1) organization – is the website logically organized, (2)
content utility – is the information provided useful or interesting, (3) navigation – is the website
easy to navigate, (4) graphical representation – does the website utilize icons, contrasting
colors, and multimedia content, (5) purpose – does the website clearly state its purpose (i.e.
personal, commercial, or educational), (6) memorable elements – does the website facilitate
returning users to navigate the site effectively (e.g., through layout or graphics), (7) valid links –
does the website provide valid links, (8) simplicity – is the design of the website simple, (9)
impartiality – is the information provided fair and objective, (10) credibility – is the information
provided credible, (11) consistency/reliability – is the website consistently designed (i.e., no
changes in page layout throughout the site), (12) accuracy – is the information accurate, (13)
loading speed – does the website take a long time to load, (14) security/privacy – does the
website securely transmit, store, and display personal information/data, (15) interactive – can
the user interact with the website (e.g., post comments or receive recommendations for similar
purchases), (16) strong user control capabilities– does the website allow individuals to
customize their experiences (such as the order of information they access and speed at which
they browse the website), (17) readability – is the website easy to read and understand (e.g., no
grammatical/spelling errors), (18) efficiency – is the information presented in a way that users
can find the information they need quickly, (19) scannability – can users pick out relevant
information quickly, and (20) learnability – how steep is the learning curve for using the
website. For each of the above, we calculated the proportion of studies mentioning the
element. In this review, we provide a threshold value of 30%. We identified elements that were
used in at least 30% of the studies and include these elements that are above the threshold on
a short list of elements used in research on proper website design. The 30% value was an
arbitrary threshold picked that would provide researchers and designers with a guideline list of
elements described in research on effective web design. To provide further information on how
to apply this list, we present specific details on how each of these elements was discussed in
research so that it can be defined and operationalized.

Reference:
A Literature Review: Website Design and User Engagement (nih.gov)
Literature Review in Gaming Website #4

The advancement of technology has been associated with video gaming since the introduction
of Pac-man and Frogger (Anonymous, “How much do you know about video games?,” para.1).
Prot, Anderson, Gentile, Brown and Swing (2014) stated that video gaming has become a world
phenomenon in the field of entertainment. Video gaming has also been used every day by
millions of people and that it is of great interference in their works in the real world (Eysenbach
et al., 2004). But the rapid rise of technology around the world is inevitable, yet some
professionals are still seeking ways of diminishing the widespread use of video games. The
technology could be in the form of personal computers (PC), gaming consoles (e.g. Play station
portable, Nintendo Wii) and even in phones and tablets. Thus, this could mean that video
games can be accessed in just one click away.
So what are video games and video gamers anyway? According to Shaffer, Halverson, Squire
and Gee (2005), video games are the creation of a simulated world. Simply, it is a world that
promotes pretense to the people since they are to pretend to be someone who are not really
themselves. Also Durkin (as cited by Kato, 2010, p.113) stated that video games, in the fast-
paced progress of technology, have become a part of the education and training of man. On the
other hand, video gamers refer to each individual who engage in the virtual environment with
an hour or more of gaming every day (Granic et al., 2013).
Ever since the introduction of video gaming, many MMORPG (massive multiplayer online role-
playing game) or MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) gained the attention of several gamers
such as the games Guild Wars 2, World of Warcraft and League of Legends. But on July 9, 2013,
Valve Corporation, an American video game developer and now became one of the enormous
game publishers (Lee, 2013), officially released Defense of the Ancients II or famously known by
its acronym DOTA II into the public. It  took a two-year beta testing before it hit online and once
it was fully accessed by the majority of online gamers, it gathered 3 million players who were
already active (Thursten, 2015).
In today’s generation, people of various age are acquainted with the recent growth of video
games. Its introduction was totally embraced by adults and children. According to the NDP
Group (as cited by Granic et al., 2013, p.66), in the united states alone, children of age ranges
from 2 to 17 has 91% of video gamers. With that large percentage in just one country, we can
already deduce that the world of video games is already widespread around the world and that
the young are the most exposed to it. In 2012, Prensky (as cited by Granic et al., 2013, p.69)
coined the term “digital natives” to those persons who are exposed to the unending world of
video games. Kato (2010) stated that the society will mostly think that video games is just for
entertainment.  But Rebetez and Betrancourt (2007) said that video games has not only been
seen as a form of entertainment, but have already been subjected to research studies. Rebetez
and Betrancourt’s idea complements and supplements that of Shaffer et al. (2005) who argued
that to better facilitate the learning in the future, we have to force ourselves to “look beyond
schools to the emerging arena of video games” (para.1) and even the idea of Cameron and
Dwyer (2013) who stated that video gaming could be a good instructional aide at different
levels of education. This could be quite true since we’ve come to the digital age and that people
would mostly rely on technology to find ease in their work Video games, indeed entered the
innovative world as an instrument of the studies of researches from different countries.
Although, many previous researches declared that video games were helpful in some studies,
we must first discuss why adults and children are really entertained by this. According to
Wohlman (2012) in his work entitled ‘Epic Fail’: How Video Games and Internet Overuse Create
Problems with College Students, there are several factors that pushed adults, especially
students to play video games. These factors are: the unlimited access of internet which means
that they could play to their heart’s content, they find freedom in the virtual world from their
parent’s restrictions in the real world, the lack of monitoring and censoring in the virtual world
which makes them safe from gossips and other judgements in the virtual world, and lastly, they
are intimidated by their circle of friends in playing online (peer-pressured or simply being
influenced by friends).
While those factors mentioned above are for the adults, there are also factors why children
engage in video gaming. But their factors are not that far as that of the adults. Some other
reasons why children play are that adults in their household also play video games and that
lead to the curiosity of the children towards the game and the way they perceive the game
design entice them to play. But, if we set aside all those factors that were mentioned by
Wohlman, their consistent definition after playing video games is the word fun (Granic et al.,
2013) since video games “elicit positive emotions” (p.72).
But playing video games is also a product of some reasons like low self-esteem or emotional
problems, poor social relationship and a need for recognition and power. For low self-esteem or
emotional problems, the gamer would usually find escape from his problems and would divulge
himself in the virtual world. For poor social relationship, according to Wohlman (2012), gamers
are given the opportunity to express their own self without worrying since video games respect
the anonymity by the creation of an avatar and the option they give to disclose a little
information about the gamer. For recognition and power, of course the gamer in a MMORPG
would want that. Playing develops the social competence of a person (Granic et al., 2013)
because they all have that urge that makes them want to be victorious in the game and despise
them being the losers of the game.
Video games have already proved itself in offering benefits in terms of cognitive skills,
motivational, emotional and social well-being of a person (Granic et al., 2013). Video gaming,
especially playing action-filled games, fosters the cognitive skills of a person (Granic et al.,
2013). This is because the gaming arena begs to be played with strategy in order to grab
triumph over other teams. By cognitive skills also, this includes the gamers’ mental rotation
abilities, spatial skills, fast visual processing or their reaction times (Granic et al., 2013) and their
hand-eye coordination (Tsung & Wei, 2009). Their motivational skills also benefit from the
gaming arena since gamers feel motivated by wanting to win and even seek for more
recognition when they fail to do their task. In the gamers’ emotions, gaming can also help
through releasing any kinds of stress they are feeling since their minds are preoccupied in the
virtual environment. This would relieve them from stress by feeling aggressive to the game.
Then in the social well-being of the gamers, it is already a given that virtual environments can
help in social support interventions (Eysenbach et al., 2004) by way of communicating online
with strangers from different countries. According to Entertainment Software Association (as
cited by Granic et al., 2013), more than 70% individuals play video games online with friends
and acquaintances.
But despite of the benefits gamers gained from playing video games, some people tend to
disregard these benefits and would always keep an eye on the negative effects of video gaming.
Media can strongly influence and poison our way of thought and feelings that might lead to the
emergence of new behaviors (Prot et al., 2014). According to Anderson, Gentile and Buckley (as
cited by Prot et al., 2014), a longitudinal study of elementary school children are said to be
more exposed in gaming and predicts poorer grades in their school. In 2009, Gentile (as cited by
Prot et al., 2014) stated that children who finds trouble in school decides to spend more time
playing video games in order to gain attention from their parents will lead to poor school
performance. The same goes for Chan and Rabinowitz (as cited by Prot et al., 2014) who stated
that lower academic performance and the amount of game play are associated with each other.
The poor grades of the student in schools may result to their failure in their class standing. The
student might be the lowest in their class ranking or worse, a dropout from school. Now, in
terms of student’s productivity, the result is really negative. Students, when they are already
tuned into video gaming, they would already have the mindset of skipping classes, homework
and household chores just to play online (Wohlman, 2012). The productivity is already
deteriorated since video gaming intervenes them from things that are more important. By just
sitting on a chair and facing the screens of their PC’s, gaming consoles and the like, they are
already wasting a large amount of time (Anastasia & Chaplin, 2005). Another negative effect of
video gaming is found in the health of the gamer. If gaming is overused, this may lead to dry
eyes, headaches, back aches, eating irregularities and sleep disturbances (Wohlman, 2012). But
let us turn our focus with dry eyes and sleep disturbances. Due to the radiation emitted by their
PC’s and gaming consoles and long hours of exposure to it, the gamers’ eyes are the ones to
suffer the most. And while the gamer spends a lot of time gaming, it would be hard for him to
stop what he has started, so he will sacrifice his sleeping hours just to seek self-enjoyment and
contentment.
After several scanning and reading of different papers and articles, the researcher could now
point what specific reason that lead to the widespread influence of video gaming from children
to adults all over the world. This is because of the enticing nature of the game design of every
game. It is also because of the role playing theme of the game that develops their sense of
empathy on understanding the viewpoints of people just by acting out their chosen character of
the game, and the simulated environment that gives them the opportunity to try different roles
and commit mistakes without thinking any dire consequences (Kato, 2010).
With this much information about the world of video games, it is of greatest help to the
researcher in finding a solution or an alternative that could diminish the widespread use of
video games especially the young. This research study would be one of the many solutions to
lessen the burden of the parents and guardians of the children, especially the students who
were strayed from their studies.
 

Reference:
https://sites.google.com/site/rogueliterary/review-of-related-literature-video-gaming
Literature Review in Gaming Website #5

As people increasingly play online games, numerous new features have been proposed to increase
players' log-on time at online gaming sites. However, few studies have investigated why people
continue to play certain online games or which design features are most closely related to the
amount of time spent by players at particular online gaming sites. This study proposes a theoretical
model using the concepts of customer loyalty, flow, personal interaction, and social interaction to
explain why people continue to play online network games. The study then conducts a large-scale
survey to validate the model. Finally, it analyzes current online games to identify design features that
are closely related to the theoretical concepts. The results indicate that people continue to play
online games if they have optimal experiences while playing the games. This optimal experience can
be attained if the player has effective personal interaction with the system or pleasant social
interactions with other people connected to the Internet. Personal interaction can be facilitated by
providing appropriate goals, operators and feedback; social interaction can be facilitated through
appropriate communication places and tools. This paper ends with the implications of applying the
study results to other domains such as e-commerce and cyber communities.