Outline 1. Introduction: Video Games: A. Purpose of the project...*page number* B. Reasons for choosing this topic. 2. Content: A.

Video Games General: 1) What are video games? 2) Gaming and video game culture 3) Video games statistics B. History of Video Games C. Video game genres D. Video game industry nowadays 1) The video game industry 2) Video game platforms 3) The most successful companies and video games E. The impacts of video games 1) Positive influences 2) Negative influences 3. Closing Summary: A. Conclusion and personal opinion B. Reflection

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Introduction
Purpose of the project This project is about video games. Video games and gaming in general have a lot of different aspects and we decided that in our project we will focus on each aspect and that we won't miss even one small detail. We would like to find out many new things about gaming that hopefully will make us to like and appreciate video games and the video game industry even more than we do. Our main research question is "What don't we know about video games?" because we suppose that even though we are video game players we don't know a thing about this wide subject. In order to achieve this goal we will answer different questions such as "How video games affects people?" and "How much big the video game industry is?". We will review the video game industry nowadays and see how small companies have developed into big and appreciated companies. We will also review the ways that video games can change a person's life for the good or the bad. In this project you'll learn and discover anything you can about video games and we hope that you will enjoy reading it as much as we will while writing it.

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Reasons for choosing this topic The main reason for why we chose this particular subject of video games is also the most crucial one. We are gamers (video game players) from a very young age and we enjoy playing video games since we remember ourselves. When we were asked to choose a subject for the project this was the first thing that came to our minds as an idea for a project subject. We think that this subject is very unique and rich. In our opinion, this subject is truly remarkable and worth exploring for many reasons that drove us to pick it for our project, there are a lot of things to explore in video games; for instance while drawing the outline of the project we came across many secondary subjects, that we had to choose those which were the most important. Another reason for picking this subject is our desire to know more about one of the main interests in our lives. We want to learn more about the video game companies we love, the genres of games that we usually play, and especially the history of the video game industry. We hope we will.

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Video Games
What are Video Games? A video game is an electronic game that involves human interaction with an interface to generate visual feedback. The first video-game was created in the 1950s, while nowadays, video

games are one of the leading forms of entertainment in terms of both popularity and total revenue. In
addition, although most of the video games are developed by big and rich companies; in the last years there has been a grow in successful games developed by independent developers. Some people consider video-games as a very special interactive art, and that is because the "viewer" in video games is an integral and active part of the art. Developing video games requires a team of artists, designers, programmers and so on. Video games also have competitions which are called "Electronic sports". Most of the Electronic sports' competitions are associated with competitive games (in which more than one player can play). For some video-games, official competition in the form of leagues and tournaments were organized by an official organization. Although most video games are meant for entertainment purposes, some video games are created for educational purposes, these games combine entertainment with education that system encourages children to widen their horizons.

Gaming and the Video Games Culture The word "Gaming" means the area of video games. "Gamer" is anyone who plays video games as a hobby, on a regular basis. The video games culture is a significance part of the popular culture (the mainstream culture). The video games culture has evolved in time
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particularly in connection with the internet culture. The impact of this culture can be seen in politics, television, music and movies. Examples for this culture: There are many video game museums around the world, for example "Museum of Soviet Arcade Machines" in Moscow or Computer Game Museum in Berlin (in the picture).

In addition, many words and acronyms have been developed through video games and are part of the "Gaming Slang". An example of the "Gaming Slang" is the word "LOL" which is an Acronym for "Laughing Out Loud". The "Gaming Slang" is a part of the internet slang. Video game statistics The following statistics are correct as of 2011, according to different studies which were conducted in the USA and all over the world: 58% of the gamers are male and 42% are female. 71% of people whose age six to forty-nine in the U.S. played video games. 55% of gamers playing video games on their phones or mobile devices. The average age of players across the globe is mid to late 20s, and is increasing as older players grow in numbers. The average gamer spends 8 hours a week playing video games.

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History of Video Games

The first video games (1940s 1960s) The first video game was developed in 1947 by Thomas T. Goldsmith and Estle Ray Mann, the game was inspired by the radar display technology that was used during World War 2. In 1952 an implementation of the game, known as tic-tac-toe, was written by Alexander S. Douglas as an illustration for his PhD, the game was called "OXO", and it was the first graphical game to run on a computer. In 1958, the game tennis for two was developed by an American physicist. The game simulates a game of tennis or ping pong. In the late fifties to the sixties, most video games were developed by individuals at their free time. In 1962, the game "Spacewar!" was developed by Steve Russel, it was a two player game in which each player takes control of a spaceship and attempting to destroy the other. The first video-games consoles (1970s) In 1967, Ralph Baer wrote the first video game played on a television set; the game was called "Chase". This game ran on the first videogame console "Magnavox Odyssey". Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney founded "Atari" in 1972, than they released their game: "Pong". "Pong" was the first arcade video-game with widespread success (19,000 Pong machines was sold). The game was based on table tennis. The golden age of the arcade games (1970s-1980s) The golden age of the arcade games came in 1979, when a Japanese video-game developer developed the game "Space Invaders". Atari's response was the game "Asteroids". In 1980 the game "Pac-man" (in the picture ), which was developed by the Japanese company Namco, was released. In this decade there
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were game-machines almost everywhere. The arcade games became a profitable business, the arcade video-game industry was generating annual revenue of billions of dollars. Home Computers (1980s) The arcade-games' companies weren't the only to enjoy this success; many independent video-games for home computers were released: 3D Monster Maze the first 3D game for home computers (in the picture). Zork a text-based adventure videogame. Mystery House an adventure videogame involving pictures from text. In 1982, the Commodore 64 was marketed and it became the most popular personal computer in the eighties. Many personal computer were marketed at this time such as IBM's "PC compatible" computers The home computers' market grew significantly through the eighties, one of the reasons was that the consoles' market experienced a very severe crash in this decade. Video game crash of 1983 At the end of 1983, the industry of video-games consoles experienced severe losses and several companies that produced North American home computers and video game consoles were gone bankrupt. The causes for this crash include the production of poorly designed games. The video-games consoles market (1985-1990) In 1985, the American Video Game Console market was revived with Nintendos release of the NES. It was bundled with Super Mario Bros. (in the picture ) and instantly became a success. In 1986 to 1987 the games: Final Fantasy, Zelda and Metal Gear

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Solid were released. These games were the first game of their successful franchises. The video-games market (1990s) The 1990s were a decade of innovation in video gaming. It was a decade of transition from raster graphics to 3D graphics and gave rise to several genres of video games including first-person shooter, realtime strategy, and MMO. In this decade, the option of internet competitive multiplayer in videogames evolved. Another area which grew in those years is the browser games. The video-games consoles market (1994-1999) In 1994, Sony released the first "Playstation", and SEGA released the "Sega Saturn". Sony's Playstation became a popular console, and only its successor the Playstation 2 (in the picture) succeeded recreating its success in the 2000s.

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Video Games Genres

Action An action game is defined by its large amount of explosions, wars and dramatic twists. This type of game requires players to use quick reflexes, accuracy, hand-eye coordination, and timing to overcome obstacles. It is perhaps the most basic of gaming genres. Action games tend to have gameplay* with emphasis on combat. There are many sub-genres of action games, such as fighting games and first-person shooters. The most popular sub-genre in this genre is first-person shooter (like Call of Duty which is the best-selling series in the world).
*Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game.

Action-adventure Action-adventure games are a combination of both the action and adventure genres. These kind of games have elements of their two component genres combined, typically featuring long-term obstacles that must be overcome using a tool or item (which is collected earlier), as well as many smaller obstacles almost constantly in the way, that require elements of action games to overcome. Action-adventure usually contain quests and missions that are part of the main storyline. Action-adventure games tend to focus on exploration and usually involve item gathering, puzzle solving, and combat. "Action-adventure" has become a label which is sometimes attached to games which do not fit into another well known genre. The first action-adventure game was the Atari 2600 game Adventure (1979).

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Role-playing The Role-playing genre has different themes like monsters, dragons, magic and sorcery. Roleplaying video games draw their gameplay from traditional roleplaying games like "Dungeons & Dragons". Most of those games cast the player in the role of one or more "adventurers" who specialize in specific skill sets (such as melee combat or casting magic spells) while progressing through a complex storyline. Gameplay elements strongly associated with Role-playing video games, such as statistical character development through the acquisition of experience points, have been widely adapted to other genres such as action-adventure games. Examples of popular RPGs games are World of Warcraft and Maple Story.

Strategy Strategy is the most ancient game genre which started with board games like Chess. Strategy video games focus on gameplay requiring careful and skillful thinking and planning in order to achieve victory. In most strategy video games the player is given a godlike view of the game world, indirectly controlling the units under his command. Real time strategy games are often a multiple unit selection game with a sky view (view looking down from above) but some recent games such as "Tom Clancy's EndWar", are single unit selection and third person view. The strategy genre has a large fan-base which waited 12 years for a strategy game called "Startcraft II".

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Video game industry nowadays

Video Game Industry The video game industry consists the development, marketing and sales of video games. It includes video game consoles, game software and mobile games. Nowadays, video games are one of the leading forms of entertainment in terms of both popularity and total revenue. Over the years, the video game industry has rapidly and continuously grown and improved. As for 2012, the total revenue of the video game industry is 67$ billion and about 65% of the United States households play video games. Those numbers are expected to grow even farther in the future.

While many people believe that creating a video game is done mostly by programmers, there is a large number of activities and jobs needed to start a video game: art designers, producers, developers, testers and level designers. After the game is done, there is also need of marketing and publishing in order to make the game successful and profitable. In addition to the game software, the video game industry is also about developing game consoles that will provide a better gaming experience, like better graphics and better interaction between the player and the game.

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Video game platforms Today there are three main video game platforms: personal computers, video game consoles (both stationary and handheld) and mobile phones. Those platforms display the video game on a screen and allow the player to interact with the game in different ways: mouse and keyboard, controllers, and even touch and movement. Personal Computer: any general purpose computer that most of the people own. Most of the video games that come out nowadays are developed to run on PC, and while some of them require a powerful, high performance computer in order to run, there are also video games that can be run on any average PC. The interaction with the game is done by mouse and keyboard the standard input devices for PC. In addition to video games that running on the PC itself, there are also online games - like Facebook applications, for example. Video game consoles: customized computer systems that were made especially for playing video games. There are stationary console, that usually display the game on a TV screen (in the picture ), and handheld consoles that display the game on screen of their own (in the picture ). Both offer the best gaming experience and provide both better graphics and better interaction than the other platforms. The interaction with the game is done by a controller, movement, or both - depends on the console. A new version of each console is coming out every few years in order to include the latest technology and the best gaming experience. The current console generation includes: Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Wii, Nintendo DS, PSP.

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 Mobile Phones: Most of the mobile phones from the recent years are also gaming machines, and many of them provide a great gaming experience. The games are either purchased or downloaded for free from the application store. Playing video games on mobile phones became very popular in the recent years, mostly thanks to the availability of mobile phones which are always with us wherever we go. The interaction with the game is done by touch and movement in most of the new phones, and by buttons in the older phones. Mobile phone games are usually casual and easy to play - what makes them even more popular. Successful video games and companies While there are a lot of companies out there that create video games, some of them are very famous and successful. Those companies usually developed a lot of games, but most of them became well known and successful thanks to one or two hits. Electronic Arts thanks to FIFA and Sims: Electronic Arts is currently the most popular video games company. Their big hits are FIFA - the famous football game that comes out every year for all platforms, and Sims - a very popular life simulation video game series. Activision thanks to Call of Duty: Activision is one of the most popular video games company especially thanks to their game series Call of Duty - first person shooter game that offer an excellent multiplayer experience. Rockstar Games thanks to GTA: Rockstar Games is a well known game developer and publisher. The company is known mostly for their game series Grand Theft Auto a crime game in which the player has to complete missions in order to progress through the game.
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The Impacts of video games

Positive influences Video games as an education tool Not all video-games are just about violence and earning money for it; today many games are arcade-thinking games, these games require thinking in a level that pupils are not required at school. Moreover through the video game they are encouraged to think, in order to achieve the goal of the game. One of the best selling games of 2011 was Portal 2 a non-violent thinking video game (in the picture). In addition, some video games are based on an actual history period, and when a child learn through playing about the culture and the environment of an historical era it is much more effective than a teacher lecturing about this era in a lesson. Another thing that many video games players acquires is a enhanced English vocabulary. Video games has no Hebrew dubbing or subtitles, therefore the player must know the spoken language (mostly English) in order to follow the plot. Positive biological influences Improving motor skills A research which was conducted in an Australian university found that who play interactive video games, such as those available on Wii for instance, have better motor skills. Another research found that was conducted on surgeons found that surgeons who played video games were 27 percent faster and made 37 percent fewer errors than those who didn't. Relieving Pain According to an American study video games and virtual reality experiences can be as helpful as pain relievers in children and adults.

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Improving Eyesight In 2007, a study had found that just 30 hours of playing a first-person shooter can result in a significant boost to the ability to see clearly small objects. Another study found that playing video games improves the vision of adults with lazy eye. Making Faster Decisions A study from the University of Rochester has found that people who play video games make correct decisions faster. Moreover, it develops the skill of multitasking. Tackling Mental Illnesses In an Australian study, 94 children young people diagnosed with depression played a role-playing video game. It was observed that the game reduced symptoms of depression more than conventional treatment. Another study from the Oxford University found that playing "Tetris" shortly after exposure to something traumatic can prevent PTSD-related flashbacks. Negetive Influences Crime and violence One of the most common criticisms of video games comes from those that believe they increase violent tendencies among youth. Many video games center violence and crime. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002) is an example of a video game that caused controversy, it brought up the debate surrounding its violent gameplay, and for encouraging racist hate crimes. The game involves a gang war between Haitians and Cuban, and it involves racism and violence against these groups. Through the years, many studies found a connection between video games to violence and serious aggression. In addition, many games involve drugs and encourage teenager to commit other severe crimes.

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Sexual themes and chauvinism Sexual themes in video games are much less tolerated in the USA than violent themes. An example for a game, that aroused a big discussion surrounding it, is Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas in which there was a part allowing the player to simulate sex with the main character's girlfriends. As a result, the game was pulled out of many stores and the games' company posted big loss this year. In addition to sexual themes, it is claimed that general representations of gender in video games are stereotyped. Male characters are portrayed as hard bodied, muscled men while female characters are portrayed as well shaped bodied, nearly naked women with large breasts. Addiction Video game addiction is an excessive use of computer and video games that interferes with daily life. The addicted, usually, isolating himself from family and friends or any form of social activity, he focuses himself only on the games' achievements and goals.

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Draft of the Bibliography

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_culture http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game

http://www.esrb.org/about/images/vidGames04.png http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaming_computer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_video_games http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_genres http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_games_industry // http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Theft_Auto_(series) // http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Call_of_Duty // http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFA_(video_game_series) http://www.esrb.org/about/video-game-industry-statistics.jsp http://vgsales.wikia.com/wiki/Video_game_industry http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_publisher http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_console http://ds.about.com/od/glossary/g/Action-Game.htm http://www.examiner.com/article/the-definition-and-meaning-of-theaction-game-genre http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/09/10/5-reasons-video-games-areactually-good-for-you http://www.deakin.edu.au/news/2012/240712childrenmotorskills.php http://www.esrb.org/about/images/vidGames04.png http://www.oecd.org/edu/ceri/39414891.pdf http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_controversies

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