Eri Shulga

Abstract

In this paper the various aspects of video games in modern day households will be discussed. According to marketing trends, video games will be extremely influential in the future of home entertainment, however not all gaming companies are able to understand the importance of this growing trend deep enough to make an effort in producing family-oriented1 video games [43, par. 2]. The need for more varied video games will be discussed in this paper and examples of successful family games will be used to solidify research conclusions.

There are issues that are clearly holding the video gaming industry back from developing further faster. Among these are the inequalities in game design itself in terms of gender. Even though there are some games targeting females specifically, there are still not enough female-oriented games on the market in order to satisfy the growing demand. In order to determine the right path for video game designers to correctly satisfy the void in the market, materials on gender issues will be reviewed closely in this paper and suggestions on improvements will be provided.

There are other issues that prevent video games from being fully accepted into everyday culture. The biggest one is the belief that violent video games lead to violent behavior in children. This argument will be examined from both sides of the issue and appropriate suggestions for game makers will be provided.

If video games shall become the center of home entertainment, they will achieve better results if they are family-oriented vs. traditional, male oriented, games. The above could be accomplished by developing games that could be enjoyed by the whole family. Examples and suggestions will be given on how to do that, including marketing research and various usability techniques that could aid in better understanding and design of video games.

Among other issues, the one of access (can users get the games?) and availability (are games available to users?) will be discussed. The reasons that prevent people from acquiring certain consoles range between the poor quality of games to the lack of broadband in some areas. These and other roadblocks will be discussed and the appropriate suggestions will be presented in order to fix the situation.

Even though the world of video games is largely divided between computer (PC) games and console games, this paper will primarily focus on consoles. It will also illustrate various theories that support the notion of console games being the center of home entertainment as opposed to computer games.

Overall, this paper will supply answers to some questions about video games but will also provide various suggestions on what needs to be implemented in order for video games to become more accepted worldwide.

1 Games that can be played by all members of the family, young and old, with different levels of game mastery, different tastes, and preferences. This would be straying away from traditional male dominated industry.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Video games--Social aspects; Video games--Economic aspects; Home entertainment industry; Family recreation

Publication Date

2005

Document Type

Thesis

Student Type

- Please Select One -

Advisor

Evelyn Rozanski

Advisor/Committee Member

Andy Phelps

Advisor/Committee Member

Anne Haake

Campus

RIT – Main Campus

Plan Codes

INFOST-MS

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