An interesting world of computer games

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Computer games are games played on or using electronic devices, such as gaming consoles, smart phones, tablets, virtual reality headsets, or personal computers. They can be played on the internet, local area networks, or offline.¹

Major types of computer games

Computer games vary widely. They can be of any types, from complex online worlds with multiple players (known as massively multiplayer online [MMO] games), to simple single-player puzzles. Computer games vary along dimensions including the degree of narrative or character development, length and complexity, and genre or type of game.²

There are many classes of computer games. Common examples are listed in the following table:

Common types of computer games³

Types of game	Description
Massive Multiplayer Online (MMO)	Players interact with one another in a virtual game world, which is often large and expanding. Creating MMOs can involve thousands of hours of programming and due to interactions and multiple pathways, each game experience will be different.
Adventure, action and shooter games	These terms refer to different genres of game, often set in fantasy, wartime or other adventure worlds. Players complete challenges, defeat enemies or build up points to advance levels. These can be single or multiplayer games, often played on computers or gaming devices such as PlayStation.
Exergames	Exergames utilize technology that traces bodily movement so that players can engage in virtual sports including baseball, bowling, soccer, skiing and non-sport settings, such as their own home. Exergames involve physical exertion and, as players progress through the various skill levels, can involve mimicking real professional athletes, e.g., in Wii-based exergames.
Casual video games and puzzles	These can be single or multiplayer games. They often involve multiple levels, completed over short periods of time and increasing in difficulty. These games are often played on mobile phones and involve simple, repeated actions.
Augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and simulations	AR games involve the integration of fantasy elements into the real-world via an AR-enabled mobile phone or console. A popular example is Pokémon GO. In VR games, players are physically immersed in a three-dimensional artificial environment accessed via technology including VR headsets, sensor-equipped gloves and hand controllers. Simulation games can include AR or VR and involve taking control of simulations in real-world contexts, from driving armed vehicles and using sophisticated weapons to performing surgical procedures. Simulation games are often used for professional training purposes.

Source: Theresa Fleming, ... Liesje Donkin, in Reference Module in Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Psychology, 2020

Economics of computer game. How much is gaming industry worth?

It was the rise of the internet and mobile that grew the gaming industry from tens of billions to hundreds of billions in revenue. The following graph visualizes the rise of revenue of computer games:

Want to earn money by playing computer games?

While you can make money playing video games, it isn't easy. Here are some options, how to know whether they're right for you.

In today's world, it's certainly possible to earn money by playing video games. But the truth is that doing so is hard work. For every success story, there are hundreds of others who tried and failed. In addition, gaming is not recommended as primary income, because of its uncertainty.

Here are several potential ways you can start earning money by playing computer games.

1. Get paid to live stream

Anyone can stream their gameplay in real-time. Aim to build a large audience (which you can monetize with ads) or a loyal audience (to monetize with donations and subscriptions). The biggest platform for streaming is Twitch, but YouTube is also an option.

But it's not easy. It takes a long time to build a live stream audience. You may not break 10 concurrent viewers for several months, and you may not get 100 viewers at a time for years. The reality is that most streamers never reach that point, and to earn a living by streaming video games, you'll need thousands of regular viewers.

2. Try your hand at games journalism

Want to be a writer? Either join an existing media outlet or site, or launch your own and start writing news, reviews, and interviews for a specific game, genre, or industry. If writing for an existing site, you can get paid on a per-article basis as a freelancer. If starting your own site, you can monetize your traffic with ads, Patreon subscriptions, or similar.

Earning a living writing about games is not easy. However, you can try your hand!

3. Create video game guides and tutorials

Many newcomers to gaming love reading guides. So, there is a market for earning money by providing useful information that these people want to learn.

You can take several routes for game guides, such as creating a website for written guides, uploading video guides to YouTube, or publishing guides as ebooks. The first two are often monetized with ads and/or donations, whereas the ebook route earns revenue through sales.

Easier said than done! To make any kind of money from it, you need to create guides for popular games, but the more popular the game, the more competition you'll run into. To set your guides apart, you'll need to offer more insight than others can provide, which means investing a lot of time and setting yourself up as an expert.

On top of that, you'll need strong writing skills. Guides need to be dense and comprehensive, but also entertaining and comprehensible. Formatting skills are imperative, whether you're publishing ebooks or writing for the web.

4. Win gaming tournaments and acquire sponsorships

Tournaments are commonplace for PvP titles, like fighting games. Of course, the more popular the game, the larger the prize pools become. If you're skilled enough to join a sports organization, you may be able to earn a livable salary through winnings and sponsorships.

However, not everyone has what it takes to win. You can be a world-class player and still get knocked out early in a tournament and leave with zero winnings. If you aren't consistently at the top, forget about living off the winnings.

5. Sell accounts or digital items

If you have spent enough time in some games, you might be able to ‘flip’ your account or in-game items to other players. For example, you can resell some Steam Trading Cards earned by playing games to players who want to collect them. While you won't make huge money from this, you might be able to earn enough to cover your next game purchase.

You may also be able to sell accounts. For example, in Overwatch, the practice of using a "smurf" account (a secondary account that's ranked much lower than the player's actual skill level) is common. Since you must reach a certain level to play competitive matches, players who want to smurf might look to buy an account to save them time.

Gaming can be dangerous addiction

Many people, including parents, believe that video games expand the imagination, give children the opportunity to work collaboratively, and sharpen cognitive skills. Yet when young people spend most of their time playing computer games at the expense of schoolwork, physical exercise, family events, or social activities, the benefits of gaming seem less certain.

A number of experts are of the opinion, that computer game addiction can be considered a type of impulse control disorder.⁴

The source of the addictive quality of gaming is still unknown, but researchers propose that the process of playing and winning these games may trigger a release of dopamine, a brain chemical that elevates mood and provides a rush of energy. Dopamine is the same neurotransmitter involved in other addictive activities, such as alcohol or drug abuse.

Video game addiction is not currently recognized as an addictive disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the definitive guide to psychiatric illness. But an obsessive preoccupation with games at the expense of real-life activities or obligations shares some of the characteristics of addictive behavior. How can a parent tell when gaming has stopped being simple entertainment and become an addiction? Here are a few of the key warning signs to watch for:

Poor performance at school, work, or household responsibilities as a result of a preoccupation with gaming
Neglect of other hobbies or friendships
A decline in personal hygiene or grooming
Inability to set limits on how much time is spent gaming
Signs of irritability, anxiety, or anger when forced to stop gaming, even for brief periods of time
The need to spend more time playing games or to play more intensely in order to get the same level of enjoyment
Symptoms of physical or psychological withdrawal, such as loss of appetite, sleeplessness, agitation, or emotional outbursts if the game is taken away
Using video games as a way to escape stressful situations at work or school, or conflicts at home.⁵

Health risks of gaming

Compulsive video gaming can have negative effects on a developing mind or body. Adult players, too, may suffer from the effects of hours spent sitting on the couch or at a computer desk. Listed below are a few of the key concerns for younger players:

Sedentary lifestyle: Hours spent sitting at a computer or in front of a device can take a toll on a young person’s body. The lack of physical exercise involved in video gaming has led to public health concerns about weight gain, poor posture, and an increased risk of type 2 diabetes children and teens.
Lack of social engagement: Although video games require engaging with others in computerized environments, they don’t necessarily prepare children and teens for the realities of socializing with their peers. Learning how to interact with others in a real-world setting is an important social skill that may be neglected by individuals who spend too much time gaming.
Problems with concentration and attention: There is some concern that the rapid movements and fast-paced action of video games promote a loss of concentration in players. Adolescence who spend a lot of time playing video games may become less interested in reading books, for example, which requires more focused, prolonged attention.
Avoidance of developmental tasks: Adolescence is a time of self-discovery and personal development. In order to become mature adults who can take on the challenges of life, teenagers must learn how to confront painful emotions and awkward social experiences. When video gaming is used as an escape mechanism, it allows children to avoid the developmental challenges of growing up.
Increased aggression or violence: Children and teens who devote a lot of time to playing video games that focus on combat, fighting, or violence may display more signs of aggression than those who don’t play these games.
Seizures and repetitive stress injuries: The British Medical Journal (BMJ) published an article about the risks of video gaming for players who have epilepsy or other seizure disorders. The flickering graphics, lights, and colors of video game displays may trigger seizure activity in some players. There is also evidence that compulsive game playing may lead to repetitive stress injuries of the wrists or hands.
Coping skill reduction: by utilizing video games to avoid difficult problems and feelings, affected adolescents fail to learn healthy coping skills. Kids and teens need to learn coping skills to avoid turning toward addictive substances, including video games, drugs and alcohol during stressful times. Video games provide a brief reprieve from stress, which may trick the brain into thinking that practice, is healthy and sustainable. Unfortunately, without strong coping techniques such as mindfulness adolescents may never learn how to actually deal with life’s problems and may rather simply ignore them or turn back to gaming itself for stress relief. ⁶

Nearly every teenager in urban areas of Nepal has access to electronic devices. Those devices can often become the most important component of their lives at the expense of everything else.

Unfortunately, like other addictions, the immediate accessibility, engaging nature and rewards of gaming and online connections can sometimes hijack a developing brain making it the activity of choice at the expense of other crucial developmental activities.

Without timely and thorough intervention, teens can suffer serious adverse effects from gaming addiction. The impact of those effects could last a lifetime if not addressed.

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