Game Cheat & Hint: Story

It is a common scene in most households with teenagers that parents will observe their adolescents glued to the latest video game for hours on end, at the detriment of chores, homework or social interaction. Many parents assume that video games are unproductive and that their kids spend too much time playing them and not on other things. It seems that digital entertainment may have some effects on teenagers that are not bad at all. In fact, research shows that digital games might help teenagers develop great skills that will come handy on day to day life. This is a subject definitely worth looking more into.

Society has even gone so far in its controversial view of video games as to suggest that games are responsible for violent behavior in young people. No matter what your stance on this type of entertainment is, there is little data to substantiate the claims that video games are responsible for violent youth. If anything youth who were already violent to begin with are attracted to violent materials, TV, media, or other violent activities.

For many parents it is hard to see the appeal or the benefits of their kids playing digital games. But research shows that certain kinds of games may be educational and actually stimulate the prefrontal cortex, a region of the brain responsible for what is called executive function. Executive function refers to the ability to integrate multiple stimuli, organize and analyze them, and determine an appropriate response or course of action, taking into account the probable consequences of the action taken. Most parents would be ecstatic if their teenager possessed those seemingly rare abilities. And parents are correct in assuming that this behavior does not happen as frequently in adolescents as in adults, because the adolescent brain has not fully developed this region yet.

Not all video games offer the benefits of prefrontal cortex development, and there certainly are video games that offer little to no benefits whatsoever. But, if you have a teen who is a gamer, and you want to determine if his games are worthwhile or not, ask to play with him. Have him teach you how the game works and what is involved. You might even find it challenging and engaging yourself. If certain video games can actually enhance brain development, maybe then parents will be more accepting of the hours glued to the "Executive Function Machine".

Matt Keck, MFT, is the Clinical Director at Cielo House located in Belmont and San Jose, California. Cielo House offers intensive, professional eating disorder treatment in a comfortable home-like setting. Cielo House is a special kind of treatment program, offering a unique combination of professional treatment delivery in a welcoming, personal environment. http://www.cielohouse.com/

If you've ever had an idea for a product that would take the gaming world by storm, "Game Dev Story" gives you the outlet to pursue this dream virtually with your Android phone. Kairosoft's simulation gives you tools to build your company from the ground up and make your mark in the industry. Making the right personnel choices, coupled with balancing in-house development with contract work for other developers, is key to gaining market dominance while winning over critics and fans.

You begin by selecting a genre, then a type, which is the subgenre of your new game. Your games are most likely to become hits when you combine genres and types that intuitively go together. For example, an action genre with a martial arts type is likely to be profitable, while combining the shooter genre with the romance type is much riskier. Once your company is financially secure, you can occasionally try the riskier combinations. While that romance-themed shooter isn't a guaranteed success, you'll still gain points that you can spend to improve future games with the same genre or type, increasing their chances of market success.

Each of your staff members has a different area of expertise, such as graphic design or coding, and statistics such as "Proficiency" and "Sound" reflect their proficiency in those development skills. Over time, staff members gain experience in their core skills, much the same as characters do in a role-playing game, and attain new levels in their professions. Don't hesitate to fire your first staff members and replace them with more skilled personnel once you have the money to do so. While it may seem less expensive to allow your starting staff to improve their stats through gaining development experience, it's more cost-effective in the long run to fire your weaker staff members and incur a large one-time cost to hire an experienced developer.

Contract work provides income and points you can use to raise your staff's statistics, but you need to ensure that your contract jobs won't interfere with your core business. Limit yourself to accepting assignments that take 10 weeks or less to complete. This ensures that you'll be able to keep your clients happy while steadily introducing new games to the marketplace. The holiday season is the most profitable time of year, so manage your time commitments to allow you to do contract work for a month or two in the early summer, then give yourself a four-month window to develop a hot new release for Christmas shoppers.

The simulation gives you 20 years to complete your project. Once a year, a traveling salesman will visit your company offering gadgets and accessories. Every game you develop has its own statistics, such as "Fun" and "Sound," that reflect those aspects of quality in the finished game. The salesman's items can increase the statistics of the game you're currently working on -- if you can afford them, that is. While these boosts are expensive, the increased quality they provide translates into increased sales and better reviews, making them excellent investments.