How to Prevent Video Game Addiction

What should be a fun diversion can become an all-consuming addiction if left unchecked. Make sure you set limits on your children's video game use. Don't think of it as denying your children something. Rather, think of it as cultivating healthy habits. Read on to learn how to prevent video game addiction.

1. Delay use of all visual media. The American Association of Pediatricians recommends no screen time of any sort for children under two years of age. They suggest the use of media should be limited for all children. The younger children start using video games, the more likely they are to develop a video game addiction.

2. Keep children involved in a variety of activities. Include outdoor play, interaction with peers, reading and organized sports in your child's schedule.

3. Plan weekly family nights where you do an activity together. Try lots of different things and revisit your family's favorites.

4. Put computers and game systems in the living room or family room. By keeping video games out of a child's room you reduce the chance she may use them for hours without you realizing it.

5. Set limits on media use. Give children an allotted amount of time per day and let them select how much of the time they will use for TV, computer and video games. Be inflexible with your limits. "Stop now" means now, not in a few more minutes.

6. Help your child find healthy ways to deal with stress and anxiety. Many times an addiction develops as a way for a person to escape problems. Rather than let your child use video games to avoid facing difficulties, encourage him to talk to you, another family member or friend.

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How to Choose the Correct Video Game for Yourself

As the console market grows in financial success, video games have a higher demand and yield a large amount of games produced every year. Choosing a video game that's right for you involves considering your tastes in entertainment and what types of games you enjoy, such as sports, action, puzzle, or role-playing.

1. Consider first what you enjoy doing for fun when thinking of your video game to choose. Each game appeals to a different audience and you may be able to determine what you would like based on what you normally like to do for fun.

2. Play an action game if you enjoy entertainment that's fast-paced, with lots of explosions, and stunts. Along with the high number of action games available, most are classified with a specific concentration, such as first-person, shoot 'em up, third-person, stealth, fantasy, and so on. Some popular series in action include Grand Theft Auto, Metal Gear Solid, The Legend of Zelda, and Halo.

3. Play puzzle games. Putting the pieces together or trying to figure out how things work are the features of many puzzle games. Most puzzle games involve a very simple setup of putting shapes or numbers together that get progressively harder as you play on. Some famous titles in this field include Tetris, Bejeweled, and Warioware.

4. Play baseball, football, basketball, or any other sport in a video game to simulate the experience of being in a professional sports league. You can play almost any type of sports game now; it's just a question of which one appeals to you the most. Some games have a more over-the-top style, which can make the game more fun and interesting.

5. Become engaged in a fantasy and epic story line by browsing the large category of role-playing games, or RPG's. An RPG will commonly involve the player taking over the role of a specific group or individual as they play out a long story. These games tend to take up the most time to go through once, ranging anywhere from 20 to 80 hours of game play. Some famous titles in series are Final Fantasy, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, and Mass Effect. Massively multi-player online RPG's, or MMORPG's, are games that are continuously played online with other players and virtually have no end to the game. There are many games in this field, but two well-known titles are World of Warcraft and Everquest.

6. Command units in war and chess-like game play through the variety of strategy games. Most of these titles have a general "point and click" system for you units, but each game has a different way as to how they are played out. Most games are commonly war-fare related, but some involve building and maintaining cities and countries. Popular game sin this area include Command & Conquer, Warcraft, World in Conflict, and Civilization.

7. Play and sing along to the recent addition of music simulators. Music games can be either puzzle-like games where to perform actions to the beat of the music or they can be games which also you to use add-ons, like guitars, to play songs. Popular titles in this genre are Guitar Hero, Rock Band, Rez, and Dance Dance Revolution.

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How to Sell Video Games

If you're ready to give up those old or even new video games you've been collecting, there are many outlets available for selling them. The choices are vast and range between online auction sites, classified boards or retail stores. Use the information below to help sell your used video games.

1. Find a pawn shop or used video game store locally that buys video games. Again, it's a good idea to compare the choices you have so you can find the best deal.

2. Sell your video games at an online auction site such as eBay. Set up an eBay account, and sell games either individually or as a group.

3. List video games on local free classified boards. Find online boards through newspapers or other trade magazines.

4. Sell online to online stores that buy and sale used video games. There are many to choose from. Before picking one, research the prices offered at several so you can get the most money for your video games.

5. Set up your own online video game store by starting a website with listings and pictures of the games you have for sale. Update it to eliminate all games sold, and list any new games available. Make sure you include specific shipping and return policies so your customers know what to expect before purchasing.

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Video Game Tester Job Description

The video game industry is growing at a rapid pace over the years and according to experts, this growth will continue due to the rising popularity of these games. Though you may enjoy playing video games for hours with your friends, there is a lot of effort and hard work involved to develop a video game. Considering the complications in game development, it is quite possible that there might be errors in this task by professionals working on it. The video game tester job description mainly involves finding out and reporting the defects in the development of the video game. Given below are all duties of a video game tester one after the other.

Duties of a Video Game Tester

Video game testers, as mentioned above have to discover faults in the games by using their logical thinking and observation skills. The biggest challenge before them is to solve the problem of lags or sudden and unexpected slowing down of the video game. Video game testers have to actually try the game themselves to understand how they can rectify problems and make its functioning more efficient. What video game testers should know is that they are making the games problem-free for those millions of video game fans and hence working extremely professionally by taking into consideration the needs of the game fans is extremely important. For a video game testers job, quality assurance is of prime importance.

The job description of a video game designer requires them to test different kinds of games such as sports games, strategy games shooting games or games for small children. More complicated the game, more would be the focus an attention required for the game testers. A game tester might not get the freedom to test only those games which he personally likes. So, being flexible to meet your employer's requirements is necessary. Video game testers also write error reports after examining the video games.

Becoming a video game tester is not difficult if you have keen interest in the fields of computers and programming. Completing your graduation or post graduation in computer programming or computer science can be really helpful to build a successful career in video game testing. Some more video game tester requirements include ability to learn on the job and learning new technologies for improving the standards of the video game. While searching for video game tester jobs, you may find that there are very few jobs advertised in newspapers or on job sites. So, you should look for jobs requiring 'quality assurance' or 'testing' as they are related jobs. Though the video game tester job description is interesting, testers have to spend several hours in computer labs and offices finding errors in the games. The job can be extremely stressful at times like other jobs in the Information Technology (I.T.) sector. So, all those who are ready to work for long hours should only consider entering this field.

The video game tester salary is generally paid by employers on an hourly basis. Location of job, educational qualifications, skills and type of employer play a crucial role in deciding the salary of the game testers. A good video game tester can easily earn between $50 to $80 per hour which is too good. The more time a game tester spends on his assignments, the more would be his earnings. For good performances, video game testers can earn attractive perks and bonuses.

By now, I am sure that you have clearly understood the video game tester job description and requirements. So, if you are really interested in this career, it is the time to improve your computer skills and get in touch with game developers. All the best for your career!

By Charlie S | Buzzle.com

Why should there be More Free Online Games?

Video games are no longer the preserve of geeky computer nerds, as people of all ages and backgrounds are starting to play them. This is understandable to a certain degree, since it is a fun way to spend time, though it is a wonder that video games have taken off in the way that they have considering their price. If you want to purchase one, it can be extremely expensive, so more and more people are turning to the Internet to find free online games. This is definitely the way the industry is moving, as companies seek to reduce piracy and encourage casual gamers to play more frequently.

It therefore makes sense to increase the number of free online games that are available. Everyone has their own taste, which means there needs to be online games which appeal to a wide range of people. Some people like shooting, some people like fantasy, whilst some are more interested in arcade games. The more games there are to choose from online, the more people will be playing them. This is good news for companies that develop these games, especially if they decide to use advertisements to make a profit. People are usually prepared to endure advertisements and product placement if it means they can play for free.

With more free online games available, developers will be forced to improve their products and push the boundaries further to create interesting and challenging games that appeal to a wide range of people. The Internet has made it much easier for amateur programmers to develop their own games, as enthusiasts share their passion and experience with others.

Gaming enthusiasts are obviously more aware of what their fellow gamers want from a game than companies whose primary focus is making a profit. Many programmers are not in it for the money, but because they want to create games which people actually want to play.

The Internet has made it so much easier for people to connect with others who have similar interests and this is one of the reasons why people prefer to play online. When you play games online, you can play alongside or against people who are thousands of miles away. There is a real sense of community in the gaming world, as individuals seek to collaborate on gaming projects as well as beat them in competition! It is for this reason that consoles have had to adopt an online feature, since people were keen to connect with fellow gamers.

The vast scale of information and resources available over the Internet means that you don't really expect to have to pay anything when accessing games or music. This may not be good news for companies that want to generate huge profits by charging you over-the-odds for products and services, but it is of definite benefit to consumers. As a gamer, you can already find a wide range of online games which cost nothing, though there is always room for more, since the more there are, the more people will play.

by Thomas Huffine | ArticleZap

Getting New Ideas for Video Games (Part 3): A Springboard for Video Game Developers

Creating video games is an art, no doubt. The problem is that it isn't easy to come up with ideas for video games. And even when we do get an idea, it doesn't seem as fresh or exciting as we want it to be. The following offers a few ways you can generate some creative ideas to keep your video game as fun to play from beginning to end.

13. Do the unexpected. This is probably one of the hardest things for linear programmers to do because as software developers, programmers are trained to keep everything working in some sort of straight, logical order. To make this work, game programmers are going to have to give themselves permission to go nuts - to do the unexpected and not obsess over the consequences. As good training for all of us, doing the unexpected is a freeing experience that opens our minds to workable possibilities we probably wouldn't consider otherwise. These are possibilities that could make your video stand out from the crowd of copy-cats.

14. Design the video game for a specific audience. Choose a unique audience to design your game for and make sure that every character, scene, subplot, and strategy caters to the interest of this audience. But don't pick a typical audience - go crazy. Design your game as if a dog were the player, a computer mouse, or even a stack of pancakes. Let your imagination go wild and you'll see a new world unfold before you.

15. Imagine that you're the video game. If you were the video game that you're designing, how would you want to be played? Attempting to answer this question should set you off on quite a creative spree of new and original ideas (if not one hell of a giggling session). Don't just throw the goofy ideas that you get from this exercise into the trash bin. Seriously think of how to implement them into your video game. This strategy is sure to put you on the gaming map.

16. Substitute. Using one object in the place of another is another sure way of coming up with cool ideas for video game, and in certain situations, it's the only way to dream up something fresh and new. When it seems that you just can't come up with a new slant, you're best bet is to replace a typical, predictable character with a lively, cute and helpful soda can. Or replace a typical, predictable plot with some bizarre scene out of a dream. Remember: nothing is irreplaceable.

17. Introduce a little randomness into the mix. There's a lot to be said about random events. They always bring us the element of surprise and you can use it to keep your video game exciting. The key to making randomness work in a video game is to introduce a set number of possibilities into several sections of the game and then have each of those possibilities lead to a different outcome. Sure, this could drive a player crazy, but you've got to admit, it will send them scrambling for a solution and talking about your game for days.