James Delahunty
4 Apr 2008 19:02
We have heard research that link video games to almost every human emotion in existence and still have come no closer to figuring out the true effect, if any, that this content has on impressionable minds. Nevertheless, since it is a hot and controversial topic in almost all regions where video games enjoy strong sales, we like to publish the results of studies and let users renew the debate.
Develop Magazine has conducted research that involved 292 World of Warcraft players aged between twelve years and eighty-three years. The results allegedly show that, contrary to a popular belief and several other papers, playing video games that depict levels of violence leads players to feel calmed and tired.
Of course, whether World of Warcraft is the best title to determine the effect is debatable too, but it still is an interesting result. "There were actually higher levels of relaxation before and after playing the game as opposed to experiencing anger but this did very much depend on personality type," said Jane Barnett, who headed the Middlesex study.
Barnett added the research will help develop an emotion and gaming questionnaire to help distinguish the type of gamer who is likely to transfer their online aggression into everyday life.