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Game developers target mental health

Dela @ Feb 08, 2007 16:45 | 8 comments

Nowadays, the most news you read about video games affecting people debate whether violent video games can influence a person's behavior. With many lawmakers suggesting legislation to limit violence in games and several terrifying events that have been blamed on gaming influence, it is easy to focus on the negative effects of video games. A growing number of developers however, are focusing more on the positive.

After the success of the Brain Training games from Nintendo, which aims to improve the concentration and memory of users (amongst other things), some developers have decided to focus on how video games can affect psychological health in a positive way. Tokyo-based Dimple Entertainment will begin selling its new "DS Therapy" in Japan for the DS in May.

The title promises to deliver a a measurement on your mental and emotional health on a daily basis based on the input of the user. Mark Baldwin, a psychology professor at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, also offers another game, "MindHabits Booster". This game aims to make players feel good about themselves.

Baldwin and his team designed the game based on social psychology research. They found that repetitive components from video game play could be used to shape the way people think and how they perceive themselves.

Source:

Reuters

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